Library builder

Taking measurements has radically changed since I started building. My everyday measuring tool used to be a 6-ft. folding ruler. Imagine the time it took to measure and cut a board to length, especially one over 6 ft. long. First I had to unfold the ruler, section by section, then measure out the distance on […]

I learned to use the framing square when I was a carpenter in the Navy in the early ’50s. First introduced almost 1 50 years ago, the venerable framing square is still hard at work. Made of steel or aluminum, it has a 16-in. tongue and a 24-in. blade set at right angles to one […]

Bars are solid-steel leverage tools. Depending on the size, a bar can be used for pulling nails, for prying open windows, or for demolition work. A carpenter uses several types of bars, such as the cat’s paw, the flat bar, and the wrecking bar. After the hammer, the nail puller most often used is the […]

Mechanical hands are what carpenters call the many pliers, wrenches, and clamps we use on job sites. When wecan’t tighten a nut by hand, we use a wrench. What we can’t hold with our fingers, we hold with a pair of pliers. When we can’t bring together a glued-up tabletop with our hands, we use […]

Another shaping tool that comes in handy is a chisel. A chisel is often used to cut notches in wood (such as for a lockset) or to shave a bit off a joint to ensure a perfect fit. Chisels come in various sizes. Most car­penters can get by with a set of chisels ranging in […]

Knives have their places in a carpenter’s toolkit. Most every carpenter has a utility knife, and many also carry a pocket knife. A utility knife can be used to open packages, to cut building paper, fiber­glass insulation, composition shingles, linoleum, and drywall, as well as to Safety for cutting tools • When using a cutting […]

Cutting material to size, whether wood, drywall, or even metal, is a big part of what a carpenter does. Today, most big cutting jobs are done with power tools. But there are times when a few simple hand tools are more appropriate. That’s why it’s important to keep a few saws, tin snips, and knives […]

I’ve tried my hand at many jobs. I worked for several years as a farmer. I was a spiker once, laying railroad track. I taught Spanish and carpentry at night for years, and I even worked as a coun­selor for the deaf and for wounded Vietnam veterans. But I always came back to carpentry. It […]