If you’re building a timber frame with hand tools, it’s helpful to have a few types of hand saws in your arsenal. There are many many types of saws that you could use, and at the end of the day it boils down to personal preference. Me? I like to try new tools from time to time, and these are two that I find very effective in the cutting process — a Japanese anahiki saw (or timber saw), and a Japanese ryoba saw (or two sided saw).
Tools are what make any craft or trade physically possible. You cannot make a house, spoon, basket, or sweater without certain essential tools. And a quality tool makes the experience more efficient, enjoyable, accurate, and safer. As I’ve stated before, I have a particular fondness for using axes, for whatever reason. A few years ago, I wrote Axes We Love to highlight some of the high quality hand-forged axes being made out there in the world. In my second entry in the Axes We Love series, I want to highlight a few more of the talented blacksmiths who are hard at work producing custom forged axes and other tools we need to do our best work.
Read ahead for some tips on how to make these ergonomic Japanese plaster hawks
Japanese-style plaster hawks are a comfortable, ergonomic alternative to the typical hawk design you come across in the states. Best of all, you can very easily make your own with only a few basic materials and customize the proportions to your liking. Here’s how you make your own Japanese plaster hawk.
Gears quickly shifted this fall when I was contracted to build a wood shed in town. Up until a few weeks ago, I was trying to squeeze in as much work as possible on the ol’ homestead projects — the light clay straw outhouse in particular. I did end up getting the little outhouse to a good point. (Plastering season is over… unless for some reason we get a 60+ degree stretch in December. You never know these days, sadly.)
Anyway, the wood shed I’m currently building is a proper timber frame with wood joinery, which is obviously very exciting for me. Getting contracted to do a timber frame anything has been my goal since moving to Berea a few years ago. Here are a few photos of the building process.
These Sandflex grit blocks are handy for bringing rusty tools back to life
If you’ve read my “Essential Timber Framing Tools” article, you might be digging through an old relative’s garage or planning a trip to the flea market in search of some antique goodies to build up your tool kit. It’s easy to look past some potential winners based strictly on appearances…. you know what I mean. Rust. Rust is the perpetual enemy of steel tools, now and forever. But don’t despair. Just because a tool is rusty, doesn’t mean it’s beyond repair. I know it’s hard to look past it sometimes, but all it takes is some time and you can turn an old tool right around.
This list should help you get started down the path of timber framing with hand tools
Like any craft, the world of timber framing comes with its own unique set of tools. And if you’re new to this type of work, it’s important to have the right timber framing tools in your kit. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune to equip yourself with the basics. Of course, once you get deeper into this kind of stuff, you’ll always find something else you think you probably need. But for a solid starter kit, you can get by with a relatively small handful.
I’ve narrowed down a list of essential timber framing tools, highlighting both inexpensive options for folks starting out, and more expensive choices for someone who may continue with this line of work.
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The finished Dutch tool chest. No Netherlanders were harmed in this process.
I’m not gonna lie. I don’t think I’ve ever had proper hand tool storage. At Dancing Rabbit we had a nice tool shed for a while, which was great, actually. But things never had a proper place in there… and then we moved. And before that shed… well, don’t even ask.
In our current transitional living space, we finally have a makeshift workshop space. (That’s where our new workbench lives.) Which means we can do more woodworking projects. Which means some solid tool storage is even more important than before. Finally, some of my tools have some proper storage. I built a so-called Dutch tool chest recently, and it’s doing a fine job of enabling some order amongst my slowly growing hand tool kit. Check it out…
The genius of Japanese joinery is a sight to behold. This video is an incredible example of the precision and strength of Japanese joinery in action from the Kobayashi Kenkou carpentry group. It’s not everyday you get to see such incredible timber frame joints come together like this… and so seamlessly. Okay, enough gushing. Check this out!
Feeling inspired now?
Japanese trowels are some of the most prized for natural plaster work (image source: JapaneseTrowels.com)
April thinks I have a compulsion for Japanese tools. I think she may be on to something, but I’ve got a pretty good excuse. Very generally speaking, Japanese tools are often well designed and manufactured, and the plaster tools are not unlike the acclaimed kitchen knives and woodworking tools. Japanese trowels are made with a careful level of attention in an incredible assortment of sizes and shapes, and different types of steel depending on the purpose.
Clay and lime plaster traditions go way back in Japanese architecture, so the craftspeople and blacksmiths there have had quite a bit of time to develop highly refined tools for the work of spreading and smoothing plaster. Today, Japanese trowels are quite popular amongst folks doing natural plaster work all over the globe.
Pam works on her chisel skills on a tenon
Carpenter’s squares and tape measures are handy and all that, but they don’t carry nearly the same appeal as say, a sharpened chisel, an antique boring machine, or a Swedish axe. Marking and measuring, though arguably one of most important steps of timber framing, lacks the “cool” factor that comes with cutting joinery. People’s eyes tend to light up as soon as they see the ol’ Millers Falls boring machine come out, what with its fancy gears, the double handle, and the amazing wood chips it produces once set to motion.
Needless to say, enthusiasm ramped up on day two of our Timber Frame Workshop as people got a chance to saw and waste tenons, bore holes for mortises, and get busy with chisel and mallet.
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
