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Thread: Thinking of making the switch from power to hand tool WW

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    East TN
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    Thinking of making the switch from power to hand tool WW

    Hello, all.
    I have the usual shop power tools, but I'm thinking of selling most, if not all, and just work with hand tools.
    Could I ask you fellows and gals a question or two? What one or two large power tools would you consider keeping, if any, if you were going to pare down your shop. I currently have a 2hp TS, small benchtop TS, planer, jointer, drill press, band saw, and 1 hp dust collector.
    I don't think I'll be doing any large projects...just want to work more with my hands on small projects, learning hand-tool sharpening and hand tool technique, etc. However, I would hate to sell all my power tools only to regret later for not keeping one or more.
    I'd appreciate any suggestions.
    Carl

  2. #2
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    IME a bandsaw (the larger the better) is the most useful machine in an otherwise unplugged shop.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  3. #3
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    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
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    Bandsaw AND a drill press.......and a grinder.

  4. #4
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    Van and Steven C pretty much nailed it if you want to go 99% hand only. One way to try the transition, without fully committing, is to start working on M&T construction using hand tools only. Use chisels and back saws to chop mortises and cut tenons without resorting to using routers, miter saws, biscuit joiners, Domino, etc. Use back saws to do smaller cutoff and ripping work. Use a smoothing plane to do the final smoothing or face fit up only. Lots of folks have both power tool machinery and hand tools and work with a hybrid approach to the work by using hand tools for the joinery and finishing work only and the power equipment for the preliminary or main mill work.
    David

  5. #5
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    bandsaw, planer
    "You can observe a lot just by watching."
    --Yogi Berra

  6. #6
    The grunt labor in hand tool work is in stock preparation - getting stock straight and to proper thickness. I'd keep my jointer, planer and table saw to do stock preparation and then do the rest with hand tools.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    The grunt labor in hand tool work is in stock preparation - getting stock straight and to proper thickness. I'd keep my jointer, planer and table saw to do stock preparation and then do the rest with hand tools.

    Mike
    Agreed ... if making furniture. If small items, such as boxes, then bandsaw for resawing is the major tool. All the rest can be done with hand tools. Whether you want to is another matter.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  8. #8
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    One way is just to start using hand tools and see which power tools you rarely use. I'd keep the bandsaw over the table saw as it's infinitely more useful. WRT the jointer, if you purchase your stock pre-planed then you could sacrifice this and maybe even the thicknessor.

    Don't think of being a hand tool user as having no power tools. If you have all the time in the world and you're pretty fit then spend all day with a scrub plane and rip hand saw or just use the appropriate power tool to advance the process to a point where you get to use chisels and dovetail saws and hand planes etc.
    "If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"

  9. #9
    I'm a hybrid woodworker. I use machinery to do the heavy work, and handtools to do the fine work. I like the quiet time without the 3hsp dust collector running, or a screaming Dewalt 735 ...handtool work for me is meditative. Keep your machinery for now, and get some good handtools, and see what you gravitate to down the road.
    Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning, the devil says, "oh crap she's up!"


    Tolerance is giving every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.

    "What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts are gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts will happen to man. All things are connected. " Chief Seattle Duwamish Tribe

  10. #10
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    I don´t have any power tools except for a cordless drill.

    If I had the space, I´d love to have a band saw for ripping and resawing. Long ripping sessions start all of my projects, and I´d save a lot of time with a band saw.

    For making and restoring tools I´d like a bench grinder or belt sander. Grinding away steel in large quantities by hand is the other thing that costs me a lot of time.

    In the beginning I really wished I had a drill press, but not having one has payed off, since I´ve become pretty good at drilling plumb free hand now. Now I rarely miss having a drill press.

    Good luck in going towards more hand tools in your shop!

  11. #11
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    Carl, Keep the power tools until you are sure. Pick yourself a project of medium size like a side table. Commit to all hand tool work. Make sure the project has all of the basics, stock prep from rough, ripping, resawing, m&t, dovetails, etc. etc. when you complete that you will have a good idea of how far down the "hand tool only" rabbit hole you want to go before you have to climb back out.
    Jim

  12. #12
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    Aug 2010
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    Everyone has their opinion and all are valid for them. For you? Why sell any of them now (except the small tablesaw)? If you need the space then move them to create some room. I'll bet you find plenty of reasons to continue using them all regardless of your handtool woodworking.

  13. #13
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    Nov 2008
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    Lewisville, Tx
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    Bandsaw and planer would be at the top of the keep list.

    The advice above is excellent. Keep things as they are, do some projects, and keep track of what power tools you've used.

    On a related note, if you're building from plans (magazines, books etc) choose projects that lend themselves to a hand tool approach.

    And if something is getting tedious and can be done efficiently by one of your election-eaters, then put them to work.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    East TN
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    Wow, I am so impressed with all your answers. Good advice and well taken.
    I must confess that I wouldn't even consider selling any of my power tools except for 1) my workshop is in my garage, and even though I have all of my large power tools on mobile bases, it is just so crowded now that it's hard enough to get one vehicle in, let alone two, and 2) in the past 2 years or so, I have not done any large project woodworking.
    I miss woodworking, but it's a hassle to go out in my garage/shop and try moving all the equipment around, so I surmised that I would more than likely do smaller, hand tool type projects if I didn't have the aforementioned problem.
    Thank you so much for your advice. If I do sell some of my machines, I probably will keep the BS and possibly the drill press. They don't take up so much room that it would bother me a lot.
    Carl

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    Bandsaw AND a drill press.......and a grinder.
    +1. I'd also consider keeping the jointer.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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