Tools for the Minimalist?

[Luke Dupont]

So, as I think many of you know, I am working in an apartment, and primarily on small projects.

I have a very, very, very modest number of Japanese tools, and some western tools that I've ordered on ebay just this month (only one of which has actually made it across the pond).

I want to get all of your take on what you deem "essential" for someone looking to tackle a wide range of *small* projects, as in, projects rarely exceeding 3 feet in length, and more often, small boxes, toys, tools, and the like -- so typically under 2 feet in length. I want to be capable of making furniture on occasion, but I doubt I will make much of it -- maybe just the odd shelf, stool, or chest, and most likely never large dining room tables or cabinets and the like.

My starting point is the basics of course:

Marking Tools:
1. Try Square
2. Folding Ruler
3. Marking Knife
4. Marking Gauge (I've been using a Japanese cutting gauge, which is nice for splitting thin wood up to about 3/8" rather than ripping)
Mortise Gauge
Probably don't need a panel gauge or layout square, but can always make them if I do
Same goes for bevels and the like.

Saws:
1. Tenon Saw, and maybe Dovetail Saw
2. Ryoba (in place of a cross cut and rip cut panel saw)... This is perhaps not necessary though, because I intend to avoid resawing and ripping as much as humanly possible. If I need to reduce the width of something, I'd rather just cross cut, split, and plane it. Or go at it with my hatchet, maybe. I have a number of hatchets and Nata, but I guess I'm not including them here as they're part of my "camping / bushcraft" gear.

Chisels:
1. Set of 8 Chisels, sizes 1/8" through 1 1/4"
I find I use every size, including all of the inbetweens and the extremes (3/8", 1/8", etc.)
Much like bits, when you need a specific size, you need it.
I have a few specific sized Japanese chisels, but I just ordered a set of 8 (modern) Stanley Sweetheart Chisels. I prefer vintage chisels, but I don't want to spend so much time and money collecting all of the specific sizes I need, and I like the form factor of the Stanley Sweetheart chisels, so, done.
2. Gouge, maybe something around 1", for bowls, Kuksas, and other fun things
3. Carving chisels? I haven't gotten into carving, but I probably should. We'll see.
Are the Japanese Chisels redundant? Probably. Do I want to part with them? I dunno, I *should*.... There's one I like in particular. I'll keep that one. The rest are cheap and maybe not worth hanging on to. I really should avoid holding on to redundant tools if possible.

Boring Tools:
1. Japanese "Kiri" -- These come in square, triangular, and even spoon and other bits, but typically 6mm and under. I think I'll just stick to one square one for drilling starter holes for nails / screws, and larger bits. These are just way too convenient not to have at least one of, maybe even a couple.
2. Brace and Bits...
I have an egg beater drill and I have used it, but I wonder if I could just do away with it and use the brace exclusively... I'm looking to eliminate redundancy.
I guess it depends whether I see myself drilling a lot of little holes, and whether I am happy with just using a pin vise... I will do a lot of small projects, so perhaps I should hold onto it. Maybe gimlets instead? Am I happy just relying on a few gimlets? I'll have to think about this...

Planes:
1. Smoothing Plane (I went with a Stanley No. 2, of all things. I used to use a No. 3, and managed to make pretty large projects (work benches) with it)
2. Block Plane (I'll keep my Japanese block plane, and maybe even get a few baby planes, such as round bottomed ones and the like)
...maybe a spoke shave? I don't really need a spoke-shave I guess...

Am I missing anything?

What would you add, and way more importantly, what would you *not* add which I should avoid the temptation to buy at some point down the road?

[Mike King]

You are in Japan. Use quality Japanese tools from quality Japanese specialists. Now is the opportunity to acquire good tools and learn to use them. Kana instead of western planes. Japanese chisels instead of cheap western ones. Ryoba and dozuki saws instead of tenon, cross cut, rip, carcase, etc.

Mike

[Andrew Seemann]

I'm not seeing anything that sounds like a straight edge on your list, so I would say a 24" rule or whatever the metric equivalent is if you use metric.

A 6" or 12" combo square is handy. You don't really need a Starrett, a carpenter's one will work just fine.

A 6" or so set of dividers are handy to do circles and lay things out, same with 6" calipers for transferring measurements.

I'm not seeing a hammer, pliers, screwdrivers, etc. on your list. I'm guessing you have them, but didn't include since they are standard tools?

A decent (Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, etc) cordless drill and a set of twist bits (again you might already have and not list). They are just too handy to not have one, and once people know you have one in the apartment, you will become more popular and they might let some of the noise slide a little bit People often romanticize drilling holds by hand, but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. That said, a Yankee push style drill works pretty nice also. I have an old Stanley/North Bros one I keep in my carpenter's box that I use more often than you would think.

I find whenever I get rid of a tool, even one I haven't used for years, I end up needing it 6 months later

[Jim Koepke]

If you plan on making boxes you may want a small grooving plane to make slots for the bottoms and/or tops to fit in.

These are not difficult to make for one size. Otherwise something like an old Stanley #50 or a new Veritas Small Plow plane would do the job.

A rabbet or rebate plane could also come in handy.

Are their mallets on your list?

My eggbeater drills are used as often as my brace. A lot of different types of bits have been accumulated for my braces. For the screwdriver and gimlet bits a special handle was made:

Auger Bit Holder and Tool Find.jpg

A brace is a bit cumbersome for drilling nail or screw pilot holes.

Note: The Auger Handle was disassembled and chucked in the lathe to turn the handle down a touch. Also a pin (made from a nail) was driven through a hole in the shaft of the chuck. The copper ferule was wrapped in a piece of rubber to protect it from the lathe chuck.

A small awl is handy when using small screws for making quick pilot holes for mounting hinges or other box hardware:

Awl Things Pointy.jpgUsing Awl.jpg

This was attaching hinges with #4 wood screws if my memory is working.

Here is a post of mine on a small kit of tools used for working with dowels > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?256011 < There are also a couple of other shop made helpers a few posts in.

jtk

[Colby Campbell]

Router plane? You could buy one or make one.

[Jim Koepke]

Clamps, all kinds of clamps.

jtk

[Luke Dupont]

Thanks guys! Indeed, I left out some things from my list that I have already, namely clamps, hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, files, sharpening stones, etc.

Good suggestions, especially in regards to the dividers, calipers, router plane, etc! And straight edge. I needed this the other day as I was planing the legs of my bench and wondering if they were straight...

I was thinking that I should also add a card scraper for dealing with difficult grain, and an extra iron for my plane. Since I'll only have one plane, I will want one iron that is flatter, and one that has more curvature to it.

A rasp may be useful as well. Or some of those cool files / rasps that actually have shearing teeth, which are common here.

I sort of want a mortise gauge, but am making due with two screws with sharpened heads in a piece of wood for now.

So for sake of completeness, and maybe to help serve as a guide for anyone starting out, add:

- Metal Hammer
- Mallet (I just got in the "Wood Is Good" Mallet that was suggested, and I'm liking it a lot. It definitely is quieter than what I was using before)
- Clamps of all kinds (going to play with making some of my own too, I think)

To make a truly complete list, I guess one would add also:
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Pliers
- Files (Including saw sharpening files)
- Sharpening Stones (of which I have already many, many more than I actually need...)
- Lots of clamps
- Many more things that I'm forgetting...

[Jim Koepke]

Good suggestions, especially in regards to the dividers, calipers, router plane, etc! And straight edge. I needed this the other day as I was planing the legs of my bench and wondering if they were straight...

Making a straight edge is easy and saves a lot of money compared to the cost of a good straight edge.

Here is an article on how to make a straight edge > https://cdn.woodsmith.com/files/issu...raightedge.pdf

This is similar to how my winding sticks were made > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?290331

You also might consider having a second plane. It is nice to have a longer plane to work longer pieces. For the minimalist it might be a #4 & #5. They take the same blade size. Another combination could be a #3 & #5-1/4. The #5-1/4 is a great size for using as a scrub plane with a heavily cambered blade.

jtk

[Mike King]

This thread is pretty amusing. The title was "Tools for the Minimalist" yet it sure appears to be headed into the want not need realm.

And need is a relative term. Convenience and speed are factors that "might" affect one's differentiation between want and need. Take clamps, as some have pointed out. Traditional Japanese woodworking used rope instead of Western clamps. So, are they really "needed?" For a minimalist? Working out of a small apartment in Tokyo? Realize that you have to store all of this stuff as well and that the productivity improvement of a tool is likely affected by it's impact on space to use it, find it, or remember that you have it...

There are many methods of work, even within hand-tool woodworking. The method that you adopt will dictate what tools are essential, which are useful, and which are consumptive purchases.

I have a lot of consumptive tools...

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

While fun to make lists, the minimalist tool set is the one you have already. Buy a tool at a time if your existing set cannot satisfy, taking care to assess before purchase if the limitation is the tool or the user.

There exists no definitive list - only individuals and their circumstance with respect to time money and space.

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

I own a router plane, I'm building a bench at the moment. so far I either don't need the router plane or could go without it. If you are dead set on minimalism I think I would make one at a later date.

[chuck van dyck]

A tool chest that will keep you honest to your pursuit of minimalism!

[Luke Dupont]

This thread is pretty amusing. The title was "Tools for the Minimalist" yet it sure appears to be headed into the want not need realm.

And need is a relative term. Convenience and speed are factors that "might" affect one's differentiation between want and need. Take clamps, as some have pointed out. Traditional Japanese woodworking used rope instead of Western clamps. So, are they really "needed?" For a minimalist? Working out of a small apartment in Tokyo? Realize that you have to store all of this stuff as well and that the productivity improvement of a tool is likely affected by it's impact on space to use it, find it, or remember that you have it...

There are many methods of work, even within hand-tool woodworking. The method that you adopt will dictate what tools are essential, which are useful, and which are consumptive purchases.

I have a lot of consumptive tools...

Mike

Great point. Maybe this thread should be more about methods than tools.

For example, I've always wanted to try the rope thing in place of clamps, and played around with it a very little bit, but couldn't get it to work. I'm sure I just wasn't doing it right, and that's a skill I could certainly benefit from.

[Luke Dupont]

A tool chest that will keep you honest to your pursuit of minimalism!

Great point! I was already thinking along these lines. Hence, I should think about the maximum number of tools I might actually need, make a toolbox to that size, and only own what can fit in there.

[Luke Dupont]

While fun to make lists, the minimalist tool set is the one you have already. Buy a tool at a time if your existing set cannot satisfy, taking care to assess before purchase if the limitation is the tool or the user.

There exists no definitive list - only individuals and their circumstance with respect to time money and space.

This is true and how I would normally go about things, but there are two problems:

1. As I'm working on a project, I'm constantly having to acquire one or two specific tools at a high price, and getting subquality things, as opposed to what I really wanted. This tends to happen with chisels, bits, and the like. So I find it much more economical to just bulk purchase, say, a bunch of auger bits or a complete set of chisels -- things that I know I will need.

2. I find that I often replace the things that were of inferior quality or not exactly what I wanted when I had to buy them now just to continue with a project with something better down the road. I'd rather just buy once. So working out what I really and truly need and going ahead and getting those things saves me the trouble of having to throw away or try to sell tools that I know I will want to replace.

There's also the suggestion lower of making a tool chest of a certain size to hold what I "need", and basically not owning more than can be fit in there. I was already thinking in these terms, so being able to imagine what I do and don't need realistically will help me to establish the right size, I figured.

Lastly, there's the reoccurring frustration of waiting weeks for a specific tool to come in the mail just to get on with a project...

But, you're totally correct in that there is no definitive list, and it really depends on the individual.

For example, for the longest time I've been wanting wooden screw tap and dies, because I like making mechanical things. That's far from something that should be universally needed. But I know I would get a lot of use out of it.

I'm really just looking to establish a "baseline", I guess.