Woodworking With Hand Tools?

Ernest Joyce, "Encyclopedia of Furniture Making"

Wiley Horne

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Re: Woodworking With Hand Tools?

Brent Smith in Montreal

>Any of David Charlesworth's books.

Re:This'll get ya start'd

Kevin French

>http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:0WVHxTjgm1cJ:www.amgron.clara.net/

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/plane.html

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

http://homepage.mac.com/galoot_9/Stages.html

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/planes1.php#planes1_anchor2

http://www.sover.net/~nichael/nlc-wood/stanref-num.html

http://www.yesterdaystools.com/tuninga1.htm

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/flatten.html

http://www.shavings.net/DOVETAILS.HTM

http://home.nj.rr.com/afoust/dovetails.html

Everything you can find in your local library

Bill Houghton, rainin' here this evenin'

>I think it's foolish to spend money on books when your tax dollars have purchased a whole library, just for you. You may ultimately want one or more to keep, but best that you make this selection yourself after reading through them, trying out what you learn, going back to read them with the knowledge thus gained, etc. So get yourself to your local library and raid the shelves. Read everything, absorb, and go from there.

That said, some of the classics are pretty hard to beat, and often not available in the library. I like "Planecraft," an inexpensive ($10 or so) book available from Woodcraft.com. The trouble with this book, though, is precisely that it's about planes only (well, with some wandering into vises; and counting spokeshaves as planes); left out of the discussion are the broad capabilities of chisels, drawknives, etc.

Hand woodworking is ultimately very simple: you cut the wood with full respect for the vagaries of a material that cuts well in one direction and terribly in the other, and varies from board to board, much less species to species, and sometimes from inch to inch, fasten it together, and there you are. But this is like saying that playing trombone is simple: you just blow in one end and move the slidey thing back and forth. Getting from there to Fred (or Jac) Assunto is the trick, and it's important to remember the old getting-to-Carnegie-Hall punchline - "practice, man, practice" - and its corollary - "patience, man, patience." Start with simple projects and woods before tackling a colonial secretary-on-chest from jarrah or some other exotic.

Re: Woodworking With Hand Tools?

Adam Cherubini,NJ

>Charles,

I really liked Michael Dunbar's "Restoring, Tuning and Using Classic Handtools". It packed with useful information and I really like Dunbar's no nonsense style of writing. Wish I could write like that!

Aside from that, I think some of the books in my library are pretty dated. We've come a long way in 10 years. So be sure to visit, but I don't think I'd hang my hat on them.

Adam

Re:This'll get ya start'd

Charles Jackson III

>I am looking at getting The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction by Andy Rae and The Complete Illustrated Guide to Shaping Wood by Lonnie Bird. Are there any other hand tools I would need?

Re:This'll get ya start'd

Kevin French

>Yaa. Not knowing what you have, and quessing from your first post, you can't just go out and buy everything you need, so... decide on a project and pick up a few tool for that one, read some more, learn some more, do another project buy some more tools, go to yard sales and flea markets, see tools, buy tools.

A couple of good book on Hand tools are

Hand Tools Their Ways and Workings by Aldren A.Watson

Classic Hand Tools by Garrett Hack

Also check in at used book store on a regular bais and you'll be surprised at what you'll find.

Re: Woodworking With Hand Tools?

Brent Smith in Montreal

>Adam,

What in your mind has changed in handtools in the last 10 years. Sure, we have different metals now and some new manufacturers, but if anything they are, for the most part and with small variations, reproducing older tools. The basic how-to of using handtools is the same.

Re: Sharpening/Leonard Lee

Dave Mount, northern MN

>Charles--

Whatever hand tools you get, sharpening is, in my opinion, more important than anything else, including who's tools you buy or what techniques you focus on. Having a truly sharp set of inexpensive Blue Chip chisels is better than having the most expensive chisels there are if they aren't sharp. I think Leonard Lee's book is really excellent because it not only tells you how to sharpen, but it gives you a lot on why sharpening works as it does, and why different tools call for different types of sharpening. Dunbar's book that Adam mentions is good, addresses sharpening, and is helpful for selecting hand tools to buy (particularly vintage tools), but I think Leonard Lee's book is better overall on sharpening specifically.

Best,

Dave

Just bought those 2 books

Jim in Burlington On

>Both books are not that impressive. I agree with Charlesworth's books. Video seems to speak volumes to me. Kingshott's video's would be a awesome place to start.

The techniques are the same, but

Chuck Nickerson

>the writing is much better now. For instance, try and find a book publishedin the 70's or 80's that comes close to Leonard Lee's book on sharpening.

A picture is worth 1000 words... *LINK*

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Get your self a copy of Jim Kingshott's videos. There's a wealth if info in them and he's a blase to watch too!


Highland Hardware's videos