Hand tool

“ The hand tool is frequently a lively and decorative symbol of a society at a given time—a symbol, which, according to the judges at London's Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851, gives "indications of the peculiar condition and habits of the people whence they come, of their social and industrial wants and aims, as well as their natural or acquired advantages." [8] The hand tool, therefore, should be considered both as an object of appealing shape and a document illustrative of society and its progress.
Figure 15.—18th century: Cabinetmaker's dividers of English origin. ”

“ These tools can be used for a wide variety of ordinary turning operations. When a great many duplicate parts are to be machined, special tool equipment can often be used to advantage, but as the form of this equipment depends upon the character of the work, only standard tools have been shown in this illustration. The tool shown at A is a right-hand, roughing tool, and a left-hand tool of the same type is shown at B. Tool C is an offset or bent, left-hand round nose for roughing, and D is a right-hand offset roughing tool. ”

“ Other mass-produced edge tools—axes, adzes, braces and bits, augers, saws, and chisels—illustrated in the trade literature of the toolmakers became, as had the iron-bodied bench plane, standard forms. In the last quarter of the 19th century the tool catalogue replaced Moxon, Duhamel, Diderot, and the builders' manuals as the primary source for the study and identification of hand tools. The Centennial had called attention to the superiority of certain American tools and toolmakers. ”

“ Before using, the faces of all tools must be rubbed bright on the flesh side of a piece of leather. It is impossible to tool [204] brightly with dirty tools. A tool should be held in the right hand, with the thumb on the top of the handle, and steadied with the thumb or first finger of the left hand. The shoulder should be brought well over the tool, and the upper part of the body used as a press. If the weight of the body is used in finishing, the tools can be worked with far greater firmness and certainty, and with less fatigue, than if the whole work is done with the muscles of the arms. ”

“ Varieties of Active Capital Goods.—Mere hand tools act as armatures attached to the person of the worker, and they enable him effectively to attack resisting substances. The hammer fortifies the blacksmith's hand against the injuries it would [Pg 22] suffer if he delivered blows with his fist, and it multiplies the efficiency of the blows. Machines, however, substitute themselves for the person of the worker and carry the tool through its movements. ”

“ As a matter of fact a fine machine-tool is more liable than a watch to get out of order through careless handling, and it no more than a watch, can be properly repaired by a bungler. It follows that skill in the use of machine-tools is as essential to a successful mechanical career now, as skill in the use of hand-tools was formerly. ”

“ The Various Kinds of Tools. —Metal working tools are tempered harder than wood working tools and are made of what is known as tool-steel.
For your kit of machinists’ tools get (1) a ball pein hammer which weighs about 8 ounces—this is a regular machinists’ hammer; (2) a pair of 4 inch side cutting pliers; (3) a pair of 8 inch tinners’ snips which makes a 2 inch cut; (4) a jeweler’s adjustable saw frame; (5) a hack saw frame to hold an 8 inch saw blade; (6) a hand drill stock with a chuck for holding round shank drills from 0 to 3⁄16 inch in diameter. ”

“ The lower handle enables the workman to have great power over the edge, and to direct it from or to the work without danger of catching. The tool is used by resting the end on the shoulder, as in Fig. 8, and turning the lowest handle. Since the heel holds the tool from slipping, there is no occasion to bear against it. In fact, there is no occasion, at any time, to force the tool from the workman, but it must be turned sideways, back and forth. A piece, properly centered, may be cut in any way without destroying its truth. ”

“ When operated upon by hand alone, if an obstacle to the progress of the tool is presented, as, for instance, a twist or curl in the fibre or grain of the plank—the presence of a knot—then the workman by hand can adjust the handle, and so vary the inclination of the cutting edge as the circumstances of the case require. ”

“ In giving form to wood and metal cheaply and rapidly, machine-tools have within recent years risen to great importance. Of these the lathe is one of the chief. It seems to be descended from the bow drill, the tool which was whirled by a cord wrapped round it, or it may be, that under another sky, the lathe was derived from the potter’s wheel whose axle was changed from a vertical to a horizontal plane. For centuries all lathes had their cutting tools simply laid on a bar, or rest, just as in the hand cutting lathe of to-day. ”

“ The hand a set of machinery.
The hand is often said to be a wonderful instrument. I would rather say that it is a wonderful set of machinery. An instrument or tool is commonly fitted to do only one thing, as a chisel, a spade, a saw, etc. But how many and how different things can be done with the hand!
It does both coarse and fine work.
Let us look at some things that the hand can do. See the blacksmith wielding the heavy hammer; how strongly his hand grasps the handle! See how it is done. The fingers and thumb are bent by those large muscles that are up in the arm. ”

“ Whether one or two set-screws are used, the boring tool may be forged from a single bar of octagon steel, which can be seated in a piece like that shown at e in Fig. 610, which is grooved so as to receive and hold the tool. As is well known, boring tools are the most troublesome both to forge and to adjust in the lathe, and, as the result, a light tool is often used because no other is at hand and it is costly to make a new one. ”

“ The tool is held in an arm on the bar by a set screw, so that it can be lengthened or shortened.
By this arrangement, a true thread can be rapidly generated on any rod, hollow cylinder, or other kind of work—the pitch depending on the pitch of the hub. ”

“ What a picture of the influence of tools upon civilization! It is through the use of tools that man has [8] reached the place of absolute supremacy among animals. As he increases his stock of tools he recedes from the state of savagery. The great gulf between the aboriginal savage and the civilized man is spanned by the seven hand-tools—the axe, the saw, the plane, the hammer, the square, the chisel, and the file. These are the universal tools of the arts, and the modern machine-shop is an aggregation of them rendered automatic and driven by steam. ”

“ Iron rules and squares in various sizes, shears, knives, compasses and spring dividers, folders, files, pincers and hammers of different sizes, chisels, gouges, and punches.
The finisher's tools are: Gold cushion, gold knife, scraper, steel; and furthermore, for hand-tooling, letter-box, fillets, rolls, ornaments, and letters, all very fine and very dear tools, which must be kept in special cupboards and boxes so as to protect from possible injury. The higher the class of work done in the shop, the larger must be the stock of these tools. ”

“ All tools should be held firmly but not rigidly. The right hand should grasp the handle at the extreme end for two reasons: first, to give as much leverage as possible so that the tool will not be thrown from the hands in case it should catch in the wood; second, a slight wavering of the hand will not cause as much variance in the cuts as when held closer up to the rest. The left hand should act as a guide and should be held over the tool near the cutting edge. The little finger and the back part of the palm of the hand should touch the tool rest thus assuring a steady movement. ”

“ Things to Avoid.—Do not oscillate the saw as you draw it back and forth. This is unnecessary work, and shows impatience in the use of the tool. There is such an infinite variety of use for the different tools that there is no necessity for rendering the work of any particular tool, or tools, burdensome. Each in its proper place, handled intelligently, will become a pleasure, as well as a source of profit.
Fig. 25.
The Plane.—The jack plane and the fore plane are handled with both hands, and the smoothing plane with one hand, but only when used for dressing the ends of boards. ”

“ The natural tendency is to slack up or stop the motion of the treadle while the tool is engaged, and the tool is, therefore, at one time under the work, at another time above it, at another jumping rankly in, until, finally, the piece goes whirling out of the center or the chuck, and the operator flushes all over at his awkwardness. ”

“ Then chuck and re-chuck to familiarize yourself with every operative part of the lathe, and never try to force the cutting tool. If it has a tendency to run into the work, set it higher. If, on the other hand, you find, in feeding, that it is hard to move the tool post along, the tool is too high, and should be lowered. ”

“ It is my intention to tell you in this chapter about the tools that you need to do ordinary metal work, such as sawing, drilling, bending, filing, etc. As in working wood you ought to have a bench, or a good strong table will do.
Your Kit of Tools. —To work metals you will need certain tools according to the kind of work you intend to do. If you get all of those I have listed below you [57] will have nearly all the hand tools you need to do any kind of a job that may come up. ”

“ Now-a-days, the twist drills, made and sold in all the tool stores, are so uniformly superior to any thing that can be made by hand, or by individuals, and are, moreover, so cheap, that it is foolish to make drills. ”

“ By having such a tool as this, the necessity of laying one tool down and picking up another, is obviated, for the two are combined in one. For iron work, it is customary to use a heavier and thicker tool for finishing. As in Fig. 10, the front edge is slightly raised or concave, to make it sharp and hold a cut well. All turning tools for finishing iron are made thicker than those for brass, and should have lips, or curved cutting edges. Such tools cannot be used for brass, as they are too sharp; the edges jump into the metal and spoil the work. ”

“ Now [103] take three small pieces of soft clay, and, holding the cylinder firmly with one hand, press them down at equidistant points in the angle where the piece joins the bat. This serves to hold the work in position. A square turning tool of small size is the best to begin with. It is held in the fingers as a pen is held but more firmly. The right hand rests on the turning stick and, the connection between hand and stick being as rigid as possible, both are moved together. ”

“ On the other hand, shop tools comprise those of general utility which are largely used by hand. Hammers, wrenches, hand shears, pliers, chisels, bits, and the like, are examples of shop or hand tools. ”

“ Tools for hand-tooling must not be too large, or it will be impossible to obtain clear impressions. One inch square for blind tools, or three-quarters of an inch for gold tools, is about the maximum size for use with any certainty and comfort. ”

“ Screwdrivers.—These are tools of impulsion, and at least two or three will be required—long and short, and with wide and narrow blade. For general work, a tool of medium length should be obtained, although there are, on the one hand, enthusiastic advocates of a short tool, and on the other hand of a long tool for each and every purpose. Any advantage gained by a short over a long tool, or the reverse, is one of advantage in special circumstances only, and not one of saved energy; theoretically,
Fig. ”

“ Having the room you have a place for your first tool, if it is necessary to collect them one at a time, and it is much better to do that than to buy a cheap tool-chest. When you have one tool make a place for it and keep it in its place. A hammer, a saw, a hatchet, a sharp knife, a screw-driver, a gimlet, and a rule are the first tools you will need. ”

“ GONEOMETER.
All the eccentric tools require the greatest care in sharpening, and the above ingenious machine has been invented for this purpose; it is represented at P, in plate 4. The upper part, 1, is a plate of brass, the outer edge, 2, is graduated as high as 50 each way, beginning at the tongue, 3. Beyond the numbers is a groove, in which one end of the tool slide, 4, slips, and is firmly fixed (so as to point to any of the numbers that suit the angle of the tool) by a nut underneath. ”

“ It is singular, that with the immense variety of tools set forth in the preceding chapter, how few, really, require the art of the workman to grind and sharpen. If we take the lathe, the drilling machine, as well as the shaper, planer, milling machine, and all power-driven tools, they are merely mechanism contrived to handle some small, and, apparently, inconsequential tool, which does the work on the material. ”

“ Their tools are made of the bones of men, generaly the thin bone of the upper arm; these they grind very sharp and fix to a handle of wood, making the instrument serve the purpose of a gouge by striking it with a mallet made of a hard black wood, and with them would do as much work as with Iron tools was it not that the brittle Edge of the tool is very liable to be broke. ”

“ Tools for blind tooling are best “die-sunk,” that is, cut like a seal. The “sunk” part of the face of the tool, which may be more or less modelled, forms the pattern, and the higher part [189] depresses the leather to form a ground. In tools for gold tooling, the surface of the tool gives the pattern.
Tools may be either complex or simple in design, that is to say, each tool may form a complete design with enclosing border, as the lower ones on page 323, or it may be only one element of a design, as at fig. 100. Lines may be run with a fillet (see fig. 88) , or made with gouges or pallets. ”