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It has a movable blade which may be adjusted at various lengths
for use as a marking gauge, for measuring the depth of a hole, for
scaling an odd-shaped piece of wood, and for many other uses in
addition to the conventional one. Some varieties of adjustable trysquares have spirit bubbles placed in the stock, making them usable as
levels in small quarters.
A smoothing plane or a jack plane is also a necessity where any
finishing work is to be done. Except in the top-quality woods, most
boards will need considerable finishing work to smooth them and true
them up so that they will take paint well and not harbor moisture,
which will foster decay in the little roughnesses to destroy the wood.
Smoothing planes are small, about 6 to 10 inches long, with blades from
11/4 to about 23/8 inches wide. We recommend the 9-inch size as the most
useful. If a larger one is needed for preliminary smoothing, a jack
plane-11/2 to 14 inches-or a fore plane 18 inches long will be desirable.
Some planes come with the bottom corrugated, rather than smooth as
conventional planes are, the theory being that this causes less friction
and allows the planes to operate with less effort.
A block plane is the smallest kind of plane, being only about 4
to 8 inches in length, with a blade 1 to 15/8 inches wide. It is used for
smoothing the grain across the ends of boards and for minor smoothing
on small pieces of wood, or for small work in general.
All planes should be made of the finest quality of steel, and should
have easy adjustment screws and good blades. Handles should be
made of hardwood and well finished.
If you can afford only one chisel, buy a 3/4-inch size, which is of
medium width and adapts to a number of jobs. Other chisels come in a
variety of widths, from 1/8 inch up to about 2 inches depending upon
their type. Tang chisels (the tang, or top end of the chisel, is driven into
the handle) are made for hand use and light tapping with mallets.
Socket chisels are of heavier construction, the blade ending in a socket
fitted with a replaceable wooden handle which may be hammered with
a heavy mallet. A butt chisel has a one-piece blade and shank which
extends through the plastic or wooden handle and may be tapped with
a steel hammer. Other chisels are made entirely of steel.
Gouges are used for cutting grooves and for finishing edges or paring them down. This kind of chisel has a curved cutting edge to the
blade.
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