Hand tools I use

As much as possible, I use the list of tools that Chris Scwartz outlined in his book The Anarchist Tool Chest. 

Handplanes

• Jack plane
• Plow plane
• Rabbet/shoulder plane
• Block plane
• Router plane

Marking & Measuring

• Cutting gauge(s)
• Panel gauge*
• 6″ Combination square, which has a removable 6″ rule
• 24″ folding rule or 24″ steel rule
• 12′ tape measure
• Marking knife
• Wooden winding sticks*
• 36″ wooden straightedge*
• Wooden try square, 12″ blade*
• Sliding bevel
• Dividers, two to four pair

Essential Cutting Tools

• Bevel-edge chisels: 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1-1/4″
• Mortise chisels: 1/4″ or 5/16″
• Spokeshave
• Cabinet, modeling and rattail rasps
• Card scrapers

Striking & Fastening Tools

• Chisel mallet*
• Cross-peen hammer
• 13 oz. to 16 oz. claw hammer
• Dead-blow mallet
• Nailsets*
• Nail pincers
• Set of slotted screwdrivers
• Screw tips for drill/drivers
• Sawnut drivers (if you have split sawnuts)
• Countersinks; counterbores
• 10″ brace
• Hand drill
• Set of 13 auger bits
• Brad points: 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″ and 1/2″
• Birdcage awl
• Dowel plate*

Saws

• Dovetail saw
• Carcase saw
• Tenon saw
• Panel saws (rip saw, crosscut saw, fine crosscut saw)
• Flush cut saw
• Coping saw

Sharpening

• Sharpening stones (honing and polishing)
• Strop* (if you use oilstones)
• Grinder
• Oilcan or plant mister
• Burnisher

Appliances

• Bench hook*
• Sawbenches*
• Miter box
• End-grain shooting board*
• Long-grain shooting board*
• Miter shooting board*
• Cork-backed sanding block*
• Workbench*
• Cabinet clamps (at least four)

Good-to-have Tools

• Dial caliper
• 12″ combination square
• Dovetail marker*
• Jointer plane/Foreplane
• Smooth plane
• Large shoulder plane
• Carpenter’s hatchet
• Drawknife
• No. 80 cabinet scraper
• Beading plane
• Small complex moulder, such as an ogee or square ovolo
• Half-set of hollows and rounds
• 1-1/2″-wide paring chisel
• Fishtail chisel*
• Drawer-lock chisel
• Mortise float
• Drawbore pins
• 12″ bowsaw
• Sawfiles
• Mill file
• Saw vise
• Saw set
• Side-clamp honing guide
• Trammel points*

* Tools that can easily be made or should be made by the woodworker.

word – not made or purchased yet.