Priya Desai
Why Hand Tools Still Earn Their Place on a Framing Job
Bring a chain morticer and a big router onto a traditional frame and you will still reach for a chisel to finish the job. Machine-cut joints are quick, but the accuracy that makes an oak frame stand true comes from hand work: gauging everything off a face side, paring to a line, and cutting shoulders that pull up tight when the drawbore pegs go home. On repair work in old buildings it is more than preference. You are often working in a roof space or against a wall plate where no power tool will fit, and you need to match a seventeenth-century joint rather than impose a modern one. A sensible kit of chisels, slicks, mallets and saws will cover almost everything a frame can throw at you.
Chisels: The Backbone of Any Framing Kit
Buy firmer chisels first. These are the stout, square-sectioned workhorses you drive with a mallet. A working set in imperial or metric sizes runs roughly 6mm, 10mm, 12mm, 19mm, 25mm, 38mm and 50mm. Socket chisels are preferable to tang chisels for heavy work because the handle can be replaced when it splits, and the socket takes the shock without loosening.
Add a couple of bevel-edged chisels for paring. These are lighter, with thin sides that let you get into the corners of a housing or clean up a tenon cheek without bruising the surrounding timber.
For cutting the mortice itself, you want proper mortice chisels — often called pigstickers. They are thick, heavy, and have a distinctive oval or octagonal handle designed to be struck hard. Sizes of 10mm, 12mm, 16mm and 19mm will see you through most pegged joints in green oak. Grind a primary bevel around 25 degrees and hone a secondary bevel at 30 degrees. Green oak is abrasive and slightly acidic, so expect to touch up an edge far more often than you would on dry softwood.
Mallets, Slicks and the Striking Tools
A joiner's mallet is the tool you will pick up more than any other. Beech is traditional and still the best compromise between weight and durability; ash is springier and lasts well in damp conditions. Look for a square or round head of roughly two to three pounds, with a handle that tapers through the head and is wedged from the top rather than glued. A loose head is dangerous, so test it before you buy.
For driving oak pegs and closing drawbored joints, keep a beetle — a big round mallet, often of elm or lignum vitae, with a handle long enough to swing two-handed. Never strike a chisel with a metal hammer; you will mushroom the head and split the handle in short order.
The slick is the tool that separates a tidy frame from a rough one. It is essentially a very wide, very long chisel, usually 50mm to 75mm across, with a handle up to half a metre long. You use it two-handed and mostly by pushing, shaving a tenon cheek or tidying a scarf joint until it sits flat. A side axe or goosewing axe handles the coarser shaping — hewing a chamfer, pointing pegs, or taking the wind out of a brace — while a hatchet is handy for smaller trimming. A drawknife and a spokeshave will deal with curved braces and the fair curves of a truss.
Saws for Accurate Shoulders and Tenons
For joinery, a tenon saw of 10 to 12 inches with 12 to 14 teeth per inch and a brass or steel back is the standard. A stiff back keeps the saw plate straight so your shoulder line stays true.
For breaking down stock you want a decent hand saw: a crosscut saw around 7 teeth per inch for cutting across the grain, and a rip saw at 4 to 5 teeth per inch for cutting along it. A frame saw or bow saw is worth having if you are working with larger sections or cutting curves, as the blade is cheap to replace and the frame gives you clearance in deep cuts. Japanese pull saws have their devotees for fine joinery — the kerf is thin and the cut is clean — but they do not take kindly to being abused in green oak, so treat them as a specialist addition rather than a replacement.
Buying Second-Hand: Where the Bargains Live
Almost all of my best tools came from car boot sales, farm dispersal sales, house clearances and country auctions. Old chisels and saws turn up constantly, often for a few pounds, and the steel from established British and Swedish makers is frequently better than anything you can buy new at the same price.
- Check for pitting. Light surface rust will clean off with a wire wheel and oil. Deep pitting near the cutting edge means the tool is scrap.
- Look at the bevel. A chisel sharpened down to a stub has had its useful life. One with a long blade and honest wear is a good buy.
- Test the handle. Cracks around the socket or tang are common. A sound original handle is a bonus; a split one is a bargaining point, not a deal-breaker.
- Inspect saw plates. Run a straightedge along the back. A kinked or badly dished plate is very hard to bring back.
- Buy the steel, not the label. A rusty chisel with a good tang and plenty of blade left will outlast a shiny modern one.
Rehandling is part of the pleasure. Beech and ash are the traditional choices, and a mallet you have made yourself sits in the hand differently.
Putting Together Your First Framing Kit
Start with five firmer chisels, two mortice chisels, a bevel-edged parer, one good joiner's mallet, a tenon saw and a rip saw. Add a slick when you can find one at the right price, and a beetle before your first peg-raising. Keep a diamond stone or oilstone in the bag, plus a fine file for touching up saw teeth. Buy slowly, buy second-hand where you can, and learn to sharpen properly — a modest kit kept razor-sharp will out-cut a large one that is neglected every time.
