Wood was considered to be one of the first materials that human worked on. That backed the development we can see in nowadays woodworking. As we know, every profession has its specific tools to work with; same is the case with wood working. In early times, wood workers used a variety of traditional woodworking tools for cutting, shaping, and fastening, etc. Some of them are even used in modern world woodworking by skilled hobbyists and professional woodworkers. Nowadays, we use power tools, but in early times, there were no such tools to be powered by electricity, while traditional woodworking tools were handmade such as, mallets, hammers, saws, squares, planers, calibers, sliding bevels, knives, and chisels.
Here we will describe the 7 most traditional woodworking tools by its characteristics below:
- Cutting Tools: Carpenters in early ages used several tools for wood cutting purposes such as axes, hatchets and saws. Axes and hatchets were usually used for the purposes of cutting trees and rough wood cutting
The most traditional woodworking tools in one picture
while saws were used for lumber cutting, as well as for shaping. Saws were hand-made and with handles that were used to well-shaped and carved. There were different traditional woodworking tools for cutting i.e., hand saw, turning saw, compass saws, carcass saw, keyhole saw, and a sash saw.
- Edge and Surfacing Tools: There were different tools they were using for edge and surface smoothing such as various kinds of planers, gouges and chisels. They were used, particularly after placing lumber on the workbench for smoothing the surface of the wood.
- Tools for Shaping: There were different kinds of wood shaping traditional woodworking tools such as saws, draw knives, knives, chisels, planes and awls. After getting lumber, it needed to be shaped well, according to the requirements of its construction. Saws possess great importance for shaping purposes as well. Same is the case with knives as they were used for carving and punching holes. Furthermore, chisels were used to make required shape by shaving wood away.
- Tools for Force Application: Mallets and hammers were traditional woodworking tools with quite extensive importance. These were used for joining two pieces of woods. Hammers were used to pushing nails by force while mallet was used push the tool to join pieces of woods along with gougers and chisels.
- Tools for Holding/Griping: Clamps, vises and holdfasts were traditional woodworking tools for holding or griping wood to the workbench during working in the lumber. Usually, there were built in vises in the workbench of different purposes.
- Measuring/Joining Tools: In traditional woodworking tools for measuring and joining wood, bevels, calipers, squares were used. Minor distances were used to measure with calipers. External distances were measured by outside calipers while internal distances were measured by inside calipers. Bevels were used to transfer, duplicate and measure distances from one to another angle. There are some more kinds of caliper such as divider caliper, odd-leg caliper.
- Boring Tools: Gimlets and bradawls were traditional woodworking tools for boring purposes. Gimlet, that is hand drilling tool, drill bit, auger, brace, were used to make holes or indenting wood. They were hand made by wood workers in early times.
