# What tools do you put in a portable kit?



## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

Just trying to get an idea of what to bring when I travel. Suggestions and ideas are welcome.


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## nailbanger2 (Oct 17, 2009)

My "portable kit" is a full size chevy van, so I don't think you want that list. If you're looking for something you can stick in a trunk, circular saw, jig saw, small router, hammer, tape measure, level, pencil, utility knife, 4 way screwdriver, two adjustable wrenches, speed square, chalk line (blue), batt. drill driver, extension cord. After that, you are losing space for your luggage.


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## ChrisK (Dec 18, 2009)

I do not bring many just for wood tools.

Large to small Screw drivers, combination wrenches, various pliers, pry bar, hammer, duct tape, tape measure, a chisel or two, hose clamps, electrical meter, allen wrenches. Mostly yo get a car running or a bicycle back on the road.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

That will be largely dependent on what you want to do when you travel, and what materials you'll be working with.

When I used to bring stuff to my parents' house to work on stuff, I would bring the following:

*Planes:* a jack plane (#5), a jointer plane (#7), and a pair of smoothers (#4-1/2 later replaced by #5-1/2, and a #3). I also brought a block plane, and depending on what I was doing, I'd bring a router or #45 as well.

*Saws:* X-cut panel saw, pair of tenon saws (one rip, one x-cut).

*Chisels:* The Stanley Bailey set in the leather roll, but later swapped out for Ashley Iles.

Other than that, I had a marking gauge, a combination square, occasionally a pair of dividers, pencil, marking knife, a mallet (hard/soft rubber cheap thing), tape measure, and a handful of clamps that I kept at their place.

Keep in mind that I was always traveling there specifically to work on something, and often used power tools like a circular saw or jig saw, and worked primarily with S4S stock.

If I were going for barebones minimal now, and planning on using rough stock, I'd probably consider the following

Rip panel saw, x-cut panel saw, x-cut tenon, small rip tenon or dovetail saw. Wooden jack plane, #62, #164, #3, #101, a #45 if the work called for it, and a router plane. My Ashley Iles chisels, mallet, combination square, marking knife, a marking gauge (Stanley #77 mortise gauge), tape measure, and my bench pencil with notepad.

If I weren't working with rough cut, I'd skip the wooden jack and probably x-cut panel saw.

I think you'd be surprised with how much you can do with very few tools, if you're creative. I worked that way for a while because that was all I had


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## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

I really thought I put this in the wood carving forum. Oh yes I did. So specifically I mean tools for woodcarving.
Gouges, knives, chisels, mallet, vise? What else. Maybe a saw is required. I suppose this depends on the type of carving, "spoon", "figure","driftwood", "chip". I guess some sharpening stones.

I do like ashley isles. They are probably my favorite gauges. I have a couple of ashley, and some henry taylor, buck some swiss pfeil, and freud. (Now that I know how to sharpen maybe I can get the freud sharp enough to use LOL. So far its been a nice to look at boxed set.)

Good for me to talk this through.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Sorry, I don't use the forum navigation, I use the Pulse page, so I never really know what sub forums things are in unless I make it a point to hunt down the tiny text a the top of the page lol

I'm not very useful when it comes to carving, as I don't.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

A shotgun …. and a shovel.

.


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## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

> Sorry, I don t use the forum navigation, I use the Pulse page, so I never really know what sub forums things are in unless I make it a point to hunt down the tiny text a the top of the page lol
> 
> I m not very useful when it comes to carving, as I don t.
> 
> - Mosquito


Thanks anyway Mos at least you knew it was about "handtools".


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## shovel (Apr 27, 2016)

Depends on how big a kit you want to carry. A friend carries the Warren travel kit that almost would fit in a pocket. Neat kit and a good compromise, but I like my gouges. I carry a fairly large tackle box full of palm tools, and a Burke tote sharpening machine. I guess it would depend on how much room you can spare, or how little you can get by with. Some guys can do all their carving with just a pocket knife, but I'm not that guy…


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## mpounders (Jun 22, 2010)

It depends on where I am traveling and for how long. I take more stuff when I am driving and have more room. If it is just to the carving club for a few hours, then I take a bag of knives, and gouges that I use most often, plus carving glove, a project and a few pieces of wood. If I am going to be gone for several days, I'll add my full size gouges in a tool roll, maybe a cordless Dremel and some sanding cones. I'll often take my sharpener if I think I will be carving enough to need to work on my tools. Sometimes a small vacuum to clean up wood chips.


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## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

Does the cordless Dremel work well at polishing metal?


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## mpounders (Jun 22, 2010)

> Does the cordless Dremel work well at polishing metal?
> 
> - Combo Prof


Depends. I've never used it for that, but I know you can get the small felt buffing things for it. I guess it would work ok on smaller pieces. I've heard a few say they use it for honing their carving tools, but I haven't been impressed with that method or results I've seen.


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## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

> Does the cordless Dremel work well at polishing metal?
> 
> - Combo Prof
> 
> ...


Thanks. I've used the *corded* Dremal for policing small parts, but maybe a cordless one would be easier to use.


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## nailbanger2 (Oct 17, 2009)

Ditto what mosquito said about forum navigation. Sorry to ruin your day by talking about power tools. Ha! No I'm not.


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## DLK (Nov 26, 2014)

My day wasn't ruined. I was just amused. Anyway all of the comments made were useful. As far as which carving tools to bring the answer just might be … all of them.

I had a correspondence with LJ Brit who tells me in Britain and I suppose Europ that there are more travel restrictions on what you can carry with you then there are in the U.S.

In the U.S. depending on the state a knife blade length cannot be to long. Some places a knife can not be over 4 inches others not over 2.5 inches and so forth. So I wonder about a chisel.

On the other hand although possible illegal to carry I am sure no one is going to care if its in the trunk of your car. Heck I have brought home numerous times long pointy things from garage sales.

Its not clear to me what the law is. Maybe I'll ask our chief of police.

Early morning ramblings.


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