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A
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- Adjustable Bevel
- A hand tool for marking angles. Consisting of a stock, either metal or wood, and a movable sliding metal or wood blade. Adjustable Bevel page.
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- Adze
- A woodworking tool with a sloping steel or iron blade square off a wooden handle. Adze page.
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- Animal Glue
- A mixture of animal by products rendered down and dried to a hard jelly like consistency. When heated it takes on a liquid state and can be used as glue. It is the oldes of glues having been used by the ancient Egyptians.
Animal Glue page.
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- Auger Bit
- In woodworking, a tool for drilling holes in wood. Auger Bit page.
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- Auto Level
- A tripod mounted optical instrument that is used for obtaining levels in construction work. It's use require one person to read the instrument and on person to hold a staff that readings are taken from. Auto Level page.
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B
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- Ball Peen Hammer
- A mechanic's style hammer with a rounded peen Ball Peen Hammer page.
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- Beam Compass
- A pair of trammel heads mounted on a graduated beam. Used for scribing circles and arcs. Beam Compass page.
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- Belt Sander
- A hand held carpentry power sander that uses the linear action of a cloth and resin based belt running around two wheels. Mostly used as a rought to intermediate sander. Belt Sander page.
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- Biscuit Jointer
- A relation of the small angle grinders, this tool with it's purpose made saw bled and adjustable frame is used in fine joinery work for producing what in effect are mortise joints with loose tenons
called biscuits or plates. Biscuit Jointer page.
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- Blacksmith's Vise
- A large strong steel vise that has a leg that sits on the floor to absorb the shock of any hammering. Blacksmith's Vise page.
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- Bow Saw
- In woodworking: A thin metal blade in a metal or wooden frame. Used for crosscutting and ripping and some curved cuts. Bow Saw page.
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- Braided Line
- A string line made out of braided material, rather than twisted. Braided Line page.
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- Breast Drill
- A hand operated drill with a pad on the end which can be place against the chest to increase the force applied. The drill operates through a wheel and pinion gearing, so it is possible to have a range of gearing. Two speed drills are common. Breast Drill page.
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- Brick Saw
- A machine cutting bricks, pavers and cement blocks using a diamond blade cooled by water. Often portable with petrol or electric motors. Brick Saw page.
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- Broad Axe
- An axe with a wide blade. Used for felling trees, a woodsman's axe. Broad Axe page.
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- Buck Saw
- In woodworking: A thin metal blade in a tubular metal frame. Used for crosscutting, mostly lopping tree branches and sawing up logs.
Buck Saw page.
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- Butt Gauge
- In hand tools. A marking gauge specifically designed for hanging doors with butt hinges. Two gauges in one and can get very close to fixed door stops. Butt Gauge page.
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C
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- Carpenters Axe
- In woodwork a tool with a flat metal blade fixed to a wooden handle. Used to hew and cut wood into rough shape. Carpenters Axe page.
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- Caulking Gun
- A lightweight steel frame with a squeeze grip handle for applying a range of caulks, sealants and fillers that are marketed in tubes.
Caulking Gun page.
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- Cermet Tipped Blade
- A type of saw blade that looks like a TCT blade but it has ceramic and metal qualities. Used in saws designed for cutting sheet steel. That is metal roof sheeting. Cermet Tipped Blade page.
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- Chalk Line
- A string line that is covered with powdered chalk. When stretched tight on a surface and flicked the chalk leave a straight line on the surface. Chalk Line page.
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- Chemical Fastener
- A mixture of a polyester base resin and hardener kept in separate compartments of a tube that are mixed together in a nozzle when they are extruded out of the tube.
Chemical Fastener page.
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- Chemical Fastener Gun
- A large form of a caulking gun that is used for applying chemical fastener.
Chemical Fastener Gun page.
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- Chipping Hammer
- A rotary hammer drill that has a non rotary function so that a chisel can be used. For chipping small amounts of concrete or chasing masonry walls. Chipping Hammer page.
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- Chuck Key
- A small bevel gear on a shaft with a sliding bar handle used to tighten and undo the chucks on drilling machines and electric drills. Chuck Key page.
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- Circular Saw (Metal)
- A hand held electric saw designed specifically for cutting sheet metal. Used by metal roofers and cladders. Circular Saw (Metal) page.
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- Claw Hammer
- A carpentry tool the hammer face is used for driving nails and the opposing claw is used for withdrawing nails and other prising or levering work. Claw Hammer page.
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- Cold Chisel
- A former metal worker's tool used for cutting steel. Now used for chipping and breaking concrete etc. Cold Chisel page.
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- Compass
- A drawing instrument used for drawing circles and arcs. Compass page.
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- Concrete Bullfloat
- In concreting: A large wooden or metal float on a long handle used in leveling and smoothing wet concrete. Concrete Bullfloat page.
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- Concrete Screed
- In concreting: A hand held straightedge used in leveling and tamping wet concrete. Concrete Screed page.
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- Cooper
- A person who makes or made wooden barrels. Cooper page.
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- Coping Saw
- In hand tools. A small saw for cutting curves. Typically for scribing around mouldings on skirtings (baseboards) and cornices (crown molds). Coping Saw page.
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- Cordless Hammer Drill
- A compact hammer drill that uses battery power. Cordless Hammer Drill page.
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- Cordless Reciprocating Saw
- A hand held battery powered saw. Cordless Reciprocating Saw page.
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- Crosscut Saw
- In hand tools. A saw for cutting across the grain of timber. Crosscut Saw page.
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D
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- Draw-knife Bench
- A purpose made seat or bench to hold the material while using a draw knife. The main details being that the worker sits down and uses his feet to control the gripping of the material. Draw-knife Bench page.
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- Drawknife
- In woodworking, two handed tool for shaping mainly in the round or curved sections. Used by wheelwrights, coopers, boat builders and others. Drawknife page.
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- Drywall Screwgun
- An electrical screwdriver that is specifically set up for driving drywall or plasterboard screws Drywall Screwgun page.
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- Dumpy Level
- An early form of optical leveling instrument. It is a commonly mis-used term when referring to a Builder's Automatic Level. The dumpy has a leveling tube that has to be set at each swing of the instrument. Further it gives an upside down reading in the view finder. It has no auto features.
Dumpy Level page.
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E
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- Ear Muffs
- Ear protectors that muffle sound and protect the ears in noisy environments. Ear Muffs page.
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- Edging Tools
- Small hand tools for making neat edges to concrete surfaces. Edging Tools page.
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- ELD Box
- A earth leakage detector ELD, also known as an RCD or residual current device, is an electrical safety device that detects faults in electrical systems within milliseconds and shuts off the current before harm can be done. When fitted into a portable junction box for mains power leads or cords it is called a safety box etc. ELD Box page.
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- Electric Cement Mixer
- A machine for mixing cement and concrete which is driven by an electric motor. They are usually quite small, portable in some way and use household power for ease and convenience. Electric Cement Mixer page.
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- Explosive Fastener tool
- Also known as Powder actuated fastener tool. A "gun" that can fire high tensile steel nails and bolt fitting into hard materials like steel of concrete. Sometimes called direct fasteners.
Explosive Fastener tool page.
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F
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- Fencing Pliers
- Large pliers with the capacity to cut, bend and twist heavy gauge and high tensile fencing wire. Fencing Pliers page.
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- Fiberglass Tape Measure
- A wind up type of builder's long tape measure. Comes in various lengths up to 50M. Fiberglass Tape Measure page.
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- Fibro Cutter
- A two handed tool metal tool used for cutting fibrous asbestos cement sheeting. Fibro Cutter page.
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- Floor Clamps
- Aids to fixing tongue and grooved flooring. They clamp to the floor joists and exert pressure on the boards to close the joints. Floor Clamps page.
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- Framing Square
- Also called a roofing square and steel square this is a flat steel square with legs of 600mm and 400mm or 2ft by 18 inches. It can be used just a general square but it can also be used to perform roof and stair set outs by using sets of tables inscribed on both faces of the sqaure. Framing Square page.
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G
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- Gimlet
- A one handed tool with a wooden T handle and a metal spike with a small screw on the tip. Used for making starting holes for screwing or drilling. Gimlet page.
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- Glass Cutter
- A simple small tool for cutting glass. Glass Cutter page.
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H
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- Hacksaw
- A metalworking hand tool for sawing metal and hard plastics etc. Hacksaw page.
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- Hand Brace
- A hand tool used for drilling holes. Hand Brace page.
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- Hand Floats
- Hand tools for finishing concrete. The consist of a shaped base and a handle. They are made with different materials for different finishes. Steel, magnesium,wood,plastic and sponge etc. Hand Floats page.
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- Hand Mortiser
- In woodworking: A machine that speeds up the task of making mortises but is powered by hand. Hand Mortiser page.
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- High Speed steel
- Steel used to make metal drill bits,saw blade etc. Shortened to HSS. High Speed steel page.
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I
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- Impact Screw Driver
- A cordless electric screwdriver that uses vibration or impacts on the screw head to drive or remove screws. Impact Screw Driver page.
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J
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- Jack Hammer (Electric)
- An electric tool that is used for breaking up concrete or masonry etc. Also known as a demolition breaker. Jack Hammer (Electric) page.
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- Jack Hammer (Pneumatic)
- 1.) An air operated hand held tool that drives various chisels percussively for breaking up concrete, rock and hard ground.
2.) An air operated tool mostly hand held, that uses various sizes and lengths of drill bits for drilling into rock. See Rock Drill. Jack Hammer (Pneumatic) page.
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- Jointing Tools
- Small hand tools for making neat looking joints to concrete pavements. Jointing Tools page.
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K
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- Keyless Chuck
- A chuck to an electric drill or similar that can be operated by by hand, rather than by using a chuck key. Keyless Chuck page.
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L
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- Laminate Trimmer
- A relation of the router, this tool is specifically made for trimming laminates, but with various cutters it is quite a handy lightweight tool for such jobs as recessing hinges. Laminate Trimmer page.
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- Laser Level
- A tripod mounted optical instrument that is used for obtaining levels in construction work. A spinning device emits a laser beam on a level plane that can be picked up by a receiver on the operators staff. Laser Level page.
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- Leveling Staff
- A surveyors and builders aid in leveling. Most commonly an extendable aluminium rod with checkered painted graduations on the face. In close work it could just as easily be a simple board with pencil marking on it.
Leveling Staff page.
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- Li-Ion Battery.
- A rechargeable battery using Lithium Iron technology. Li-Ion Battery. page.
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- Low Speed Drills.
- A larger size electric drill that has low gearing. Used for drilling steel and also used with mixer attachments for mixing grout, ceramic tile cement, plasterboard adhesive and toppings etc. Low Speed Drills. page.
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- Lump Hammer
- Also known as a club hammer. A short heavy two faced hammer used with heavy short strokes when working with cold chisels and the like. Lump Hammer page.
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M
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- Marking Gauge
- In woodworking: A hand tool made out of mainly wood to mark or score lines parallel to an edge or face. Marking Gauge page.
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- Masonry Drill Bit
- A drill bit made for drilling into masonry and brick walls. Almost universally they have TCT inserts in the cutting tips. Masonry Drill Bit page.
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- Mechanics Vise
- A workshop tool, firmly mounted at a convenient height for holding and gripping material while working on it. Mechanics Vise page.
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N
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- Needle Scaler
- An compressed air tool used for cleaning rust, welding slag and scale off steel. Also used for creating a textured finish and removing laitance on concrete. Needle Scaler page.
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- Notched Floats
- In hand tools. Steel floats with notched edges used for spreading adhesive. Mainly used by ceramic tilers to get an even bed. Notched Floats page.
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O
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- Orbital Sander
- In woodworking: A finish sander that has an orbital motion.
Orbital Sander page.
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P
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- Panel Saw
- In hand tools. A smaller version of a crosscut saw used for finer work. Panel Saw page.
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- Pavement Saw
- A saw set up with a diamond cutting blade to cut concrete slabs and bitumen pavements. Pavement Saw page.
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- Percussion Drill
- An electric drill that has a hammer option for drilling fairly small holes into masonry. Percussion Drill page.
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- Pit Saw
- The main tool of the trade of the pre industrial age sawyer. A long steel blade with handles for a man at each end. Used in a saw pit, with one man on the top and one man underneath. for ripping down the length of logs. Pit Saw page.
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- Plate Compactor
- An engine driven vibrating steel plate for use in the compaction of back fill in trenches and other fairly small flat areas, say up to a house slab size. Plate Compactor page.
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- Plumb
- Exactly vertical. If a member is vertical it is said to be "plumb". If not it is said to be "out of plumb". Plumb page.
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- Plumb Bob
- A weight suspended on a string line, cord or wire to find true vertical. The main metal used for this was lead, from the Latin for lead Plumbum. Also called a plummet. Plumb Bob page.
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- Plumb Rule
- A length of wood from which a plummet can be conveniently strung to find vertical. Plumb Rule page.
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- Plunge Router
- A versatile modern electric tool used in woodworking and with some plastics. The plunge refers to the fact that the machine normally has the cutter retracted when not in use, but when the base is unlocked, it can enter the work. Plunge Router page.
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- Pop Rivet-Tool
- A tool for fixing pop rivets. Comes in various layouts and sizes depending on the rivet size, but the small pliers like tool is the most common. Pop Rivet-Tool page.
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- Power Miter Saw
- Named after the mitre joint that it commonly makes these saws sometimes called drop saws or chop saws are used to make cuts across the length of pieces of timber. Power Miter Saw page.
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- Power Saw
- Any one of a few different types powered saws, but in particular a common term for a hand held electric saw with a circular blade used for cutting wood. Power Saw page.
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- Power Wire Brush
- Purpose made accessories for angle grinders and bench grinders for cleaning steel and other materials. Power Wire Brush page.
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- Powered Grindstones
- A couple of examples of belt drive grindstones used for sharpening tools. The power sources were water and steam. Powered Grindstones page.
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- Pump Screwdriver
- An Iconic tool in it's day pump screwdriver had a short few years when it was the fastest way to drive screws.
Pump Screwdriver page.
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R
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- Ratchet Brace
- A brace that includes a ratchet for ease of use in tight spaces, and also to use just the most powerful or easiest arc of turn. Ratchet Brace page.
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- Ratchet Mechanism
- A device used to convert a full circular motion of a tool or machine, into smaller arcs of motion to give more power and or convenience. Consists of a ratchet wheel and pawl. Ratchet Mechanism page.
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- Reciprocal Saw
- In Woodworking. A larger version of a hand held jig saw. A power saw that replaces a pad saw or compass saw. Also called Recipro or Sabre (saber) saws Reciprocal Saw page.
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- Retracting Tape Measure
- The device that replaced the carpenter's folding rule. A spring loaded self retracting thin steel tape measure. Retracting Tape Measure page.
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- Reversible Electric Drill.
- A larger size electric drill that has a reverse switch that can be used to back the drill bit out of a hole in the event a the bit jamming in the workpiece. Reversible Electric Drill. page.
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- Right Angle Attachment
- An accessory for a standard drill that makes the drill easier to work in confined spaces. Also it can reduce the speed of the drill. Right Angle Attachment page.
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- Right Angle Drill
- In Woodworking and Metalworking. A powered drill that has the chuck pointing at right angles to the shaft of the motor. Usually in larger sizes and usfull because it can work in a smaller place than a standard drill. Right Angle Drill page.
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- Rock Drill
- An air operated tool mostly hand held, that uses various sizes and lengths of drill bits for drilling into rock or concrete. Rock Drill page.
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- Rotary Hammer Drill
- An electric tool for drilling larger holes in masonry and concrete. Many of them can also be used with a chisel tool. Rotary Hammer Drill page.
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S
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- Sheet Metal Nibbler
- An electric tool for cutting sheet metal. Used commonly for cutting metal roof sheets and flashings and sheet metal work in general. It works by taking small bites of the material at a time. Sheet Metal Nibbler page.
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- Side Axe
- An axe with one flat face the better to give a smoother finish. Typically used working downwards on the side od a baulk of timber. Side Axe page.
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- Speed Square
- An aluminium triangular square, with one right angle and two 45 degree angles. Used for general squaring when marking out and by some people (reputedly) for obtaining roofing angles. Speed Square page.
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- Spokeshave
- In woodworking, a hand tool having a blade set between two handles. Used on curved and flat work and for rounding off edges. Spokeshave page.
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- Spring Caliper
- A machinists tool for checking the size of something turned on a lathe. They can be categorised by being Inside calipers or outside calipers. Spring Caliper page.
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- Stonemasons Level
- Historic usage: A wooden frame from which is suspended a plumb bob to find a horizontal level.
Also used by carpenters etc. Stonemasons Level page.
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- Straight Grinder
- A hand held electric grinder mostly used in metal working, grinding welds, castings etc. Straight Grinder page.
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- String line.
- Line usually out of string, but also used is wire, cord, nylon fishing line etc. When stretched tight it is used as an aid to creating straight lines. String line. page.
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- Swarf
- The fine metal shavings and dust caused by drilling or sawing steel. The leftovers of the operation. Swarf page.
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- Swivel Base Vise
- A mechanics style vise that has a base that can be swiveled to allow for different working positions. Swivel Base Vise page.
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T
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- Tin Snips
- Snips or shears for cutting thin sheet metal.
Tin Snips page.
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- Treadle Metal Lathe
- An example of an almost modern metal screw cutting lathe driven by a treadle, that is by foot power. Treadle Metal Lathe page.
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- Treadle Wood Lathe
- An example of a woodworking lathe driven by a treadle, that is by foot power. Treadle Wood Lathe page.
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- Triton Saw Bench
- In Woodworking. A cheap metal bench that when fitted with a hand held power saw, making a useful cheap bench saw. Triton Saw Bench page.
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- Two Man Crosscut Saw
- A saw with a handle for a man at each end. These saws are designed to cut on both strokes and so have distinctive teeth. Two Man Crosscut Saw page.
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V
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- Vise Grips
- Small adjustable hand tools that can grip and lock onto, and hold together small objects. Vise Grips page.
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- Vise Jaw Caps
- Parts that fit over the steel jaws of a vise to protect the work. Often copper, aluminium, plywood or timber. Vise Jaw Caps page.
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- Vise Jaw Inserts
- Replaceable hardened steel inserts for vise jaws. Vise Jaw Inserts page.
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W
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- Wacker Packer
- An engine driven plate compactor for use in the compaction of backfill in trenches and other narrow excavations. Wacker Packer page.
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- Wheelwright
- A person who makes or made wooden wheels. Wheelwright page.
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- Wing Compass
- A large compass for scribing arcs and circles, with an arced wing that helps to steady the legs in use, and to hold them firmly in position. Wing Compass page.
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- Wood Lathe
- A woodworking machine for turning round sections. It can also be used for boring. The turning tools are normally held by hand with the aid of a tool rest. Wood Lathe page.
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- Wood Turning
- The act of shaping circular wooden sections in a lathe. A turner is person doing the work. Wood Turning page.
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- Woodorking Vise
- A vise that is built into a carpenter or joiner's bench. Optimised for holding timber. Woodorking Vise page.
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