The ability to take and make something useful out of a piece of wood spear stakes arrow a chair a home spoon what are you going to need. Knowledge vision and a sharp tool many things can be done with a knife yes. But would it not be easier to get common handtools now and have them to make your work quicker and easier im talking nonpowered tools not cordless packs but just basc old hand tools.
I agree i love woodworking and i like using hand tools. A lot of people don't think of this as a survival need but you will need to be able to rebuild and this is also a fun skill.
Learning to work with wood will serve anyone well. Make your own can rotation system rather than purchase one. Make hidden gun storage, etc. Either way, it's always nice to have a skill to fall back on. There are many flavors of woodworkers. Those that use power tools almost exclusively, those that use only hand tools, and hybrid users who found balance with both. I'm working towards being a hybrid user of tools, that way I can transition easily to hand tools only if need be. That nice Powermatic table saw is just so much dead weight if you have no electricity to run it.
Some of my best times back in High School was Shop Class, nothing better than turning a piece of wood into something much more, using tools. It's very therapeutic.
I have the knowledge and skills and some useful hand tools. I have identified 2 restaurants that have old hand tools hanging on the walls as antique art. I expect most people will raid them for their food stores but not me....well maybe food, too. Most look quite serviceable. What I don't have are the hand tools needed to cut mortises used in barns. But I can cut tenons, half-lap and bridled joints with handsaws....given a good sharp hand-twist auger, I could probably twist a good peg hole. Just don't have the tools to strip bark and dimension lumber into boards/beams. I'm hoping HD/Lowe's type stores have some wood for a while. While my big power tools may not work, they are still fantastic platforms for use with someone who can engineer a water wheel and a way to distribute the energy (ex: car differential, pulleys, leather belts, etc.) to the cutting blades.
I get alot of traditional tools from fleamarkets and such, but also modern made chinese stuff that alot of times hold descent quality these days. I look for tools that hold standard measurements so I can easily change cutting edges and such if needed. I am in no way an expert woodworker but when you live up in the alps you need how to do some repairs and manufacturing at your homestead. Also, as a modern thing, pinterest has alot of good ideas!
I buy a lot of hand tools from outdoor markets and car boot sales, I bought a decent heavy weight machete at a local car boot this morning for £10, I also bought a lightweight pair of loppers for £3.
Just wanna add. I mostly work in softer woods, the guy in the outhouse on my profile pic is not an actual usable item, I made that and stuff like that. If anyone is interrested I can take some pics of my wooden guys.
Basic woodworking and carpentry skills are very beneficial. When SHTF and you need to build a new outbuilding or make repairs it will be easier to salvage wood and nails then other materials since most buildings around have been constructed with lumber and nails/screws.
I love old school woodworking tools and have a bunch of them. I like to do primitive wood carving and do a lot of what used to be called hobo art. I have a bunch of draw knives, froes, adzes both flat and bowl adze, gouges, chisels and all manner of planes and carving knives. Mostly I do what I call wood doodling and make things like wooden chains and balls in boxes and such. Spoons and bowls occasionally but I prefer working with small things. I also have a fully equipped shop with the power tools but more and more I'm in my craft shop working with hand tools.
Was digging thru older threads and saw this one and thought it'd be a good idea to lay out what people consider to be essential manual hand tools for wood working. No power, no batteries. I mean specialty tools for things like Post and Beam can become a rabbit hole so lets think on basic tools one would need to build a house or basic furniture. handsaws - crosscut and rip chisels planes sharpening stones and strop mallets hammers squares ruler compass level calipers (tong style) Brace and bit plumb bob chalkbox ??
I have an upright roll-about with many (?) drawers. It's about 5 feet tall (1.5 meters). Regular and specialty tool boxes, I have about five, all rather heavy. The one in my SUV is 3ft. x 12" x 12" and goes 40lb. Plus I have tools hung from the rafters of my outside shop. One must have nails, nuts, and bolts -- fasteners of all variety, large and tiny. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of nails. I have several old-style hand-crank drills. One should keep huge rolls of heavy wall plastic and several tarpaulins. Should a hole develop in your roof, you must immediately cover it with whatever. I also keep pressure-treated planks & boards in the workshop's ceiling structure. Always figure that you are going to have to jerry-rig whatever. Sh## happens and all too frequently. I keep scrap metal crap for future repair jobs, jerry-rigs. I am not psychic. Repair jobs always blind-side you. As to sacred duct tape. It ain't so sacred any more. The good stuff will cost you. Consider getting thermal tape. Keep all manner of mending brackets or just keep the scrap metal sheets left over from previous repair jobs. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=metal+mending+brackets+&atb=v140-1&iax=images&ia=images
OlGeez - Guess I'm thinking more specific to actual traditional woodworking, not necessarily shop supplies or general homestead maintenance. And traditional wood work as in no screws and nails are used and it's all wood joinery, maybe at most some glue and finishes like tung oil, boiled linseed, etc. Remember that show that was on PBS for a few decades, The Woodright Shop, that's what I have in mind.
https://www.kevinsamerica.com/category/local/ Good morning Country Guy, Just what you mentioned above, something built with no screws or nails ......... Several years ago, it was discovered that James Madison's desk had a secret drawer accessable by pressing something. A formerly unknown letter was found. Above link shows a picture of the President's desk ... at beginning of link, with wall map above. Had thought it was a different desk but point is still that he had a "real" wooden desk. I forgot what the "secret" document was about.
I once build a little wooden table with no nails, just wooden dowels and glue. It consisted of 2 x 4 scraps. Fun project and the table lasted many years and several moves. I think the ex-wife took it. LOL
I also love working with wood. I built a man cave with all of my tools from working in construction. I am now retired and i go to my shop and build all sort of stuff. tables, stools, boxes, .I have all the tools aforementioned , and a full set of chisels, and carving stuff. In fact to day i am planning on going to work there for a couple of hours.
