Better Than A Belt Sander

There is often an interesting discussion about exactly what "hand made" means. I'm not going to delve into that can of worms too deeply but I'd wager most people have a romantic view of no power tools being used. I think there are very few, if any working in that way, although many like to lean heavily on the term "hand made" for various reasons. The tightrope most craftspeople work is using wisely the tools at their disposal while not undermining the unique skill required to make things.

As an example the stair strings used in my current project were prepared using machines the edge glued sections were leveled with my smoothing plane. I could of set up a sander but the reality of small and bespoke projects is you need to work smart. For anyone considering a career in modern Joinery or Carpentry you'll need to master both hand and power tools if you want to be really effective. Personally I've always enjoyed using hand tools the most and I think they should be the first group of tools to be understood, followed by fixed machines with power tools coming in last. However they all have a lot to offer and no group can be neglected.