Carpenter's Tools

Carpenter Tools

Carpentry is an ancient trade practiced in Biblical times, and includes the fabrication of structures or structural elements using wood as a building material. Carpenters use a variety of hand tools to size, position, finish, shape and attach the wooden members of a structure. Cabinetry and furniture-making are specialized forms of carpentry.

Hammers

The hammer is probably the tool most associated with carpentry in the public mind. Early hammers were simple metal blocks attached to a wooden handle. The familiar claw hammer in use today didn't appear until the advent of the metal nail. Hammers are useful in a variety of trades and tasks, and there are many types ranging from small jewelers devices to heavy sledgehammers for driving spikes and positioning wedges. Note that nails are a relatively recent invention: In earlier times structures were assembled with pegs to hold the boards and beams together.

Saws

Saws come in a variety of sizes and shapes, designed for specific applications and for use with specific materials. Rip saws have an arrangement of teeth optimized for cutting along the grain of the wood to leave a relatively smooth edge. Crosscut saws have a different tooth arrangement and are optimized for cutting across the grain. Bow saws are H-framed with a thin blade fastened between lathe-turned handles. The top of the saw may be surmounted by a threaded-rod which tightens the blade. The bow saw allows the user to rotate the blade during cutting, for tricky curvaceous patterns.

Solid-metal saws with large teeth were used for sawing ice. Other saws on exhibit include the coping, compass and keyhole saws, which are used for detail work.

Braces and Boring Tools

A brace is a handle for holding a carpenter's drill bit. Several types of braces were used in carpentry, including the essential corner brace for drilling holes in corners. Bits, measuring up to one inch in size, were used with the braces.

Planes

Carpenters used planes for smoothing floors, door panels and other items where splinters or rough surfaces were objectionable. A variety of specialized planes were available for specific tasks.

Mortise, Tenon and Dovetail

A dovetail is synonymous with quality construction. It is one of the best and strongest joints for putting wooden pieces together at right angles to each other and end to end. It is widely used in boxes, drawers, or cabinets. The pins (tenons) on one piece are fan-shaped like a dove's tail, and fit into sockets of corresponding shape in the other piece.Dovetailing is used in cabinetry, especially for the construction of wooden drawers and furniture.

The mortise-tenon joint ranks with the dovetail in terms of good, quality construction. It can be used in framing, such as on doors, furniture, or buildings. It holds up under racking or twisting stresses from any direction.

The end of one part is prepared as a tenon (or tongue) designed to fit into a mortise hole made in the other part. Some early buildings were held together with nothing but mortise and tenon joints. Only a few wood pegs were required.

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