Hand tools or power tools?

This is not a new debate, but it is certainly one which every furniture maker battles with, and it is not quite as clear as it may initially appear.

Centuries of technological advancements have revolutionised the ways in which a piece of furniture can be made by an individual. Certain jobs that used to take 5 hours, can now be done in 5 minutes. Furniture may be made quicker now, and cause less fatigue to the maker, but at what cost?

It comes as a surprise to most, but when you are aiming for real accuracy and precision, hand tools are the way to go. If you want a scratch free, smooth surface then again, hand tools are your friend. Power tools are fast and efficient, but unforgiving. Your trust is placed entirely in them to complete the task without causing any damage.

When using hand tools, without even realising it you make millions of tiny adjustments with your hands and your body. You are listening to the wood, feeling if you are about to tear the grain, or if there is a particular rough patch that needs your attention. You can remove fractions of a millimetre at a time, until the fit is perfect, or that curve is just right.

Not only that, but there is a joy to using hand tools. Picking up a tool that is 100 years old like a hand plane, and knowing that there is still no better tool for the job is a great feeling.  Seeing the shavings flowing out the top of the tool, the wonderful noise it makes as the fibres lift away and the smell of the wood as it is worked.  You are up close and personal with the wood for days on end, and when the furniture piece is finished, you can see the hours that have gone into it, the thousands of adjustments, making it the best it possibly can be. 

Whereas when using power tools, there is always a distance between you and the wood.  When using the table saw, you are pushing the wood into a massive and high spinning blade. It will happily eat through the wood in seconds, and your fingers as well if you are not careful. You prod it through with sticks to keep yourself apart from it, hoping the wood is going to come out alright on the other side.

You then take it to a procession of machines, each just as loud, and each capable of ruining your project or your body parts in aa millisecond.  I believe in this process you remain an observer, putting all your trust in these power tools, hoping that it comes out ok, feeling anxious, safety glasses, ear protection and respirator on the entire time.

Before you call me a luddite let me stress I do own power tools, but I do not particularly enjoy using them and choose handtools wherever practical. I use them to break down large pieces of wood that would otherwise take a whole day, or to do the rough initial sanding, to save my tired fingers. I am not arguing against power tools, but rather to suggest they are treated with caution and not just used automatically as the easy option. I believe we have an obligation to keep handtool skills alive, and to pass these skills on to future generations.  To show that efficiency is not the only metric worth living by.

As an individual maker, I need to enjoy what I do, and to watch my skills improve every day with the hand tools around me. I want you the client to enjoy the process also, and to feel the care that has gone into your piece. To appreciate that this is completely different to buying from Ikea, or another factory produced piece of furniture. I cannot offer to make a stool for 50 pounds, but I can make something beautiful and unique, that has been carefully made over hours, days, weeks.

And once it is finished, I can pass it over to you with ten fingers still attached. Click here to get in touch

Gareth