Tools of the Trade

Finish carpenters are fine craftspeople. Not only are their products works of art, their tools are often beautiful, as well. Spokeshaves shape wheel spokes, of course, or any type of long, roundish piece, like a table leg. There are four in the collection: two are a combination of wood with metal blades, two are entirely metal. Draw knives are used to roughly shape a round section. In this area, draw knives are used to clean poles for vigas. The draw knife is also used to approximate a round section to be worked on a lathe. A plow plane has nothing to do with agriculture or flying. It’s used to cut grooves along the grain in a piece of wood. It could also cut a rabbet (an open-sided groove). Ours is made from rosewood with brass fittings. Planes have various shapes and functions. The collection includes moulding planes (to shape the edge of material, like a router bit would do today); a jack plane to make rough passes over surfaces; jointer planes to flatten a surface; and smooth planes for finishing. Chisels, squares, mallets, mortise marking gauges, augers and compasses round out the collection’s woodworking tools.

Linda Gegick
Museum Administrator