Just thought I would share a page out of a book my father – in – law gave me 37 years ago when I married his daughter.
I know lots of folks like hand tools and think they are the only real way to work the wood. Power tools are cheating… Well, I’m a cheater. I like power tools and I’m not afraid of hand tools. Power tools require skill to use just like hand tools. They just make the work easier. I know hard work never killed anybody, but I don’t like to take chances.
So where to draw the line? Are CNC machines cheating. I think they take the fun out of woodworking, but if I were running a business, I can see them being handy. And what about all our neanderthol wood workers? I can respect you for your beliefs that wood working is a hand tool only, but where do you draw the line.
I was just reading a book A Museum of Early American Tools by Eric Sloan and he draws a line at the American Civil War era. He states any tools from 1860 and beyond were massed produced and impersonal, from steel to handles. Any tool prior to 1860 were personal hand tools made for that particular wood worker who lived life with their tools. Pictured below are mortise tools that don’t look like any hand tools I own.
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Nifty page
But, I think those old tools would be post-Neanderthal. We actually used flint tools back then. ;-)
Seasonal ?
Hey Bernie,
Based on your photo - I can hardly see the 37 years of stress - woodworking must be the saving grace. At least your Father-in Law gave you something besides his beautiful girl. I got a barbeque plus the girl of course. Still debating which I could do without.
I cheat - with the tools - nothing else. I remember when I got my first router bit in carbide and felt like I knew something no one else did. I was fortunate that so many of my jobs were on site and machinery wasn't available so I either learned to use hand tools or I had a problem. Thanks for sharing - I can't wait to see the next page in the album and the expression on Dad's face when she said - I Do!
SA
Plug me in
I never quite understood the obsession with working like its1699, the whole hand thickness your lumber on your Roubo bench thing. I do woodworking for fun, not to inflict pain on myself. I did more than my share of manual labor in my youth, and I can tell you there is nothing romantic about finishing the day so sore you can barely move. Not to mention paying the price 30 years later in bad joints.
Can I thickness and joint a board by hand? Yes, but why bother unless I have to. I like building furniture and musical instruments, not getting sweaty, sore, and full of shavings. There is reason I own a jointer and planer. Next step is to get a bigger jointer so I don't need to hand face and edge boards too wide for my 6" Jet.
Don't get me wrong, I like hand tools, I usually hand plane instead of sand; I don't like the noise or dust of sanders, plus it is faster. I will even hand cut dovetails just to stay in practice, but if I need to make a kitchen's worth of drawers ,out comes the drawer bit for the router table.
For some reason, woodworkers tend to think the most difficult way is the best. It probably has something to do with the romantic nature of woodworking that draws us to the craft in the first place:)
Hi Bernie,
Thanks for sharing. I share similar thoughts on the power tool debate. Wether we like it or not we live in a post industrial revolution world and trying to pretend we can can get close to the methods of pre industrial revolution is a hard task. I like to think of machines supporting the craftsman. I think learning and using hand tool methods is really important as many of them can be quicker and cheaper than buying loads of machines. I like working with solid wood and although I very much enjoy preparing some stock by hand I prefer making the joints by hand and having a rip saw, joiner and planer take out much of the hard labour of stock preperation.
However if you were only a power tool person I would never label you a cheat, perhaps I might just encourage that person to try some tasks by hand.
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