SITE MAINTENANCE IN PROGRESS
Shop tools: a close look
Rob Brown
I take a lot of photos in my shop. Some end up in the magazine. Others get posted on social media.
A few make their way into this weekly column. Many photos I take get saved on my phone or dumped onto my laptop, just in case I want to look back at how I made something.
This week I took a much closer look at some tools in my workshop than I usually do. These shots were taken nice and tight, then I cropped the images even more, so the tools in the photos would be tricky to identify. But this is a smart group, so I’m guessing many of you will be able to guess what tools (or hardware) are in these photos. Post your answers in the comments section and next week I’ll let you know how you did.
To see the answers click here.
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Image 11
May 28, 2025
Last modified: June 5, 2025
Rob Brown - rbrown@canadianwoodworking.com
Rob is the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement and a studio furniture maker.
Good guesses, everyone! The correct answers are below. We will also post some photos of the items above.
1. Picture frame hanging hardware
2. Brad point drill bit
3. Carpenters pencil
4. Dowel center
5. Point of a trammel / compass head
6. Tweezer tip
7. Torx bit set
8. Rear of a claw hammer
9. Pivot point in slip joint pliers
10. Spade bit
11. Knife hinge
A few wild cards in here making this interesting.
1. lid support hinge
2. brad point bit
3. carpenter’s pencil
4. dowel center
5. screwdriver bit for ratchet?
6. Crescent wrench
7. torx bits
8. pry bar
9. slip joint pliers
10. spade/paddle bit (spaddle bit)
11. adjustment handle for something cool?
Have a good day everyone!
Picture 1 the end of a picture hanging bracket
Picture 2 augur bit
Picture 3 sawtooth tip
Picture 4 dowel marker
Picture 5 mechanical lead pencil
Picture 6 needle nose pliers
Picture 7 torx bits
Picture 8 claw hammer
Picture 9 adjustment lever for circular saw
Picture 10 spade bit
Picture 11 don’t know
My thoughts/guesses on the photos:
Image 2: tooth on auger bit for wood
Image 4: centre spur on auger bit for wood
Image 5: Mechanical pencil tip (showing graphite pencil “lead”)
Image 6: Broken graphite pencil “lead” used in mechanical pencils
Image 7: Various Torx bits
Image 8: Nail-pulling side of a claw hammer
Image 9: Wild guess: Expansion slot in circular saw blade showing termination hole filled with soft metal to reduce noise.
Image 10: Circular saw blade tooth
1. And 2. No idea!
3. Forstner drill bit
4. Head of a club hammer
5. Dowel locator punch bit
6. Chuck for a hand drill
7. Needle nosed pliers
8. Set of bits for hex screws
9. Claw hammer
10. Pliers wrench
11. spade end drill bit
12. No idea!
These are always fun, here are my guesses:
Image 1 – Shelf pin?
Image 2 – Brad point bit
Image 3 – clamp pad?
Image 4 – dowel centre point
Image 5 – Pen mandrel
Image 6 – Wrench tip
Image 7 – Torx bits
Image 8 – claw end of a hammer
Image 9 – channel lock pliers?
Image 10 – spade drill bit
Image 11 – knife hinge