Hand Tools
This domain tests identification, correct use and maintenance of the tools a mason, carpenter and plumber carry, and the habit of choosing the right tool for the material.
Measuring and marking
Steel rule, measuring tape and folding rule for lengths; try square for 90 degrees; bevel for other angles; marking gauge and bradawl for wood; plumb bob for verticality; spirit level for level; chalk line for long straight lines. Check a try square by marking a line, flipping the square and marking again: if the two lines coincide, the square is true.
Cutting and striking
Mason: gauging trowel, floating trowel, pointing trowel, cold chisel, bolster, club hammer, scutch, jointer, hawk. Carpenter: rip saw along the grain, cross-cut saw across it, tenon saw for fine joints, chisel, mallet, jack plane, claw hammer, pincer. Plumber: pipe cutter, hacksaw, files, wrenches, die set.
Hacksaw blade choice: 18 TPI coarse for thick soft metal, 24 to 32 TPI fine for thin tube and sheet so teeth do not snag.
Maintenance
Sharpen chisels and plane irons at about 25 to 30 degrees, keep saws set and sharp, oil metal tools, replace split handles, and never use a chisel as a pry bar. Carry tools in a bag, not a pocket.
Worked example
A tenon 40 mm long in a 50 mm wide rail. Set the marking gauge to the mortise depth, mark the shoulder, saw on the waste side of the line, then chisel back to the line. The gap left is the set of the saw; sawing on the line loses the joint.
Traps
Calling a cross-cut saw a rip saw, hammering a chisel with a claw hammer, and forgetting that a spirit level reads level while a plumb bob reads vertical.