Tool Tuesday; Simple Tools

[johan_steele]

Simple tools do so much and look nice doing it. Above are a pair of shaves and a pair of draw knives, one store bought and the other blacksmith made from an old file. All work and work well for my uses. What kind of uses you ask? Well everything from chair legs for furniture, shaping replacement shingles and host of other items that are too rough or too pretty to be thought of as made from such tools.

Some of the old timers will tell you that the only tool a man needs is an axe or hatchet. I beg to differ but that said there is no need to argue with a man who can build a respectable home for himself with no more to hand than a few simple hand tools. I can think of only a few tools that truly are vital. A shovel, an axe, a saw or two, a froe, couple of hammers and mallets, a scribe and marking gauge, good brace and a decent selection of sharp bits, a measure and calipers, a couple of planes, some files and a whet or oil stone to sharpen what needs an edge and a level, plumb bob and square to make certain floors don't tilt too much, corners are square and walls are plumb. Most anything past that is extra and not always unwelcome.

 

[Mike Serpa]

I had to look up froe. Thanks for sharing.

 

[UCVRelics]

I had to look up froe. Thanks for sharing.

Well, What is it?????

 

[JOHN42768]

Draw knives and spoke shaves are both amazing tools to work with.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Well, What is it?????

Hey! If I have to look it up YOU have to look it up. This is going on memory from what I read earlier.

A froe (or frow), shake axe or paling knife is a tool for cleaving wood by splitting it along the grain. It is an L-shaped tool, used by hammering one edge of its blade into the end of a piece of wood in the direction of the grain, then twisting the blade in the wood by rotating the haft (handle).

A froe uses the haft as a lever to multiply the force upon the blade, allowing wood to be torn apart with remarkably little force applied to the haft. By twisting one way or the other the direction of the split may be guided.

 

[Seduzal]

Draw knives and spoke shaves are both amazing tools to work with.

I new what them tools were but I couldn't remember the correct name. I have used those Draw Knives to strip of bark from boards when I was inspecting lumber. The correct name of back was wane at the mill.

 

[EJ Zander]

I would add a watertight bucket to the list. I works for carrying all the smaller tools/ nails to a jobsite in. If water is needed at site bucket can be used for that purpose to. Cooling metal, fire prevention, etc. I have also stored splitting mauls with the head submerged in water in a bucket to keep the handle swollen in the maul head. Corrosion was not a concern on those.

 

[Pollaco]

I have wondered when seeing a picture of a man preparing a hide by "cutting" off the meat and fat with a draw knife if that wasn't the same tool for woodworking.Were they the same or was there one for scraping hides and another one for wood?

 

[63rd Indiana]

Dick Proenneke approves of this post!

 

[Old Soldier]

I have wondered when seeing a picture of a man preparing a hide by "cutting" off the meat and fat with a draw knife if that wasn't the same tool for woodworking.Were they the same or was there one for scraping hides and another one for wood?

They are different. The hide scraper is usually operated AWAY from the user, the draw knife is drawn towards the user. The user often stops the hide/wood from moving with the tool.

 

[3rd North Carolina]

i enjoying using the ones that i have to make what i need to do