[swd]

I apologize if this subject has been already addressed... but how many of us practice and have the skills, tools, and know-how to understand traditional hand-tool woodworking?

I've built a very few chairs from foraged lumber and have gone from axe-to-tree while producing something useful... Ideally, I'd like to create one thing after another by hand -- furnish my home and ultimately be able to provide everything necessary inside.

Have any of you built your own home? Do any of you practice the skills of traditional, hand-tooled woodcraft?

 

[kingjames]

No! That and blacksmithing are things I plan and desirer to learn!

 

[rhart]

I have a small cabinet shop and mostly use power tools , but I have made several things just using hand tools. This is a skill that I really want to improve on.

 

[Grinnan Barrett]

It is a critical issue you hit on. I had out my wood auger today because i had to use it on a tree trunk to bore a hole in it and did not have a power drill charged up. Manual Saws of many types. You need more than one. Augers and bits, Planes for smoothing your wood, files, Hammers, nails, wood plugs, Glue, Wood screws and manual drivers, Chisels of different sizes, Mallets, T Squares and Protractors, Chalk Lines, tape measures, Axes, Wood spliters and Sledge Hammer to drive them into wood you are splitting, are just some of the things you will need if the power goes out. Don't forget your levels as well. Bags of cement are handy as well. Tar Paper and shingles come in handy too. If you need heat don't forget your chimney requirements (you can use metal pipe in a crisis mode or if you are going to clean it regularly).

Lots of other things. Pick up the basics now so you will have them. I tried to find a hand driven grinding wheel to replace the one my grandfather had given my and was stolen. Haven't found one yet. Good luck.

 

[swd]

Yes, thank you, Grinnan Barrret. A few hand tools can be used for so many helpful jobs.

I agree, kingjames. Basic smithing knowledge is super helpful -- even with things as simple as knowing how to heat up and re-temper a chisel.

 

[arisinwind]

I've built sheds, barns and a cellar. Built furniture such as our dining table and benches, bed, bookcases, computer desk. I have hand tools and I'm always adding more. I have a large stone grinding wheel to sharpen tools.

I've made chisels and screwdrivers from iron rod.

My great grandfather, grandfather and my dad were carpenters.

 

[bearpoop]

I've helped my dad with many projects over the years. We built an 8' sailboat almost entirely with hand tools, and we've built several electric upright basses together. Musical instruments like basses need to have almost exact, like to the .0001th of an inch, measurements in certain places and hand tools are the only way to achieve just that.
I would friggin' LOVE to learn blacksmith work someday. I envy guys that get to do that for a living!!:upsidedown:

 

[smoothED]

I've helped my dad with many projects over the years. We built an 8' sailboat almost entirely with hand tools, and we've built several electric upright basses together. Musical instruments like basses need to have almost exact, like to the .0001th of an inch, measurements in certain places and hand tools are the only way to achieve just that.
I would friggin' LOVE to learn blacksmith work someday. I envy guys that get to do that for a living!!:upsidedown:

nevermind forget i posted

 

[zuren]

Is there a better type of hand wood drill to get vs. another? I already have:

• Hammers - various
• Chisels
• Levels
• 2 Saws - probably need another
• Other items that aren't coming to me at the moment

I would like to find 2 other items - a hand plane and a hand drill. There are the gear driven drills and the kind that have the bent shape. The bent shape is the simplest design that I am leaning toward, just wondered if there was a differing opinion.

Thanks! :thumb:

 

[stoneunhenged]

I bought an old hand crank cast iron drill press off eBay. It's actually a pretty efficient way to drill a hole. You might want to keep your eyes peeled for those kind of deals.

 

[Guerrilla]

You need two hand drills: a normal crank and a traditional auger. Trying to do deep holes in hardwood with a crank will punish your elbows.

I have alot of manual tools, and just got a really nice draw knife a month or so ago. But as I am currently building my home, I generally go with powertools: can't say I enjoyed using a jack plane to level our subflooring. But I didn't use a powertool until I was fifteen, and I'm quite pleased to know how to use manual tools...

Thanks dad!

 

[BrowserCat]

My husband thinks I'm nuts to do so, but I regularly try to use hand tools rather than power tools because it's handy to know but also gives me a tie to my grandfathers, great uncle, father and stepfather, all of whom used hand tools primarily. I only wish that one of them had taken the time to show me how to use them when I was a kid; girls weren't allowed to take shop so I had to take home ec instead.

 

[Jasmine_xoxo]

I found some antique handtools in the shed at our farm.
It was such a thrill to hold them and know that my great-greats had used them to make the very building I was standing in.
I don't have the foggiest how to use them but I know my fiance is quite resourceful and can figure it out.
Oh and...what about a solar charger for the tools we already own?

BrowserCat - "but also gives me a tie to my grandfathers, great uncle, father and stepfather, all of whom used hand tools primarily" - you hit the nail right on the head with that one hehe.

 

[swd]

Thanks guys, again. Crowbars can be handy too.

 

[BretByron]

I need to get a new Draw Knife.