The Awl
The awl is one of the most useful tools in woodworking and perhaps the most basic of them all. Awls help to initiate indentations into which screws, nails, and drill bits will bore. It allows us to mark locations for …
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Category Archives: Hand Tool
What Hand Tool Should You Buy First?
It’s an age-old question I hear uttered hundreds of times a year: What hand tool should I buy first? Without context, the question is impossible to answer. Most times, I fire back several questions that help people understand why I …
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Restoring and Tuning a Shoulder Plane – Part 1
A few years ago, my friend Cambell Albritton gifted me with a small Clifton #410 shoulder plane that he no longer needed. The plane was still in its original box but unfortunately developed a few areas of rust both on …
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Blue Spruce Toolworks Scrapers and Burnisher Review
Tool: Card Scraper and Dual-Handle Burnishers Shop Now Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $21.99 The very first hand tool that I ever purchased was a set of Lie-Nielsen card scrapers back when I was taking high-school shop. Boy, did ̷…
Read moreBowsaw Basics
An ancient European tool that still has a place in the modern American shop. Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Why should you own a bowsaw? Why not? You have many …
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