I became interested in hand tool woodworking in my early 20s when I read James Krenov's books. I was fascinated by the pictures and descriptions of what he was able to accomplish with hand tools. At the time I was starving college student with no tools and no budget. I spent hours pouring over catalogs and books making Wish Lists of tools, "I needed to have" that I dreamed of acquiring. Now 30 years later, I've realized somebody tools I thought I absolutely had to have, I never really use that much and others became fundamental tools I use all the time that really add to my enjoyment of the hobby.
I'm interested with my fellow neanders think are tools that have given them their best "return on investment" -in other words what are some of the tools that have become your MVPs? These could be tools thatare much better than the tool they replaced or a new tool that simply adds a lot of value to your woodworking experience, maybe a tool you wish you would have tried much earlier in your woodworking experience? For me cost is not the most important variable, but certainly a consideration.my thought isthese observations might be of value to those who are in the process of building their toolkit.
For me, here are some that come immediately to mind:
1) A vintage number #5 Jack plane because it's a plane I use most often, it works really well and it's affordable.
2) I got my first quality rasp about five years ago and find them invaluable for shaping curves. I wish I would have learned sooner how quickly these tools remove stock and yet still leave a smooth surface.
3) Cranked neck paring chisels are great for smoothing surfaces that a plane won't reach (half blind dovetails on a lip drawer front for example), trimming joints and establishing the shoulder on a marking knife
to get a straight so cut.
4) Cabinet scrapers, particularly those with curved edges are great for final cleanup of moldings and final finishing of frame & panel construction, particularly when you want to clean up the surface of the vertical member working with the grain, right up to, but not over the adjoining, cross grain horizontal member of the frame.
5) Joinery saws. I did include these in the picture but cutting joinery with hand tools is one of my favorite things. Having the right back saw for the job with the appropriate pitch, tooth configuration (crosscut versus rip) and a nice straight platereally makes my woodworking a lot more fun and productive.
6) Parrafin wax; I have a half-dozen blocks of this scattered all over the shop and I'm always surprised how much easier it makes planes and handsaw's slide through the wood.
7) Lasty a good sharpening system you can use to get consistently sharp edge. Sharp tools always make woodworking more fun!
For the other side of the coin, a couple tools I can live without our are a router table (I seem to get much more consistent results moving the router of the workpiece, rather than the other way around) and a chisel plane. My chisel plane doesn't have any adjustment mechanism so maybe that's my problem. I can never seem to find the sweet spot setting the blade between digging into the work surface and not taking a shaving at all.
I look forward to hearing what you guys think.
All the best, Mike
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