Too lazy to use power tools

[oldwino]

Who does this anymore?
While working on new shop setup this morning I needed to cut a few pieces of uni-strut, some wood mounting blocks etc. porti-band on other side of shop so thought "what the hay", I'll just use a hack saw, cleaned edges with a file and cut blocks with a hand saw...turned a one hour job into two but it's nice to go back now and then

 

[turbowoodworker]

Old school. Hard on the back. Good for the brain.

 

[kd3pc]

early 1970's me and the hacksaw were good friends, as an apprentice electrician. I stood behind that saw for days on end, prefabbing light fixture mounts and such. small EMT was easy compared to strut or ...

Still good to know how to really use a handsaw of all kinds.

 

[malibu101]

Last weekend my 17 year old son came in the garage saying he needed the Sawzall to cut off 1 piece of rebar that he was using to secure a Christmas decoration in the yard.
I told him to put it in the vise and handed him a hacksaw. He looked at me in disbelief.
I said by the time he would get the Sawzall out of the case, put a blade in, cut, and put the saw back away, he could cut as easy and faster by hand.
He grumbled like he was being punished or something, and did it by hand.

If I was the OP, I would have used the power tools.
There's no shame in using any tool to make a job easier, faster, safer, and maybe nicer.
But also, burning calories instead of electric makes you appreciate power all the more.

 

[Stuart in MN]

If all I'm doing is cutting a single board or one piece of metal I go for a hand saw. I also use a hammer and don't own any nail guns.

 

[PeterT]

I collect vintage hand saws, mostly from the early 1900s,,, and I use them often - nothing like cutting through a piece of wood with a nice sharp Henry Disston rip saw.

Chop saw gets used a lot also because its set up and ready to go. Anything in a case where you gotta drag out a cord, would require a bunch of cuts for me

 

[OccupantRJ]

I sometimes use hand tools to keep my skills honed. If you look at some of my threads on tool hangers, you will see that I sometimes used various common tools to do the work. This is to let others know that you do not need industrial level machinery as some of us have to get good results.

 

[Slowgsr]

Now that I have a carbide tipped metal saw in my truck I rarely use my hacksaw - I have a difficult time cutting unistrut, large conduit etc square enough for my satisfaction. However, the hacksaw does go everywhere with me, the big saw is not nearly as portable. I don't use my hacksaw much, demolition is a practical use.

Kind of like how I'll have things sent out and cut on a waterjet vs with a torch. Power tools generally give a better end result

 

[bad_idea]

The younger generation here (30). My mother recently gave me a double edge pull saw because I had a use for hers once. I said thanks and tried to give it back. I have power tools for that. Ha! She refused and it has sat in a drawer since. I can count on one hand the times I have used a hand saw. Especially since I got a portaband at the house and made a table for it.

 

[woodzy]

I was just working on a wood working project for a friend. Needed to cut a few slots (normal hand saw thickness) in some 3" pine. Looked and Looked and I don't think I own a hand saw. Probably have 20 power items to cut with but nothing by hand.

I don't think I can actually but a hand saw but maybe if one is on sale.

 

[Mr. T]

I'm still young(ish) but I truly believe that the ability to properly use a hacksaw and file is still the line between a true craftsman and a hammer mechanic.

 

[DonPowers]

I do a fair amount of woodworking and when younger it was all about the power tools. Now I get a lot of satisfaction using hand tools for many projects. The power tool that gets the least use these days is my router, do most of the work with chisels and hand planes.

 

[Jinks]

Half way through changing 10 garage door rollers the other day I realized that if I used one of the two battery operated drills I have my wrist wouldn't be tired....duh! So, I put the ratchet up, switched to the drill & finished the project. Basically I'm just too old to think about the newer tools. I keep a hand drill around to remind me of how much I hate those things! I had nearly half of a 32 year career before AT&T allowed us to use electric drills! Anything I need to drill through now either gets the electric version or a very large caliber!

 

[Whitworth]

Can't wait until junior grabs my prized Japanese dovetail saw and starts cutting rebar with it.
Teach that youngn' the meaning of hard work.

 

[LXCam]

I grab the hacksaw all the time cause I'm too lazy to plug in my portaband that's 5ft more feet away, then actually pull the cord on my cord reel that's 4ft the other direction and heaven forbid plug them together. Then there's all the reverse action ****, unplug, let the cord reel reel the cord back in then putting the portaband back in it's spot. Far too much work for me.


Yes sir, then everytime I do this I get right into the middle of cutting only to realize I need to change the blade cause it's wore out and my kid put a damn kink in it which makes things extra special and say to myself, self, before you put the thing away, change the blade. But that would require a 8ft trip to where the blades are stored and that's just too far to be worth the effort. Then like all quick projects, the hacksaw gets tossed on the bench and forgotten about till it's time to clean up. And by that time, changing the blade is the furthest thing from happening.

Yup, all these tools are nothing more then a inconvenience.

 

[ScottsGT]

Exact opposite. Started to use the hacksaw and after 2 strokes said WTF? Got the sawzall out and used it. Too old in the back and shoulders to work like a young man.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I spent too many years having to do things the hard way. I might break out the hacksaw once every few years. I do make sure that I new blades for it though.

 

[sberry]

Rarely use a hand saw.

 

[slip knot]

Depends on what, when and where. if I can stick it in the vise and go, then the hacksaw gets used. Under a house cutting galv piping out then the sawzall gets the nod. On the tractors its usually the torch.

I like having multiple tools at my disposal.

 

[speed bump]

Somebody I was listening to once said:I have never met a power tool I didn't want to try. In my opinion those are words to live by. Although a better mantra might be: Use the tool that best completes the task for you.

As far as hand saws: I own one hacksaw that I have not replaced the blade on since 2012. I might purchase a pull saw for trim work though as it is sometimes a better option than an oscillating tool.

 

[56vette461]

I posted a picture of my 12 years old granddaughter making several Harry Potter style magic wands for an upcoming birthday party over in another GJ link. We used woodworking hand tools that were my grandfathers, my dads and mine. Files, Rasps, dual sided saws and lots of sandpaper. I don't know who had more fun, but what a joyful time we had. Never thought about using the power stuff or lathe. Just too much fun.

 

[James-W]

I use a hacksaw on occasion. I use a hand saw for wood once in awhile, but for the most part I use a table saw or a chop saw. I have arthritis in both my hands and wrists and doing certain tasks is not very comfortable. Power tools make it much easier to do stuff.

 

[gtcs]

When on the clock, powertools are almost all I use. But on Saturday or Sunday, its not about getting it done, I use handsaws, planes and chisels, or wrenches, ratchets, and screwdrivers.
Drives my son nuts working on his car.

 

[Jess]

For single cuts, I will reach for the hand saw or hack saw. For more, its the power tools, even if there is more clean up after, its still quicker. What is really satisfying for me, is to pick one of my father's tools for the job and remember how he taught me and all the stuff we built over the years.

 

[James-W]

For single cuts, I will reach for the hand saw or hack saw. For more, its the power tools, even if there is more clean up after, its still quicker. What is really satisfying for me, is to pick one of my father's tools for the job and remember how he taught me and all the stuff we built over the years.

Just to be clear, when you say you use a hand saw for single cuts, exactly what kind of single cuts are you talking about? Are you talking about cutting a small piece from a 2X4 or are you talking about ripping a 3/4 inch piece of plywood along the 8 foot side?

 

[Jarhead0408]

My daughter-of-a-contractor wife thinks I'm crazy...buuut I prefer using an old fashioned egg beater style drill to my corded 1920's/1930's Craftsman, Milwaukee Hole-Shooter, DeWalt 14.4v, DeWalt 18v, or Ingersoll Rand pneumatic drills.

I don't do a ton with a drill, but when it comes to anything inside the house or cobbling together some wood in the shop, I'll take the old Miller Falls every time.

 

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I cut off a 3" section of 3/4"x3/4" trim board for my guinea pig to chew on each time I clean her cage. I can cut it with a hand saw much faster than I can pull out the Hackzall with a battery any blade. If I was smart I would cut a bunch of them with a powered tool at once, but that sounds like a lot of work.

 

[coljar]

Yes, I use a hacksaw on occasion, but if I use too many hand tools too often at once, I feel it for a couple of days. It's getting worse especially with this shoulder that needs replaced and the arthritis that's coming on from years of abuse on the job.

 

[matt_i]

Handsaws have saved me trimming out an opening for conduit in an attic space where no power tools would really fit. This was a Japanese-style pull saw by Marples.

I would carry a "fast cut" coarse tooth handsaw (Sandvik or Stanley) with me when trucking machinery. Not knowing where I was going or if there was going to be electricity, I might need to modify a piece of cribbing or blocking wood, and it is faster and lighter than carrying a circular saw and cord. No real requirement for squareness or fine work, just chop a 2x4 or 2x6 here and there.

For metalwork, I have horizontal and vertical saws sitting and waiting and hungry for work. So I will use the appropriate one for the job.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I have both power and hand tools. It depends on the task. Sometimes a hammer and chisel for a minute are all you need, even if you could have got out the router and the jig and completed the job in twice the time. The other day I needed to cut a useless strut sticking off an engine block that was the difference between pull the motor or pull the starter. I could have removed all the wiring harness and hydraulic lines and got out the sawzall and had the strut off in 10 seconds. Total time 30 minutes. Or I could have grabbed my little pull hacksaw and had it off in 1 minute, leaving the wiring and plumbing in place. There is a place and time for both, but in this case hand tools carried the day.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My daughter-of-a-contractor wife thinks I'm crazy...buuut I prefer using an old fashioned egg beater style drill to my corded 1920's/1930's Craftsman, Milwaukee Hole-Shooter, DeWalt 14.4v, DeWalt 18v, or Ingersoll Rand pneumatic drills.

I don't do a ton with a drill, but when it comes to anything inside the house or cobbling together some wood in the shop, I'll take the old Miller Falls every time.

If I could find one of those at auction or garage sale, I'd buy it and probably use it more than I think.

 

[aka Larry]

Not me, I'm all about the easy button. The only time I use hand tools is when the electric or pneumatic tools won't fit in the space I'm working.

 

[cashishift]

I collect vintage hand saws, mostly from the early 1900s,,, and I use them often - nothing like cutting through a piece of wood with a nice sharp Henry Disston rip saw.

Chop saw gets used a lot also because its set up and ready to go. Anything in a case where you gotta drag out a cord, would require a bunch of cuts for me

I collect those..

have about 6.

 

[SMKS]

I also use a hammer and don't own any nail guns.

Buying a pneumatic trim nailer was one of my best purchases. Obviously I still use hammers, but air nailers are a wonderful invention.

 

[Cyberbear]

Now at seventy years of age, I grew up during my formative years using all hand tools, even sharpening the blade of the hand planes, on a wet stone, in high school before each use.
It took me a long time before I began obtaining my first power tools, which saved time but often at the expense of the soul satisfying feel of curling a wood shaving by hand.
The old timers used to say "The old ways are best, my son" and in many ways they still are.

 

[All]

I collect (and use) wood hand saws also. I think I have over a dozen of them. Enough to fill an old fashioned carpenter's tool box, when the pegs on the wall became full.

It feels like so much more work to pull out the worm drive skill saw and cord than it is to grab a handsaw for cross cuts. Part of the issue is that I keep the power tools in their cases, rather than laying on a bench for quick access. So the "work" that I dread more is the act of taking out and putting away, plus the space required for the case, etc.

I could have been done with the cuts already with a handsaw (with wood). I started using handsaws in the 1970's, so it comes more naturally to me. However, despite the years of experience, a radial saw with a fine tooth carbide blade will make a cleaner, squarer cut every time. The more popular equivalent to a radial saw nowadays would be a sliding compound miter saw. Again, a pain to break out and use, then break down and put away.

I'm glad I'm not the only person too lazy to bust out the power tools.

 

[MBfreak]

I do a fair amount of carpentry and lots of metal work, all of it on a smaller scale.
A japanese pull saw, a BAHCO top of the line hacksaw with Starret blades, Öberg files for both wood and metal and several Stanley hand planes are my goto tools. For wood finishing SaintGobain cloth backed sand papers. But i use a router, a cheap battery drill and once in a while also circular and band saws. A lathe too as often as I need.

I enjoy working with hand tools, somehow it puts me in contact with what I am working on a lot more than power tools. Being 70, there are limits to what I can do. I would not be surprised if my general strength is half of what it was when I was 60. The only parts that are about as strong are my hands. My right shoulder is just about useless when I try to use my arm above head level.

Best regards

Ola

 

[Pathfinders]

When I was 17 I worked on a framing crew during the summer. One of my first jobs was to cut a 8 inch I beam to length. The SOB crew leader gave me a Hack Saw. Never should have told them my brother in law owned the company!

 

[My Old Tools]

I own maybe 200 hand planes, 10 or so braces and several sets of augers for them, probably 8 or so hand saws, 50 plus chisels, and I use them all. I also use hand scrapers and scraper planes for finishing. I have also timber framed with that Millers Falls boring machine in my avatar. I use a file occasionally and a hack saw. All that said I also have a full commercial level woodshop and a pretty good manual machine shop. I use what I like at any given time.

 

[mike_dmt]

I never received any training from the "old school". Maybe I should have. I would appreciate how easy "tough jobs" can be with a more modern approach.

Think of small things:

I put outlets all over my shop. Power is everywhere. Any electric power tool is literally seconds away.

Air. I will snap bolts off of stuff if you give me a 1/2 ratchet. Give me an impact, and then stuff just asks to come apart...