Pairing Tools

Pairing tools are tools that are used for cleaning away the bumpy, rough surface left by the teeth of the saw and rendering wood smooth and even.

Pairing tools can also be used for cutting wood into various forms, shapes and sizes.

Types of Pairing Tools:

Planes:

Planes are pairing tools used for cutting wood into a smooth and fine finish. It has a cutting edge held in a block that can be adjusted. The common planes are:

i. Jack plane: The jack plane can be used on rough-sawn wood and produces a surface that is not very smooth. It is the largest type of plane.

ii. Fore plane: Like the jack plane it is used for roughing out wood and for straight planing.

iii. Smoothing plane: This plane is the smaller version of the fore plane.It is used for smoothing the surface of wood after the jack plane has been used.

iv. Trying plane: This plane is used for levelling the surfaces of wood. It is slender and smaller in size.

v. Spoke shave Plane: The spoke shave plane is used for removing light wooden particles from timber, especially on edges and curves.

Chisels:

Chisels are paring tools made of high-carbon steel. They are used for shaping wood where finishing by other means, such as filing, cannot

be carried out. The common ones for woodwork are:

i. Firmer chisel: This type of chisel is used for cutting deeper cuts in both heavy and light woodwork, such as mortise shaping.

ii. Paring chisel: This is a chisel used for fine light woodwork like slicing off small amounts of wood in shaving and sculpturing.

iii. Gouge chisel: This type of chisel has a curved point and long handle and it is used for fine woodwork, such as carvings and sculpturing.

Scrapers:

These are tools used for removing impediments from the surfaces of finished wood items.

Types of Scrapers:

i. Flat scraper.

ii. Half-round scraper.

iii. Three-triangle scraper.