No matter how skilled a joiner is, he still requires the best tools in order to produce a high quality end product. If it wasn’t for joiners, every piece of material made from wood would be one piece. Joiners combine pieces of wood with fasteners and adhesives and also have the ability to connect different pieces without the need of external products. Above all, joiners don’t require nails to create a finished product. Below are some examples of tools used by joiners.
Biscuit Cutter
Also known as a plate joiner, the biscuit cutter is a specialised piece of equipment that cuts small slots at the edges of stock in order to hold biscuits. Incidentally, a biscuit in this instance is a thin piece of wood that is oval shaped. The biscuit is usually glued into a specific slot on one end of the board with the other end of the board housing the opposite side of the biscuit. The blade of some biscuit cutters operates at some 10,000 RPM and is better than a router for the purposes of cutting biscuits. However, this tool doesn’t really have another use.
Router
This tool is used to hollow out wood. The process of routing means to cut, trim and shape wood at extremely high speeds. Wood is weak in small sections so the blade of a router is remarkably fast. This is one of the ‘coolest’ joiner’s tools and comes in stationary base and plunge form. Stationary base allows you to choose a certain depth which does not change when you’re cutting. As the name suggests, the plunge router enables you to plunge the machine into the material and pull it back out once you are satisfied with the cut.
Power Drill
This is one of the most commonly used joiner’s tools. A good power drill is an essential part of a joiner’s armoury. Although cordless drills are far more popular, there are many reasons why you should at least consider a corded version. For example, a corded drill is far more powerful and is necessary when holes of a large diameter have to be drilled. Cordless drills run on battery power, a power source that gets tested to the maximum when difficult drilling jobs are performed.
Bevel-Edged Chisel
As joinery is often about skill and finesse over power, it is no surprise to learn that a chisel is an important part of a joiner’s tool kit. Whenever a joiner needs to carve out a design on a piece of wood manually, a chisel is the first tool they turn to. Most chisels have a blade that is at least 4 inches in length with some chisels clocking in at double this length. If a chisel ends up in the hands of an amateur, the wood could be in danger. Put a chisel into the hands of a professional joiner however, and watch a masterpiece get created in front of you.
These are just a handful of the tools used by experienced joiners. Although power tools are more important than ever, the intricate designs that can only be created by hand ensures that tools such as a chisel will remain a staple of a joinery for years to come.