Why I Use Hand Tools

People have asked me why I like to use hand tools in my woodworking. It began when I had taken a swing shift job which meant I got home from work very early in the morning. But, that was when I was ready to have some fun in the wood shop. The problem was that turning on those noisy power tools and machines at 2 AM was not going to make any points with my neighbors. It occurred to me that a woodworker in the 18th century didn’t have noisy power tools, just hand planes, hand saws, a mallet and chisels. And, so I began my hand tool woodworking journey. The tools were not easy to come by and it took a long time to learn how to use them well. With machine woodworking, the precision is built into the machine and has a very short learning curve. But, with hand tools, the precision is in the hands and the eye and it takes a lot of time and practice to get it right. It’s a very satisfying kind of woodworking. Hand tools take up a lot less space than the usual compliment of machines, don’t make much noise and are a lot safer. These days, I think of myself as a woodworker and not just a machine operator. True, hand tools are not as fast as machines, but not by much, once you get good at it. I don’t have a swing shift job anymore so I can use my power tools again, but when I want to have some fun, I put those “tailed devils” away and bring out my hand tools.