Hand tool woodworkers?

Are there any hand-tool-only or mostly hand tool woodworkers out there? I = love the idea of a woodworking group, but since I only use hand tools, lots= of these topics aren't really of much interest to me. I was thinking of u= sing this topic to start that conversation, or I could start a new group if= there is interest.

Thanks, Andy

Reply to
Andy
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=A0I love the idea of a woodworking group, but since I only use hand tools,= lots of these topics aren't really of much interest to me. =A0I was thinki= ng of using this topic to start that conversation, or I could start a new g= roup if there is interest.

Most everyone uses a combination of tools. I don't know anyone who doesn't use any hand tools. But you're right in that there's a preponderance of posts in this newsgroup with power solutions to woodworking.

I was a mostly power tool user and have been drifting to mostly hand for some years now, with the notable exception of my dalliance with Festool stuff. I consider this to be an acceptable cheat. What sort of stuff do you do?

R
Reply to
RicodJour

I have recently made the transition from power tools to all hand tools, so = at this point I am just working on small projects (boxes, shop applicances,= a jewelry tree for my wife, etc.) to improve my hand tool skills. I haven= 't used a single electron in over a year (except for household chores), and= I'm really enjoying the experience. At this point I use hand planes to ge= t all wood to flat and square then start on joinery with chisels, hand saws= , and whatever else I need.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that most woodworkers don't use any hand t= ools, but instead that many lean more toward power tools for the bulk of th= eir work. I think everybody has to decide on the balance between power too= ls and hand tools for themselves, but for me I am trying to do as little wi= th power as possible.

What do you build, and what applications do you use power tools for?

A
Reply to
Andy

Sawmill creek has a "Neanderthal Haven" forum loaded with neanderthals. A lot of knowledgeable people frequent the group.

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of the neander way is making tools, so check out the recent thread where people submitted photos of the tools they made.

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need to register to see the pic however.

Mitch

Reply to
MB

Do you mean non powered tools? Check PBS for a guy that builds everything with non-powered tools. I wish I could remember the name of the show.

Mike > Are there any hand-tool-only or mostly hand tool woodworkers out there? I

love the idea of a woodworking group, but since I only use hand tools, lots of these topics aren't really of much interest to me. I was thinking of using this topic to start that conversation, or I could start a new group if there is interest.

Reply to
Michael Kenefick

love the idea of a woodworking group, but since I only use hand tools, lots of these topics aren't really of much interest to me. I was thinking of using this topic to start that conversation, or I could start a new group if there is interest.

Roy Underhill, "The Woodwright's Shop" on PBS.

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Reply to
Nova

Mike, Roy Underhill is his name and his show is still on. Actually, it was recently picked up for another two years thanks to the sponsorship of State Farm.

And yes, I did mean non-powered tools; I just like the sound of hand-tools better

Andy

Reply to
Andy

On 7/6/2011 5:21 PM, Nova wrote: ...

...

He of the many bandages... :)

--

Reply to
dpb

Lord Roy of the Many Bandages. One for each ten thousand strokes of a hand tool. Life is a risk.

Galoots, UNITE!

-- Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. -- Marie Ebner von Eschenbach

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I love the idea of a woodworking group, but since I only use hand tools, lo= ts of these topics aren't really of much interest to me. I was thinking of= using this topic to start that conversation, or I could start a new group = if there is interest.

Of course there are. Look up the Oldtools email list and you'll have more = info about hand tools and their users than you can fit in various lifetimes= !

Reply to
Noons

picked up for another two years thanks to the sponsorship of State Farm.

I like power tools. Sometimes I think the main reason I make stuff is just an excuse to use my equipment. I would rather spend two minutes walking down to my shop to get my battery powered drill/driver than 1 minute screwing in 5 screws by hand.

Nothing against the neanderthals though, more power to them, no pun intended...

I've watched Roy Underhill many times, and spend most of my time shaking my head at him... why? Still, I respect the heck out of him, one crazy ass dude!

About the only hand tool I appreciate is my planes. A super sharp, super tuned plane is sweet, but still, I love my 3hp, segmented spiral head planer even more. Definition of sweet.

Reply to
Jack Stein

I second Mitch's suggestion of sawmillcreek. I've seen a couple of nice threads tracing an entire build there. Nice. And some of the folks there do really high-end primarily hand-tool work.

Wood Central also has a nice hand-tool discussion group.

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Reply to
alexy

I get the impression that a lot of people don't understand the "why" because they look at The Woodwright's Shop as a woodworking show and Roy as a wood worker.

Of course, it is and he is, but Roy is much moreso a history teacher. Perhaps people don't notice that because e doesn't make it dull. But that's how the good teachers are.

Of course, he's also a great woodworking teacher.

That's why I try to avoid using his show as the basis for comparison for others (like Tommy Mac's show). It is hard to compete with a likeable teacher who is good at his job and has decades of experience at it.

Reply to
Drew Lawson

I just got back from a week long hand work / hand tools class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana taught by Chris Schwarz. It was an amazing week of learning to sharpen all sorts of blades properly (sharp fixes everything,praticing basic hand work skills including sawing boards (straight and true to a line), straightening / squaring boards with hand planes, cutting rabbets, dados, and dovetails all by hand. It was an amazing week with an amazing teacher - especially to see him hand cut dovetails and have them fit perfectly the 1st time without touch up / trimming and other adjusting. I'm also a firm believer in a hand router after trimming a hairs thickness shaving off a tenon to get it to fit perfectly in a mortice. Check out: the school:

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Chris's blog / videos of the class on
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Chris's website:
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if you want more details post a message with an email and we'll continue this privately.

Andy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups. com:

Reply to
notImpressed

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