Hand Tools and Bench Skills
Hand Tools and Bench Skills tests correct tool selection, safe technique, tool care, and the ability to produce flat, square and accurate work by hand. Practical questions often describe a bench task and ask for the tool, the sequence or the fault.
Workholding and marking out
Hold work low in the bench vice and use soft jaws to protect finished surfaces. Mark out with a scriber, steel rule, try square and centre punch. A centre punch mark stops the drill wandering. Dividers scribe circles and arcs; odd-leg calipers find centres.
Cutting and shaping
Hacksaw: fit the blade with teeth pointing forward, use 18 TPI for thick sections and 24 TPI for thin tube and sheet, tension the blade firmly, and use full strokes with light pressure. Files: single-cut for sharpening, double-cut for fast removal; always fit a handle and clean the file with a file card. Cold chisel: cut away from the body and wear goggles. Taps and dies cut internal and external threads; use the correct tapping drill, apply lubricant, and reverse the tap to break the chip.
Worked example: filing a square edge
Clamp the workpiece so the edge is just above the vice jaws. Select a second-cut file for a smooth finish. File across the edge with both hands, keeping the file flat and using its full length. Check squareness with a try square against the light and file only the high spots. Finish with draw filing, holding the file at right angles and pulling it along the edge, to remove cross marks. Reasoning: checking between cuts prevents over-filing, and draw filing improves the finish without rounding the edge.
Traps
Using a file without a handle, or a hacksaw with the teeth reversed, is unsafe and loses marks. Do not use a file as a hammer or a chisel. Heavy pressure on a fine file clogs it and scratches the work. Keep the bench clear and never leave tools on a machine table.