# Top 5 things I wish I knew about hand tool woodworking before I started



## DallasBentley (Apr 13, 2010)

I want to see if others have had the same experience discovering basic truths about hand tool woodworking. Here's the list of things that I discovered about the hobby that I never thought about before:

1) There is a difference between sharp and DIFFERENCE-MAKING sharp.

I knew I'd have to sharpen and sharpen well, but I never expected there to be a performance difference between a marginally sharp chisel and a wicked mirrored-edge sharp chisel. The more you practice, the more sorta sharp is easy to achieve. It's DIFFERENCE-MAKING sharp that takes effort and precision.

2) You shape wood much more than you cut or chop it.

Getting things to length and boring/chiseling holes are just part of the equation. A surprisingly small part. I expect the better you cut and chop, the less shaping involved.

3) That ain't square. This is square.

Until you pull out a try square and winding sticks, you really have no idea why your pieces are not mating properly. If it looks flat, it's probably "sorta flat." How much time do you spend finessing pieces to get them to play nice with one another?

4) It's as much about hiding the flaws properly as perfection.

I discovered this the first time I plugged sawdust in a dovetail that didn't fit so hot. I wonder how many "non-planned" mouldings cover dings and misplaced nail marks?

5) You don't really discover the tools you need from catalogs or forums. Projects beget tools.

I always found shoulder planes neat but marginally necessary until I had to make a mortise and tenon that would be scrutinized. Also, paring work with the chisel can be critical. I had thought chisels were simply for making noise.

What did you discover along the way that turned out to be important?

Dallas


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

That its addicting, gets expensive quick, and restoring them is more fun than you might expect.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Cutting accurately with a hand saw is not easy. But, the difficulties can be overcome with practice.


The "learning opportunities" never end.


If you have the chance to watch and work with a more experienced woodworker, do so.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

a 2" board does not equate 2×1" boards if cut down center


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## TechRedneck (Jul 30, 2010)

Achieveing a flat crisp glass smooth fnish on a project is actually MORE work using sanders than it is using a sharp and well tuned hand plane and a scraper.


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## IrishWoodworker (Mar 28, 2007)

That when I stopped "Playing" woodworking and took the time to learn my hand tools my craftsmanship changed. I had finally reached a fine level of work. Instead of aimlessly jumping into project after project with marginal results I put "Projects" on the back-burner. I purchased a lot of pine and practiced over and over and over and over and over…I practiced surfacing, cutting to line, smoothing, boring, chiseling. Not to complete something. Just to learn it. I always find it very interesting that people in our craft jump right into things without realizing that we have to practice and learn. Sometimes I just go out to the shop and shoot sprung joints and the like. When its time to make the critical cut my soul glides the plane because my mind no longer fights for what it feels is right. Just a couple of my thoughts…...


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## shopdog (Nov 9, 2008)

Perfection is the enemy of good enough.
Part of being a craftsman is being able to turn a mistake into a feature.

You don't need the most expensive tools, 
but it's important to know how to tune up the tools that you have,
and dedicate some time for that.


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## DallasBentley (Apr 13, 2010)

All great words of wisdom.

Very interesting "newplane." I was going to go at an oak bookshelf for my brother, but now I will be making myself a pine prototype first. I will practice sawing quite often, but I eventually get the itch to finish something too.

Ditto on learning from the experienced, ChuckV. I learned more from 8 hours with Frank Klausz than countless hours on the net.

Keep em comin'!


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

You can replace all hand tools with power tools ONLY if you're Norm Abram. In the real world, hand saws, chisels, planes and scrapers make life in a shop easier, and quicker more often that you'd expect.


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## greenco (Nov 14, 2011)

Sharpening is the first step towards good work.


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