[OP]
Member
I'm a newbie woodworker. I have power tools. I've been watching lots of youtube videos on hand tools and I have to say there is a certain "zen" factor - whatever that is, I'm not sure, but I find it very appealing.
I was thinking everything I do with my power tools and then think how I could every live without them.
The thing that comes to mind is a router and router table.
How do hand tool woodworkers do fancy edge work for say a nice art frame?
Contributor
Sure. They made special (usually wooden) planes for those profiles. You might have to use more than one plane to cut the profile but you can do some very elaborate profiles with hand planes.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
I think a better question is can power tool woodworkers do everything a hand tool woodworker can do? Consider the fact that this was made nearly 400 years ago, and I can guarantee no electrons were sacrificed in this project...Originally Posted by Brian Sommers
ebony cabinet.jpg
Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.
Member
I actually find it better to work with hand tools...I do not have a joiner, planer, radial arm saw, et al taking up room or making loads of sawdust in my shop. I do use power tools, but try to limit them.
FWIW you may want to use lower impact powered tools (hollow chisel morticer, battery drill, band saw, et al) and avoid tools that make dons of noise and dust (table saw, routers, chop saww, etc,).
That is an approach that works well for me, as I try to avoid the noise, dust and danger when i am tired of certain power tools. And Molding planes like Mike was talking about can be a lot of fun to work with....in many cases they do a ncier job of creating trim than routers IMHO. I have repaired and restored a lot of very old furniture, and moldings made by hand often ahve qualities impossible to duplicate with power tools.
Regards,
Chris
Member
Matt Bickford did some blog posts with an introduction to making complex profiles with basic molding planes. Here's one. Scroll around earlier/ later blog posts for others.
http://musingsfrombigpink.blogspot.c...2/frame-3.html
Member
Hand tool skills allow you to build all sorts of things a power tool wood worker would really struggle to build...also think of all of the Sam Maloof and Krenov style modern stuff that is just gorgeous and full of compound curves easily made with hand tools and near impossible with power tools.I think a better question is can power tool woodworkers do everything a hand tool woodworker can do? Consider the fact that this was made nearly 400 years ago, and I can guarantee no electrons were sacrificed in this project...
ebony cabinet.jpg
...or the grace of a Windsor chair made by hand vs one made with all power tools...
Contributor
"Everything is a strong word." Perhaps if I could say "Almost Everything" I would feel better. Actually, as far as finished product, look at any old piece of furniture and likely it's MORE detailed than most new stuff. Yes, everything CAN be done by hand. Some things, however, like bandsaw work and ripping, are sure a lot less fun by hand.
The main thing that is difficult is ripping long, wide boards. It can be done, but the original method is with a pit saw which requires two people, and a pit saw, which is not easy to find these days. Crosscutting is not as difficult, and in fact I much prefer crosscutting by hand rather than (in my case) setting up the folding contractor saw, setting the blade and fence, and making the cut. I'll go for a hand saw almost every time, even when at the big shop surrounded by Unisaws. My students laugh when I grab the handsaw, but when I whiz through a cut, they stop laughing. DISCLAIMER: Obviously a power saw is faster for multiple cuts, or when you already have it there set up. What I am referring to is I'm building something and this board needs to be shortened or mitered, I am going to grab a handsaw. When my students were building 30 park benches, obviously we set up the chop saw and made all the cuts on that. Also if I already have the table saw set up for a similar cut, sure I may hop over to the table saw.
Bandsawing can be replaced by bowsaws, fretsaws, and coping saws. It's no fun, but it can be replaced with them. I would think most of us here with access to a bandsaw would go to it for resawing large timbers, making lots of curved cuts (especially in thick woods) and cutting patterns.
Routing can certainly be replaced. The only issue is instead of multiple bits, you need multiple planes. That gets costly... VERY costly. You can, however, get a basic set of hollows and rounds, snipes bill, a couple of ogees, and combine them in various ways to make multiple profiles. Kind of like this:
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... Imagine that is three profiles combined on one board to make a complex profile.
Drilling- use a brace. Very simple, much more rewarding.
Morticing- Mortice chisels. Oh boy, I love chopping mortices, especially if I am particularly angry about something. Nothing relieves stress like chopping mortices by hand.
Dadoes- you have many options- A router plane, rabbeting plane, or even a saw and chisel.
I mean, really we could go on forever. Certainly power tools make faster work of certain things, but there is a certain joy and rewarding feeling of doing it all by hand. For me it's about the journey, not the destination. I guess that's why I'm more of a sailor than a powerboat guy. :-)
Contributor
As has already been said, my thoughts tend toward the things power tools can not do:
223 Reed Cutter.jpg
Cutting reads in a wide board is hard to do with a powered tool that doesn't cost a fortune.
Here is a post on making some simple molding:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...Simple-Molding
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Yes, and the best part is that you do not need to tool up to very high levels to make comparable quality. Here is a for instance, if you wanted to make a surface comparable to that produced by a hand plane in terms of sheen, with power tools you would need a large jointer, thicknesser and surfacer.....translated into dollars that is about 75k for anything door panel sized.
For a large shop, that turns out that sort of quality, that's a worthwhile proposition. For a one man shop with low volume that is not a value proposition.
For moldings I think the absolute best part of using hand tools.....no sanding. You can cut the profile on a router, but you will be sanding and that sanding has an effect on the profile. If you cut the moldings and do so well, you will be looking at nicely cut surfaces that do not require sanding.
Look at making small parts by hand as practice for making large parts by hand. When you can surface table tops and large panels by hand in your tiny hand tools shop you will see the benefit of hand tools.
I've had people actually ask me if I was kidding with them when I tell them that the majority of my finished surfaces are not sanded. One would not believe me until I actually showed him right there while he watched.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 03-02-2016 at 3:46 PM.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Member
When I make handles, like saw handles and now plane handles, I feel this is something that would be extremely hard to do with a machine, while with a gouge, a rasp and a scraper it is quick work. The shapes of the countours are rather complex for a machine. And when you are finished and the job worked out well, you have something nice that still has a distinct handmade look and feel to it.
Maybe on some 3D router you could come close, but it would still be very hard to get the "human" look.
Member
There are things that can only be done by hand, such as beadings inside a frame, without rounded corners, or a lamb's tongue, terminating a chamfer.
If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.
Member
Read Bickfords book "Mouldings in practice." I came away from my reading believing I could reproduce any moulding I wanted with a few simple tools. Hell, I don't have either a snipes mouth or a side round, and I bet I could still reproduce a pretty fair number of moulding profiles. And, as I have said many times before, I am a marginally talented woodworker at best.
I will will say this. I sold one traded all my routers, bits and table a few months ago. Don't miss them at all.
Paul
Member
I am 100% a power tool woodworker - - well almost. I once took a tour of Williamsburg, VA and inspected some of the exquisite furniture there that had been built there centuries ago. Based on that experience, I would say that just about anything that can be done with wood can be done with nothing but hand tools. I just don't have the patience or skill and have no desire to learn.
Contributor
This really is the heart of the issue. The original poster (and anyone else) can do things with hand tools, if he wants to spend the time and effort acquiring the tools, and learning to use and maintain them. It is not something that everyone finds rewarding. I would say start small, with something that interests you. If you find "zen" in hand planes, get a plane and try to put it to work. If you enjoy it you can expand, and if you don't, you don't have to resell the entire Lie Nielsen catalog.
Member
SHOOT! Now I got that "Anything you can do I can do better" song in my head. I think Malcolm explained it well. Expert work can definitely be done through only hand tools. As of now, I have my fingers in just about every type of woodwork I can think of, and refuse to use power tools. If you have the right tools there isn't anything you can't do with hand tools and all with no buttons, no flips to switch, just the nice feeling of aching and stiff muscles in the morning. But you get used to it!
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