Carpentry

Basic tools and materials

Hammer

A hammer is a tool or device that delivers a blow (a sudden

impact) to an object. Most hammers are hand tools used to
drive nails , fit parts, forge metal, and break apart objects.
Hammers vary in shape, size, and structure, depending on
their purposes. Hammers are basic tools in many trades . The
usual features are a head (most often made of steel ) and a handle (also called a helve or haft ).
Most hammers are hand tools, but there are also many powered versions, called power
hammer (such as steam hammers and trip hammers ) for heavier uses, such as forging.

Carpenters Pencil

A carpenter pencil ( carpentry pencil, carpenter's pencil )

is a pencil that has a body with a rectangular or elliptical
cross- section to prevent it from rolling away.

Carpenter pencils are easier to grip than standard pencils,

because they have a larger surface area. The non-round core allows thick or thin lines to be
drawn by rotating the pencil. Thin lines are required for high precision markings and are easy to
erase, but thick markings are needed to mark on rough surfaces. The lead is strong to withstand
the stress of marking on such surfaces. The pencil is robust to survive in a construction
environment, for example when placed in a bag together with heavy tools. The core is often
stronger than in other pencils.

Carpenter pencils are also used by builders, because they are suitable for marking on rough
surfaces, such as concrete or stone. This shape and lead density aid in marking legible lines with
a straight edge that are clear and easy to follow with a saw blade.

Carpenter pencils are typically manually sharpened with a knife, since sharpeners for round
pencils do not work. Notching the middle of the lead with the corner of a file makes it possible
to draw two parallel lines at once.
The flat pencil is one of the oldest pencil types. The first versions were made by hollowing out
sticks of juniper wood. A superior technique was discovered: two wooden halves were carved
with a groove running down them, a plumbago stick placed in one of the grooves, and the two
halves then glued together—essentially the same method
in use to this day.

Similar pencils (called 'jumbo pencils') are sometimes used

by children. A pencil that is designed for a child rather
than a carpenter would have a softer core, enabling the
user to draw with less physical effort. Carpenter pencils
are sometimes used by artists and designers to draw a
thick line easily when needed. For instance, Old English
letters are easier to draw with a carpenter pencil than with an ordinary pen.

Tri square

A try square is a woodworking or a metalworking tool used for marking and measuring a piece
of wood. The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right angle
(90 degrees); to try a surface is to check its straightness or correspondence to an adjoining
surface. A piece of wood that is rectangular, flat, and has all
edges (faces, sides, and ends) 90 degrees is called four square.
A board is often milled four square in preparation for using it
in building furniture.

A traditional try square has a broad blade made of steel that is

riveted to a wooden handle or "stock". The inside of the
wooden stock usually has a brass strip fixed to it to reduce
wear. Some blades also have graduations for measurement.
Modern try squares may be all-metal, with stocks that are
either die-cast or extruded.

Chisel

A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent
part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard
material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, struck with a mallet, or mechanical power. The
handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or of wood with a sharp edge in it.
Chisel use involves forcing the blade into some material to cut it. The driving force may be
applied by pushing by hand, or by using a mallet or hammer. In industrial use, a hydraulic ram or
falling weight (' trip hammer ') drives a chisel into the material.

A gouge, one type of chisel, serves - particularly in

woodworking, woodturning and sculpture - to carve
small pieces from the material. Gouges most
frequently produce concave surfaces. A gouge
typically has a 'U'- shaped cross-section.

Pull-push rule

The steel tape measure is an extendable steel strip coiled into a container. The tape is spring
loaded. So that as soon as it is released it will automatically return to the case. Steel tapes are
made from 2m to about 10m in length. The shorter tapes are made with a curved, but rigid,
cross section flexible enoughto be rolled up. Long, flat tapes need support over their full length
to avoid sagging. Lack of support can cause reading errors.

There are many tapes made to suit special needs. The

steel tape is made of flexible spring steel. Pocket steel
tapes (push – pull steel tape) are shorter types of steel
tapes. The flexible rigid push pull steel tapes are usually
contained in metal or plastic cases into which they wind
themselves when a button is presses, or into which they
can be easily pressed. A hook is provided at one end to hook over the object being measured so
one man can handle it. The graduations are printed on only one face of the tape. A good tape
will retract automatically and smoothly.

Nail

In woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped object of metal (or wood, called a
treenail or "trunnel") which is used as a fastener , as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as
a decoration. [1] Generally nails have a sharp point on one end and a flattened head on the
other, but headless nails are available. Nails are made in a great variety of forms for specialized
purposes. The most common is a wire nail . Other types of nails include pins , tacks, brads , and
spikes .

Nails are typically driven into the workpiece by a

hammer, a pneumatic nail gun, or a small explosive
charge or primer. A nail holds materials together by
friction in the axial direction and shear strength laterally.
The point of the nail is also sometimes bent over or
clinched after driving to prevent pulling out.

Screw driver

A screwdriver is a tool , manual or powered, for turning (driving or removing) screws . A typical
simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, and a tip that the user inserts into the screw head
to turn it. The shaft is usually made of tough steel to resist bending or twisting. The tip may be
hardened to resist wear, treated with a dark tip coating for improved visual contrast between tip
and screw—or ridged or treated for additional 'grip'. Handles are typically wood, metal, or
plastic and usually hexagonal, square, or oval in cross-section to improve grip and prevent the
tool from rolling when set down.

Some manual screwdrivers have interchangeable tips that fit into a socket on the end of the
shaft and are held in mechanically or magnetically. These often have a hollow handle that
contains various types and sizes of tips, and a reversible ratchet action that allows multiple full
turns without repositioning the tip or the user's hand.

A screwdriver is classified by its tip, which is shaped to fit the driving surfaces—slots, grooves,
recesses, etc.—on the corresponding screw head. Proper use requires that the screwdriver's tip
engage the head of a screw of the same size and type designation as the screwdriver tip.
Screwdriver tips are available in a wide variety of types and sizes ( List of screw drives ). The two
most common are the simple 'blade'-type for slotted screws, and Phillips®, generically referred
to as "cross- recess".

A wide variety of power screwdrivers range from a simple 'stick'-type with batteries, a motor,
and a tip holder all inline, to powerful "pistol" type VSR (variable-speed reversible) Cordless
drills that also function as screwdrivers. This is particularly useful as drilling a pilot hole before
driving a screw is a common operation. Special combination drill- driver bits and adapters let an
operator rapidly alternate between the two. Variations include impact drivers , which provide
two types of 'hammering' force for improved performance in
certain situations, and "right- angle" drivers for use in tight
spaces. Many options and enhancements, such as built-in
bubble levels, high/low gear selection, magnetic screw holders,
adjustable-torque clutches, keyless chucks, 'gyroscopic' control,
etc., are available.

Basic wood joints

Butt joints

A butt joint is a technique in which two pieces of wood are

joined by simply placing their ends together without any special shaping.The name 'butt joint'
comes from the way the wood is joint together. The butt joint is the simplest joint to make since
it merely involves cutting the wood to the appropriate length and butting them together. It is
also the weakest because unless some form of reinforcement is used it relies upon glue alone to
hold it together. Because the orientation of the wood usually presents only one end to long
grain gluing surface, the resulting joint is inherently weak.

Lap joint

Halving lap joints are used extensively in transition and cabinetry for framing. They are quick
and easy to make and provide reasonable strength through good long grain to long grain gluing
surface. The shoulders provide some resistance to racking (diagonal distortion).

They may be reinforced with dowels or mechanical fasteners to resist twisting of the wood.
Miter joint

A miter joint ( mitre in British English), sometimes shortened to miter , is

a joint made by beveling each of two parts to be joined, usually at a 45°
angle, to form a corner, usually a 90° angle. For woodworking, a
disadvantage of a miter joint is its weakness , but it can be strengthened
with a spline.

There are two common variations of a splinedmiter joint, one where the spline is long and runs
the length of the mating surfaces and another where the spline is perpendicular to the joined
edges.

Finger joint

A finger joint, also known as a comb or box joint , is a

woodworking joint made by cutting a set of complementary rectangular cuts in two pieces of
wood, which are then glued. To visualize a finger joint simply interlock the fingers of your hands
at a ninety degree angle; hence the name "finger joint." It is stronger than a butt joint or lap
joint, and often contributes to the aesthetics (appearance) of the piece.

Dovetail joint

A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joinery technique most commonly used in woodworking
joinery (carpentry) including furniture, cabinets, carcase construction , log
buildings and traditional timber framing . Noted for its resistance to
being pulled apart ( tensile strength), the dovetail joint is commonly
used to join the sides of a drawer to the front. A series of pins cut to
extend from the end of one board interlock with a series of tails cut
into the end of another board. The pins and tails have a trapezoidal
shape. Once glued, a wooden dovetail joint requires no mechanical fasteners.

The dovetail joint probably pre-dates written history . Some of the earliest known examples of
the dovetail joint are in furniture entombed with mummies dating from First Dynasty of ancient
Egypt, as well the tombs of Chinese emperors. The dovetail design is an important method of
distinguishing various periods of furniture.
In Europe the dovetail joint is also called a swallow-tail joint or a fantail joint.

Dado joint

A dado (US and Canada), housing (UK) or trench (Europe) is a slot

or trench cut into the surface of a piece of machinable material,
usually wood. When viewed in cross-section, a dado has three
sides. A dado is cut across, or perpendicular to, the grain and is
thus differentiated from a groove which is cut with, or parallel to, the grain.

A through dado involves cuts which run between both edges of the surface, leaving both ends
open. A stopped or blind dado ends before one or both of the cuts meets the edge of the
surface.Dados are often used to affix shelves to a bookcase carcase. Combined with a rabbet
(rebate) on an adjoining piece, they are used to make the rabbet and dado joint, sometimes
used in case goods.

Mortise and tenon

The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the
world to join pieces of wood , mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In
its basic form it is both simple and strong.

P Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon comprises two
components: the mortise hole and the tenon tongue. The tenon, formed on the end of a
member generally referred to as a rail, is inserted into a square or rectangular hole cut into the
corresponding member. The tenon is cut to fit the mortise hole
exactly and usually has shoulders that seat when the joint fully
enters the mortise hole. The joint may be glued, pinned, or
wedged to lock it inplace. This joint is also used with other
materials. For example, it is a traditional method for stonemasons
and blacksmiths .