Hand Tools

Shinto Saw File

This is one of those “I-don’t-know-how-I-ever-did-without-it” tools. I have always used hand-stitched rasps for shaping and rounding-over, but this works just a well and faster. Parts of it’s speed comes from the two-sided design: 10 TPI on one side for an aggressive rough cut, then 25 TPI on the other for a finer cut. You can quickly shape a surface and then smooth it without changing tools.

The saw file can also be used as a float to produce a flat surface – you might find it handy in timber framing and plane-making operations. The rivets in the saws prevent you from getting right up against the side of a mortise and making a square cut, but you could use it in combination with a file to get your corners.

One drawback – both sides are flat. It hasn’t got a half-round surface like many rasps, consequently you can only cut flat and convex shapes – you’ll still need a traditional rasp to create concave surfaces. But it’s an outstanding tool for most rasping chores.

Faithful 778 Rebate Plane

The Faithful can be set up as a shoulder plane, bullnose plane, or rebate plane – just like the old Stanley No. 78. (Quick review: A shoulder plane has an iron the same width as the body, allowing it to cut to the edge of a vertical surface, such as the shoulder of a rabbet. On a bullnose plane, the iron is set close to the front of the plane, making it possible to cut deep into corners. A rebate plane adds a fence, a depth stop, and a scoring blade so that the tool can be set up to cut precise rabbets.) However, the Faithful differs from and improves upon its predecessor. The fence is mounted on two posts instead of one, making it more sturdy. The depth-of-cut is adjusted by a threaded knob rather than a lever, making it easier to be precise.

Jorgensen Bench Plane

Novice woodworkers ask me to recommend a hand plane that works well and won’t break the bank. Up until now, I have recommended than they search for a pre-1970 Stanley and restore it. Then I tripped over this Jorgensen, and was surprised to find it’s price is similar to a restored Stanley. And it’s just as good as an old Stanley, maybe a little better.

The sole is 10” l(250 mm) long, with a 2” (50 mm) wide iron, making it comparable to a Stanley No. 4 smoothing plane. The plane we bought needed very little tuning. The sole was dead flat and the iron was sharp enough to use right out of the box.

The construction is very similar to an old Stanley, but slightly more robust. The sole is ductile iron, the frog is steel, and the handles are beech hardwood. The big change (for the better) concerns the iron and chipbreaker. Both are machined from O1 tool steel. The iron measures .1095” thick, about 50% thicker than Stanley (.0750”). As a result, there is no chatter. The cut is smooth and precise. And when you hone the blade and lap the sole, it’s even smoother and precise-er. See our video on “Fine Tuning a Bench Plane.

Jorgensen Low-Angle Block Plane

The low-angle block plane is the most used plane in my shop. It is essential for trimming and finessing the parts of an assembly, and the low-angle configuration lets you cut long grain and end grain with equal ease. My favorite is the Stanley No. 60-1/2, one of the most popular planes Stanley ever made. And the Jorgensen look-alike comes very close. It’s heavier than the Stanley yet still fits your hand just as comfortably. The mechanism that advances the iron is simple and straightforward, but I found it benefited from a little judicial tuning. The sharp arrises in the plane iron slot caught on the adjusting disc when you turned it. Easing the arrises with a grindstone and waxing the interlocking parts (for lubrication) was all it took to get it working perfectly.

The thumbwheel under the cap lets you quickly adjust the pressure of the cap on the iron, allowing you to easily change the depth-of-cut and then lock the iron in place. The iron itself is more substantial than Stanley’s (which partly explains the additional weight). This reduces chatter to almost nothing, even when planing end grain. The Jorgensen is sharp enough to be used right out of its package, but a careful sharpening and honing will make this hand tool sing and dance. Lapping the sole also helps, in my estimation. To see how to lap the sole and sharpen the iron, watch our video “Fine Tuning a Bench Plane".

Nicholson 12” Second-Cut Mill File

In case you’re confused about the specifications for this tool, “single cut” refers to the file tooth pattern. A single-cut describes parallel rows of teeth; a double-cut refers to crisscrossing rows that create a diamond pattern. “Second-cut” refers to the quality of the cut. In files, you have fine, second-cut, bastard, and coarse. And “mill” designates the shape of the file itself. I recommend this specific file because I’ve found it works well when sharpening scrapers. In fact, I keep one of these with my scrapers and use it just for that. See this file in action in our video “How to Sharpen a Cabinet Card Scraper”.

Shinto Planer Saw Rasp

With a second handle, this Shinto tool reminds me of a Surform, the rasp-like hand tool that looks like a cheese grater with handles. And the Shinto works very much the same as the Surform, giving you a choice of whether to use it one-handed or two-handed. The difference is that the Shinto is much more aggressive, and you can quickly change between a coarse or a fine cut.

DFM Blued Cabinet Scraper Set

These are the scrapers that we use the most. The spring steel from which DFM makes these tools holds a cutting burr longer than others we have tested. As for the bluing, our scrapers don’t sit still long enough for us to honestly say whether the bluing helps prevent rust, but we can say that it looks cool. If you would like to see two ways to sharpen these scrapers, watch “How to Sharpen a Card Scraper".

Allvodes Exercise Bands

For many years, I sliced up tire inner tubes to make big rubber bands for special clamping operations. Then I stumbled across these “exercise bands” that do the same thing only better. They are longer and wider and come in several different elastic “strengths.” They are invaluable when you have a round or odd-shaped assembly you need to hold together. You can see how I use them in “Clamping 101”.