Hand Tools Only?

Saturday 25th May, 2024

So why should we bother with all these hand tools?

Many makers only use machines and power tools and get very good results. Are hand tools even worth it in 2024?

I mean, machines and power-tools make life easy. Why should we sweat and do all that work when a machine can do it, and no-one will know the difference?

Well, the answer is that our machines can do a lot. They can can dimension the wood for you, making it square and dimentionally accurate. But they cannot tell you anything about the nature of the material that you are sending through. 

A table saw doesn't know the difference between Maple and Oak, but you need to. You need to know in your senses, not just in your head, that one is strong and close grained, whilst the other is soft with alternate hard and soft layers.

Run a hand plane over a piece of Maple and it will feed back information to you through your hands. You will feel the resistance to the plane’s cutting iron in a different way than you will feel Oak, and this feeling will be installed in your physical memory, your body’s understanding of the wood. 

Since we have been human (abut 2 million years) our hands have formed a particularly important part of our intelligence. Working with wood is not just a head-knowledge thing, it’s a hand-knowledge thing.

So hand tools are way to genuinely get to know your material. You will begin to understand how different woods work, finish and join together.

So power tools are great, but hand tools bring you a lot closer to your work.

Until next time,

Stay sharp friends.

~sh

Stephen Hickman
Studio Cabinetmaker