Make: Tools: How They Work and How to Use Them

513 Pages·2016·18.49 MB·English

by  Charles Platt

Make: Tools
How They Work and How to Use
Them
Charles Platt
CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Perplexing Puzzler
Chapter 2: The Curious Cube
Chapter 3: Big Dice
Chapter 4: Nailing It
Chapter 5: Framing It
Chapter 6: A Geometrical Jigsaw
Chapter 7: A Piece of Parquetry
Chapter 8: Drilling It
Chapter 9: A Swanee Whistle
Chapter 10: A Basic Box
Chapter 11: A Bare-Minimum Bookcase
Chapter 12: Hanging On the Wall
Chapter 13: A Monster Truck
Chapter 14: A Pantograph
Chapter 15: Bending It
Chapter 16: A Better Box
Chapter 17: Another Better Box
Chapter 18: Transparency
Chapter 19: Color
Chapter 20: More Tools
Appendix: Buying Guide
Index
Make: Tools
How They Work and How to Use Them
by Charles Platt

Copyright © 2016 Helpful Corporation. All rights reserved.

Printed in Canada.

Published by Maker Media, Inc., 1160 Battery Street East, Suite 125, San Francisco, California
94111.

Maker Media books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use.
Online editions are also available for most titles (safaribooksonline.com). For more information,
contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or [email protected].

Publisher: Roger Stewart
Copy editor and proofreader: Brian White
Interior design: Erico Platt
Cover design: Julie Cohen
Cover photographs, interior photographs, and diagrams: Charles Platt

October 2016: First Edition

Revision History for the First Edition

2016-10-01 First Release

See oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781680452532 for release details.

Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. The Maker
Media logo is a trademark of Maker Media, Inc. Make: Tools and related trade dress are
trademarks of Maker Media, Inc.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Maker Media, Inc.
was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.

While the publisher and the author have used good faith efforts to ensure that the information
and instructions contained in this work are accurate, the publisher and the author disclaim all
responsibility for errors or omissions, including without limitation responsibility for damages
resulting from the use of or reliance on this work. Use of the information and instructions
contained in this work is at your own risk. If any code samples or other technology this work
contains or describes is subject to open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of
contains or describes is subject to open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of
others, it is your responsibility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such licenses
and/or rights.

ISBN: 978-1-68045253-2
Dedication
For Mark Frauenfelder and Kevin Kelly, who planted the idea, and Jeremy
Frank, who helped so much with the implementation.
Acknowledgments
I appreciate the feedback from Mark Jones, Marshall Magee, Russ Sprouse,
and Gary White.
My editor, Roger Stewart, was endlessly helpful in making this book possible.
Introduction
Some skills are so basic, people take them for granted. Hammering a nail into
a piece of wood, for instance. What could be simpler than that?
Actually, it’s not so simple. There are more than 20 kinds of hammer. Can you
recognize the difference between a claw hammer and a cross-peen
hammer? And does it matter?
The head of a typical hammer weighs 16 ounces, but you can buy an 8-ounce
hammer if you prefer (see Figure I-1). Or how about a 24-ounce hammer?
Which type is easier to use? And would a fiberglass handle be better than a
wooden handle? How about a steel handle? And when you hold the handle,
should you grip it near the head of the hammer or near the end of the handle?
Figure I-1. You can have an 8-ounce hammer, a 16-ounce hammer, or something larger, if you prefer.
Now consider your choice of a nail. There are common nails, finishing nails,
galvanized nails, ring-shank nails, coated nails, decorative nails, and
many more. In the United States, common nails are often sold by weight, and
their size may be described in pennies. If you buy a pound of sixpenny nails,
would you like to know how big they are and how many will be in the box?
What’s the largest nail you can buy? (It may be larger than you think. See
Figure I-2.)
Figure I-2. Yes, you really can buy a 10-inch nail (although it is properly known as a “spike”). A 1/ " nail
2
can be sold as a “brad.” The one in between is just a nail.
Suppose you want to cut some wood. This raises many more questions. If you
use a handsaw, how do you start the cut without the saw jumping around or
sliding sideways? Is a Japanese-style pull-saw easier to use than a Western-
style saw that cuts when you push it? Will you be more likely to hurt yourself
with a pull-saw?
How can you prevent the underside of a piece of wood from splintering when
the saw emerges through it? How do you make a precisely vertical cut? Power
saws are easier to use in many ways than hand saws, but in that case, why do
handsaws still exist? If you use a power saw, should it be battery-powered or
plug-in?
Figure I-3. An 8½" Japanese pull-saw, or a 14" tenon saw—which do you prefer?
What are the relative advantages of a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, a
band saw, a scroll saw, a jigsaw, and a table saw? How many teeth per inch
should the blade have? Do you need a different type of blade to cut plastic?
Really, there are so many questions about tools, you need a whole book to
answer them.
answer them.
This is that book.
Are Tools Still Useful?
In a world where 3D printing can create anything from a gearbox to a house,
you may wonder if anyone needs hand tools in a workshop anymore. It’s true
that 3D printers are wonderful, but they have limitations. For a start, none of
them can work with wood, and very few can use metal. They are ideal for
prototyping, but a component fabricated with a 3D printer will almost always
have to be mated with some other part, or may need to be installed in an
enclosure or adapted in some way. For these purposes, workshop skills are still
useful.
Moreover, if you want to make something that is beautiful instead of merely
functional, you will need to work with your hands.
Who Can Use This Book
Anyone who is willing to follow simple instructions can use this book, so long
as you have basic manual ability and reasonably good eyesight. Age and
gender are not relevant.
You can be a complete beginner, but if you do already have some basic skills, I
think you’ll still find a lot of value here. I will be bringing together numerous
facts, tips, and tricks that have taken me a lifetime to learn. You may not know
all of them.
This book will also serve as a reference source. If you want to remind yourself
of the difference between a tenon saw and a panel saw, or if you are trying to
remember if poplar is a harder wood than birch, you can look up the answers
here.
Learning by Discovery
Several years ago I wrote a book titled Make: Electronics, which encouraged
the reader to build little devices as a way of learning about electronic
components. I began with the simple task of switching on an LED, and worked
up to ambitious projects such as a burglar-alarm system. Because the reader
discovered basic principles by using this hands-on approach, I called it
“learning by discovery.” I think it is by far the best way to learn.
Figure I-4. Tool usage is not age-specific, gender-specific, or anything-else-specific.