Hand tools

Whilst machines and power tools can get the job done with speed and accuracy, there is more satisfaction in using hand tools and you get a sense of achievement in seeing a fine shaving curl from a plane that you have honed yourself to a superb cutting edge.

You have only to see the pride and concentration on the faces of the students at the local Boat Building Academy as they produce intricate joints using only hand tools and achieve impressive results with a flawless fit.

Undoubtedly it takes a little more skill and application from the user, but that is part of the satisfaction of using hand tools and they can often be quicker and infinitely more controllable, particularly for smaller jobs and detailed work.

 

Handsaws
In many cases, it is easier and quicker to take up a handsaw to cut and trim your project and there are a huge selection of saws that come in all shapes and sizes, such as fret or coping saws which allow you to produce fine detail work, through to 550 mm hard point saws and the more specialist retained Mitre saws for cutting precise angles.  If you want to be the envy of your friends the Lie-Nielsen tenon saw has to be the zenith of hand saws.

Click here to view the full handsaw range.

Planes
A good hand plane is a friend for life.  Buy the best you can afford because the price you pay will be reflected in the quality of the build and materials you choose. Many of the less expensive makes will require extensive tuning to bring them up to a professional standard.  Lie- Nielsen and Clifton both produce planes of exceptional quality, with blades that will prove their worth.  It is a truism that a plane is only as good as its blade.  A thicker blade will resist chatter and give a much finer finish.

Click here to view the full planes range

Chisels
Keeping your chisels sharp will improve both your work and your temper, so it is important to choose good quality steel that will hold an edge.  We have a range of fine chisels produced in excellent high carbon and alloy steels which will be a pleasure to work with.  Try a skewed chisel, excellent for trimming out all those awkward corners.

Click here to view the chisels range

Japanese Tools
This selection has found great favour with boat builders and repairers. These are all tools of original design, refined over the centuries and including chisels, saws, planes, rasps, measuring and marking equipment, scrapers and hand axes.  The saws in particular, which work on the pull stroke with a very fine kerf, are valued for their precision and excellence of cut.  The Boatbuilding Academy at Lyme Regis and its students are total converts, using many of the Japanese tools from Axminster to produce some amazingly accurate and complicated joints.

Click here to view the Japanese tool range

 
Clamps
We can offer you work holding devices of all shapes and sizes to help you get to grips with and put the squeeze on your project.  It seems you can never have enough G cramps and we have a good quality range at very affordable prices.  We also have toggle clamps for your laminating jigs, and the Axminster Deluxe cramp headset, which you can mount on a timber bar or steel box section to produce a sash style cramp of any length you want (ours sit square on the bar and the more pressure you put on the tighter they fit). But for many people the Bessey range from America has no equal.

Click here to view the clamp and cramp range

Hammers
The ‘persuaders’ of your toolkit.  A shot filled Dead Blow Hammer will help with difficult assemblies without damaging the components.  Rip and Full Claw, Pin, Cross or Ball Pein, Club, Copper/Rawhide, Soft Faced, Framers, Slater’s and Upholsterers hammers are all built to the highest quality.

Click here to view hammers, mallets, punchers and pullers

 
Screwdrivers
It may sound obvious, but it is essential to use the right size and shape of screwdriver to match your screw.  There are more screw heads damaged by the use of the wrong size screwdriver than anything else.  We have a complete range here to suit engineers, woodworkers and electricians alike. We even have a gadget to magnetise or de-magnetise your screwdriver.

Click here to view the screwdriver range

 
Pliers and Snips
Covering a wide range of sizes from tweezers and delicate electronic nippers to bolt croppers with a 10 mm capacity, the Bahco Power Cutter will cope with many of the needs of rigging wire. Our 8 in 1 Circlip Pliers are a good standby set covering a range of circlip's both internal and external.

Click here to view the pliers, snips & electrician’s tools
 

Spanners
Have you ever used a combination ratchet spanner? If so you will know that they are the best thing since the proverbial sliced bread.  We have got some excellent ones at amazing prices, with a ratchet ring at one end and open at the other so they are very adept at reaching tight spaces. They also have some very useful deep sockets, not forgetting the ball end and T handled hex keys for the extra grip and difficult to get at screws.

Click here to view the spanners and sockets range

Staplers
If you are cold moulding, you will know how important it is to have a good staple gun whether it be manual or electronic. The choice is yours – good quality guns with a ready supply of staples and tacking pins are available.  If you're leaving them in we've got T 50 staples at 10 mm in stainless steel.

Click here to view the full staplers range

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