The Forty Eight

In Chris Schwarz’s The Anarchist’s Tool Chest, a list is provided of the forty or so tools required to build just about any piece of fine furniture. Here’s the list, and how I filled it out.

Handplanes

Jack plane
Filled this one twice. An antique Stanley #5 with a replacement iron and breaker and a Veritas Low Angle Jack
Plow plane
Veritas small plow plane
Rabbet/shoulder plane
Filled twice. Lie-Nielsen rabbeting block plane and a Lie-Nielsen large shoulder plane
Router plane
Veritas large router plane
Block plane
Lie-Nielsen low angle block plane

Marking & Measuring

Cutting gauge(s)
Veritas wheel gauge x 2, one with microadjust. Dual-beam gauge from Lee Valley.
Panel gauge
unfilled, but we’re making one in the Hand Tool School
6″ Combination square
Starrett 6″ combo
6″ Rule
Bridge City Toolworks 6″ non-glare rule
24″ folding rule or 24″ steel rule
no-name 24″ rule from staples
12″ tape measure
Stanley LeverLock
Marking knife
Utilitas striking knife from Lee Valley, Blue Spruce marking knife
Wooden winding Sticks
Shop made, from some CVG doug fir. Will remake in cherry or mahogany
36″ wooden straightedge
unfilled, will make myself
Wooden try square, 12″ blade
unfilled, will make myself
Sliding bevel
Starrett second and a crappy Lowes special
Dividers, two to four pair
Have two pair, need some more
Trammel points
unfilled

Essential Cutting Tools

Bevel-edge chisels 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1-1/4″
Ashley Iles MK2 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, and 1 1/2″
Mortise chisels, 1/4″ or 5/16″
Ray Iles 1/4″
Spokeshave
Stanley #81 shave, antique. Mouth is way too big, really need a finer one.
Would like the Boggs flat bottom shave from Lie-Nielsen.
Cabinet, modeling and rattail rasp
Auriou rasps for each
Card scrapers
Lie-Nielsen scrapers

Striking & Fastening Tools

Chisel mallet
Marples carpenter’s mallet. Would love to get a nice round carver’s mallet.
Cross-peen hammer
Lee Valley, which is junk. Would like a good one.
13 oz. to 16 oz. claw hammer
Lowe’s
Deadblow mallet
Lee Valley stock
Nailsets
Big Box special
Nail pincers
unfilled
Set of slotted screwdrivers
missing, have replaceable tip sets
Screw tips for drill/drivers
assorted, Lowe’s
Sawnut drivers
unfilled
Countersinks & counterbores
#6, #8, #10 in power. Good enough.
10″ brace
Stanley Yankee and Grandfather’s unmarked
Hand drill
Old Miller’s Falls
Set of 13 auger bits
Russell Jennings set & an old Irwin set
Brad points 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 7/16″ and 1/2″
Lee Valley set, missing 7/16″ and 1/2″
Birdcage awl
unfilled, this would be nice.
Dowel plate
Lie-Nielsen imperial dowel plate

Saws

Dovetail saw
Lie-Nielsen thin plate
Carcase saw
Lie-Nielsen crosscut
Tenon saw
Lie-Nielsen 16″ tenon
Panel saws (rip saw, crosscut saw, fine crosscut saw)
Disston D8 8PPI XCut
Disston D8 5.5 PPI Rip
Wenzloff & Sons 9PPI XCut
Disston D-something 10PPI XCut
Flush cut saw
unfilled, cheap is fine
Coping saw
Tools for Working Wood

Sharpening

Sharpening stones (honing and polishing)
Japanese “Super-Stones” by Naniwa
Strop
Strop from Tools for Working Wood
Grinder
70’s Craftsman Bench Grinder and a coarse diamond stone
Oilcan or plant mister
seriously, you need a source?
Burnisher
Hock burnisher, need to make a handle

Appliances

Bench hook
shop made
Sawbenches
shop made
Miter box
making one for the HTS
End-grain shooting board
shop made
Long-grain shooting board
none, use my bench and battens
Cork-backed sanding block
none, use rubber backed
Workbench
shop made, based on the Nicholson bench

Good-to-have Tools

Dial caliper
have crappy digital, a Mitutoyo would be nice
12″ combination square
Starrett
Dovetail marker
unfilled, making one in the HTS
Jointer plane
Stanley Bedrock 608, corrugated base. Would like to get a Lie-Nielsen #7.
Smooth plane
Stanley Bailey #4, and a Lie-Nielsen Bronze #4 with the 55° frog
Large shoulder plane
Lie-Nielsen large shoulder plane
Carpenter’s hatchet
unfilled
Drawknife
unfilled
No. 80 cabinet scraper
unfilled
Beading plane
unfilled
Small complex moulder, such as an ogee or square ovolo
unfilled
Half-set of hollows & rounds
none, would love bickford’s
1-1/2″-wide paring chisel
have the 1-1/2″ Ashley Isles
Fishtail chisel
none
Drawer-lock chisel
none
Mortise float
none, would love the Lie-Nielsen versions
Expansive bit
none
Drawbore pins
none, have pins for shop made
12″ bowsaw
Gramercy 12″ bowsaw
Sawfiles
Full set from Lee Valley
Mill file
Various. I like Grobet’s.
Saw Vise
Gramercy Saw Vise
Saw Set
Tools for Working Wood
Side-clamp honing guide
Eclipse-style from Lie-Nielsen. Also use the MKII from Lee Valley

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