Hand tool truisms – what say you?

[Mike Allen1010]

I've been a self-taught hand tool woodworker for 40 years. Over that time I've heard lots of adages, axioms, cliches etc. that capture nuggets of wisdom that apply to our craft. To me, these sayings capture fundamental truths for doing quality work, and if gathered together could form a solid guiding philosophy for somebody interested in hand tool woodworking. I would love to hear the thoughts and insights of my fellow Creekers - what truism/guiding principles do you adhere to? Some common examples might be:

"Measure twice, cut once"

"Having the right tool for the job makes all the difference"

"The most expensive tool is the one you have to replace because the first one you brought didn't work"

I look forward to the groups collective wisdom. All comments are welcome!

Thanks, Mike

[Rob Luter]

My sig line says it all.

[Stew Denton]

For the overly meticulous carpenters in the group (I tend to be a little that way):

"Remember, you are building a house, not a piano."

On using tools appropriate for the size of the job:

"Don't try to force it, use a bigger hammer."

Saying of one of the plant craftsman who would sometimes take chances that something he wanted to try might not be a good idea:

"If the part doesn't fit, force it; if it breaks, it needed to be fixed anyway."

My Dad to either one of his two (at the time) teenage sons who was in too much of a hurry to complete something rather than to do a good job on it:

"Don't get in such a big toot." (We knew exactly what he meant.)

On efficient work practices:

"Plan your work and work your plan."

On the value of becoming skilled at your work:

"Do you see a man skilled in his work?"
"He will stand before kings;"
"He will not stand before obscure men." (Proverbs 22:29)

Stew

[Edward Weber]

While I believe in most of those little cliche's, when I actually here someone say them it drives me nuts.
Many of them contain good advice but they often come off as semi-sarcastic and smart-alecky.

[Dave Anderson NH]

One from our NH woodworking guild which is also applicable here.

We all have both something to teach and to learn.

[Steve Jenkins]

There’s never time to do it right but always time to do it over.

[Prashun Patel]

You can always be flatter, sharper, squarer.

But you may be flat, sharp, and square enough.

Aim for the first but be content with the second.

[Scott Winners]

The more I use my handtools, the sharper they become.

I have heard the tenses and persons switched around a few ways on that one but find it to be valid.

[Stew Denton]

Steve,

I heard that one several times at the plant I worked at over 30 years ago. Always spoken by the plant manager and always directed at the maintenance department. His wording of the truism you list was always "Why is there never time to do it right, but there is always time to do it over."

Stew

[michael langman]

An old time machinist once told me when I was first starting out,"If something is not working out, stop wasting time, and try something else."

[Mark Hennebury]

There are two kinds of people;
Those that sharpen their tools when they are dull.
Those that sharpen them when they know they can be sharper.

[Tom Trees]

Leave the wood as long as possible, for as long as possible.

No matter how many tools you have, If you cant see your work well, you will unlikely be able to get as precise as you can.

It'll be grand... is the famous last words

Love that one Michael :)

Tom

[steven c newman]

You mean something like?

A Planer? I'm the planer, and this is what I use.

Or..."What the rush? Hurrying around merely leads to mistakes...."

[Ray Selinger]

If I'm working hard it's because I'm too stupid to do it the right way.

Sweat the details, the big picture will take care of itself.

[Frederick Skelly]

My sig line says it all.

I was thinking the same. The version posted in my shop is "Dull tools don't work."

[James Pallas]

My uncle said “Never let a day go by without learning something. You will need that someday.” At the end of the day I still review just to check if I learned something. Not always about hand tool work but many times it is.

[Curt Putnam]

Perfection is the enemy of good enough.

From a former military operations planner "Always plan the scapegoat first"

From my good fishing buddy (a general contractor and superb finish carpenter) "Pound to fit and paint to match"

[Andrew Hughes]

The longest road to take is from your head to your heart to your hands.

[Frederick Skelly]

"A job well planned is half done."
(A different variation of one Stew posted.)

[steven c newman]

Yep, well..you'll have that on the bigger jobs...

"Can't see from my house"

Close enough, for the Girls we run around with.....

Looks good from my house....

Hmmm, someone get me the Boardstretcher out of the Tool Trailer.....

" Need a box of holes, and a METRIC Crescent wrench, from the Tool Trailer!"

"Hurry up! Yer burning daylight!"

Never send a Welder's Apprentice to do a Carpenter's Job. Someone is liable to get hurt ( they try to pull nails with a ball pean hammer)

[Jim Koepke]

My first encounter with this was attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi:

“He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

― Saint Francis of Assisi (1182 to October 4, 1226

A variation is attributed to Lous Nizer

“A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.”

― Louis Nizer (February 6, 1902 – November 10, 1994)

Given there times if both said it, Saint Francis was likely to have said it first though in a different language.

jtk

[Doug Dawson]

Said about sharpening:

”What you lack in skill you make up for with enthusiasm.”

[Mike Allen1010]

Perfection is the enemy of good enough.

From a former military operations planner "Always plan the scapegoat first"

From my good fishing buddy (a general contractor and superb finish carpenter) "Pound to fit and paint to match"

Oooooh, those are good- definitely have the ring of authenticity!!

[Jim Ritter]

Putty and paint make her what she ain’t. Often said about boat work.
Jim

[Barney Markunas]

A carpenter working on my house reno a few years ago informed me he would do his best and caulk the rest.

[Lee Schierer]

My motto is never make more than two mistakes in a shop session.

It is wise to quit after two because the third one will either be a dandy or an injury.

[steven c newman]

Dad always said.." A good painter can cover a bad Carpenter's mistakes, while an Undertaker will have to bury a Doctor's mistakes".....


Ever find yourself " Working way too hard, for a Friday"?......Then slow down...".there is nothing we have to do so fast, that we have to think of Safety LAST!"

[John Stankus]

Maybe not an exact fit for the call, but these are ones this thread reminded me of from when I was growing up.

"I cut it twice and its still too short"

"I see said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw"

[Steve Fish]

These are great thanks for posting. A couple from my framing days
putty n paint makes the carpenter what he ain’t
looks good from far but it’s far from good
how much money should I sand into it?

[Kevin Smira]

“If you didn’t do it right the first time, when are you going to find the time to do it over” - attributed to Dale Nish, as told by Rob Cosman

[russell lusthaus]

measure with a micrometer, mark with crayon, cut with a chain saw and pound to fit.

[steven c newman]

There are some Carpenters out there, that harder at NOT getting a job done, than the actual job would ever take.....aka...The Milkman Carpenter.

And...I was trained by some of the best out there...

[Jeff Wittrock]

You can trade time for almost anything, but if you lack patience, all the time in the world won't save you.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks to all for great comments. One of the things I appreciate most about this SMC community is the collective wisdom of the group.

Similar to others, my Dads voice I hear most often “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right “. Somehow that always seems right.

[Mike Soaper]

Similar to others, my Dads voice I hear most often “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right “. Somehow that always seems right.

Which brought to mind "On my honor I will do my best" from the boy scouts

[Jim Ritter]

Do it nice or do it twice.
Jim

[Chris Schoenthal]

Not woodworking, but I've heard people be asked "are you a welder, or a grinder?".

[Derek Cohen]

The one I hear myself utter (too) often is …

”Bugger”!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

A few that have been around for a while:

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle.

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” – Harvey Mackay

"An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision." – James Whistler

"The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures." – Luc de Clapiers

"That's the point of working with one's hands, you see. It gives the mind something else to do besides worry." — Charles Todd

"I like working with my hands. It feels good to build something yourself." — Scott Eastwood

"Working with my hands keeps me sane." — Seamus Dever

"Don't rule out working with your hands. It does not preclude using your head." — Andy Rooney

jtk

[Dave Beauchesne]

A couple from Krenov: 1) '' Anything changes everything'' and 2) '' You can never have too much good wood ''.

Dave B

[Mike Allen1010]

A few that have been around for a while:

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle.

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” – Harvey Mackay

"An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision." – James Whistler

"The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures." – Luc de Clapiers

"That's the point of working with one's hands, you see. It gives the mind something else to do besides worry." — Charles Todd

"I like working with my hands. It feels good to build something yourself." — Scott Eastwood

"Working with my hands keeps me sane." — Seamus Dever

"Don't rule out working with your hands. It does not preclude using your head." — Andy Rooney

jtk

Thanks JK, those are great quotes!

[Edwin Santos]

He who works with his hands is a laborer
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman
He who works with his hands, head and heart is an artist
- St. Francis of Assisi

[Edward Weber]

From my 7th grade shop teacher
"If the tool's not right, the guy's not bright"

[steven c newman]

When ya gets so frustrated, that ya just wants to throw something against the wall.....it is Quitting Time!.....

Put the item down, back away, and call it a day. There is always tomorrow, to try again.

[Mark Hennebury]

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” – Harvey Mackay. "Because you will starve to death" - Mark Hennebury

[Mark Hennebury]

"Craft is something you piss in , Art is something you piss on"

[Mark Hennebury]

"An artist is not paid for his labor.....because he doesn't do any." - Mark Hennebury

[Jim Koepke]

Not specifically hand tool related but it applies:

Every project is a self-portrait of the person who did it.
– Norman Rockwell

jtk

[Joe Tilson]

I've cut it twice and it's still to short!

[steven c newman]

I like working in my shop...Not only does it keep me out of the Bars, but out of jail, too....too broke for the first, usually too tired and sore for the second.

[Jerry Olexa]

1.. Slow down..Take your time..get it right
2. 90% of Handplane issues are usually solved by sharpening...
3..Enjoy the journey
4.protect and shield your face, fingers, thumbs
5..Saw from the side..KICKBACK can be serious

Back to the shop....

[Tracy Roberts]

A task takes as long as it takes.
As you improve at a skill you'll become better and faster, focus on the better.

[Alan Schwabacher]

You pay for what you get. (The other way around is wrong. People will be happy to sell you overpriced crap.)
People who make no mistakes don't make anything.
When people have done something for hundreds of years, there is probably a reason.

Not specifically related to woodworking, but:
"If you drink much from a bottle marked "poison," it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later." Lewis Carroll

[Jerry Olexa]

A few that have been around for a while:

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle.

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” – Harvey Mackay

"An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision." – James Whistler

"The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures." – Luc de Clapiers

"That's the point of working with one's hands, you see. It gives the mind something else to do besides worry." — Charles Todd

"I like working with my hands. It feels good to build something yourself." — Scott Eastwood

"Working with my hands keeps me sane." — Seamus Dever

"Don't rule out working with your hands. It does not preclude using your head." — Andy Rooney

jtk

Jim, these are EXCELLENT!!! Thank you....

[Jim Koepke]

Mike, Jerry, thanks for the kind words and you are welcome.

One of my favorite things on the internet is the plethora of quotes available.

There is even extensive research on the attributions of quotes. Many are attributed to famous people yet there is no record of them saying such words.

One common quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln:


You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

There is no real connection other than some politicians used it in a speech and one may have attributed to Lincoln to add provenance.

It may have come from something much earlier:


… ont pû tromper quelques hommes, ou les tromper tous dans certains lieux & en certains tems, mais non pas tous les hommes, dans tous les lieux & dans tous les siécles.

The spelling “tems” was used in the original text instead of “temps”. Here is one possible translation into English: 2

One can fool some men, or fool all men in some places and times, but one cannot fool all men in all places and ages.

This appeared in a popular 1684 work of apologetics titled: “Traité de la Vérité de la Religion Chrétienne” by Jacques Abbadie who was a French Protestant based in Germany, England, and Ireland.

This information was found at > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/12/11/cannot-fool/

To me this kind of research is interesting.

jtk

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have a cynical version of "Lincoln's" quote for you Jim.

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time.....and that's usually sufficient.

[Jim Koepke]

I have a cynical version of "Lincoln's" quote for you Jim.

You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time.....and that's usually sufficient.

Sadly there are too many people who will believe almost anything.

In my experience people who are trying overly enthusiastically to convince others something is true deserve to be ignored and maybe even in prison.

jtk

[Dave Woodham]

I worked for a small contractor in college and I'll never forget his saying.... "the only difference between a bad carpenter and a good one is that you can't see see the good carpenter's mistakes"

[steven c newman]

Can judge a good Carpenter by how small his pile of scraps are.

They used to say I was too slow....until I pointed out..I only need to do a task ONCE. Most times, the super fast ones? They are back the next day, to redo what they messed up...

[Jim Koepke]

I worked for a small contractor in college and I'll never forget his saying.... "the only difference between a bad carpenter and a good one is that you can't see see the good carpenter's mistakes"

Another in a similar vein, "the difference between an amateur and a professional is how they take care of mistakes."

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Can judge a good Carpenter by how small his pile of scraps are.

They used to say I was too slow....until I pointed out..I only need to do a task ONCE. Most times, the super fast ones? They are back the next day, to redo what they messed up...


This reminds me of a time in training on blue print machines outside of Chicago many years ago. There were two machines being worked on by two teams of two per team. One team felt it was a race. My team partner was more like me feeling our time should be taken to learn all we could dismantling and rebuilding the machine. Of course they finished rebuilding their machine before we finished ours. One problem, their machine didn't work properly.

They had put a clutch gear in backwards. My recollection is we saw this coming back from lunch, shook our heads and chuckled. The clutch gear was so one roller would only turn in one direction. The roller wasn't supposed to turn if the machine was in reverse.

Oops! They tried the machine in reverse and had a big problem.

In typing many years ago the instructors would stress accuracy over speed. The speed will come naturally over time with the repetition of practicing for accuracy. This holds true for many repetitive tasks.

jtk

[Jerry Olexa]

This is a Great thread spiced with intellect and humour.

[Mark Hennebury]

Those who have a plan B. are not committed to plan A.

[Mark Hennebury]

"If you believe that it is human to err, you probably will" Mark hennebury

[Mark Hennebury]

"Learn how to fix mistakes or how to avoid making them" Mark Hennebury

[Mark Hennebury]

"people who say everyone makes mistakes never heard of Alex Honnold" Mark Hennebury

[Daniel Culotta]

"people who say everyone makes mistakes never heard of Alex Honnold" Mark Hennebury

Don't have any wisdom to share, just dropped in to say I love the climbing reference :)

[Mark Hennebury]

Don't have any wisdom to share, just dropped in to say I love the climbing reference :)

Thanks Daniel.

You can learn a lot more about what it takes to do your best woodworking by watching Alex, then you ever will watching any woodworking video or from any woodworking book.

461364

[steven c newman]

"If a hammer won't work.....get a bigger one.."

[Curt Putnam]

"If you believe that it is human to err, you probably will" Mark hennebury

To err is human; to forgive, divine - neither of which shall be company policy.

[Jim Koepke]

Those who make no mistakes make little else.

jtk

[Tom Vanzant]

At least make it close enough to rework. Don McCain, RIP

[Jim Koepke]

Kind of a twist on one said before and often in life, "We can never find the time to do it right because we are always spending our time doing it over."

jtk

[James Pallas]

As far as I know this is mine: “Humbly accept praise, gladly receive criticism” I’ve tried to live by this and in return I’ve gained much knowledge.
Jim

[Bill Carey]

The more you plan the luckier you get.

A badly planned project will take three times longer than expected - a well planned project only twice as long as expected.

If it wasn't for the 'last minute', nothing would get done.

The sooner you get behind schedule, the more time you have to make it up.

[Andre Packwood]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.....unless it's to have fun with hand tools !!,

[Charles Murray Ohio]

Power tools help you make mistakes faster!

[steven c newman]

"What do you mean the "Print" is wrong?" Foundation is already done.......but, facing the wrong direction.

[Shannon Brantley]

Do the easy stuff first, in case we get run off

[Brian Hale]

About sawing, Dad often told me...

Somebody spent a lot of time getting all those teeth sharp, you should try and use them all

As a young pre-teen I had a tendency to use short fast strokes

[Richard Hart]

My correllary to Murphy's Law: If it jams, force it, if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.

[steven c newman]

When a Carpenter gets so flustered, that he tries to smoke his pencil, and gets drunk on a bottle of Pepsi.....then you know it was a BAD day...

There are some carpenters out there...that it isn't even safe to stand behind them.....

[Joe Bailey]

When a Carpenter gets so flustered, that he tries to smoke his pencil, and gets drunk on a bottle of Pepsi.....then you know it was a BAD day...

There are some carpenters out there...that it isn't even safe to stand behind them.....

Don't quit your day job.

[steven c newman]

Retired 6 years ago...