# tools a carpenter cant do without



## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

loneframer said:


> When I got to run my first framing crew, I had
> 1. wormdrive
> 2. extension cord
> 3.drill
> ...


Really?

When did the love affair with pneumatic and butane charged nail insertion devices come about? 

Some how I remember seeing a few pictures of proud Papa and all his little children of the high powered tool world.

I wish I was there to see the look on your face the first time you used one.:laughing:


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

Gus Dering said:


> Really?
> 
> When did the love affair with pneumatic and butane charged nail insertion devices come about?
> 
> ...


 I started framing in 1985. I didn't use a nailgun until at least 2 years later and even then, only had one setup between 3 crews. My crew didn't get guns until much later. I bought my own gun in 1988, but didn't own a compressor until 1994.

When I started on my own, I had 2 guns, a framer and a trim gun, along with a pancake compressor. In 1996, I started framing again and bought another framing gun and a gas Emglo.

I was intimidated the first time I used a gun, even though it was a trim gun. Two minutes later, I was hooked.:laughing:


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

I started in '69. There were no chopsaws. They came out in the early 70s and man, everyone was just amazed and had to have one.

I have to say, it changed trim carpentry forever. Prior to the chop saw, we of course did everything with a handsaw and mitre box.

Wonder if anyone still knows how to do that?


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

i was the same way riz with framing guns, we were furring out windows on the outside with 3/4" plywood so the pine trim would work with the cedar shingles. table saw scared the crap outta me as well. 3 months later i was freehanding, resawing like nothing, even cutting 1/8" strips of roast beef for my sandwich


as for tools cant do without. id say my renovators bar which is a cats paw on one end and a sort of sharp flat bar the other so i can use it as a level, a prybar or a rough chisel. 

every one should have a framing square and how to use it. its the one true multi layout tool if you know how to use it.

one sharp chisel and one beater chisel, variety of driver bits nad drill bits. 2 different color chalk lines. and of course in this day and age an account on contractor talk.com


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## Bastien1337 (Dec 20, 2010)

calculator and my measuring tape:shifty: id like to see most jobs get done with out one of those


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## KnottyWoodwork (May 23, 2010)

oposable thumbs! :thumbsup: :thumbup:
Not really "tools" persay, but one little slip, and we're no longer carpenters..


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

katoman said:


> Prior to the chop saw, we of course did everything with a handsaw and mitre box.


Not in the building trades back then, but I learned to use those on the farm.

Many decades later when I finally got into construction work, I showed up for my first day with a framing square. The guys looked, laughed, and introduced me to the speed square.

When did they invent that? :blink:


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## loneframer (Feb 13, 2009)

katoman said:


> I started in '69. There were no chopsaws. They came out in the early 70s and man, everyone was just amazed and had to have one.
> 
> I have to say, it changed trim carpentry forever. Prior to the chop saw, we of course did everything with a handsaw and mitre box.
> 
> Wonder if anyone still knows how to do that?


 My dad was pretty old school. He used his Stanley miter box and backsaw right up into the mid 80s, when I left him to get into new work.

The first power miter box I ever used was the old cast iron Makita, that weighed about 75 pounds.

Also used my first screw gun in 85. Dad still used a Yankee, or a standard screwdriver.

Heck, we were still putting down T&G porch flooring with cut nails in the early 80s.:laughing:


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## Calla UK (Nov 22, 2010)

I've been working with an old chap who will not touch anything electrical or modern. 
Everything is old school for him. The most radical tool he uses is a ratchet driver. 

Takes him ages to do the simplest of things and he sweats like a madman but is much leaner than me.


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## mehtwo (Nov 14, 2010)

katoman said:


> I started in '69. There were no chopsaws. They came out in the early 70s and man, everyone was just amazed and had to have one.
> 
> I have to say, it changed trim carpentry forever. Prior to the chop saw, we of course did everything with a handsaw and mitre box.
> 
> Wonder if anyone still knows how to do that?


Yep, I took refresher courses in case Y2K was going to happen.:laughing: Even considered going back to the brace and bit.:w00t: Thank God Y2K didn't shut the world down.


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## mehtwo (Nov 14, 2010)

....but I'd love to see Mike Holmes use some old school tools for the entertainment value. I bet he'd be using nails in a hurry instead of screws!:w00t: He'd also be suffering from carpal tunnel from all the hammering.:laughing:


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

holmes wouldnt have much to talk about then either, all he goes on about is using screws.......


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## mehtwo (Nov 14, 2010)

woodworkbykirk said:


> holmes wouldnt have much to talk about then either, all he goes on about is using screws.......


Maybe he has some kind of screw fetish.....:shifty:


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## mehtwo (Nov 14, 2010)

darr1 said:


> how many tools that we really need i start with 1. common sense . how many more do yous lads think


2. Sequence

3. Creativity

4. Ability to interpret(errr...read) plans


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

Calla UK said:


> I've been working with an old chap who will not touch anything electrical or modern.
> Everything is old school for him. The most radical tool he uses is a ratchet driver.
> 
> Takes him ages to do the simplest of things and he sweats like a madman but is much leaner than me.


 :w00t:How dose he get to work,,,Horse pulled buggy???:whistling:clap:Or maybe he pulls his tools in a riksha:thumbup:


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## Dirtywhiteboy (Oct 15, 2010)

_holmes wouldnt have much to talk about then either, all he goes on about is using screws......._



mehtwo said:


> Maybe he has some kind of screw fetish.....:shifty:


you know why mike takes the lamb to the cliffs edge???:shifty::shifty::shifty:


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## Calla UK (Nov 22, 2010)

Dirtywhiteboy said:


> :w00t:How dose he get to work,,,Horse pulled buggy???:whistling:clap:Or maybe he pulls his tools in a riksha:thumbup:


Ironically he got a nice car and is always on his mobile phone... :-D only his craft he's stuck in the stone age. Great chippy thou


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## Joe Carola (Jun 15, 2004)

*nail guns*


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## carpentershane (Feb 9, 2009)

Joe Carola said:


> *nail guns*


:laughing:


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

I think the basic tools needed for a framer depend entirely upon which side of the management/labor side you work. 

For the typical young guy, starting out, if you ask him what he needs
1) Cell Phone
2) IPod
3) Face piercings
4) Cold drinks
5) Tobacco


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## mehtwo (Nov 14, 2010)

Joe Carola said:


> *nail guns*


Thank god for nail guns because I'm not the best at using hand drive nails.:laughing:


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## William James (Mar 5, 2010)

A caulk gun...
PL 400
And lots of caulk!

Yeah, I'm old school


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

katoman said:


> Ontario is the best IMO. We have all four seasons, lots of free space. Take a look at a map of North America sometime, you'll see how huge Ontario is.
> 
> Best place in the world to live my friend. No offense to my bros in the US, but Ontario is # 1.
> 
> ...


i never left ontario but its good, its hot in the summer, that is all


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## Brutus (May 29, 2007)

katoman said:


> Ontario is the best IMO. We have all four seasons, lots of free space. Take a look at a map of North America sometime, you'll see how huge Ontario is.
> 
> Best place in the world to live my friend. No offense to my bros in the US, but Ontario is # 1.
> 
> ...


 
Nova Scotia is the place to be, b'y.


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## SAW.co (Jan 2, 2011)

Craftsman Jay said:


> A caulk gun...
> PL 400
> And lots of caulk!
> 
> Yeah, I'm old school


Well ya know what they say. "A little putty, A little paint, Makes a carpenter what he a'nt.:laughing: 
just kid'n.


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## CustomInteriors (Jan 30, 2011)

the carpenter with the most tools wins


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## astor (Dec 19, 2008)

If you got *NO PENCIL*, you can not do much.


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