The Broken Tradition

Welcome to my shop and blog

Handcrafted Furniture and various wooden wares made in the Appalachian tradition

Tools of the Trade 12: Chisels

Whenever discussion of what chisels to get “first” comes up, there seems to be a debate about getting individual chisels or sets of chisels.. If buy a set you will usually get a good price (much lower than the combined individual prices) but you might end up with chisels that you never use… If you…
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Tools of the trade 11: the Lathe

Now we come to the first tool that you do not need at all. a lathe. you might use a spring pole lathe or you might go with an electric powered one. but if you want turned spindles or bowls you are wanting a lathe… The best advice I can give you is that you…
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tools of the trade 10 Hand Planes

In most of my work the next step after the drawknife, is the hand plane. Why do we call them “hand planes” instead of just “planes”? NOT a planer! a plane. pet peeve: Ebay people; No! a plane with a wooden body is NOT a block plane! ALL block planes have iron bodies! you calling:…
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