Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 72

Thread: What is your most used, self made tool?

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    College Station, Texas
    Posts
    305

    What is your most used, self made tool?

    As a despicable, copycat tool maker, I would love to see pictures of the self made tools, that you use the most.

    The tool I reach for most often is one of the simplest that I have made, a scratch awl.



    It started out as a diamond pocket file, but I sharpened the point and glued it into a block of wood. The diamond grit makes it perfect for cleaning burrs on holes. The point lets me scribe and start holes. It even came with a groove in it for sharpening points. It is quite handy for the odd sharpening or fine filing job.

    It fits the hand well, and does not roll off the table. Not much to show off, no amazing craftsmanship, artistry or methods of manufacture. It is however, one of the most useful tool I have.



    Few multipurpose tools do as many things as well. It can also be used to draw bore, enlarge holes and sharpen flat blades but in these cases, it can usually be beaten by a tool intended for the job.



    Bob

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Chevy Chase, Maryland
    Posts
    2,484
    My bench, hands down.

  3. #3
    wow, on so many levels.

  4. #4
    Not counting the workbench, most used would be my marking knife, squares and marking gauges:









    Followed by saws:







    And a few others :

















    I might have a problem .

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Chicago-ish
    Posts
    352
    Actually, you have many solutions!

  6. #6
    WOW! I love hand made tools very nice.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,312
    Blog Entries
    1
    After Robert's fine work, it is almost an embarrassment to show off my marking knife.

    Picture 1.jpg

    It was made from a piece of saw blade and a scrap of rose wood. The ferule is made from a Parker tubing fitting.

    jim
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,450
    Sean, I always love looking at your bench. You do great handwork.

    And Robert, you put me to shame - essentially using tools that you have made for yourself. Beautiful.

    Bob, this is my kind of thread - I love to see the creativity of others expressed in something as simple as a handtool. There is something that is just so right about building with tools you have made (I just said the same thing on Knots!).

    My favourites are really the ones I am using at the time.

    Marking knives are the most used, therefore going to be #1 .... for dovetail and heavy duty ...





    Jack plane in Mesquite and Jarrah ..



    Small smoother in Bubunga ...



    30" Jointer in Jarrah ...



    Small BU smoother ..



    ... and chamfer plane ...



    Brace ..



    Ramped shooting board ..



    Bowsaw ..



    Cutting gauge ...



    I'd better stop there. Too many tools ... ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    extreme southeast Nebraska
    Posts
    3,113
    Marking knives.

    Height setting gauge,

    Back view,

    One of several Bow Saws.

    Tenon Router,
    Last edited by harry strasil; 09-10-2009 at 4:46 PM.
    Jr.
    Hand tools are very modern- they are all cordless
    NORMAL is just a setting on the washing machine.
    Be who you are and say what you feel... because those that matter... don't mind...and those that mind...don't matter!
    By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    Derek,I have seen OLD planes that have add on wooden handles to their blades. Seems like the 19th.C. guys found those non ergonomic planes hard to handle just as we do. And,we aren't using them 12 hours a day like some old time woodworker.

    I like that converted Stanley plane body. I must find an old body and play around with that idea. I might take a light cut off the inside of the old body with a vertical mill before stuffing it. It already has the throat cut,too. Handy.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Southern Illinois
    Posts
    172
    OK my chamfer guide for my block plane looks too sick to post with these fine works. It does see a lot of use though. I used rare earth magnets to hold it on the plane, best thing I could have done. First one used a "clamp" type system, sucked when you do a lot of back and forth to match the grain.

    So did I miss the announcement about SMC turning into a artistic tool makers forum??

    Absolutely beautiful tools guys. I hope I can make something that nice one of these days. I just did my first dovetails today, yuk. Not to bad for my first, and just scraps,so I guess its ok. Got to practice sometime.

    Later,

    Jim

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    extreme southeast Nebraska
    Posts
    3,113
    I modified an old flea mkt woodie block plane into a small chamfer plane.

    Jr.
    Hand tools are very modern- they are all cordless
    NORMAL is just a setting on the washing machine.
    Be who you are and say what you feel... because those that matter... don't mind...and those that mind...don't matter!
    By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand

  13. #13

    Not much to look at, but. . .

    Here are mine. A few mallets, two rebate planes, a marking knife and my prototype frame saw.

    The beat up looking rebate plane is the favorite, and it gets kept in my truck tool box. (Or, Did get kept there until it stopped being water tight. . .)

    I haven't finished the other rebate yet, and the frame saw works adequately, but not really well. Next frame saw gets made with circular mortise and tenon joints on the stretcher and arms.

    And the mallets. . .Turned one last night. Beech, finished with Watco. It might turn out to be as nice a user as the small square faced Sapele mallet.

    The marking knife was made from an old rusty putty knife.

    I have a lot more in the works, but not enough time to finish them right now.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Matt Evans; 09-10-2009 at 4:42 PM.
    Making furniture teaches us new ways to remove splinters.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    College Station, Texas
    Posts
    305
    This is fun, I am already quite used to ripping of Derek, his tools are solid and working, so they are a pleasure to copy. Now I have several more folks to rip off! I love the form of your reamer, Robert, I make reamers on a regular basis, but none of them have the grace of yours. I will have to make a few to match. Harry, I really like the tennon router, it has a better reference surface than an OWT. So I will have to rip it off too!

    Here is another tool of mine, that I think is worth ripping off. A simple enough adjustable square.


    The lock button is set at a skewed angle with a face that almost matches the angle of the groove in the head.




    It will give me a 30, 45, 60 and 90 degree angle easily, and is readily adjustable.


    It is also pretty versatile,







    Bob

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Maine (central)
    Posts
    26
    Just a few for me:

    cutting gauge




    tenon saw



    mallets



    bow saw



    marking knife



    chisel rack (yeah, I know calling it a tool is a bit of a stretch, but it is getting used a lot...)



    Cliff

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •