Hand Tool Proficiency (measure, mark, cut, fasten)

Most hands-on trades come down to four tasks: measure, mark, cut and fasten. A framer, a finish carpenter, a sheet metal worker and a maintenance mechanic all do them, with different tools and tolerances. If you are good with hand tools, you will understand what your power tools are doing, and you will keep working when there is no outlet. Sharp, clean, correctly chosen tools are safer than dull ones, and they last for a career.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Pick the right marker, and snap a clean chalk line of any length.
• Choose between a speed square, combination square and framing square.
• Pick a hand saw by the cut, and start it cleanly.
• Use utility knives and chisels without hurting yourself.
• Match a screwdriver to the screw, and stop cam-out.
• Choose a hammer, nail, screw and coating for the job.

Hand Tool Safety

• Use each tool only for its job. A chisel is not a pry bar, and a screwdriver is not a chisel.
• Check handles for cracks or looseness.
• Dress or retire any tool with a mushroomed head, including hammers, chisels, punches and wedges. Pieces can break off and fly.
• Keep edges sharp, because a dull tool needs more force and slips.
• Wear safety glasses when striking, cutting or chipping.
• Near flammable vapors, ask whether spark-resistant tools are needed.
• Near live electrical parts, use only tools rated for that job, and only if you are qualified.

Measure

A 25-foot tape with a 1-inch blade is the standard for building work. Use one tape through a whole layout, and say measurements out loud the way you write them, such as 5'-8 3/8".

Know how close the job needs to be. Rough framing often works to 1/8 inch, layout to 1/16 inch, and trim to 1/32 inch. Machine work is measured in decimals.

A six-foot folding rule is rigid, so it spans a gap without sagging, and its brass slide gives accurate inside measurements.

Mark

Sharpen a carpenter pencil to a chisel point with a utility knife. For work closer than about 1/16 inch, use a marking knife. It cuts the wood fibers and leaves a crisp line for your saw or chisel to follow, with none of the width a pencil adds.

Chalk Lines

A chalk line marks a long, straight line by snapping a chalk-coated string.

1. Hook or nail one end at your mark.
2. Pull the line tight to the other mark.
3. Hold it down firmly at the far end.
4. Lift the string straight up a few inches, and let it snap down.

Pulling sideways gives you a fuzzy or curved line. On runs over about 20 feet, the string sags and drifts. Have a helper press it down in the middle, and snap each half.

Keep red and black away from anything that will show when the job is done.

Layout Squares

Speed square. This 7-inch triangle is the workhorse of carpentry layout.

• 90 degrees: hold the lip on the board's edge, and draw along the side.
• 45 degrees: draw along the long diagonal edge.
• Other angles: pivot from the corner, and read the degree scale at the board's edge.
• Roof pitch: use the common and hip/valley scales for rafters.
• Saw guide: hold it firmly, and run a circular saw along the side for a square cut.

Combination square. Slide the ruler to where you want it, and lock the head. To draw a line parallel to an edge, hold the head against the edge, rest your pencil at the end of the ruler, and pull both along together. To check a depth, rest the head on the surface and lower the ruler into the hole. The head's two faces also check 90 and 45 degrees.

Framing square. The long arm is the blade, usually 24 inches. The short arm is the tongue, usually 16 inches. For a stair stringer, set the run on the blade and the rise on the tongue, both at the edge of the board, then trace along the arms. Slide along the board and repeat for each step. Small clamps called stair gauges hold the setting, so that every step matches. Rafters are laid out the same way, from the roof's rise and run.

Worked example: A stair has a 7-1/2 inch rise and a 10-1/2 inch run. Clamp one gauge at 7-1/2 on the tongue and the other at 10-1/2 on the blade. Rest both gauges on the board's edge, trace, slide the square to the end of that mark and trace again.

To check a corner, set the framing square inside it. On a large frame, also compare the two diagonals, because a square only reads the first couple of feet.

Layout Marks

Residential framing is almost always laid out at 16 inches on center, meaning center to center. To lay out studs, hook your tape on the end of the plate and find each 16-inch mark. Draw a line 3/4 inch back from each mark, then put an X just past the line to show which side the stud goes on. That way, the center of each stud lands on the mark, and sheathing edges land on the studs. Joists and rafters work the same way.

Cut

Hand Saws

To start a cut, rest the blade at a low angle, and draw it back a couple of times to make a groove. Then use long strokes, and let the weight of the saw do the work. A dull saw wanders. In a hacksaw, the teeth usually point away from the handle, so that it cuts on the push stroke. Keep at least three teeth on the metal.

Utility Knives

1. Replace the blade at the first sign of dullness. A dull blade needs more force and slips.
2. Cut away from yourself, and keep your other hand out of the path.
3. Cut on a stable surface, with a straightedge for long cuts.
4. Retract the blade before you put the knife down or carry it.
5. Put used blades in a closed container.

Use a straight blade for general work. A hook blade suits drywall, carpet, shingles and roofing felt, because it does not gouge what is underneath. Serrated blades cut rope and insulation.

Chisels

A chisel pares, trims and cuts joints. It does not pry, because hard steel can snap.

• A primary bevel of 25 to 30 degrees suits most work, with a slightly steeper secondary bevel of 30 to 35 degrees at the tip.
• To sharpen, flatten the back first, then work the bevel through finer and finer stones, from about 1000 grit to 4000 or higher. A leather strop gives the final edge.
• Keep both hands behind the edge, and clamp the work.
• Cut with the bevel down for rough waste, and bevel up for fine paring.

Fasten

Screwdrivers

A screwdriver works only when the tip fits the screw head exactly.

Cam-out is when the tip rides up out of the recess and spins on top of the head. It ruins the screw and can send the tool into your hand. The causes are a worn tip, the wrong size, too little pressure or an angled tool.

Look at the tip. If its edges are shiny and rounded, replace the tip or the whole screwdriver, because a worn tool strips heads faster than it drives them. To remove a screw with a damaged head, use a fresh tip of the right size, press straight in hard, and turn slowly. If it still slips, stop and use a screw extractor.

Hammers

For big nails, such as 16d commons, a 20 to 22 oz framing hammer with a milled face is the usual pick. The extra weight sinks the nail in fewer swings.

Hold near the end of the handle for power. Start a nail with light taps, and keep your fingers clear. Strike square, because glancing blows send nails flying.

Check the striking face now and then. Mushrooming means its edges have spread and flattened, and that is a fracture risk, since a piece can break off when you swing. File the face back to its slight crown, or retire the hammer.

Nails

Nail length is measured in "penny" sizes, written with a d.

Length rule of thumb. Use a nail about 3 times as long as the top piece is thick. That leaves about two-thirds of the nail in the receiving piece, where it does the holding, and you want at least 1 inch there. Near the end of a board, drill a pilot hole first, because a nail can split the wood. Structural work follows the nailing schedule on the plans or in the code, which overrules this rule.

Worked example: For a 5/8-inch top piece, 3 x 0.625 = 1.875 inches. A 6d nail at 2 inches works, and it leaves about 1-3/8 inches in the receiving piece.

Coatings

The copper in many pressure-treated lumbers quickly corrodes thin coatings. Match connectors to fasteners, and follow the code for treated wood.

Screws

Screws resist pull-out better than nails, but ordinary screws can snap under sideways loads. Use structural screws for rated connections.

Pilot holes. Softwood often needs none, unless you are within about 1 inch of an end or edge. Hardwood needs one every time. Use a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw's core. A lag screw needs a clearance hole for its smooth shank, plus a smaller hole for the threads, often 40 to 70 percent of the shank size depending on the wood. Use a countersink so that the head sits flush.

Staples, Brads and Connectors

• Crown staples: housewrap, felt and upholstery.
• Brads (18 gauge): small trim.
• Finish nails (15 or 16 gauge): baseboard and casing.
• Metal connectors: joist hangers and hurricane ties. Use only the fasteners the maker specifies, and fill all required holes, because substitutes change the rated load.

Tool Care

• Clean tools daily, since dust and mortar hold moisture.
• Wipe metal with a light coat of oil, especially in wet weather.
• Keep a stone handy for edged tools.
• Store tools dry. Cold steel brought into a warm room gets condensation and rust.
• Replace cracked handles, and mark your tools.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. You need a pencil line 2 inches in from the edge along a 3-foot shelf. Which square do you pick, and how do you use it?

A combination square. Lock the ruler at 2 inches, hold the head on the edge, rest your pencil at the end of the ruler, and pull both along.

2. New bits keep chewing up the heads of some cross-recess screws. The bits look fine. What else could be wrong?

You may have the wrong size, not enough pressure or an angled tool. The screws may also be Pozidriv, which need their own tip.

3. A chalk line keeps coming out fuzzy and bowed. What are you doing wrong?

You are probably pulling the string sideways. Lift it straight up, and let it snap straight down.

4. You are fixing 1/2-inch plywood to framing. About how long should the nail be?

About 3 x 0.5 = 1.5 inches as a rule of thumb. Check the nailing schedule if it is structural.

Key Takeaways

• Most hands-on work comes down to measure, mark, cut and fasten.
• Use a speed square for quick marks, a combination square for parallel lines and depths, and a framing square for stairs and rafters.
• Blue and white chalk come off, while red and black stay.
• Sharp tools are safer than dull ones, and a worn driver tip causes cam-out.
• Match nails and screws to the load, the material and the exposure.