Jason Buresh
10-23-2020, 2:31 PM
So it has been about a year now since i converted myself from power tools with a few hand tools to hand tools with a few power tools. It has been an interesting year.
I must admit, i thoroughly enjoy the lack of noise and dust that comes with hand tools. Using a broom to sweep up shavings is much more pleasant than running a noisy shop vac over everything in the shop to suck up dust.
I also discovered that after learning how to sharpen and set up/use hand tools, I dont think I have been less efficient in my wood working. I helped my cousin build a fence this summer and we had to rip a picket, and he was impressed at how fast it can be done with a hand saw
My router and miter saw have only been used a handful of times over the past year, and my table saw has been my most used power tool. Whats interesting is i can make a crosscut just as quickly with a pencil/square/crosscut saw as I can by the time i hook up dust collection and power to my miter saw. Making a bunch of repeated cross cuts or rip cuts or a long rip cut is where power tools excel, but for one off cuts i prefer a hand saw
I also find that using a hand plane is much more enjoyable for me than a power planer, and after learning how to dial in the lateral lever and set the chip breaker, I save myself a heck of a lot of time vs having to sand everything through multiple grits, let alone the cost of sand paper and the dust it produces.
If i had a larger shop with central dust collection and power tools always hooked up and ready to go that might be a different story, but in my little basement shop, i have found that with machine setup and layout that it is usually just as fast, and more enjoyable, to just do the task with hand tools.
Hope everyone is staying safe yet staying productive in our crazy world right now. And thanks everyone for all the advice and answering all my novice questions over the last year. Appreciate all the help and patience.
Jason
I must admit, i thoroughly enjoy the lack of noise and dust that comes with hand tools. Using a broom to sweep up shavings is much more pleasant than running a noisy shop vac over everything in the shop to suck up dust.
I also discovered that after learning how to sharpen and set up/use hand tools, I dont think I have been less efficient in my wood working. I helped my cousin build a fence this summer and we had to rip a picket, and he was impressed at how fast it can be done with a hand saw
My router and miter saw have only been used a handful of times over the past year, and my table saw has been my most used power tool. Whats interesting is i can make a crosscut just as quickly with a pencil/square/crosscut saw as I can by the time i hook up dust collection and power to my miter saw. Making a bunch of repeated cross cuts or rip cuts or a long rip cut is where power tools excel, but for one off cuts i prefer a hand saw
I also find that using a hand plane is much more enjoyable for me than a power planer, and after learning how to dial in the lateral lever and set the chip breaker, I save myself a heck of a lot of time vs having to sand everything through multiple grits, let alone the cost of sand paper and the dust it produces.
If i had a larger shop with central dust collection and power tools always hooked up and ready to go that might be a different story, but in my little basement shop, i have found that with machine setup and layout that it is usually just as fast, and more enjoyable, to just do the task with hand tools.
Hope everyone is staying safe yet staying productive in our crazy world right now. And thanks everyone for all the advice and answering all my novice questions over the last year. Appreciate all the help and patience.
Jason