Have you ever been curious to learn more about what carpenters do? If you’ve ever had to call a handyman to fix some broken shelving or repair your cabinet doors, then you’ve seen the type of work that these people perform. When carpenters conduct house calls, they usually show up with a handheld box or bag containing an assortment of instruments and various parts. Depending on the specific type of job being performed, the technician would bring a specific mix of utensils and fixings.
Installing & Attaching
Sometimes, the smallest parts are the most meaningful pieces in a carpenter’s work. To join pieces of wood together, workers use items like nails, screws, bolts, and washers. Each of these fasteners comes in a wide variety of sizes. A good handyman knows the right size to use for each specific task. Knowing how to tell apart two otherwise very similar components is important to avoid expensive errors. For example, when replacing wheels on a rolling cart, one must know the difference between swiveling and rigid casters and choose the correct kind.
Cutting & Forming
Many jobs that carpenters perform involve cutting pieces of wood and other building substances. If the task is to build a table, then the worker would need various shapes and sizes of shaping tools to create legs and a tabletop. Handheld and electric saws are commonly used to cut different kinds of wood and plastic. More precise blades are used to create shapes and edges on pieces of material. Because of the sharp and dangerous nature of cutting tools, the carpenter must exercise extra caution while working.
Cleaning & Finishing
Especially for tasks such as building furniture out of wood, carpenters need products to finish the job. These include items like sandpaper and metal files that remove splintered edges. Sanding is usually performed before any paint or finish is applied. Paint can be applied with rollers, brushes, or electric tools like airbrushes. Once a carpenter applies paint to an object, they will need to clean up their brushes and their working area. Depending on the type of paint used, a solvent might be required to clean it out of the paintbrushes. Turpentine is a commonly used paint-removing solvent used by handymen.
A handyman carpenter might use thousands of different tools throughout their career. Understanding more about this interesting craft will make you have more appreciation for all of the hard work these talented people perform.
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