Hand tools, like most sharp, pokey, metal things can cause some significant bodily damage if used incorrectly. To stay safe, you should prepare and practice a number of basic habits. These habits will become preventative measures which will give you the best chance at avoiding missing fingers and huge splinters. Below is the general categories that most of your safety …
Hand Tool Woodworking for Beginners and Mere Mortals
Most people who love beautiful furniture, decorative molding, and carved artwork also admire the craftsmanship that goes into creating them. Every would-be cabinetmaker dreams of becoming the next Duncan Phyfe, creating miraculously detailed furniture, but woodworking with hand tools can be much less intricate and still provide this satisfaction. This article will cover how to get started with hand tools …
Is a Japanese Polishing Plane Better Than a Western Smoothing Plane?
While doing some research on wood finishing, I came across an article praising wood planes from the far off country of Japan. I was intrigued. This article enumerated some interesting points. One of which I wanted to address here. The Japanese Polishing plane is objectively better than the Western Smoothing plane. For the skilled woodworker, the Japanese polishing plane is …
What’s The Difference Between a Japanese Wood Plane and a Western Wood Plane?
If you’re looking into purchasing a wood plane, then you’ve probably come across Japanese wood planes and wondered how they compare to western planes. A wood plane is a tool made up of a sharpened metal blade or plate attaches to a wooden or metal body. “Planing” is moving a plane across a wooden surface to create uniform shavings in …
Where to Find and Buy Hand Tools – Starting the hunt!
Do you want help finding hand tools? If you’re new to the world of hand tools you may have no clue on where to buy them. The good news is that hand tools not only are easy to come by, finding hand tools is fun too! Today we’re going to take a look at where you can find them. I …
Why Wood Warps and How to Prevent and Fix It
So I’m sitting here, staring at a pile of lumber. I made a stack of it a couple months ago before I got pulled off on another project. It now looks like fun house boards. Twisted and sprung. About as useful as a $3 bill. As I stand here looking down at my useless Lumber I ask myself one question. …
Woodworking without Power Tools or Electricity
You know what? I get it. Wood projects capture the imagination. After browsing Instructables you got excited. Start way to many projects. You have an unfinished Jelly Bean dispenser, German beer mug, or maybe even a Cigar Box Ukulele taunting you on your Work Bench. But every time you get started you run up against the same problem. You don’t have …
10 Beautiful Woodworking Joints: You Can Forget the Nails
When you think about building something out of wood, be it a chair, dresser, or simple cabinet. The first thing most upcoming woodworkers gravitate towards as the ‘go-to’ method of joining the wood together and making sure it stays that way is the trusty, time-tested, nail. Guess what, you may not realize it but you do NOT need anything more …
4.5 Ways to Drill a Hole without a Power Tools
As I started this site I’ve really made it a priority to minimize the amount of Power Tools in my life. Even drills! I even learned to drill a hole without the telltale whir of a power drill. That may sound strange but after years of a high-stress job I decided to pick up a hobby that would force me …