Hand Tools

This is a technical examination of grain reversal and tearout formation. Understand cutting mechanics in figured wood with this analysis of what happens when grain direction changes.

The differance between auger bits and spade bits drilling through joists and studs. Chip evacuation, torque, nail strikes, and what electricians and plumbers actually deal with drilling structural lumber.

What happens when a hand-cranked brace drills large holes compared to cordless drills. Torque delivery, hole quality, battery drain, and why some woodworkers reach for the 150-year-old tool.

Lie-Nielsen reproduces vintage Stanley designs in bronze and ductile iron. Veritas creates original designs with innovation focus. Both make premium planes that work immediately without tuning.

Bailey planes use a three-piece frog that adjusts with screws. Bedrock planes mount the frog directly to the bed with full-width contact. The frog design creates the main performance difference.

Stanley planes from 1900-1960 used properly stress-relieved castings, machined adjustment mechanisms, and quality blade steel. The manufacturing standards created tools that still work properly decades later.

Rabbet planes cut rabbet profiles from flat stock using fences and depth stops. Shoulder planes trim existing joinery with blades extending to the body edges for corner access.

Specialized planes handle joinery fitting, recess cutting, and profile work that bench planes and block planes can't reach or control precisely enough.

Hand planes range from 3-inch block planes to 24-inch jointers. What each size and configuration actually does in the workshop.

Router planes cut flat-bottomed recesses to precise depths. The blade points downward and rides the surrounding surface while cutting the recess bottom.

Why woodworkers own both mortise and marking gauges instead of one combination tool. Find out what the dual pins actually change about joinery work.

Self-centering dowel jigs lose accuracy during use for specific mechanical reasons. Here's why your holes keep ending up off-center and what's actually causing the drift.

Bevel-down blades bed at 45 degrees with chipbreakers. Bevel-up blades bed lower without chipbreakers. The orientation changes how you adjust cutting angle and what you sharpen.

A sharp blade angled in a metal body rides wood surfaces and removes thin layers. The sole acts as straightedge, the blade does the cutting, everything else supports those two jobs.

A 1950s Stanley No. 4 costs $40 to $80 and often outperforms new $60 planes. Premium new planes run $250 to $400. The price gaps create distinct value propositions.

The chipbreaker sits 1/32 inch from the blade edge and forces wood shavings to curl sharply. That curl breaks fibers before they tear out ahead of the cutting edge.

A 14-inch sole bridges enough surface to straighten edges and flatten moderate panels. With two blade setups, one jack plane covers rough work through final smoothing.

The first hand plane purchase depends on what work needs doing. Block planes handle different tasks than jack planes, and each serves distinct purposes in a workshop.

Block planes work one-handed at 6 inches long. Bench planes need two hands at 14 to 22 inches. The size difference determines what each plane can actually do to wood.

Six inches long and 1.5 pounds creates a tool your palm can control completely. That compact geometry changes how the plane gets used compared to two-handed bench planes.

End grain cuts across fiber ends instead of along fiber length. A 37-degree blade slices those ends cleanly. A 45-degree blade pushes through them with more resistance.

The mouth opening controls how close wood fibers get supported before the blade cuts them. That distance determines whether figured grain tears or slices clean.

Jack planes bridge surface irregularities at 14 inches long. Smoothing planes follow contours at 9 inches. The length difference determines what each plane actually does to wood.

A 12-degree bed creates a 37-degree cutting angle. A 20-degree bed makes 45 degrees. That eight-degree difference determines what each block plane cuts cleanly.

A 22-inch sole bridges surface variations that shorter planes follow. What happens when that length encounters twisted, cupped, or bowed lumber.

A hand plane's sole acts as a moving straightedge. Whether it bridges surface errors or follows them depends entirely on length relative to the error's span.

This is a detailed comparison of rasps and files. Learn how to understand the tooth differences between these two shaping tools.

A four-in-hand rasp has coarse teeth on one side, fine teeth on the other, with flat and rounded faces. Modern manufacturing creates different cutting characteristics than vintage versions.

Hand-stitched rasps cut with random tooth patterns punched individually. Machine-cut rasps use uniform milled rows. The tooth formation determines cutting speed and surface finish.

Shinto saw rasps stack thin saw blades with offset teeth instead of using solid rasp bodies. The blade-based design creates different cutting action than conventional rasps.

Here's what marking gauges, marking knives, and pencils each do differently in woodworking, and when each tool makes sense.

Here's what pins and wheels each do differently in marking gauges, and how those differences affect the lines you're actually making.

Here's what causes marking gauge lines to wander, tear, or disappear, and what's actually happening when your layout marks go wrong.

This is a reference guide to blade measurements and tooth patterns. Discover what TPI numbers mean, how blade width affects cutting radius, and why gauge systems exist with this breakdown.

This is a deep dive into three curve-cutting saws. What blade tension, frame depth, and manual versus motorized power actually mean when you're cutting intricate patterns with fret saws, coping saws, and scroll saws.

Two saws that look identical but serve different purposes. What frame size, blade gauge, and intended materials reveal about fret saws and jeweler's saws.

Fret saw blade width, tooth count, and frame geometry. Why fret saws became the standard tool for clearing waste between dovetail pins and tails.

An examination of Stanley hand plane development, exploring the Bailey patent system, numbering conventions, and production changes that defined a century of woodworking tools.

An examination of wood behavior under plane blades, exploring how cellular structure and grain patterns create dramatically different planing results across species.

Plane blades start as steel blanks and go through grinding, hardening, and tempering. The steel composition and heat treatment determine how long edges stay sharp.