Types of Carpenter Tools

Carpentry has been associated with everything from sacred text to children's tales--including "The Three Little Pigs" and the big, bad wolf who tries to blow down their house. The common carpenter image may include the carpenter with a hammer, nails and a carpenter square, but the carpenter has a plethora of tools at his disposal.

Hammers

Rocks were the first "hammers." Then someone tied these "rocks" to wood or bone. Hammers advanced as humans learned to make metal. Carpenters use hammers to put nails into wood and pull them out of wood. The hammer consists of a wooden handle and a metal head with three parts: the claws, the face (for pounding) and a wedge on top. Different types of hammers include the ball-peen, straight peen, rawhide mallet, soft metal hammer, riveting hammer, wooden mallet and rubber mallet.

Saws

Saws have a handle and a blade; the handle end is wider than the opposite end. The part of the blade connected to the handle is the "heel," and the part at the other end is called the "toe." The blade's bottom edge has "teeth" that alternatively bend to form two rows. Saws are labeled by how many teeth points they have per inch; this number is stamped on the handle. Teeth are cut into the saw depending on its intended use, cutting with or against the grain. Ripping is when the carpenter cuts with the grain; cross cutting is when the carpenter cuts across the grain.

Planes

Planes are used to smooth the wood, especially those that need to "fit" into place like a door. It's flat on the bottom, and contains a handle and a knob so that the carpenter could use both hands to smooth wooden surfaces. There's the bench plane, jack plane and the block plane. The bench plane is used to smooth wood along its grain. The block plane is used to smooth at right angles to the wood's grain.

Auger Bits

Carpenters use these to put holes in wood that are intended for screws. The bit that starts the boring process is the "screw," which is followed by a spiral twist; these spirals lead to a "cutter," which is near the screw. The twist ends at the shank, which extends into the tang--the part that's placed into a "drill." Cutter diameter comes in three sizes: three-quarter inches, half an inch, and three-eighths of an inch. Hand braces and breast drills are used to hold these auger bits in place.

Wood Chisels

A wood chisel is a metal designed to cut wood; it's attached to a handle. There are two kinds of chisels, the socket chisel and the tang chisel. The tang chisel has a wooden part that goes into the wooden handle. The socket chisel has a base that allows the handle to enter. Firmer chisels are strong and are used for heavy wood carving. The butt chisel is used for small sections, like sections on the door.

Resources

• Some Carpenter Tools