Basic Carpentry

Basic Carpentry By Kareth Ma'fer

For anyone wishing to live off the land a basic knowledge of carpentry is a most useful skill to have. There is so much that can be done with even the most common of woods that it could almost be considered a folly to not even know the basics.The handles of most tools and weapons, the fences used to hold animals, and even buildings themselves can all be crafted from this basic material.

Even at its most basic level carpentry requires several tools. The most obvious of these would be the axe. It is important to consider many factors when choosing an axe, as not just any axe can be used to cut wood - a wood cutter would have little use for a heavy battleaxe. The classes will go into details on exactly what to look for in an axe, and its proper use. The other tools required can generally be found around a carpenters work bench, these benches can be found all over and although some are willing to let people use their benches for free many charge a small fee for their use. The tools you will use most often on these benches will probably be the Saw, which is used to cut the wood into workable pieces, the Mallet and Chisel which is used for the actual shaping of the wood and the Plane which is used to remove rough edges from the finished article. More advanced wood crafters may start to use a tool known as a lathe, this tool spins the wood along an axis while a blade is used to shape the wood, a staff that is created with this method would be better balanced. Another more advanced technique is the use of heat and pressure to gradually change the shape of a plank or stave, this technique will be required in the construction of barrels or bows, as the wood needs to form a curve which is rarely found naturally.

It is very important to smooth off items after you have finished working with them especially if the item is to be used as a handle. As mentioned previously, one way of smoothing an item is by the use of a plane, this has a blade that can be raised or lowered and is run across the length of the surface. However, another method is the use of sanded blocks, the rough particles of sand can be used to smooth down rough surfaces on wood. One way of making one of these blocks is to coat one side of a small wooden block with treated tree sap or glue and roll the treated side in a small tray of sand to pick up a fine layer of sand. After a few days this block will be ready to use. Several of these blocks can be made, each with slightly different coarseness of sand, to ensure the surface is finished with an edge that is smooth to the touch. Once an item is finished, you might want to consider varnish or paint, this is useful to prevent an item from both scratching and damage from nature. Many varnishes are made from tree sap, as this is what nature uses to protect growing trees from the elements and insects. A thick coating on items such as fencing and planks will provide the same protection. As we don't wish to damage trees more then is necessary, you should remember to coat the cuts end of branches with a tree sap mixture to help protect the exposed edges of the trees from further damage.

Fortunately, most of the useful items for everyday work require little in the way of complex crafting, as both planks and fencing have a basic shape that is easier to create. However, the handles for farm tools have a more complex shape. If possible it is best to avoid having to shape the wood any more then it is actually required, so it can be useful to have an idea of what you are looking to craft before you collect your wood, you can then select branches which can be more easily shaped to fit your needs. As a general rule smaller branches can be used to craft handles for tools, while larger branches will be needed for planks and fence posts. While it would be preferable to avoid fully cutting down a tree, it is on occasion required if very large planks are needed, although when your skills improve you can find that planks can be created by the careful joining of more than one branch. In fact, this should be considered a requirement when dealing with the rarer woods, as it is important to avoid felling rare trees.

If a tree is being felled great care is required as a falling tree is very dangerous. It is also important to replace the tree in the forest with new saplings to keep the forest strong, those who have even a passing interest in Forestry and Forest Management should also read the texts on this subject. Forest Management is an important topic and requires a separate volume to do it justice.