Hand tools: selection, safe use, sharpening and maintenance
What the exam tests
Correct choice of hand tool, safe technique, and the sharpening and maintenance routines that keep edges accurate.
Core rules
- A plane iron is honed at about 25° with a 30° microbevel; the back must be flattened first. The cap iron (chip breaker) is set close for difficult grain.
- Sharpening sequence: flatten the back, hone the bevel, raise a microbevel, remove the wire burr on the back, check square and test on end grain.
- Rip saws have chisel-like teeth for cutting along the grain; crosscut saws have knife-like teeth for cutting across it. Set gives clearance; too much set makes a wide, wandering kerf.
- Chisels are for paring and chopping; never use them as levers or screwdrivers. Keep a flat back and a consistent bevel.
- Squares, gauges and marking knives must be checked for square and adjusted, not forced.
- Maintenance: clean and oil metal surfaces, store edge tools protected, avoid rust, and re-dress stones flat.
Worked example
A plane is tearing oak. Check the cap iron: set it about 0.3–0.5 mm from the edge, take a finer cut, and hone a fresh microbevel. If the iron is dull, the cap iron cannot control tear-out. The reasoning: a sharp edge severs fibres; a close cap iron breaks the chip before it lifts grain.
Traps
Honing only the bevel and never flattening the back; over-polishing a microbevel until it becomes the primary bevel; using a crosscut saw for ripping; forcing a chisel; leaving a plane on its sole with the iron extended; sharpening a square out of true.