How many Galoots do we have here?

I’m more into the noise and speed of the power tools.

But I’m getting my sharpening skills honed, and I do a little hand planing and chisel work.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Hi Jimmy:

I might be a galoot, but I don’t adhere to the dictionary definition that describes a person who is “clumsy or uncouth.” Well—- at least one out of two <grin>.

I build rustic furniture according to my family’s five generation tradition. I lean toward non-power tools but only because I believe they are best for my chosen genre. However, I also believe that I am a skill-based craftsman. Regardless of the type of tools I choose, I place high priority on mastering my tools. You can’t buy skill.

So, call me a galoot if you wish. Meanwhile I’m selling everything that I make and paying a very low electric bill. <grin>

Chorus: “I’m a LumberJock and I’m okay. I sleep all night I work all day.”

-- Randall (P), Rustic Crafter, Morning View, Kentucky, "In twigs we trust."

Jim, I have been leaning more towards handtools lately too but after buying 2 new Lie Nielsen planes I have had to work hard lately to hone my sharpening skills (I really thought that for the money I paid for them a guy coming home with me to sharpen them was part of the deal… darn).

From chisels to plane blades to gouges and more, good sharpening skills is such an important part of basic handtool woodworking. And making it pleasurable. I have had to make a habit of spending probably a half hour of each time I go into the shop just sharpening up stuff. But I have to admit if feels really nice sliding that razor sharp edge through that wood.

Anyway, I’m with you about the quiet and less dust… that’s for sure.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Woodworking has been a rewarding hobby for me. It’s therapeutic in many ways. A certain level of satisfaction and accomplishment comes from using hand tools during my therapy sessions. Truing a joint with a hand plane, that’s giving shavings that you can read through, and leaving a glass finish in its wake is still a big rush for me.

I spent many years frustrated by hand tools due to my own ignorance. I learned to sharpen my tools and my work became better then I ever imagined. I now can concentrate on improving skills, creating more complex projects.

One can argue the virtues of power tools verses hand tools all day, but it is a matter of choice. Work safe, and enjoy your tools, weather or not you plug them in.

-nicky

-- Nicky

I also enjoy hand tools. There is something rewarding about working with wood at this level. I’ve been hunting out old tools and restoring them to use in my day to day wood working. Speed is not an issue, if I was doing this for money, I would probably be going hungery.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I”m in both camps…

Just as likely to take a break from the power tools to pick up a hand one, or vice versa

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

I’m for the right tool for the job at hand. Sometimes it is a hand tool other times it is a power tool.

If all tings are equal I tend to use a power tool, unless it is late at night or early on sunday morning.

-- Peter.

If it’s a tool, I’m all for it. Hand tools, power tools (the more power, the better). It’s it’s made to work wood, use it, if it’s made to work metal, alter it. If it advances the wood trade, buy it.

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

I ama galoot through and through. No electrons are sacrificed in my pursuit of wood butchery.
For me wood working is a way to relax rather then pay any bills, so the time it takes doesn’t make too much difference to me.

-- Geoff Webb, Spokane WA

I call myself a Geezer, I passed Galoot a long time ago. I like power tools for woodworking, but when it comes to carving, you can’t beat handtools.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Arrrgh, more power! I am able to find a meditative calm either in the quiet of handtools or the wondrous cacophony of spinning steel!

-- Living on the square...

Tom(Mot) finally clarified the etiology of the term Galoot for me.
It’s an acronym for: Gregarious Association of Lovers Of Old Tools.
closely related to the term Neanderthal which is one who prefers hand tools to power tools.
I have preferred power tools in all situations, but I have begun to use hand tools when it suits the needs at hand.
And I have been infected with the disease of rehabilitating old handplanes.. I blame David, WayneC and Thos. Angle. Actually it’s rather rewarding.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I use both. However, there is a certain ‘rush’ when using a well sharpened hand plane and you peel off a very thin full length ribbon of wood.

-- Maplewood, MN

Definitely part galoot, part devil tailed tool user. For thicknessing, ripping, and mortising, I rely on power tools, I gotta admit that my plunge router is way better at mortises than am I with chisels. For most all other tasks I use hand tools.

I’m getting to the point in my hand tool use that I need, and want to learn to sharpen my saws. I think that definitely makes one a galoot.

-- Just another woodworker

The best meditation time i find is a piece of sandpaper in my hand. Its like one of the few task in woodworking where you can let your mind wander and run on pure instincts.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

I use both, which ever is going to work best for the situation.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

As my name implys, I’m a Galoot from South Carolina. I love using old hand tools. And I will often opt for them over power tools for rough work when time allows. I don’t feel like you must exclusively use hand tools to be considered a Galoot. YMMV, though. My approach to the mix of power tools and hand tools is to use the power tools for rough sizing and shaping the pieces from a project’s cut list and then use hand tools to do the final sizing and shaping work before glue-up. I prep surfaces for finishing using a card scraper. I’ll resort to sandpaper only when neccessary. I’d say 99% of the time all evidence that power tools will be removed and folks should be and will be unable to tell power tools were used at all. If they say “Gosh, this looks like you made it by hand…” then I’m a happy camper. Because in my opinion, that’s exactly what I did.

I feel the need to clarify exactly when I’ll reach for my hand tools, although it might not be needed. I use hand tools to:
Handcut all jointery (mortise & tenons, dovetails, bridles, etc)
Flatten faces of aprons or boards for table tops
Taper stock for things like table legs. There’s no reason for you to need a taper jig and a TS when a hand plane and/or large chisel will work just as fast.
True up edges for jointing, although sometimes my little benchtop jointer does such a smart job that I don’t need a hand plane.
True up or shave off endgrain on a shooting board.
Drill holes larger than 1/4 inch. The bits for my brace are really sharp and I can control the larger sizes with my brace as well as I can with my power drill. I don’t have a drill press. The brace takes longer but it’s fun to use. It belonged to my father when he was young and I have no intention of retiring it. Most of my prized handtools came from either my father or grandfather. I plan on passing them along to my kids too, hopefully.

My current “relaxation” project is the tool tote that Roy Underhill has in his “Woodwright’s Apprentice” book. I’m doing it entirely by hand… including resawing the sides from 6” wide stock. My cut wandered a bit towards the end of the board causing the sides to be of an uneven thickness, but I can promise you that they’ll look handmade. I’m worried that if I plane out the mistake, I’ll be left with sides that are waaaaayyy to thin. Still, it’s been a fun “no power-tools” project so far.

I started out on power tools but I am trying to incorporate hand tools in to my projects one at a time as I learn about them and get more comfortable with them. My shop is getting quieter all the time.

-- Dust collectors suck.

I too started out on power tools – hand powered tools.

-- We Mackem and Tackem.