Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings

It is a pity that Watson's book is not better known among woodworkers, as it is the most comprehensive guide to using hand tools that I have yet seen on the market. Watson devotes chapters to workbenches and vises, braces and bits, chisels (which he covers quite extensively), files and rasps, mallets, saws, sandpaper, squares, and planes (the most extensive chapter in the book). He also covers less common tools such as the drawknife, the marking gauge, scrapers, the inshave, and the spokeshave, as well as very common tools like wire brushes, levels, nail sets, and screwdrivers. Watson's descriptions of each tool's function are clear and concise. His book is not cluttered by text, though it does a thorough job of explaining not only common uses for hand tools, but also advanced techniques. For example, this is one of the only woodworking books I know that explains how to cut a chamfer with a hand plane, or how to use a rasp to cut a round tenon on square stock. Perhaps the book's only fault is that it does not discuss either wooden planes or Japanese tools at all. But the book's greatest strength is its illustrations, all drawn by the author. Photographs in many other woodworking books have too many shadows to be very useful, and often a crucial tool operation is hidden by the hand that is performing it. Watson's masterful drawings overcome this problem--they illustrate tool mechanics, user posture, and wood texture, all with a minimum of extraneous detail. This work is the best single-volume book on traditional woodworking tools and techniques currently available. It is also significantly longer--over 400 pages--than most other woodworking books. Watson is required reading for anyone interested in the topic, and his book is the standard by which all other woodworking books should be judged for years to come.

I have recently taken an interest in woodworking. Being someone who like to learn about the theories before actually doing anything, I started buying and reading a number of woodworking books, and doing some experimenting and practicing with the information I learned.This book is the most useful one that I have read yet. It is extrememly easy to read, and captures the basic techniques for using a number of common hand tools. The chapter on chisels is one of my favorites, and the chapter on planes has clearer instruction on how to use different type of planes than another book of mine that talks only about planes.Reading this book after reading other "how to" books about joinery, furniture, etc. clarifys a lot of things, making the picture complete so to speak.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone

This book is an excellent primer for anyone interested in woodworking with handtools. Clear illustrations identify tool particulars and correct usage and maintenance of each. All woodworking handtools from handplanes to screwdrivers are included. Also included is an appendix listing essential handtools for any woodshop. I have found this appendix, and the book itself, indispensable.

The author has a gift for explaining some complex techniques in simple English. The drawings add immeasurably to the effort. I borrowed this book from the library, and now will order my own copy. If you want to be a traditional woodworker, you will be thrilled how the author goes tool by tool through those things that you need to have in your shop and illustrates what they are for and how to make them do what they are supposed to do

In this book you will learn the tricks that a master woodworker teaches his apprentice. It is the best book on using and caring for traditional woodworking hand tools I have found. It covers everything from hand planes to the lowly nail set using excellently clear illistrations. In the back of the book is an appendix with plans for a no- nonsense workbench and other handy shop items you can make yourself. It has the best advice on sharpening hand saws and other tools I have ever read. The author uses clear, concise language that even a hairy-knuckled woodworker can undersand.