Hand tools in Woodworking & Workshop

Only Hand tools: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Hand tools stories and video. All of Woodworking →

GuideDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The workbench your grandkids will still be flattening

Mass, real joinery and a top you can plane flat again. Skip the screws and the polyurethane and this bench outlives everyone who uses it.

Make Your First Knife From a Blank Without a Forge

Hand tools on video

Worth an hour of your evening

From channels we rate. Plays on YouTube.

Wood and Shop20 Jun

How to Make Mortise and Tenon Joints with Hand Tools

Wood By Wright Extra16 Sept

How I Got Started in Hand Tool Woodworking And First Projects for the Beginner

GuideWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Rust washes off, but pitting is forever

How to pick the good steel out of a five-dollar box of rusty tools, and have it back at work by Sunday night.

GuideWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Cutting, drilling and filing steel without wrecking the bit

Steel punishes the habits wood forgives. Slow down, clamp harder, add oil, and a $25 file will do work you'll be proud of.

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Pocket screws, mortise and tenon, dovetails, in that order

Three joints cover nearly everything you'll build. Pick the wrong one and the table racks by Thanksgiving.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

6 min read

Start with a cutting board, not a bookshelf

Hard maple, six strips, one bottle of Titebond III, and the mistake that doesn't show up until you oil it.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Bringing a rusty Stanley No. 4 back to work

A car boot plane, a sheet of 80 grit and an evening at the bench will out-cut most of what's sold new in the shops.

GuideWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build a sawbench first, then build everything else on it

Two boards, a box of screws, and four tools you'll keep for thirty years. The best first project isn't a birdhouse — it's the thing you'll work on.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

GuideWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Raise a burr, and the rest of sharpening follows

One skill, one piece of feedback, and about fifteen minutes to learn it. After that your chisels, kitchen knives and axe all get easier.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build a tool tote first, and buy these five tools

One board, one afternoon, no table saw. The project that teaches you square cuts, glue-ups and finish — and gets used for the next twenty years.

The Home Tool Kit Every Woman Should Own and Where to Keep It

Twelve tools, about $350, and a hall closet shelf beats a garage full of stuff you'll never carry upstairs.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

Hand Tools Worth Buying Once and Handing Down

Where to spend real money, where the $9 version is genuinely fine, and how to keep steel alive for forty years.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Sharpen a chainsaw chain by hand, in the right order

If your saw is throwing dust instead of chips, ten minutes with a round file will give you back a saw that pulls itself into the wood.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideHomeWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Stop the Squeaky Floor and the Door That Won't Shut

Most squeaks are one loose nail and most sticky doors are one loose hinge. Both are an afternoon's work, and both tell you something if they aren't.

GuideTradesDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The Tools a First-Year Apprentice Should Actually Buy

Skip the rolling box. Buy the twelve things you'll touch every day, spend where it counts, and let the company pay for the rest.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Sharpen a knife, an axe and a mower blade the same way

Three tools, three angles, one test. Do them in this order and you'll stop guessing whether the edge is actually finished.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Sharpen a knife properly with what's already in your house

No fancy stones, no gadget clamps. A marker pen, something flat, and twenty minutes gets you a knife that slices paper.

That’s everything on Hand tools in Woodworking.

All of Woodworking →

Keep reading in

Hand tools in Woodworking & Workshop

The workbench your grandkids will still be flattening

Build a cedar sauna bench and a backrest worth leaning on

Cheap tools that work and cheap tools that'll waste your wood

Five tools, five projects, and the order to do them in

Three builds with your kids and who does what on each

Make Your First Knife From a Blank Without a Forge

Worth an hour of your evening

Rust washes off, but pitting is forever

Cutting, drilling and filing steel without wrecking the bit

Pocket screws, mortise and tenon, dovetails, in that order

Start with a cutting board, not a bookshelf

Bringing a rusty Stanley No. 4 back to work

Build a sawbench first, then build everything else on it

Raise a burr, and the rest of sharpening follows

Build a tool tote first, and buy these five tools

The Home Tool Kit Every Woman Should Own and Where to Keep It

Hand Tools Worth Buying Once and Handing Down

Sharpen a chainsaw chain by hand, in the right order

Stop the Squeaky Floor and the Door That Won't Shut

The Tools a First-Year Apprentice Should Actually Buy

Sharpen a knife, an axe and a mower blade the same way

Sharpen a knife properly with what's already in your house