Hand Tools
All of the pictures and information about hand tools shown below is a rough guide to show some of the most common and useful handheld tools used in woodwork.
There are pictures to show each tool but not to show the different types available of the same tool because it is only a guide. Some hand tools have been left out because I am focusing on ones that are specifically woodwork tools.
Chisel:
What it’s used for:
A chisel has a chamfered blade on the end that is driven into the material to remove unwanted timber or to carve it out. Force to the chisel is either applied by hand or can be increased by using a mallet to strike the back of the chisel.
Parts it consists of:
These hand tools are made of metal which allows the blade to be sharpened when it becomes blunt. The handle is also usually metal with a rubber case for comfort and grip although some chisel handles are made from plastic or wood. The chisel’s blade can be a range of widths to suit almost any type of cut that needs to be made.
Clamps:
What it’s used for:
Clamps are fastening devices used to create inward pressure to secure objects or materials together to prevent movement or separation.
Clamps are usually used to hold things like woodwork joints together until an adhesive that has been applied has dried or to secure objects to things such as benches. Some clamps are known as cramps but they still have the same purpose which is to hold or secure something.
Parts it consists of:
There are many different types of clamps such as bar clamps, sash cramps, G cramps, quick grips and pipe clamps just to name a few and all of those clamps work in a similar fashion. Most clamps are metal with some plastic inserts and they work with a turning handing which brings the two sides closer together applying pressure to the object being clamped.
Hand Saw:
What it’s used for:
A hand saw comes in many different styles but they are all operated by hand movement and they are used to cut materials with its blade. Common tasks for hand saws include cutting straight edges, making angled cuts and cutting curves although different types of saws are needed to carry out all of these tasks.
Parts it consists of:
All saws have handles which can be made from plastic, wood or metal and they all have blades which are metal and serrated for cutting different materials. Saws can have different sized blades which can be really skinny like a copping saw for cutting curves or very fat like a tenon saw for making straight cuts.
Mallet:
What it’s used for:
Mallets are very similar to hammers because they look almost identical only with a bigger head and they are also used to deliver an impact only the difference is they do not damage the object being struck like a hammer does so they are really good for knocking wood into place.
Parts it consists of:
A mallets head is made from wood or rubber and it contains no metal so that it doesn’t damage the material you are working with which makes it a useful hand tool for moulding materials.
Planer:
What it’s used for:
A planer is used to shape or thin out a piece of timber by removing small amounts of wood and it can also remove rough patches of timber. this type of hand tool is good for removing the amounts of timber that cannot be removed by sandpaper.
Parts it consists of:
Common planers that many people buy are metal with a double wooden handle feature to increase the user’s precision and efficiency. There is a small rectangular hole at the bottom of the planers metal base which houses the adjustable blade.
Sandpaper:
What it’s used for:
Sandpaper is used to remove a small amount of material to either create a smooth surface or to remove a layer of something such as paint.
This is a hand tool that is best used with a sanding block because it is more comfortable for the user and it creates a flat surface of the sandpaper to be wrapped around.
Parts it consists of:
Sandpaper is a basic hand tool which is just paper with abrasives attached to it with an adhesive. Sandpaper is available in different grit sizes which are shown by a number on the back.
Low numbers like 40 means it is very coarse and higher numbers like 300 mean it is very fine which will give a smoother finish. The numbers on the back of sandpaper simply mean how many abrasive particles there are per inch of sandpaper.
Try Square:
What it’s used for:
Try squares are woodwork tools used for drawing perfectly straight lines on materials such as wood and they can also be used to see how straight a piece of woods edge is either before or after it has been cut.
Parts it consists of:
Try squares have two parts and the first is a wooden handle which is placed against the edge of an object and the second part is a broad metal blade facing 90° to the handle which is used to create the straight lines or to check the squareness of an object.
Tape Measure:
What it’s used for:
A tape measure is a common hand tool used to measure lengths of wood with ease and it has a locking feature to prevent it from rolling back into the case. Tape measures come in a range of lengths which can be from as little as a metre to as much as over 10 metres.
Parts it consists of:
A tape measure has either a metal case or a tough plastic or rubber case so that it does not break when dropped from high places and it contains a flexible metal ruler available in a range of many lengths that can roll and unroll. These features enable the tape measure to be small and portable so it can be carried in a pocket.
Nail Punch:
What it’s used for:
Nail punches are metal rods which have a small blunt edge which is placed on a nail while the back of the punch is struck with a hammer to drive the nail below the timber’s surface.
There is also another version of the nail punch called a centre punch but this is used to mark the centre of something like a hole before drilling.
Parts it consists of:
the nail punch is basically a small metal rod which is shaped at one end and is able to drive nails below a surface. Both ends are blunt and at the back of the nail punch, the metal is wider to allow for a hammer to strike it without slipping off.
