- Saws -

When’s the last time you used a saw, do you remember?

Sweating through effort? Is the saw catching in the timber?
Are errors being made?

Well what saw are you using then, is it sharp? Correct for the
job? Rust free ? I’ve seen so many people with struggle with
bad saw selection and the worst ones couldn’t cut butter!

Correct, sharp saws will save you oodles of time, lower stress
and not to mention make your work more accurate.

So which one should you use? Ah… follow the guide below to
the right saw selection.

Hand Saws

Crosscut Saw

• The saw is used to cut across the grain.

• Has a long blade length of around 24 - 26 inches.

• Has around 7- 8 teeth points per inch.

Rip Saw

• These saws are designed to cut timber along the grain.

• They are long saws with a blade length around 26 inches

• Has around 4 - 6 teeth points per inch.

• Today they are not really manufactured as the power saw

has replaced it. Cutting wood down the grain (ripping) is hard
work.

Panel Saw

• Similar to the Crosscut saw but has smaller teeth and as a

result can be used on more finer detail work.

• The blade length is around 20 – 22 inches.

• Have 10 – 12 teeth points per inch.

• The fine teeth enable you to use it with thin plywood.

- TIPS -

Hard Point teeth

Today they are usually bough as disposables with blackened

teeth, the teeth will stay sharper for at least five times longer.

Universal Saws

Today’s hand saws are universal, allowing you to cut along and
across the grain.

Coping Saw

• Unlike the other hand saws the coping saw allows you to cut
wood in curved shapes, it has a fine blade and can cut up to
1in thick.

• The saw blades are replaceable and the blade can be set on
the forward or backward stroke.

• Coping saws have around 15 – 17 teeth per inch and I

regularly use them on intricate work.
1 Hand Saw - 2 Tenon Saw - 3 Dovetail Saw - 4 Coping Saw -
5 Fret Saw

- Planes –

Planes have a single purpose; all they do is smooth wood,

that’s it! But which ones will you have in your carpentry tool
list? Planes remove a thin shave of wood on each pass, that’s
about the thickness on a piece of paper, not much! But say
you had a gap in your wood work that was the same thickness
as, say 5 sheets of paper, can you now see how important the
plane is. Like always life is never simple and there’s a variety
to choose from, each designed for a different task.

Jack Plane

The plane is designed to be used for long periods of time as it

is light enough to handle, yet long enough to smooth out
bumps.Jack planes allow you to remove excess wood and
flatten sawn timber.

Jack planes comes in 2 different sizes, the No 5 (2in (50mm)

blade with) and the No 5 ½ (2 2/8in (60mm) blade with). They
have a length between 14 – 15 inches, which is classed as
medium length.

Try Plane or Jointer Plane

The plane is designed for you to straighten long timber.Being

the largest of the planes (number 7); you will certainly find it
the heaviest.

When you set the plane you can produce perfect edge joints.
The blade with is 2 /8in (60mm) and is 22in in length.

Fore Plane

This is in between the jack plan and try plane, you can use as
a go an in-between model.

Sizes at Number 6 and has a blade with of 2 3/8in (60mm).

Smoothing Plane

The smoothing plane help you clean up timber, which has

already been planed, such as machine planned wood or
manual from the jack, try and fore plane.

This plane gives you the finishing touches. The smoothing

plane has a blade with rounded edges, helping it not to catch
the wood. The rounded edges allow the plane to follow the
grain, unlike the other panes that slice through the wood. The
following the grain will make you work to become smoother.

The Plane comes in two sizes No 3 (1 ¾ inches (45mm) blade

width) and No 4 ½ (2 3/8 inches (60mm) blade width).

Block Plane

You can hold the block planer in one hand. Designed for you to
use on timber end grain and small jobs. The blade is set a
shallower angle than the other planes and has only a single
iron.

There are two sizes you can choose from.

No 60 ½ (1 3/4 inches (45mm) blade width), the blade being

set at 13 ½ degrees.

No 9 ½ (1 3/4 inches (45mm) blade width), the blade being

set at 21 degrees.
1 - Jointer or Try Plane 2 - Fore Plane 3 - Jack Plane 4 -
Smoothing Plane 5 - Block Plane

- Hammers and Mallets –

For a good carpentry tool list your hammer choice depends on

your specific job; good hammer selection will stop the errors
being made. You don’t want to use a 4lb hammer to tap in
picture hooks, do you! Hammers are great for carpentry but
using one for joinery and get caught; the boss will scratch his
head. The trick is for you to choose the correct hammer for the
job and they all have different strength.

Wooden MalletsWooden mallets are traditionally made from

beech; the grain is tight which stops the wood from splitting.
Wooden mallets are best used with chisels.

Rubber mallets You will find these essential for tapping joints
inn to place as they do not mark the wood, they just bounce
off!

Claw HammerYou will use the claw hammer mostly in joinery

and carpentry, as it can be bought in different weights and can
also remove nails by its claw.
Handles can be made from a mixture of materials such as
wood, steel, even fibreglass.

Their different weights range from 13oz (365g) 16oz (450g)

20oz (570g) and 24oz (680g)

Pin Hammer

The pin hammer is use for light work, so you can only used
this with small nails such as panel pins. The handles are made
from timber.

Cross Pen Hammer

These hammers are designed for cabinet making and top

quality joinery; they allow hitting nails in to awkward places.
The handles are made from timber to absorb the shock.

1 - Steel Handled Claw Hammer 2 - Beach Mallet 3 - Wooden

Handled Claw Hammer 4 - Ball-Pein Hammer 5 - Pin Hammer
6 - Cross-Pein (Warrington) Hammer

- Chisels –

Chisels are your essential parts of the carpentry tool kit, they
allow wood to be chopped out from being hit with your mallet.
Chisels varying in cost will vary in quality. A good chisel will
last, stay sharp and have a quality handle. There are three
main choices you can choose from; although similar they are
used for different jobs.
Bevel Edged Chisel

These are more slender than the other chisels having bevelled
edges; the bevelled edges allow you in to corners more easily.
The bevelled edge paring chisels have more length allowing
you more control, they are ideal for cleaning up joints and
paring. Bevel edged chisel were traditional not meant to be hit,
but nowadays you can buy them with all different types of
handles with varying strengths.

Firmer Chisel

Theses chisels are made with square edges which greatly

improve the strength; you can hit them with a mallet. The
handles are wooden and are strengthen at the top with metal,
stopping you to split them.

Mortise Chisel

The mortise chisel is much longer than the others and has a
much thicker blade. The chisel is designed to cut out timber for
mortise joints. The thick blade allows more pressure to be
applied when using. The Handles today are generally made
from polypropylene which has great strength allowing the
chisel to be struck hard.
1 - Bevel Edge Paring Chisel 2 - Firmer Chisel 3 - Bevel Edge
Chisel 4 - Polypropylene Handled Chisel 5 - Carver Handel

- Screwdrivers –

Screwdrivers, when used properly will last you for years. But
usually there in for a rough ride, these poor things usually
suffer from miss use, commonly being used as a chisel.
Generally all screwdrivers are made with hardened metal
shaft, a special tip for fitting in to screws and a handle for
turning.

Screwdrivers come in two different forms. A slotted end and a

cross point, Cross points benefit by allowing the driver not to
slip from the screw.

A good variety of screwdrivers will be need for different jobs -

Stubby Screwdrivers

They are made very short, hence the name stubby. They are
used in tight spaces.

Long Reach Screwdrivers

Dose what is says on the tin really!

Types of screwdriver tips

Slotted

Has a flat blade on the tip of the driver allowing to be used

with slotted screws

Phillips

Has a cross head tip looking like a +,

Pozidrive

Similar to the Philips but is made by another company with a

slightly different tip.
1 - Stubby Screwdriver 2 - Standard Screwdriver 3 - Long
Reach Screwdriver 4 - Slotted Tip 5 - Pozidrive Tip 6 - Phillips
Tip

- Drills –

A good hand drill will make your holes quickly and effortless.
Hand drill are still used today but now are usually replaced by
the electric or the cordless drill, The old ones come in two
types, the hand drill and the brace.

Hand drill

The drill has a gearing mechanism, so when you make a full

revolution on the handle the drill bit will rotate much faster. It
is to be used with twist drill bits and counter sinking bits. You
use Hand drills for making pilots holes and countersinking.

Brace

The brace allows you to make much larger holes than the drill.
The handle gives a lot of leverage and allows you slow
accurate holes. It is to be used with auger bits and similar
designs, the brace only rotates are fast as the user operating
it, but as auger bits require a slow speed Braces are ideal.

The auger bit will screw in to the wood automatically when

used, so you don’t have to force the brace. The auger bit will
tunnel in to the wood automatically when it is being turned.

1 - Hand Drill 2 - Twist Drill Set 3 - Centre Bit 4 - Auger Bit 5

- Adjustable Expansive Bit 6 - Ratchet Brace

- Tools for Holding –

When you work with timber, it needs to be secured, whether

it’s being worked or glued. Obviously wood comes in different
sizes and there are different tools for holding your work
securely in position. Securely supporting your timber while
working greatly reduces any risks that could happen, also if
you’re gluing timber your want it to accurately set in the right
place, so good clamps and vices are essential.

G Clamps

You will get G Clamps in a range of different sizes. General you

can buy clamps between 1in (25mm) – 12in (300mm). You’re
find clamps great for being portable and supporting small
work.
Speed Clamp

These are tools from the trade. It’s light weight and allows you
to clamp with speed, they are very portable and a great all-
rounder, but they do not give as muck pressure when gluing
timber together as the G Clamp.

Sash Clamps

You will hold great sizes of wood together. They are great for
the use of gluing up frames and large pieces of work. The sash
clamps have a slid able bar to allow quick set up.

Vices

Your work shop should not be with out one.

There are two types, an engineer and woodworkers. The

engineers have steel holding jaws and sits on top of your
bench, making it unsuitable for wood work. The woodworkers
vice has wooden protective jaw inserts to hold your work, the
vices is fitted in line with the work bench giving yourself easy
access.

The vice is designed to hold timber while it is being worked, so

you can cut and mark, NOT hitting with a hammer, this
damages them and remember these are one offs and
expensive!

1 - G-Clamp 2 - Speed Clamp/Quick Release 3 - Sash Clamp 4

- Woodworker’s Bench Vice