Thread: Things only a handtool can do.

Originally Posted by routermaniac

very hard to match the torque that can be achieved by a hand brace with an electric drill!

I've got an 850 watt drill with a triple reduction gearbox on it, I think flat out it only runs at a few hundred RPMs. It's severly twisted up some auger bits when they caught in a telagraph pole we were drilling. I reckon if we put a bit of hex bar in my drill and the other end in you hand brace the drill would throw you around on the end of your brace. :eek:

Mick the anti-luddite

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

I reckon if we put a bit of hex bar in my drill and the other end in you hand brace the drill would throw you around on the end of your brace. :eek:
Mick the anti-luddite

I'd like to see that!
Yeah - I've got an old Makita with heaps of grunt, too. I use it for sticking big holes in logs, and the damn thing is a menace if the bit jams - nearly twisted my arms off a few times!

But an old ratchet brace is very handy if you have to make a hole up close to a wall or floor - those rightangle attachments for power drills help, but can't get as close as the brace. Mind you, ratchetting a 1/2" hole through 6 inches of hardwood is not something I do by choice!

Ian the occasional Luddiite....

Thanks, IanW, thats teh kind of thing I was looking for........mouldings and profiles on the face of curved? boards seem to be out of the routers capabilities.

Originally Posted by LineLefty

Thanks, IanW, thats teh kind of thing I was looking for........mouldings and profiles on the face of curved? boards seem to be out of the routers capabilities.

Yeah, Adam, though as I alluded to above, some clever sod could probably devise a way to do what seems impossible to me.

The arguments about hand work vs machine work will never go away. I'd like to think I don't take a strong stand on either side, just get the effect I want by the most efficient method available to me. In both pure hand and 'pure' machine work, the skill and attention of the operator can still make a huge difference, though there's obviously more scope for operator competence with straight hand work.

And from another angle, it never ceases to amaze me what skilled hands can do with what many of us would consider the most primitive tools.
Cheers,

[*]Thin-tail dovetails that are beyond the realm of router bits.[*]Peter Byrne mentioned to me that there was some profiles (eliptical??)

I think what I had in mind was trying to match old mouldings, such as when you need a couple of metres of skirting board in your 100 year old house. It is marvellous what can be achieved with a combination plane and a few hollows and rounds. And for one's own furniture making, mouldings can be modified, made unique, with additional emphasis such as from an extra shadow line.

I agree with the skinny dovetailers. The joints are elegant and strong. And not that hard or slow to do. They do not need to be perfect. The gaps are parallel to the joints and are only noticeable to the maker.

How about the shaping of seats with an inshave or scorp? Is there a mechanical method available outside of factories?

Thanks for starting the thread LL. Most interesting

Regards
PB

Originally Posted by peter byrne

[*]
How about the shaping of seats with an inshave or scorp? Is there a mechanical method available outside of factories?
PB

Depends wot you mean by 'factory', Peter, but Arbortech? Belt sander? Router? Chain saw?
Seen each of these used, with more or less success.

And I reckon I can still beat any of 'em with my little plane, for a one-off in any reasonably co-operative wood!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Depends wot you mean by 'factory', Peter, but Arbortech? Belt sander? Router? Chain saw?
Seen each of these used, with more or less success.

And I reckon I can still beat any of 'em with my little plane, for a one-off in any reasonably co-operative wood!

Cheers,

.... I notice you're not prepared to take on an angle grinder though Ian!!



P (I may not be fast, but at least I'm rough.)

Originally Posted by bitingmidge

.... I notice you're not prepared to take on an angle grinder though Ian!!


P (I may not be fast, but at least I'm rough.)

Correct! - I may be decrepit, but not quite as silly as I look!

PS - don't tell any of the true-blue darksiders, but I use one to rough-sand after the plane. Only takes about 4 light passes to clean the ridges off, then I quickly whip out the scrapers, before anyone comes to find out what the noise was.

Cheers,

very hard to match the torque that can be achieved by a hand brace with an electric drill!
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

That depends on the Electric Drill.....
40 years ago Black and Decker actually made decent power tools :eek:
Now a beast like this probably contravenes several strategic arms limitation treaties

I've yet to see an electric Bra

Originally Posted by echnidna

I've yet to see an electric Bra

Perhaps. But mate, I've seen some shockers! :eek:

There are probably very few things that cannot be done with powered tools, but the real question is "would you want to do so if ..."

1) ... the moulding you wish to cut is only 3" long and 1" wide?

2) ... you only need to shave .05 mm off the surface of a tenon to fit in the mortice.

3) ... you need to square the end of a mortise?

etc, etc

There are times when handtools are not only more precise, but SAFER!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by LineLefty

There are a number of tell tale signs of hand tool use in a piece of work. More to the point, there are a number of things that can only be done with hand tools. I can think of a few.

• Thin-tail dovetails that are beyond the realm of router bits.
• Peter Byrne mentioned to me that there was some profiles (eliptical??) that only a mouding plane set can do.
• In-board Beading on panels using a scratch stock.
• Spokeshave work???

Any others?

Give you blisters.

How bout lathe work... pretty hard with hand tools wouldnt you say?