Custom furniture design, repair, restoration, preservation and advice for woodworking beginners and enthusiasts
After the reductive work of the Rasp and File or machinery like the Planer, surface preparation for finishing begins with the Scraper, a relatively thin plate of tempered steel, very like that of a handsaw blade. Scrapers are made in varying thicknesses and a number of shapes. Scraping is followed by sanding starting with coarse and moving to finer grits.
Furniture restoration will compel you to find a varied selection of clamping devices, and call upon your ingenuity on-the-fly when manufactured solutions are not available.
A bench is a conveniently elevated and (hopefully) flat clamping jig. Large and heavy is best if you do not require mobility. I prefer to have attached vises rather than stops and hooks.
Whether you buy new or used tools, what I would like to emphasize here is your comfort; all other things being (mostly) equal, I would opt for the tool that fit my hand size and stature. Comfort promotes control and as a result, safety and improvement in your ability to attain accuracy in your work.
I am a woodworker; an activity that encompasses a variety of specialized practices. I consider myself a furniture maker, or at least that was my intention early on, but a working career leads you into areas that you may not at first have anticipated.
Sticks & Glue 
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