All that You Need to Know About Maintenance and Repair of your Carpentry Tools

Endless hours of work would make you feel tired and irksome. Then, you would probably give yourself a good sleep and a rest. What about your carpentry tools? They are machines, and why not? They too get tired. So, they won’t give the best out of them if you fail to give them what they need. Humans need nutrition and rest. Likewise, what do your carpentry tools need? Your carpentry tools surely need proper maintenance and repair. Simply, without proper maintenance and repair of carpentry tools, they cannot go on working.

Most of the time, many people do not regard the maintenance and repair of carpentry tools as a major need. If there is no proper maintenance and repair of carpentry tools, the ramifications would turn out to be pretty unfavorable to an extent that you might never even think of. The reason is, when there’s no proper maintenance and repair for your carpentry tools, the efficiency of your work drops rapidly. Further, there can be plenty of issues pertaining to the quality and the durability of your work. Ultimately, your proficient skills will help you no further as long as you carry on with your unmaintained and unrepaired equipment.

Hence, maintenance and repair of your carpentry tools are undeniably necessities. You may have a problem if proper maintenance and repair would cost a lot. You will hardly have to spend money on maintenance. As for repair, you will have to spend a little amount of money if you have to replace a part of your tool. Other than that, you will have no considerable expenses in this regard. If you can spend a little bit of your time, that’s what it costs.

Benefits of Proper Maintenance and Repairing of your Carpentry Tools

Undoubtedly, proper maintenance and repair of your carpentry tools help you gain a lot of advantages for your profession. The most important of all is the resultant efficiency that you get. Using unmaintained and unrepaired equipment would take a lot of time to fulfill a task. Perhaps, such tools may take twice the time than when using better equipment. Sometimes, you will have to put your efforts more than you should in such situations. Eventually, you would feel a lack of self-contentment and job satisfaction, not because you lack skills, but because your tools are not cooperative enough to support the smooth running of your work.

Nonetheless, it is your responsibility to fulfill your client’s expectations. His or her demand is certainly a classy proficient job of a very high caliber. If your job is not up to the standard, how can your client ever be satisfied? The expected quality product is surely the outcome of your technical expertise, commitment, and high-quality technical apparatus. Unmaintained and unrepaired carpentry tools can affect the standard of your job. Your outcome would not be durable. If so, how can you or your client ever reach satiety?

Just like any other professional, you too sing for your supper. Your ultimate satisfaction is nothing but your profit. To earn more, you have to work more. For that, you need to save time. You might come across the feeling that when you spend your time on maintenance and repair of your carpentry tools, you lose your valuable time. But the truth is that it is an investment. It makes your work efficient. Thus, you can work more and earn more. Further, you get a higher value for a more quality job. So, the better your carpentry tools are, the more you earn.

How to carry on proper Maintenance and Repair of your Carpentry Tools?

In order not to have the complaint ‘overworked and underpaid’, you have to carry on proper maintenance and repair of your carpentry tools.   Maintaining and repairing are two different aspects. You need to have complete knowledge of both. First, let’s take a look at what you can do for the proper maintenance of your tools.

  1. Regular Sharpening of tools
  2. Cleaning tools after each use
  3. Drying tools after use
  4. Oiling or Greasing of the tools
  5. Storing tools with care

All the same, proper repair also plays a major role. How should you repair your tools? Let’s find out.

  1. Repairing loose, cracked, or splintered handles
  2. Proper repairing of mushroomed heads
  3. Get rid of rust and corrosion
  4. Repairing tools with a cracked  housing
  5. Fixing power tools that are slow to start
  6. Repairing tools with frayed insulation and exposed wires

You must surely be curious to find solutions to the problems you have. This read would resolve all of your doubts for sure.

Proper Maintenance

To start with, let’s consider in detail how you should carry on proper maintenance. This overview would provide you clear descriptions of each specific method.

1. Regular Sharpening of Tools

Sharpening is a prominent aspect that you should consider when it comes to the maintenance of your carpentry tools. Let’s consider the following.

  • Why is sharpening Important?
  • What are the tools that need sharpening?
  • The tools that you can use for sharpening
  • The procedure of sharpening

Go ahead and you will be able to read all about what you need to know about sharpening your tools.

Why is Sharpening Important?

No craftsman would find it easy to complete a task using dull equipment. When one uses such tools, it takes a lot of time to get to the end of the job. Further, there are instances that you surely have to use sharp tools or you can hardly do it. How would you feel when you should work very hard, but the outcome is of poor quality? In fact, sharp tools become a major necessity in this regard. 

Basically, sharpening your woodworking tools is important as much as using them. Without sharp equipment, your job remains half done. So, always make it a point not to forget to sharpen your carpentry tools whenever you feel that it is necessary. If not, your proficient skills would be taken for granted and you become a poor woodworker. Anyway, there’s no one who doesn’t like to have pleasure while working. If your tools aren’t sharp, you will have to put extra effort to finish your job. That would not possibly be a pleasure for you, would it?

With continuous use, the edges of your tools round over. Consequently, you need plenty of force to drive your tool through the lumber as your tool then contacts a considerably large surface area. Because of this, it is implausible to say that you would get a smooth product. It would possibly be rough, which is clearly not what you want. In order to make the resistance lesser, and your job much easier, it is mandatory to sharpen your carpentry tools regularly.

 What are the tools that need sharpening?

If you are a mature carpenter, you would probably know by experience which tool needs sharpening and which tool does not. Yet, if you are new to the field, having a piece of knowledge about the tools that need sharpening could be pretty important and useful.

Basically, any tool with an edge that you use for either cutting or drilling purposes, requires sharpening. You must especially pay attention to your chisels. With regular use, their edges become blunt. Needless to say, it is important to have a sharp edge for chisels to make the best use of it. Thus, they need frequent sharpening. Furthermore, you need to sharpen your plane irons as well. Moreover, you have to be vigilant about the condition of your gouges. You have to sharpen them regularly to get the maximum output. You need to sharpen your parting tools also. In addition, sharpening tools such as handsaws, scrapers (hand scrapers and shave hooks), and drill bits is another indispensable measure. In fact, it is unarguably necessary to sharpen the knives that you will have to use occasionally.

The equipment that you can use for sharpening

On some occasions, you can carry on the sharpening process on your own. But, perhaps, you will have to get the help of a professional on some other occasions. It totally depends on the situation and the nature of the tool that needs sharpening. There are instances that you will have to use specific apparatus specialized for sharpening purposes whereas there are some other instances that you can sharpen your tools without such an apparatus.

  • Sharpening Stones
  • Strops
  • Files

Let’s move to a brief account of each of the above.

Sharpening Stones

The most salient of all are sharpening stones. They are available in different sizes, shapes and grits specialized for various sharpening purposes. There are flat stones and slip stones. Usually, they are natural stones shaped to fit the requirements.

Also, it is necessary that you apply light oil or water in order to clean these sharpening stones. There is another advantage in doing so. It is that it functions as a coolant. Thus, it avoids the overheating of the tool. Anyway, to sharpen tools, it is better to use a honing guide with these stones. 

Further, there are differences even in the materials of sharpening stones to suit various tools. To sharpen carbide tools, it is most suitable to use diamond stones. As a matter of fact, diamond stones are expensive. For the same purpose, you can use less expensive ceramic tools. You can use water stones for fast cutting. You should keep water stones in water for some time before use if you use them. Moreover, you must make it a point to wipe the tools and make them dry soon after sharpening. If not, rusting might occur. You can even use synthetic oil stones. They are pretty cheap. But the edge wouldn’t be keen as you would get in other rather expensive stones.

Strops

Strops are often made from leather. They are backed with wood. They are used with abrasives. The ultimate objective of using strops is to make the edges much finer and sharper. As abrasives, you can use the valve grinding compound which is a silicon-carbide powder, or natural buffing compounds, or synthetic polishing compounds.

Files

You will have to use files specifically when you need to sharpen hand saws and drill bits. These are made of steel. Files are available in different sizes and shapes. To suit your expectation, you can use the ideal type.

  • Mill Files: A multipurpose saw file for sharpening blades
  • Needle Files: A small file with an unusual shape of a cross-section
  • Round Files: A file with a circular cross-section
  • Auger Files: A special file with single-cut teeth
  • Three-square Files: A file with a triangular cross-section

In addition to all these professional sharpening tools, you have the freedom to use sandpapers. But keep in mind that unlike when using such tools, sandpapers wouldn’t give you a very sharp and smooth edge after all.

The procedure of Sharpening

It is up to you to decide if you should go to a professional to sharpen your tools, or you have the capability to do that. Anyway, this is to provide you a brief overview of how you should carry on the process of sharpening.

Sharpening a Chisel

Let’s have a look at how you should sharpen a chisel step by step.

  1.  Get the chisel you want to sharpen, sharpening stones, and a honing guide. You may use oil stones, water stones, or diamond stones as sharpening stones.
  2.  Insert the chisel into the honing guide and tighten it. Mind you insert it with the bevel facing down.
  3.  Set the chisel onto the stone you have gotten and rub it back and forth for some time. Amid doing so, wipe the blade and check the progress from time to time.
  4.  Flatten the back of the chisel by making its back entirely lie on the stone and doing a few passes.

It is advisable to start the sharpening process through stones with lower grits and then move to stones with higher grits.

Sharpening a skew

To sharpen a skew without a honing guide, you can get the bevel of the skew to lie flat on the stone you have chosen and press it using your fingertips. It is much better to use a slip stone for this process. But you should always be conscious of whether you are holding it at the correct angle.

You can also sharpen your skew using a sharpening machine. You can get the help of a professional to do so.

2. Cleaning tools after each use

Cleaning is not specific to carpentry. We need to clean everything that we use in our day to day life. Our essential home tools undeniably need regular cleaning. You will have to use your carpentry tools in different places, in different atmospheres to suit each situation. Hence, it is possible for such woodworking tools to be covered in grime. Majorly, your cutting and drilling equipment can catch dirt easily.

If your cutting tools catch a coat of resin, what you should do is cleaning it with a pitch and resin remover. You can further polish your blades as an additional cleaning measure. If you don’t keep your cutting tools such as blades clean, eventually they will build up extra heat, and there can be issues like drag and vibration.

As for router bits, you can use a router bit and saw blade cleaning kit. You can even use a pitch and resin remover if you wish. You may clean the external surfaces of all your woodworking apparatus with lubrication.

All of these methods take time. You have to do the cleaning by hand. You will have to spend your precious time applying cleaning fluids or lubricants. If you a small-scale carpenter, it wouldn’t matter. Even if you want to clean your general home tools, time would not be a crucial issue. Yet, if you engage in carpentry on a large scale, time is your most valuable asset. Besides, you cannot forget cleaning. The ideal option you have is to use an ultrasonic cleaner.

Using an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning

All you need for the ultrasonic cleaning process are an ultrasonic cleaner and a cleaning fluid. This is a super-fast way to clean your carpentry tools. Here are the steps of this procedure.

  1. Fill the tank of the ultrasonic cleaner with a cleaning fluid.
  2. Switch it on and operate it for about 5 minutes.
  3. Wipe the tools using a dry cloth.

The ultrasonic cleaner is a way that can save time for you to engage in more profitable work. However, if you are not a professional in this field, it’s much better to go with hand cleaning.

3. Drying tools after use

There are times that carpenters have to work in wet and moist conditions. On such occasions, there is no possibility at all for carpentry tools not to become wet and moist. But it does not mean that you have to refrain from working in such climates. You definitely have to carry on with your work. Meanwhile, your concern for your tools is vitally important. You must pay extra attention to dry them after use.

What will happen if you keep your tools undried? The most critical problem you will face is rust. If rusting occurs in your tools, they become less durable. You will not be able to work efficiently with such tools. Yet, is it so hard to prevent this problem? Of course, not.

All you have to do is to dry up all your woodworking tools after using them. It’s an easy-peasy task. But if you fail to do this, the ramifications are not as simple as they seem. You will either have to go for new equipment or you will have to waste your time on cleaning them afterward. Needless to say, both those costs either your time or your money. It is up to you to decide whether you are willing to resolve matters before they worsen.

4. Oiling and Greasing

It’s no secret that too much friction can cause machinery to wear out. However, we all know that friction is a prominent force that we all need. It works for us and sometimes against us. Even at times that it works for us, too much friction can do us no good. We should have friction at an ideal level. This is especially relevant to all the tools that a carpenter uses. Friction is a requisite primary need of any carpentry tool. Yet, it must remain within the most efficient range.

What will happen if there’s too much friction? If so, woodworking tools would generate excessive heat. We all know that heat is a form of unproductive energy on most occasions and we should get the same energy in a productive way. For that, we must oil and grease our tools. Eventually, we can have friction at a useful rate and our job will be pretty efficient.

Prior to greasing and oiling, we must make it a point to choose the right places that we should grease. Indeed they are the hinges and places where the moving parts connect to the tools. Then, we can apply grease at the most suitable frequency. Indeed, you must continue to monitor regularly, whether oiling and greasing are needed.

5. Storing tools with care

It is natural for all of us to get the feeling that it is only living beings who need care. Yet, even machinery needs care. It doesn’t mean that we need to care for machinery as we do for our kith and kin. Caring for tools and equipment is different. We must surely make it a point to store our tools in the correct manner. That is the most effective way of caring for our equipment when they are not in use. Unquestionably, we must handle them properly when they are in use. But what most people ignore is to store them properly.

Why is storing equipment properly this important? In fact, manufacturers design carpentry tools for rough and long term use. Sometimes, there can be periods that you do not use a particular tool for a very long time. But whenever you take them for use, they must be in perfect shape and order. If not, what else other than ‘utter waste of money’ can you call it?

In order to protect your tools from rain and dust, we need to cover them at the place we store them. Further, it is an important measure to inspect the condition of our tools. When they are not taken for frequent use, wear and tear, and corrosion are some major issues that we will eventually have to deal with. Hence, it is indeed necessary to store our tools in a manner that they will not have to face problems from rain and dust as well as to cover them up. This might seem to be pretty simple, but failing to do this can result in a lot of disappointment for you.

Proper Repair

If you maintain your carpentry tools properly, there can only a little chance for you to do any repair.  On the contrary, even if you have done so, still you may have to do some repairing depending on the nature of your tool and the purpose you have used it for. So, it is always important to be aware of the instances that you should repair your equipment and how you should do that. You can read about all you need to know about repairing your carpentry tools henceforth.

1. Repairing loose, cracked, or splintered handles

When you keep using your woodworking tools for a long time, they might get loose, cracked, or splintered handles. Indeed, such handles tend to break easily. So, it is mandatory to repair them. What are the reasons that cause these problems?

The loosening of handles can be the result of the uneven distribution of weight. Further, using such tools in inappropriate manners can lead to cracked and splintered handles. It occurs when the tool collides with a hard surface powerfully or when the tool is mistakenly dropped.

The most adverse problem is that this might cause a serious injury to you. Hence, do not ever use any tool with a loose, cracked, or splintered handle unless you fix it. It might become a killer at any time. We all know that prevention is better than cure. It’s always better to mend it first.

So, what can you do to fix a cracked or splintered handle? First, you have to sand the particular handle. You have to make it smoother as much as possible to an extent that you will not sense any flakes or chips. You can finish off the procedure by applying a coating of linseed oil.

If not, you can sand the cracked or splintered handle, apply glue, and wrap it with a strong string. It is better to use two layers of wrapped strings for a better repair.

A loose handle can be the result of a loose nail. You can fix this problem by replacing the nail with a screw.

Anyway, if the problem cannot be fixed easily, the best solution is to go for a new handle. Always remember, nothing costs more than your life and your health.

2. Proper repairing of mushroomed heads

This is a common problem among chisels, punches, hammers, and drift pins. As a result of continuous use, the head of such tools can turn out to resemble a mushroom. Hence, we call it a mushroomed head. This occurs when the striking edge of such tools get malformed. When they strike with another hard surface a large number of times, it is highly possible to get a mushroomed head.

Anyway, when there is a mushroomed head in a tool, it is much safer not to use it without fixing it. It is possible for the head to break on impact. It can result in small fragments of the shattered head to collide with the user or any other person in the vicinity. These fragments can be sharp and they can cause serious and unexpected injuries suddenly.

So, how can you avoid this danger? The main method is to sharpen the mushroomed head.

Anyway, you must use punches and pins that are sturdy for the job. Further, you must be doubly careful to hold these tools in a very firm grip. By doing so, you can avoid getting mushroomed heads for your tools.

Another important suggestive solution in this regard is to have a plan to sharpen such tools once every five months. It can minimize any imminent danger.

3. Get rid of rust and corrosion

Normally, this is also another problem that occurs with time. Corrosion as you may know is a gradual process. The main reason for corrosion is moisture. Generally, it is impractical to avoid any tool interacting with moisture. Hence, you may see rust in many metal equipment over the course of time. 

If there is rust on a particular tool, it would be very unsafe to use it. The work would not be efficient either. So, undeniably you have to solve this problem. You clearly have two choices. The first is to remove the rust. The other is to replace the gadget if the rust is severe. Here are the basic steps to remove rust effectively.

  1. Remove rust using a wire brush or sandpaper.
  2. Use a bench grinder if you feel that it is necessary.
  3. Lubricate the surface of the tool using a non-oxidizing lubricant.
  4. Wipe down the surface.

However, it is important to keep our carpentry tools away from moisture as much as possible. You can keep them in a suitable place and cover them up when they are not in use.

4. Repairing tools with a cracked housing

The housing of a tool is very important. The moving parts of your tool get protection simply because of the housing. If not, your carpentry tools can cause a lot of damage to anyone around you. Hence, if there’s a crack in the housing of your woodworking tool, it is much safer to repair it before using it to avoid any serious injury.

You can use a soldering iron and repair the power tool on most occasions. Anyway, if you are not an expert to carry on this task, it is always better to get the assistance of a professional. Otherwise, fixing it on your own can even be risky and dangerous.

5. Fixing tools that are slow to start

Perhaps you may have some power tools that are slow to start. Should you go ahead with such machinery? Why should you, when you can fix them?

This is a problem that you will mostly find in equipment with rotating blades. Anyway, when you find any power tool slow to start, you must stop using them and repair them.

Sometimes, this can be a result of not using the tool for a very long time. There can be dirt and dust among the blades and it might cause the tool to require an extra torque to start up. In fact, you may have to give a little push from your hand to make the blades spinning. But operating a power tool like this is not a good option.

The initial step you must take is cleaning the blades. By now, you must be having a pretty good idea as to how you should do the cleaning. It is much better to lubricate the blades as well.

If you cannot fix it by cleaning or lubricating, then you surely will have to repair it. The problem might be with a belt on a sander. If so, you will have to replace it. Perhaps the problem might be with the power code. If so, you can try replacing it.

However, you may not be able to diagnose the failure all by yourself sometimes. The best is to get a piece of advice from someone who is an expert in the field. Such an experienced professional would surely know the part of the tool that you should replace.

6. Repairing tools with frayed insulation and exposed wires

Some of your tools’ codes might be frayed. If so, the live wire can be exposed. This is a perilous electrical hazard. By any chance, If you make contact with an exposed wire, it might give you a shock. Further, it could cause a short and the ultimate result can be far too dangerous. It can even create a fire.

The most obvious reason for frayed insulation is overheating. This can be the result of an accidental overload of electricity. When there are such exposed wires in your power tools, always be mindful to repair them. Do not ever run wires under carpets or hang them from nails. If there is frayed insulation by any chance, it can cause you a lot of danger.

Primarily, you can use electrical tapes to cover up the frayed part. Yet, you must keep in mind that it is not a permanent solution. It is much better if you could cut the wire and make a connection using wire nuts. However, if you feel that you are not skillful enough to carry on the task, it is much better to contact an electrician.

Conclusion

Carpentry is now a highly demanded profession in the world. As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 1M carpenters just within the USA. Thus, enlightening the carpenters about the maintenance and repairing of carpentry tools is important. We believe that this article helps with it. Now, you may be having a clear idea about why proper maintenance and repair is vital for your carpentry tools. To immerse yourself in carpentry, your tools should definitely be in proper condition. Hence, as long as you carry on proper maintenance and repair of your carpentry tools, you will remain to be an efficient and skillful carpenter. Always remember, it is not merely your talents that make you clever, but also your tools.