LUNT CARPENTRY

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

10d        3        66

12d        3¼        56

16d        3½        47

20d        4        30

String lines often help when you want to level something—and you're leveling all the time in building. A spirit leveland aplumb bobare pretty straightforward tools (Fig. 13). The former has a bubble in a vial to help you check that things are level horizontally (often called simply level), and often another vial to check that something's level vertically (or plumb). A plumb bob, a weight on a string, is good for leveling vertically or checking that one object is centered over another. Be sure to use these tools precisely (don't let the bubble in a spirit level be just "slightly off center"). Use a level in more than one direction (for instance, make sure that post is plumb front to back as well as left to right). Make sure you're holding a level against a straight, smooth surface (a good reason to use it in more than one spot). And recheck something for level or plumb after you finish nailing or securing it.

Shims are little wedges of wood you use as spacers when, for one reason or another, things don't quite meet as they should. You just push the shim in the gap as far as necessary (to fill the gap completely, drive one shim in from one side and another from the other) and then nail. They're the carpenter's way of cheating—and they're so useful that lumberyards call them "cedar shakes" and sell them by the bundle.

There are a few other tools that even the beginning carpenter will probably need. You've just got to have a drill; electric is best. Screwdrivers come in handy all the time. You need several so you'll have the right size for the screw you're driving. (Remember that if wood is quite hard, you can predrill the screw holes.) Three or four nail sets will take care of your finish nailing needs. A staple gun, pliers (particularly locking pliers) and a utility knife (it holds razor edges for cutting) are ordinary tools with lots of uses.

A set of three or four wood chisels will help you in a multitude of ways. A sliding T-bevel (Fig. 14) is like a small square, but it has one free-moving, adjustable side. You can use it to "capture" any nonsquare angle and "transfer" it to a board you're cutting. (Always double-check the transferred angle before you cut.) Some kind of plane will help you smooth surfaces and shave off that inconvenient extra width. (The easiest type to use, in my opinion, is Surform. It has replaceable cheese-grater-type blades.) And safety goggles can save your eyes from flying chips of wood or metal. The ones with real eyeglass frames are much better than the clear, all-plastic type that scratch and fog up easily.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print