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Tuning Hand Tools

Collectors pay top dollar for antique handplanes and tools. That speaks volumes about the importance of hand-tool maintenance. When properly kept, a hand tool can perform at the top of its class for generations. The Basics: • Begin with a tune-up: New
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  • Listening To ToolsVideo: Listening To Tools

    with Aimé Ontario Fraser

    The sounds your tools make can tell you a lot about how they're working

  • Tune Up a Card ScraperVideo: Tune Up a Card Scraper

    with Brian Boggs

    A couple of jigs take the guesswork out of sharpening this small but essential tool

  • Tune Up a New PlaneVideo: Tune Up a New Plane

    with Chris Gochnour

    Whether you choose a low-angle or standard plane, an initial tune-up makes all the difference

  • Tuning a SpokeshaveQ & A: Tuning a Spokeshave

    by Chris Gochnour

  • Soup Up Your SpokeshaveSoup Up Your Spokeshave

    by Brian Boggs

    A spokeshave is a very nimble plane, with a short sole that can follow convex and concave surfaces. Any time you have a part that you can’t plane evenly because ...

  • Carving Tool Tune-upCarving Tool Tune-up

    by Ian Agrell

    Carver Ian Agrell tells his students to treat sharpening as an art in itself. More important than the choice of sharpening system is knowing what shape is required ...

  • Soup up a Dovetail SawSoup up a Dovetail Saw

    by Mario Rodriguez

    Mario Rodriguez uses the same types of European-style dovetail saws he started with, years ago, but he modifies the shape and set of their teeth so that they cuts ...

  • Souping Up the Block PlaneSouping Up the Block Plane

    by Richard S. Newman

    Richard S. Newman visited luthier Robert Meadow and explains a few of his techniques. Meadow spent years investigating how edge tools work and regularly hand-planes ...

  • Using Bench PlanesUsing Bench Planes

    by Ian J. Kirby

    For those woodworkers intent on a more developed level of workmanship, the hand plane still has an assured place in the shop. It is unique in its ability to deliver ...

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