I only just started woodworking after buying my first wooden boat. I needed some 85x75mm length of oak for a cockpit repair. I went to the woods, found a dead standing oak, cut it down, cut a big section of log out of it. Took it home, flattened it with a draw knife, cut it to size with a saw and hand planed it flat and square. A lot of work but very satisfying!
The popularization of hand held power tools through the 70's, 80' and 90's crushed the use and availability of quality traditional hand tools. Luckily there is currently a revival of hand tool use and the availability and quality of tools is better than it has been in at least half a century if not more. This is a perfect time to get into any hand tool intensive woodworking and it doesn’t get any better than boat building.
Couldn't agree more. I'd say either boatbuilding, chairmaking or perhaps instrument building would be good places to start for anyone who wants to work with hand tools. I haven't done a lot of the last two, though, but I'd love to.
