14
votes
Accepted
Unknown tool from auger bits set
That's a screwdriver bit. At the time this was made slot-head screws were pretty much all there were and being able to use your brace to drive larger screws saved space in a travelling toolkit. Plus I'...
- 67.5k
11
votes
Accepted
Making removable marks on walls for e.g. cabinet installation
When I don't want to make messy marks, it's blue painter's tape all the way. (There are various options, in terms of how long you can leave it on. Just remember to peel it in time.)
- 4,181
11
votes
Accepted
Angled cuts without miter saw or miter box?
The type of mitres you're looking to do are called case mitres because in a different context they'd be used for casework, i.e. cabinetry or box making1.
Other than sawing them directly (challenging ...
- 67.5k
10
votes
Accepted
What kind of plane is this?
Although the manufacturer call this a Stepped Rabbet Plane this is a bullnose plane.
Although their forms vary all planes with the iron bedded at a typical angle* and mounted in such a way that it's ...
- 67.5k
9
votes
What is this hand tool with handles similar to a spokeshave? It has different selectable profiles around the edge of a disc
This looks like a beading scratch-stock.
Beading is a decorative detail added to the edges of boards to make them less prone to damage and to hide gaps in joinery or around doors. This tool creates ...
- 5,530
9
votes
Spirit Level Reading
From one of the resources on the internet, Little Machine Shop, this bit of wisdom:
These Starrett Machinist Levels have ground and graduated main vials, and a cross test vial. The 12" level ...
- 3,004
9
votes
How do you inlay a brass corner ornament using handtools only?
Your chisels and router plane are completely adequate tools for the job. The curve you have to cut are convex in the wood, so approximating with small chisel nibbles is perfectly feasible. I would ...
- 1,411
9
votes
Accepted
Resawing by hand - how to correct drift?
The basics in adjusting for drift are: identify it early, adjust quickly, and keep on monitoring closely.
Identify early
It's vitally important in any long cut (not only made with hand tools!) to spot ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
Accepted
How can I resaw material using only hand tools?
Which tool would be best to accomplish this
Of the saws you list I think the pull saw is the best choice, in fact while it's theoretically possible to do it with one or two of the others doing it ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
How do I achieve inset edge beading?
This is not a job for the router, at least not in the way you're thinking. Here are two quick guides to how this is generally done:
Two Ways to Make Cock Beading on Fine Woodworking.
Q & A: Cock-...
- 67.5k
8
votes
Accepted
What determines carving tools/chisels quality?
This is actually a pretty broad topic, but other than marketing decided price (brand A being more expensive than brand B simply because of the brand name) there may be large difference in ...
- 3,620
8
votes
Respirator / Dust mask for hand tools?
My hope is that in general hand tools will not produce fine enough dust to be concerned with.
While it is now fairly widely known that the finer dusts are the most hazardous (as produced primarily by ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
Accepted
How can a bit brace handle be replaced?
Is it possible to change the handle and how?
Yes, you can replace the handle. But there's a decent chance you can repair the existing one strongly enough that the repair will last for many years if ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
How to handplane many boards to the same dimensions
I often end up with some minute thickness variation along the length of the boards.
This is hand-tool woodworking, some variation from part to part is par for the course. We aren't machines after ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
Accepted
What is this hand tool with handles similar to a spokeshave? It has different selectable profiles around the edge of a disc
I found it! - Windsor Beader Type 1 - 1885
- 243
8
votes
What is the purpose of the side handle on a hand ("eggbeater") drill?
In my younger days, I had only this type of drill with which to bore holes. It was often necessary to place the in-line grip on my chest or belt to apply pressure. A board or similar panel provided ...
- 3,004
7
votes
What is this vintage tool?
Dressing wheel for bench grinder stones... used to flatten the stones after they get rounded or grooved.
- 4,181
7
votes
Accepted
Is it needed to have the lever cap flat against the blade in a shoulder plane?
This is normal. Shoulder planes of this design always like this.
Maybe best example:
- 2,119
6
votes
Is there still a place for "hand drills" in a modern woodshop?
Hand drills most definitely have a place. They are
cheaper
quieter
more controllable
handier
safer
and don't require electricity ( Handy if you have a large property or work out on site)
They ...
- 61
6
votes
hand plane controls (bevel down)
Starting note: cap iron = chipbreaker.
For example, moving the frog back is for taking larger shavings and less figured wood. Moving it up is for smaller shavings and more figured woods.
A similar ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
what do you do when the two sides of a mortise hole don't line up exactly?
I'm not sure exactly in what way the two sides don't line up exactly. Working in from both faces should ensure the 'mouth' of the mortise on each face is pretty much bang-on, even if the mortise ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Building a Cabin; only un-powered hand tools. Need advice
What you're talking about is timber-frame construction, and you're on the right track.
I read somewhere it is best to use fairly fresh cut trees for this, to make the hewing easier.
Yup. Green wood ...
- 828
6
votes
Accepted
How should I set a hand plane down?
"Lay your plane on it's side son."
This is the long-standing advice. It is old, nobody knows how old, but many (most?) now don't do this, some to deliberately buck Old Timer advice (which can often ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Is this plane salvageable?
Yes this should be salvageable, and actually quite easily1.
Those heavy patches of rust might look dreadful if you're not used to rusty old tools but planes far rustier than this — completely caked ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
Are mortises with angled walls cut the same way as square mortises (handtools)?
The thing with hand tools is that the angles are all arbitrary and require no resetting of stops or fixtures. If you can saw to a line, you can saw 90º and 33.4º equally well. Similarly, if you can ...
- 2,426
6
votes
Help me identify this hand plane
Your boy friend is in possession of a wood plane made by the Auburn Tool Co. of Auburn, New York
This is an image of the top end of its blade.
In a semi circular arc are the words "Auburn Tool Co".
...
- 3,667
6
votes
What tool is this?
I want to say an edge chamfer tool. For taking off the hard corner of a board. Like a chamfer bit for a router.
- 727
6
votes
How to flatten stubborn hollow on the back of a plane iron?
How to flatten stubborn hollow on the back of a plane iron?
You don't have to.
If you alter your strategy here things will go a lot faster. And I mean a lot, something that can otherwise take an hour ...
- 67.5k
6
votes
What is this adjustable/foldable rack for?
It is a Quark Press.
This is a conjecture based on an almost identical item listed as such in a museum exposition (Czech only).
Nowadays, most people get their hadrons ready-made from the store, but ...
- 789
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible