Woodworking in Afghanistan

i was building a house on an island in columbia , and the carpenters had the same tools .
when i swowed them how to use a skill77 on a generator ,
they would all argue about whos turn it was to straighten the lumber .
snap a line on the crown side , cut , straight scribe other side and cut ,
they also had the only board strecher i’ve seen , lots of hand cut hooked scarf joints !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Proves you don’t need expensive tools to get started with woodworking.

I was recently in Grand Turks and not long ago they had a hurricane that did vast damage to the island. A man I spoke to told me they had no power for 8 weeks on most parts of the island and if it weren’t for hand tools they would not have been able to rebuild their towns.

-- Whether You Think You Can or You Think You Can't, YOU ARE RIGHT!!!

And to think I complain about only having a bandsaw, router, circular, and drill. Once again reminding me that I need to learn how to sharpen and use chisels, planes, etc.

-- James - What's your excuse this time??

I spent a year in Iraq and it is amazing what they come up with to accomplish the simplist tasks we take for granted here in the west.

Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing!

-- John

Yeah it’s amazing for sure what one can do with practically nothing. I think most of us here in the west don’t even have the patience to use only “hand tools” to complete a project. It is a lost art to most of us and I’m a little guilty myself. I was in Honduras, Central America doing some work and they were the same way. Stay safe while your on duty and keep your head down. Thanks for the great post.

-- Ben Kahmann Dayton, OH

This was really a cool post. It’s always interesting to see how craftsman apply the trade in other parts of the world. I bet that guy would put me to shame in the hand tool working department.
Thanks for the post, and I echo Ben’s remarks, keep that coconut of yours’ low.

-- Eric

It is amazing

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I am reminded of the adage that when all you have is a hammer all your problems start to look like nails. Sometimes I think this is a good thing because it is really amazing to see what some people can do with that hammer.

-- Jimmy, Oklahoma "It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing milkbone underwear!"

The best craftsmen in the world use the simplest tools! It’s in the heart, not the tool. More importantly…keep your head on a swivel and return home safe, soon. God bless the US Military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thanks for your service to country. You and the wonderful warriors overseas are the next greatest generation! If you ever make to Rochester, NY, there’s a family here with pen arms ready to serve you dinner! Uh Rah!

-- Max the "night janitor" at www.hardwoodclocks.com

Handtools are not always the slowest. A few years back will channel surfing I saw a demonstration by an Afgan woodworking of making a cabriolet leg with an adz. He was done before I could set my tablesaw!

He had even used the adz to scrape it smooth. NO bench, just held out in front of him, and using his legs when he did some of the scraping.

Alan

-- No good deed goes unpunished!

Perhaps one of the most appropriate posts on LJ’s. I appreciated the reminder. Many of us don’t have the patients to learn hand tools… but I had a recent reminder of the satisfaction I got by sharpening a plane blade and actually getting it to curl back some wood.

Take care over there…

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

My grandfather used mostly hand tools….and in his day a lot of the power tools were in their infancy. He developed an excellent eye for determining whether the wood was square or the joints fit….probably as these folks have learned to do…

The most noteable thing is that people clammer for antiques….pay exhorbitant prices for them….and most of them are hand made….yet they have lasted over the century….whereas I don’t believe most of the mass produced junk today will last a decade….

I bet these fellows can teach alot about joinery….

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

We all know what the mother of invention and ingenuity is.

-- "Preach the gospel always. If necessary use words" -St Francis of Assisi

good call, TD, thanks

-- Thos. Angle

Well that more advanced that the early workers of wood. When you have lemons then make lemonade.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Project or not , it is a worthy post , TD : ) Thanks for sharing your experience with us and stay healthy !

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

That’s a great post and a great reminder. I’ve seen what you’ve done since you’ve been over there, which is great. Thanks for sharing and thanks for serving. Come home safe.

-- John @ Myrtle Beach

I’d love to get some of those old tools, you know they work great. I love the sole on the small smoothing plane, looks like it’s been planed down a bit.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

Thanks for sharing. This is something you won’t see on the news.

-- Which way did they go? Tell me, tell me I must know I'm there leader!!

TexasDawg,

It looks like his main tool chest neatly fits over that concrete pad he’s sitting on.

Is the concrete pad his workbench? (so to speak)

Yes, it’s amazing what is really NEEDED to do a little of something with wood.

Thank you!

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"