WOODWORKING FundamentalsHand Tool Hand Tool Lay a Foundation for FUNDAMENTALS Hand Tool Excellence Now you can learn the hand tool skills used by the best woodworkers to achieve handcrafted excellence in all your Skills Your Build & Projects to Techniques Advice, woodworking projects. Advice, Hand Tool Fundamentals introduces you to all the key tools and techniques you need to learn for sterling work, then Techniques shows you how to incorporate them into the modern wood- working shop. You’ll learn: & Projects • What to look for when buying new precision hand tools. to Build • How to tune your tools so they perform well. • The time-tested hand tools everyone should own. Your Skills • How to make a smoothing plane, infi ll jointer plane and dovetailing tools. • 10 hand-tool projects you can build to improve your skills. • More than 75 hand-tool tips and techniques. • And more! This book is jam-packed with trustworthy advice and instruction from top editors and contributors to American Woodworker, including Toshio Odate, Frank Klausz, Mario Rodriguez, Andy Rae, Ellis Walentine and Tom Caspar. Trusted advice from the experts KELSEY at American Woodworker US $27.99 T5220 (CAN $31.00) ISBN-13: 978-1-940038-12-4 ISBN-10: 1-940038-12-X 52799 EAN UPC FnL1 04 0120 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAFO1GzsCMTMDMTAwATEFVVBD LUEMMDM1MzEzNjYyNzQ0eA== 0 35313 66274 4 9 FnL1 04 0124 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAFPXm8IEMTAuNAI4MAExBkVB Ti0xMw05NzgxOTQwMDM4MTI0AA== 781940 038124 EDITED BY JOHN KELSEY CCover_T5220.inddover_T5220.indd 1 88/5/14/5/14 11:35:35 PPMM Hand Tool Fundamentals 001-007_T5220.indd 1 7/30/14 1:42 PM Whether you are working with hand tools or machine tools or a combination of both, accurate layout is essential for excellent results. 001-007_T5220.indd 2 7/30/14 1:42 PM Hand Tool Fundamentals Advice, Techniques & Projects to Build Your Skills POPULAR WOODWORKING BOOKS CINCINNATI, OHIO www.popularwoodworking.com 001-007_T5220.indd 3 8/5/14 1:35 PM 001-007_T5220.indd 4 7/30/14 1:42 PM Foreword oodworking with hand tools is alive and well, and in fact, despite reports to the contrary, Wthe muscle-powered hand-tool approach never did fall before the onslaught of the machine. That’s because most woodworkers embrace the best of both: machines for gross removal of material, precision, and repetitive, labor-intensive operations; hand tools for fi nesse, accuracy, and for singular operations that don’t need to be repeated hundreds or thousands of times. But there are more reasons to embrace working with hand tools, including these: —it’s direct. Your hands, and the simple tools you’re holding, bear directly on the wood. There’s no elaborate system of fences to control the workpiece and keep hands away from whirling cutters, no mandatory hearing protection and safety goggles to impair your senses. —it’s physical. For a terrifi c whole-body workout, try ripping planks with a hand saw and hand-planing a stack of boards to width and thickness. You won’t need to go to the gym that day. —it’s quiet. In fact the gentle sounds that hand tools make are vital clues to what’s happening at the cutting edge. The roar of the machine, on the other hand, drowns out subtlety and nuance. —it’s meditative. When it’s going well, the work fully absorbs both mind and body, time fl ies by and crowds out distraction and turmoil. Many hand-tool afi cionados report achieving a zen-like state of oneness with their work. —and with just a little skill, hand work is surprisingly quick and effi cient. Adept woodworkers often note that they can complete a task with hand tools in less time than it would take to set up a machine, and they are mostly correct. And even when they are wrong, the other benefi ts of hand-tool woodworking outweigh the little extra time it might take. This volume presents a variety of hand tools and techniques, extracted from the archives of American Woodworker magazine, that most woodworkers will fi nd useful and pertinent to their shop projects. It includes exercises in choosing, making and modifying hand tools, as well as techniques for using them. And it also includes a detailed section on sharpening, the essential skill that every hand-tool woodworker must master. 001-007_T5220.indd 5 7/30/14 1:42 PM Contents Planes and Chisels Planes: Match the Size to the Job . 10 Length, width and heft all make a diff erence Choosing a Block Plane . 14 Adjustability enables fi ne work Tune Up an Old Chisel . 17 Polish both back and bevel Restoring an Old Plane . 23 Th e secret is a step-by-step procedure Troubleshoot Your Plane . 28 Practical solutions to 6 common problems Handles for Socket Chisels . 34 How to turn a perfect fi t Planes and Chisels, 8 Using a Chisel . 38 Technique builds from body and stance Make a Smooth Plane . 42 An antique beauty you’ll use every day Make a Router Plane . 48 A very useful and precise tool Make a Tool Till . 52 Traditional drawers store small hand tools Hand Tools and Bench Aids Great Little Tools . 58 Time-tested and woodworker-approved Make a Scratch Stock . 60 Th is old tool goes where routers can’t Japanese Dozuki Saws . 64 Th in blades cut on the pull stroke Turning an Heirloom Awl . 68 Harden and temper the steel by heat-treating Make a Leg Vise . 72 Deep reach at the right height Make a Tail Vise . 74 Classic vise upgrades your workbench Precision Squares . 82 Hand Tools and Bench Aids, 56 Essential setup and layout aids 001-007_T5220.indd 6 7/30/14 1:42 PM Make a Shaving Horse . 85 Hybrid design makes short work of green wood Tool Rack Holds Everything . 92 Slat construction makes it easy and versatile Joinery Tools and Techniques Measuring and Marking . 98 14 tips to make layout easier Tools for Dovetailing . 102 Choosing, modifying and using Half-Blind Dovetails . .104 New approach ensures a precision fi t Compound-Angle Dovetails . 112 An elegant layout system Mortise and Tenon . 115 Joinery, 96 A hand-tool workout Breadboard Ends . 116 Th ey’ll hold a solid-wood top fl at How to Cut a 3-way Miter . .120 Careful layout, sawing and paring Hand-Planed Moldings . 126 Create custom profi les with pairs of planes Sharpening Hand Tools Sharpening Shortcuts . 132 It helps to know why as well as how Make a Grinding Rig . 139 Shop-made tool rests are more accurate Choosing and Using Waterstones . 142 Fast cutting and easy maintenance Water-Cooled Sharpening Machines . 146 Th ere’s no risk of burning the steel Sharpening Scrapers . 149 New method is foolproof Stropping on Leather . 154 Th is technique creates the ultimate sharp edge Sharpening Station . 156 Everything you need is right at hand Sharpening, 130 001-007_T5220.indd 7 7/30/14 1:42 PM Planecraft is the heart of handtool woodworking. Planing wood smooth is a delight with tools you have made yourself. 008-016_T5220.indd 8 7/30/14 1:43 PM Planes and Chisels 9 008-016_T5220.indd 9 7/30/14 1:43 PM by Tom Caspar Pocket-Size Planes: Match Low Angle Standard the Size to the Job Angle length, width and heft all make a difference No. 3 and planes come in a bewildering variety of sizes. Why are there so many? I’ll help Hexplain this mystery by dividing the fi eld into four groups, in order of size: block planes, No. 4 smoothing planes, jack planes, and leveling planes. I’ll show you what the planes in each group are used for, and recommend two different starter sets. No. 41⁄2 Each group best serves a particular purpose. Smoothing planes, for example, are specifi cally designed to make wood as smooth as silk, ready for a fi nish. In general, length is the key to No. 51⁄4 understanding a group. Picking a plane at random, you could use it for most any task, but pick a plane that’s the correct length and you’ll get the job done much faster, No. 5 with better results. No. 51⁄2 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 10 Planes and Chisels 008-016_T5220.indd 10 7/30/14 1:43 PM No. 41⁄2 Standard Angle Pocket-Size Low Angle No. 4 No. 3 Block Planes Smoothing Planes Block planes are often associated with carpenters and do- A smoothing plane is a serious hand-tool user’s best it-yourselfers because they’re inexpensive and small enough friend. Set to cut a tissue-thin shaving, it can make a to fi t in a toolbox or toolbelt. They have important roles board feel smooth as silk. The wood’s grain will pop in a in the woodshop, too. A high-quality block plane can do way that you can’t achieve through sanding alone. amazing work, and may become one of your favorite tools. Types. The No. 4 size is the type most commonly Types. Standard-angle block planes are the most used, although the larger No. 41⁄2 is gaining in common. Their blades are bedded at about 20 degrees, with popularity. The 41⁄2 is heavier than the 4, and that the bevel facing up. If the blade is sharpened at 25 degrees, added mass makes it easier to maintain momentum its effective cutting angle is 45 degrees, which is similar while planing diffi cult woods. A No. 4 blade is 2". to larger planes.