Hobbies And Interests
Hand Saws
Before table saws and circular saws were developed, wood was sawed with handheld saws. Two basic types were used. Rip saws were used to cut parallel with the grain line of a piece of wooden stock, while crosscut saws were used to cut across the grain. Rip saws are equipped with long, widely spaced teeth, and cross cut saws have more teeth, which are shorter and more closely spaced.
Wooden Mallets
When constructing mortise and tenon framing, large hardwood pegs are driven through the joint for strength. Made of shatter-resistant woods such as dogwood or ironwood, the pegs were driven with large wooden mallets. Some wooden mallets have short handles designed for one-handed operation, while others have long wooden handles and resemble wooden sledge hammers.
Draw Knives
A draw knife was used to begin rounding the corners of square or rectangular pieces of wood. A draw knife is a large steel blade with a wooden handle installed on each end, which is set at a 90-degree angle to the blade itself. A draw knife is pulled, or "drawn" toward the user, as opposed to being pushed away from the user.
Cooper&'s In-shave
A woodworker who specializes in making barrels or kegs is referred to as a cooper. To form the curved inner walls of a barrel, a hand tool called a cooper&'s in-shave is employed. Like a draw knife, the unit is pulled toward the user in an upward stroke. The blade of an in-shave is curved to better accommodate the rounded surface of a barrel. As wooden barrels are still used to age spirits and wines, an in-shave is a tool that has survived the test of time.
Spoke Shave
Wheelwrights and blacksmiths used a tool called a spoke shave to round the spokes used on wagon wheels. Like a draw knife, a spoke shave also has two handles and is pulled toward the user. A spoke shave has a circular center opening equipped with several adjustable cutting blades.
Hand Augers
Before electric drills were developed, woodworkers drilled holes with hand augers. It consists of a long shaft with an auger-style drill bit at the base. An auger bit has widely spaced spiral threads designed to both cut through wood, and to remove the wood chips as it penetrates, creating a smooth walled hole. Augers were used to drill through mortise and tenon joints before wooden pegs were driven into them with mallets.
Screwdrivers
Screwdrivers have been used by woodworkers as long as screws have been around. A vintage screw driver typically is equipped with a wooden handle. When screws were individually cut, they were used in limited applications, such as creating fine furniture or attaching the lock mechanism to wooden muskets. Wooden-handled screw drivers are still manufactured.
Wood Chisels
For creating small apertures in wood, such as a mortise, or the spoke pockets in a wooden wheel hub, chisels were indispensable to wheelwrights and carpenters, A wood chisel consists of a metal shaft equipped with a flat blade on one end. The blade has an angled surface and is designed to shear off bits of wood when struck on the handle. They were often used in conjunction with a wooden mallet.
Lathes
Early woodworkers used lathes driven by either a foot treadle or water power. A lathe holds a piece of stock in a horizontal position and turns it at a high rate of speed. If a woodworker was fashioning fancy spindles, balusters or round, wooden columns, they would have used an early model of a lathe.