Handy Tools – The Truck Kit
After a few times going to the resort, or driving down the road and seeing a piece of tree that might be useful, I decided to set up a small kit of hand tools that I would keep in my pickup so I would always have them with me.
This week, I ended up putting that kit to the test, and added a few things to make it a nearly complete (if minimal) woodworking shop on wheels.
Here's part of it:
From top to bottom: a hand screw, because work-holding is the most important thing with hand tools; a pencil; a Big Boy folding branch saw, which is handy for rough cross-cutting; one of the birch-bark handled carving knives I made, with the sheath from MaFe; and a fine (32tpi) gents saw, which is nice for finer cuts.
Not pictured (yet) are a block plane, a hatchet, and a knock-down frame saw.
I'm moving across the country, and the movers picked up the bulk of my stuff the other day, so I didn't have a shop left. And then I noticed that there was a soft spot on the threshold of my side door. When I poked at it with the knife, there was some pretty serious rot. Apparently a boot-heel had chipped the paint at some point, letting water into the wood, and bad things happened.
So I used the folding saw to rough out a scrap of wood. Used the gents saw and knife to fine-tune it, and the knife to clean up the hole. Once I had a pretty good fit, I glued the patch into place and “clamped” it with a couple drywall screws. Split the patch, because I hadn't drilled a pilot hole, because I don't have a drill (will add one soon). Filled the gaps with wood filler, then used the block plane to match the profiles.
Three coats of shellac (wiped on with a rag) later, it's ready for paint. I'm happy I had a set of tools in the truck, and I feel better about being able to do useful work without a full shop. It's not the best repair, but with a fresh coat of paint on it, it'll at least keep the problem from getting any worse.
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