Thread: Minimalist Hand Tool Kit

With regard to shipping Paul, google "Interparcel" as an alternative. 5kg to the states or EU usually costs me about $75.00 and is usually a whole lot quicker than Aust Post.

Cheers
Bevan

Thanks Bevan

I thought this is the way to go. So I punched in the details from here to Slovakia for a 5Kg package. $184. Whoops.

So I tried the same but from Brisbane as i could get a parcel to there probably. $142.

I think they saw (sic) me coming .

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by derekcohen

......The HNT Gordon is a beautiful plane, but it needs to be paired with other planes to be useful. ......

Derek, the HNT jack wouldn't be my first choice, either, but Paul was already bombarded with different opinions as to plane choice, so I was keeping away from that one. I would also advocate a Bailey type plane in these circumstances, for the following reasons: 1) the 45 degree pitch is more suited to the European woods he's likely to encounter, and a bit easier to push around. 2) You can adjust the frog easily enough for coarse & fine work (though experience tells me that you tend to find a middle ground & stick with it ). 3) As already mentioned, a second blade that he can profile for scrubbing can probably be found for little or nothing. A 3 would make a very credible scrub with the frog set back as far as it will sit without fouling the blade on the sole, and if he's going to be tackling pallet wood, he may need to do some pretty extensive tidying-up..

As someone who got by with a single #5 for about 20 years, that would be my choice for a minimalist kit, but if you've got a #3 or #4, and especially where weight is a key selection criterion, that would settle the matter, if I were making the choice. All that said, it's amazing what you can achieve, given the will, even when the tools you have are far from ideal, any half-decent plane would be far better than none!

Cheers,

I hadn't read ian's last post before my reply. Looks like you better start thinking about TWO packages!

This has been a fun post to follow, if nothing else, it shows that we each have a very different idea of "minimalist".

Paul, I think you've been handed (or taken on) an exceedingly difficult task, here. For starters, you've got to second-guess both what he's going to do, and how he'll go about it. For me, the exercise would have to begin with knowing what I intended to do, then thinking backwards how I'd achieve it, using as few tools as possible. That implies using tools that are not ideal for some jobs, but so be it. If I could get there under the weight limit, then maybe I'd chuck in one or two "would be nice to have" tools, but if the goal is 'rustic' style furniture, he certainly won't need any finessing tools.

And as the other Ian says, a hardpoint saw is cheap & available locally, so I would certainly not be sending a good Simonds that he may not be able to maintain - good chance it'll become an awkward albatross, or worse, abandoned to its fate (knowing what sons are like! ). Much as I dislike the feel & action of hardpoints or the surface the less expensive ones I buy for rough work leave, they get the job done, and no maintenance is needed.

One last thought - the word 'journeyman' comes from the 'travelling tradies' of yore, many of whom carried their entire kit on their backs. 'Twould be an interesting exercise to research what a chippie of the day dragged from town to town. They had time to figure out what was essential to cover a range of tasks, & a very strong incentive to remain "minimalist"....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Thanks Bevan

I thought this is the way to go. So I punched in the details from here to Slovakia for a 5Kg package. $184. Whoops.

So I tried the same but from Brisbane as i could get a parcel to there probably. $142.

I think they saw (sic) me coming .

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Regards
Paul

Expensive place to ship to it seems.

Paul,

I've gotten in a bit late on this one, and haven't read every comment, so please forgive me if I give some redundant info...

I would include a 1/4" chisel, or, possibly better yet, I would swap the 1/2" for a 1/4" to save weight. If you have matching socket chisels, maybe you could just send one handle?

I would try to include a second blade for the Jack plane so that he could have more than one option (i.e. smoothing vs material removal), because if he is going to have zero machinery then he will need to use it for roughing as well as finishing and fine tuning.

If the second blade isn't an option, then a card sized scraper is certainly a great tool to have for smoothing and it weighs very little. You could just cut him off a bit of saw plate and file the sides flat if you don't have one laying around.

A combination square, maybe?

I think a marking gauge would be good. If you have a mortise gauge that can have one of its pins removed or displaced, then that may be good as well, but I would go with a standard marking gauge over a dedicated mortise gauge that can't be used as both.

A shoulder plane, maybe? I feel like a shoulder plane could do the job of a rebate plane better than vise versa, so that's kind of a shoddy but acceptable 2 for 1 deal.

How about a router plane blade, and then he can knock himself up a simple router plane in which to use it? That's about a one hour project as long as you don't get fancy with it.

I'm sure I'll think of something else.

Cheers,
Luke

For me, the exercise would have to begin with knowing what I intended to do, then thinking backwards how I'd achieve it, using as few tools as possible. That implies using tools that are not ideal for some jobs, but so be it.

Exactly Ian. That's what I stated earlier, suggesting that Paul and son decide what is to be built. Concentrate on that area. For example, if the aim is to build cheaply, for example, with pallets and green wood, then aim for the tools most used in this area. Otherwise woodworking has a very wide range, and one will quickly create a large supply of tools attempting to cover all bases.

As an example, if it was me going, I'd be aiming at chairs and spoons because it will be cheaper to access green wood, and one does not need a special workshop or bench. Still, a way to clamp and hold wood is required. One could still build tables from pallet wood, but I would not see this as creating fine furniture since such wood can be very variable in quality.

Now, given this focus (keep in mind this is my interest, not necessarily yours), which tools are needed?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Once I get past the buzzer/thicknesser/bandsaw-panelsaw for stock prep. I really only use the panelsaw and router to do accurate stuff like the joinery and shaping. If the world came to an end and I needed to prepare rough timber into good enough boards, I would use a jack saw and a #4 plane and sometimes a coping saw for the bandsaw work. So now I just need to do the joinery which I can use my jack saw but I would prefer a tenon saw, my #4 plane, a block plane (rabbet block would be fantastical), router plane, 4 chisels 1/4" 1/2" 3/4" 1". Now I can shape the parts and add some glamour, but since I have limited tools I will do things along the lines of tapered legs and bevel edges so I use the #4 and block plane for this along with a spookshave. Then smooth the parts with the planes/spookshave/sandpaper and use a tshirt to apply finishes.

so #4 hand plane, block plane, router plane, 4 chisels, jack saw/tenon saw, spookshave. and some marking stuff like a knife, marking gauge, measuring tools etc etc.

Now come to think of it, the hand tool kits they had at trade school for the cabinet makers, and the wood machinists would have to borrow occasionally for a few modules had pretty much exactly as said above.

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

.....A shoulder plane, maybe? I feel like a shoulder plane could do the job of a rebate plane better than vise versa, so that's kind of a shoddy but acceptable 2 for 1 deal.

How about a router plane blade, and then he can knock himself up a simple router plane in which to use it? That's about a one hour project as long as you don't get fancy with it......

Luke, you're overloading the Ark! These are all tools I would class as 'luxuries'. I think you are imagining Paul's care-package as the nucleus of a fully functioning cabinet shop, but it seems to me it has to remain very simple to meet that 5Kg weight restriction. I reckon most jobs done with shoulder planes & routers can be done with chisels - a sharp 1" chisel can be a very versatile bit of kit in determined hands. I still turn to a chisel to cut precision-fit shoulders for tenons, etc., more often than a shoulder plane, which isn't practical until the shoulder is wider than about 50mm or so in any case.

And keeping the 'rustic' theme in mind, there shouldn't be too much complex joinery involved, anyway.....

Cheers,

And keeping the 'rustic' theme in mind, there shouldn't be too much complex joinery involved, anyway.....

Exactly. Rather than dovetail, I would score a shoulder line (knife of chisel), then saw and chop a rebate, and finish with glue and pegging the two parts: panel saw of sorts, chisel, hammer, brace and bit. No tenon or dovetail saw needed. No shoulder plane or rebate plane either.

Regards from Perth

Derek

A further reduction in weight can be achieved by a non ratchet or plain brace. I weighed some this morning and they varied from 750g to 950g.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Originally Posted by IanW

...I think you are imagining Paul's care-package as the nucleus of a fully functioning cabinet shop...

Yeah, that's true. I guess I was thinking of the things I'm most likely to do in the shop, but if I was building pallet wood furniture I suppose that wouldn't really be the case.

I still think that for the value to weight ratio a card sized scraper is an absolute must.

Thank you all so much for your contributions and thoughts. In reality it is an impossible task because

1. We are trying to second guess exactly what Simon will be making.
2. We don't really know what timber he will be using as even pallet timber covers a wide range of species.
3. The weight limit of 5Kg is never going to provide a full kit.
4. I am only sending tools that I already have. I am not buying extra tools.
5. I have my own prejudices on what is essential just as all of you have.
6. I had initially included items that are only partially justifyable and have a sentimental component.

Having said all that, I am taking careful note of suggestions. Apologies to those of you who have suggested wonderous tools, but most of those are ruled out because I would have to go and purchase them. Possibly what I am looking at is a category.

For example do I really need to put in two hand saws? This in fact is the perfect example of sentimentality and prejudice influencing pragmatism. I know that Simon used to buy those orange handled Jack saws for about $12. When they became blunt he used them for cutting gyprock and when they would not longer do that he hoisted them.

I am thinking, without knowing, that he can probably purchase something similar for equivalent money in Slovakia. He may not be able to purchase a rip saw so cheaply however. I may include the rip saw but leave out the crosscut. That means I only need to include one saw file as well.

I really think there is going to be very little "joinery" undertaken. Lap joints, dowel joints and maybe mortice and tenon.

I have taken on board the plane issue. My inclination is to go with the Gordon jack plane but to include two blades. One can be for smoothing and the other for rougher dimensioning. I don't see the need for a scraper as the blade can be used bevel up as a scraper. I could easily throw in a couple of saw plate scraps for that purpose. However, I think we are getting into a level of refinement that is not justified for the work I "think" he is contemplating.

I have cobbled together two more chisels. One needed a new handle and it is drying while I type this post and I have cleaned up the draw knife, which now looks a lot better than my own .

I have also dug out a small wooden plane which could easily be a scrub plane, but I really don't see an application for that so I am only mentioning it in passing.

I am very tempted by the brace and bit, but they are so heavy. I have not dismissed it at this stage.

Regards
Paul

Luke I am very midful of the chisel aspect and am working on that. With regard to overloading the "Ark" , I seem to recall the last lot of tools you shipped required a shipping container or was that just for the pallets ?

Regards
Paul