Early Carpentry Tools
The discoveries of electricity, pneumatics and hydraulics have resulted in rapid changes to carpentry methods over the last 150 years. Prior to these world-changing discoveries, woodworking tools were based on the use of metal hand tools, which have been in use for more than 2,000 years. While power tools allow greater efficiency in construction, early carpenters were able to produce similar results with simple tools made of metal and wood. These early tools were so useful that most of them are still used today.
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Cutting Tools
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To avoid accidental injuries, it's best to securely hang cutting tools. Early carpenters utilized a variety of tools for cutting wood. These tools included saws, hatchets, and axes. Hatchets and axes were generally used in rough-cut applications, such as felling trees, or creating a rough shape for a piece of timber. Saws have been in use since the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt. They were used for cutting lumber to shape and size and for creating joints so that two pieces of lumber could be joined together. Early saws were created by hand, with hand-carved or wrought handles and the teeth of the blade filed out individually.
Fasteners and Adhesives
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Nails have a long history as fasteners for woodworking projects. Fasteners and adhesives have been a key component to woodworking since human prehistory. Early adhesives included tar-like substances found in geological deposits and in the tissue of plants and trees (sap). They also rendered animal tissues to create glue, a practice which continues today. Early fastening methods included nails, wooden pegs and hand-worked joints. Metal nails were mentioned in the Bible. Wooden pegs allowed woodworkers two join to pieces of wood together by pounding the peg through a hole in each piece. This method, commonly known as dowel construction, remains one of the most durable methods for furniture construction. Mortise-and-tenon joints, dovetail joints and other types of joints were used to secure two pieces of wood by creating pressure between the two pieces to hold them together. Glue was also commonly used in combination with these joints.
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Shaping Tools
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Manual planes create flat surfaces. Once lumber was obtained, it needed to be altered to create a piece of wood suitable for construction. Saws continued to be useful in this application, as were knives, draw knives, planes, chisels and awls. Knives could be used for carving and punching holes and remain one of the most versatile tools in a carpenter's toolbox. A draw knife is a long blade between two handles that can be used to shave away pieces of wood. A plane is a similar device mounted on a block that could be pushed along a piece of lumber to create a flat surface. Chisels are thin carving blades mounted on a handle that can be struck to shave away wood in order to create a desired shape. Awls are pounded through a material to create a hole.
Hammers
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Hammers come in a variety of sizes, depending on their intended use. Hammers have been in common use since prehistory. Early hammers were metal or stone blocks mounted on a wooden shaft. Their woodworking application has always been to drive two piece of wood together (in the case of wooden joints) or to pound another element, such as a nail, awl or chisel, through or along the lumber.
Braces, Pliers and Clamps
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Early pliers were of a simpler construction than those in production today. Carpenters throughout history have frequently required devices to hold a piece steady while they work. To this end, clamps, braces and pliers were developed. Pliers are a relatively simple invention but a consistently useful one. The earliest pliers were made from two pieces of wood on a central pivot. Screw-driven vises have been used for centuries, while other types of clamps used lever mechanisms to hold the object in place.
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References
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