Talked to a 70 year old cabinetmaker last weekend who said he still uses a handsaw for half his cuts

He told me he switched to a Japanese pull saw about 10 years ago and now his dovetails fit tighter than anything I can do with a router, so has anyone else found an old school tool that actually beat out power tools in practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola1714d ago

Wait, am I the only one who actually gets this? I've totally had the same kind of moment with a different tool. I mean, I picked up an old Stanley block plane at a flea market last year, just for fun. Sharpened it up myself, which was a whole painful learning process. But now I use it for trimming joints and cleaning up edges way more than I thought I would. It's not faster than a sander, but it leaves this glassy surface that I just can't replicate with sandpaper. Idk, maybe it's just me, but there's something about the feedback you get from a sharp hand tool. You can feel exactly where the wood is dense or has a knot, which a power tool just hides from you. Sorry, I know that sounds kinda crazy, but it really changed how I look at my work.

kelly3384d ago

We forget that power tools let us make the same mistakes way faster - maybe the real win is slowing down enough to actually pay attention to the wood.