Hand tools are used often and for many tasks, according to the results of the latest poll on Knots, the online forum on FineWoodworking.Com. Four in 10 respondents say they use chisels a lot, and 1 in 5 respondents say they use hand tools for everything but dimensioning lumber. The graph below gives the details.

 

A total of 732 people voted in the poll, which closed on March 13, 2008.

One respondent’s reply summed up the feeling of many others about hand tools:

“Hadn’t thought about it much [the use of hand  tools] until the other day when I picked up a hand drill that had been my father’s, and that I used as a boy. I realized that my father had died 24 years ago that day. Looked around the shop to see all the tools that used to be ‘ours.’ Lots of hand planes, many old wooden ones. Chisels, all sharp and ready to use; plus I like the relaxation that comes with simply spending some time sharpening. There is a nice variety of power tools as well. Nothing better to cut a full sheet of plywood than a large table saw with extension tables. Yet still love the serenity of fine-fitting a jewelry box drawer with a hand plane.”

The poll is a an unscientific (but, we hope, entertaining) regular feature of FineWoodworking.Com. You can always find the poll at the bottom of the home page.

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