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Hand Tool Posts

Understand Your Hand Tools – Improve Your Woodworking

Hand tools are the core of what we do and how we build.
There’s many ways to approach your woodworking, but I’ve always believed that a minimal tool kit is the best.

Fewer tools means we  get to understand each one that bit better. We learn how they work, and build up skill with less confusion.
And in all honesty, woodworking by hand is simple. So you really can be minimal.

Below you’ll find all our posts on hand tools.
From saws to hand planes, & drills to marking tools.

There’s thoughts on buying, videos on setting up, and ideas for building you own…


Bench Top Wood Lathe

May 6, 2015 By Richard Maguire 31 Comments

bench top lathe

I recently knocked up a couple more commodes and have now turned my attention to the second of the Stooges - The Moravian Back Stool. I'm very fond of this design and whilst the commode was all square this one's all angles and I'm starting out by tooling up. A lathe can be a useful tool for the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Make Your Own Tools, Woodworking Hand Tools, Woodworking Projects

Why Small & Sweet

May 1, 2015 By Richard Maguire 17 Comments

Smoothing planes wooden and metal

  Small Planes Are The Best For Smoothing When writing these articles I hope to provide an insight in to my ways of working. This is never to dictate, and if you read it as though what I do is the right, or the only way to go about things then you could end up confused. But through reading … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Planing, Woodworking Hand Tools, Woodworking Techniques

Smoothing Plane – Buying A Dedicated Plane

April 29, 2015 By Richard Maguire 21 Comments

Stanley Hand planes No. 3 & 5

In one of the recent videos I was whining on about the jack plane, and how feel that the No 5 is the best all round, multi use bench plane. In another video I've also mentioned my love for a nice small smoothing plane, so I thought it'd be worth going through some of my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hand Planing, Woodworking Hand Tools, Woodworking Techniques

Choosing Your First Hand Plane

April 1, 2015 By Richard Maguire 16 Comments

  Which Hand Plane Should I Buy First? That's a question I get asked a lot. If you're getting in to woodworking by hand then I can't recommend the No 5, or equivalent jack plane length of plane enough. It's the most versatile plane and can cover all of your needs of a bench … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Hand Tools, Woodworking Hand Tools

Hand Plane Guide – With VIDEO

March 20, 2015 By Richard Maguire

Bench planes of various lengths

  In this video I take a look at the different types of bench planes, and discuss options such as whether to have wooden or metal hand planes, which lengths of plane I prefer for different tasks, and generally have a good rant on the subject. Choosing & Using Bench Planes. Bench planes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Free Videos, Hand Planing, Woodworking Hand Tools, Woodworking Techniques

Mallet Rant – VIDEO

March 6, 2015 By Richard Maguire 21 Comments

  Here's video blog number one. I'm starting out with a quick rant about 'lumpy' my mallet since this was one of our most repeated comments from the previous videos.   Put an end to tear out - Watch This Video Next … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Free Videos, Woodworking Hand Tools

More On Buying Hand Tools

February 25, 2015 By Richard Maguire 17 Comments

Advice on buying hand tools is always an interesting and provocative subject that has the ability to either enlighten or confuse those new to woodworking. On the surface there are many contradictory approaches to planning your first tool kit, dig a little deeper and this becomes tenfold. Ultimately … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Hand Tools

Smoother Restoration

October 15, 2014 By Helen 21 Comments

Wooden planes can be quick and easy to restore compared with metal ones, as material can be removed quickly with sand paper and chisels, unlike the relatively slow material removal when working with metal. By the same nature though, wooden hand planes can often be extremely worn and warped, which … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Tool Restoration, Woodworking For Beginners, Woodworking Hand Tools

Tool Haul

June 20, 2014 By Helen 35 Comments

All I'm missing now are a few chisels, apparently. I had expected Richard to find me a little saw, and perhaps a plane to show willing. But between conversations at Mr Arnold's recent charity sale, he filtered through boxes and tables and kept adding to his stash. By the end of the day a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Hand Tools, Woodworking For Beginners, Woodworking Hand Tools

Sharpening Stone Types & Preference

April 2, 2014 By Richard Maguire 67 Comments

My favourite type of sharpening stone has always been oil, but these are certainly not the most popular choice for woodworkers today. I think it's important to realise that there isn't one type of sharpening stone that's best for all. It's more a case of choosing the type which best meets your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sharpening, Woodworking Hand Tools, Woodworking Techniques

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