- Handheld woodworking tools are a woodworker's most intimate friends.planing a table top image by leemarusa from Fotolia.com
A comprehensive list of handheld woodworking tools would span hundreds or perhaps thousands of pages. Luckily, Christopher Schwarz--woodworking pro at Popular Woodworking Magazine--has narrowed down must-have important items for every woodworker, and the professionals at Errington School of Woodwork and Design have also compiled a list of important woodworking tools every woodworker should own. Many options are available in woodworking tool selections, and beginning woodworkers should realize that an enormous portion of these decisions are based entirely on personal preference. - Recommended saws include a coping saw, a crosscut handsaw, a backsaw and a dovetail saw. A coping saw is used for intricate cut work. A crosscut handsaw--or panel saw--is used to break down large wood planks prior to flattening. A backsaw is filed crosscut and used for finishing cuts. A dovetail saw is for ripping cuts, and Schwartz proposes a 15-point dovetail saw.
- Suggested hammers are a Warrington hammer and a 5-inch mallet. Warrington hammers are small with a cross-pane for brad nail starts. A 5-inch mallet is typically used for chisel driving. The Errington professionals suggest a Marples or a Beechwood mallet.
- Eight-inch and 3-inch screwdrivers with traditional flat heads are proposed. Phillips drivers and square drivers are also recommended in both sizes for the variety of woodworking screw heads available today. Phillips drivers come in numbered point sizes from 0 to 4 with 0 as the smallest point; recommended Phillips point size is 2 or 3.
- Schwarz suggests a jack, fore and smoothing plane as well as 1/4-inch and 3/4-inch firmer chisels. Jack planes process rough lumber, fore planes are excellent for rough edges and smoothing planes are for pre-sanding use only. Schwarz prefers chisels without modern beveled edges, but the Errington professionals suggest using beveled chisels. The Errington specialists also suggest obtaining a block plane with an adjustable mouth manufactured by the Stanley tool company in 1965, if possible.
- Recommended measuring devices include a 12-inch steel rule, a folding rule or a measuring tape. A 12-inch steel rule is simply a foot-long ruler made of steel. Folding rules are precursors to the modern measuring tape, and are essentially many rulers making up one large ruler that folds small enough to fit in one hand. Measuring tapes are modern, handheld measuring marvels that coil a large sprung metal ruler inside a metal or plastic case. The Errington people also recommend an engineer's all-steel try square and a cabinet square for assistance with measuring and marking.
