Shopsmith Forums

If you were inclined to go traditional and not run for the nearest plug-in tool, what 6 traditional tools, would you likely have, as the heart and soul of your wood shop?

Are we going back to Roy Underhill in The Woodwright's Shop era?

I am thinking treadle powered lathe, quality hand saws, brace and bits, chisels, draw knives, hand planes for just six, but depending on your stock and trade, it could vary.

Obviously marking and measuring tools, hammers, awls and the sort are not powered cutting tools.

Is that what you are looking for or have I missed your question?

Interesting question. This is cheating, I know, but if you group tools of similar sorts into groups, then you could say this is 6 tools:

1) kit of saws: rip, cross cut, tenon, dovetail, turning (with sharpening files and jigs)
2) kit of chisels: 1/4" to 1" bevel chisels and a few gouges of varying sweeps (with sharpening stones and jigs)
3) kit of hammers and mallets
4) kit of planes from #3 to #7, rabbet, router and block (with sharpening stones and jigs)
5) Kit of drills: brace and bits, eggbeater and bits, gimlets (with sharpening files)
6) various abrasives and finishes: sandpaper, pumice, oil, wax

If you really insist on just 6 tools and not kits, then I would say:

1) knife (with sharpening stone)
2) cross cut saw
3) hammer
4) #3 or #4 plane
5) tapered file to ream various diameter holes.

but this would be survivalist woodworking to make anything with just those tools. Do-able, but not sure it would be a fun hobby.

The new Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops edition has an article on the Essential hand-tool kit. Many more than six tools, and it it geared toward furniture making.

Layout:

Combo square, marking gauge, bevel gauge, compass, dividers, awl.

Surface Prep:

No. 4 and No. 7 handplanes, card scraper, cabinet scraper, burnisher.

Joinery:

Dovetail saw, carcase saw, set of bench chisels, one inch paring chisel, coping saw, large and small router planes, shoulder plane.

Shaping:

Drawknife, flat bottomed spokeshave, rasp, half-round file, mill file.

Mike

Hammer
Saw(crosscut)
Screwdriver(combination with insertable bits)
Square(combination)
Utility knife
Level

I was thinking of two approaches to this. One would be tools that you would need to do a project and the second would be what tools would you need to make other tools. The second seems more like what I would want to do.

Basic wood working can be done with a few tools, one needs the ability to size the work piece. This could be a saw or an axe. Next would be something to shape the work piece, this could be a knife, chisel, or some such item. An ax could be used for this also. While primitive one tool would be an axe. The axe can do cross cutting and ripping (splitting). You can even use it to mark the wood by drawing the cutting edge along the work piece.

Having a axe I think could pretty much cover most projects but you wanted to make more tools could you do it with just one tool? I'll let you think on that for a while.

Ed

Pocket knife?

JPG wrote:Pocket knife?

Funny you should mention that. I recently had reason to research the word 'jackleg", as in "jackleg carpenter". The condensed excerpt below summarizes the best theory I could find.

The British etymologist Jonathon Green suggested that “jackleg” might be related to the 18th century British term “jack-a-legs,” meaning a simple folding knife with a broad, square blade of the sort used by unskilled carpenters who lacked sophisticated tools. Of course, that just shifts the mystery one step back, leaving us wondering where “jack-a-legs” came from. The etymology of this word remained unknown till not many years ago an old knife was found having this inscription Jacques de Liege, the name of the cutler [knife-maker]. So it seems that this knife-maker, by inscribing his name on his knives, gave us the American slang term “jackleg.”

This is also believed to be the origin of the word "jackknife".

I am researching this topic, because I am interested in this lifestyle:
http://triblive.com/mobile/9150478-96/meyer-village-dog
I have already contacted this man and I am planning to meet him, soon!

Most interesting! Among hand-tool groups, the power tool that they put off discarding, beyond the others, usually seems to be the Bandsaw. Let us know what happens.