Thread: Things only a handtool can do.

Oh yeah?

See below for a treadle lathe (foot power!)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Its still a machine not a hand tool... but you do use hand tools on them!

Originally Posted by derekcohen

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

But still can be done by electron burners you just have to have the ability and the jigs also safety there are more people who have gotten cuts from plane blades than from router bits




The trouble with life is there's no background jigs music.

There are lots of things a machine cannot do that a hand tool can:

A Machine cannot produce those satisfying woodworking sounds we love like ssssSShhickk

A machine cannot surgically slice into your finger it just trys to mangle it and rip the whole finger off.

A machine cannot work quietly in the wee hours without upsetting the neighbours or the family

A machine cannot work without a power cord cluttering up your workshop; even the cordless ones have them.

A machine cannot make the multi faceted, multi planed, non-equilateral, unsymetrical, greatpolyhydrondodecagon cuts I can with my modern Spear & Jacksaw tenon saw

Cheers

Oh...and a machine absolutley cannot cut a dovetail......when the power is off


Cheers

Originally Posted by Quizzy

"Oh...and a machine absolutley cannot cut a dovetail......when the power is off"

Thats what gensets are for!

I'd like to see someone install a dynabolt without a hammer drill, sure you could make the hole but would it be good enough for the dyna cage to expand and grip?

No matter how much we debate darkside~sane methods each has its own advantages and strenghts... but in 100yrs time darkside as we know it will be history and our current power tools will be the darkside.(thats if there is any wood left)

a machine can cut a dovetail when the power is off ( they now produce cordless routers)
Without machines where would you get your lumber from

The original thread was Thjings that only handtools can do
A serious question and apart from cutting internal square corners
removing paint tin lids and wanking I have yet to see any thing m/c's cant be adapted to though wanking may have already been adapted to you may know better than me.


The trouble with life is there's no background music.

Originally Posted by Leftyline

Any others? Any joints that can only be done by hand?

Yup the 100mph tape kind or even the cockys fencing wire repair joint!

Originally Posted by journeyman Mick

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

thats a pretty impressive drill or some really dodgy augers

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

Ian, I had not seen your 'little plane' (in the 'Scalloping a Chair Seat' thread) at the time of my response. What a beauty. I am now, for the first time, inspired to get around to making a plane.

Regards
PB

Thanks for the responses all, my question came about because My mum and her partner recently paid about $1500 for a beautiful jarrah buffet. This bloke near her makes them from his garage.

The smaller side drawers had machine made dovertails but the larger centre cutlery drawer had handmade thin-tailed dovetails at irregular intervals. It made the perfect machine-made ones look, well, machined.

NOW......STOP! I didnt want to get into a machine vs hand war. I simply thought it was charming that I could immediately spot the "hand tool" touch on this piece and I was wondering if there wer any other similar tell tale signs. Thats all. Derek, your point is a good one but not specifically what I was asking!

I was wondering if there wer any other similar tell tale signs. Thats all.

Adam,
I had a nice experience in Monticello - Jefferson's home in Virginia. We were wandering through the rooms, had just been told that some of the pieces of furniture had been made by a particular, favourite, slave. My wife caught the side of a cabinet in the right light and said "I can see the plane marks". Those around us were very impressed with this level of competence and made appropriate 'ooh' and 'aah' noises. I couldn't have been more pleased. There are a few plane marks on some of the stuff around here.

Regards
PB

I love my cabinet scrapers, espially on a cold day as they warm up your fingers

Originally Posted by Harry72

Thats what gensets are for!

I'd like to see someone install a dynabolt without a hammer drill, sure you could make the hole but would it be good enough for the dyna cage to expand and grip?

Funny you should say that. I was just reading an old old maintenance book detailing a star shaped punch for just that job. So that's how they did it back then.
On the hand tool question I reckon you could laminate timber more invisibly off a handplane than a jointer.

Cheers
Michael