My walnut cabinet came together with just hand tools, and I won't go back.

After a long stretch, I finished a solid walnut cabinet using only hand saws and a plane. Lots of guys laugh at how slow it is, but I get a better feel for the wood this way. Has anyone else gone full manual on a big piece and found it changed their approach?

4 comments

4 Comments

torres.elizabeth1mo ago

Who needs power tools when you can feel every cut?

danielowens1mo ago

Hey now, let's not romanticize the blisters. A bandsaw lets you spend your brainpower on the actual design of the thing, not just the fight to get through the wood. Sometimes the tool that saves your hands also saves your good ideas. I'd rather put all that feeling into the final piece of furniture, not into the process of making sawdust.

grantc801mo ago

Try hand sawing for a week, then you'll APPRECIATE a bandsaw.

stella11113d ago

Oh, I felt that "fight to get through the wood" in my shoulders last weekend. Grantc80 is right, my bandsaw and I are now best friends.