Cabinet Making Tools

Cabinet makers are precision woodworkers who plan, design, and create storage cabinets. The selection and use of appropriate tools is as important as the selection of materials and fittings to carve out the most good-looking and long-lasting cabinets. Tools are a cabinet maker’s greatest support; cabinet making involves various steps and without the proper tool, perfection is difficult to achieve in each stage.

The cabinet making tools have undergone drastic changes over the centuries. The hand operated tools of the earlier times have given way to power tools; majority of the work in cabinet making has been automated; design and drawing is now being done by computer applications; the human interference is less nowadays. However, only the style of the tools has changed; the use of the tools is the same; you still need to measure, cut, carve and install the cabinets out of the required materials.

A cabinet maker’s tools are of different types; saws, blades, chisels, planes, routers, hammers, screw drivers, drill bits, drill jigs, clamps, sanders and polishers, tape measure, etc. are some of the basic cabinet making tools that are either operated manually or by machines; there are corded tools that are powered by line voltage and cordless tools that operate on batteries. Each of these different types of tools has various models that help in a specific work; for example, a particular type of saw blade may be used for a specific cut: a crosscut saw is used to make a cut at a right angle to the direction of the grain of the wood and a rip cut saw makes a parallel cut to the direction of the grain. Similarly, different types of planes perform different tasks; a jointer plane is used for jointing and final flattening out of boards whereas a smoothing plane is used to prepare the surface for finishing. The cabinet maker must know which tool to use for what purpose; a thorough knowledge of the uses and working of the various tools is necessary.

The various training courses for cabinet makers familiarise the aspiring woodworkers with the tools of the trade. Detailed information on the tools, their uses, how to work with them, how to maintain and repair them, and the safety measures to be taken while working with the tools are provided to the students in the cabinet making classes. There are many online and print resources also that introduce the cabinet makers to the latest tools and manufacturers and give illustrative pictures and videos on the operation of each tool.