Experiment No 1

Introduction to Hand Tools

A hand tool is a device for doing a particular job that does not need a motor, rather powered solely
by the person using it. Virtually every type of tool can be a hand tool, though many have been
adopted as power tools, which get their motive power from engines rather than from
people. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, striking tools, struck or
hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, saws, drills and knives.

Description of several hand tools are given below:

Hacksaw:
A hack saw is a fine-toothed saw. Most hacksaws are hand saws with a C-shaped frame that holds
a blade under tension. These saws have a handle, usually a pistol grip, with pins for attaching a
narrow disposable blade. The frames may be adjustable to accommodate blades of different sizes.
A screw or other mechanism is used to put the thin blade under tension. The blade can be mounted
with the teeth facing toward or away from the handle, resulting in cutting action on either the push
or pull stroke. In normal use, cutting vertically downwards with work held in a bench vice,
hacksaw blades are set to be facing forwards. Because of its thin blade, it's better suited for cutting
through thinner materials including metal

Handsaw:
Hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. They
usually operate by having a series of sharp points of some substance that is harder than the wood
being cut. The hand saw is a bit like a tenon saw, but with one flat, sharp edge. It has a long, wide
blade which usually cannot be removed from the handle. A variety of blade lengths are available,
ranging from 380 to 600mm (14.9-23.6" approx.) Traditionally, hand saws would have either
crosscut teeth (for cutting wood across the grain) or rip teeth (for cutting along the
grain). Nowadays, most models have teeth that are able to do both. These are often referred to as
“universal” or “utility” teeth. Hand saws are ideal for most general sawing jobs around the home.
However their large blade means they are unsuitable for making smaller more delicate cuts or for
sawing curves or intricate shapes.
Tap and Die:
Taps and dies are tools used for threading, that is to create screw threads. Some are cutting tools;
others are forming tools. A tap is used to cut or form the female portion of the mating pair (e.g. a
nut). The process of cutting or forming threads using a tap is called tapping. On the other hand, a
die is used to cut or form the male portion of the mating pair (e.g. a bolt, whereas the process using
a die is called threading. Both tools can be used to clean up a thread, which is called chasing.
However, using an ordinary tap or die to clean threads will generally result in the removal of some
material, which will result in looser and weaker threads. Because of this, threads are typically
cleaned using special taps and dies made for this purpose, which are known as chasers. Chasers
are made of softer materials and are not capable of cutting new threads, however they are still
tighter fitting than actual fasteners and are fluted like regular taps and dies (to provide a means for
debris like dirt and rust to escape). One particularly common use is for automotive spark plug
threads, which often suffer from corrosion and a buildup of carbon.

Spring Dividers:
Spring Dividers (or compass) are used for marking out work. Sharp points can be used to scribe
the workpiece, creating arcs and circles. They can also be used to measure the distance between
two points. They provide a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. The adjusting screw allows
careful adjustment without removal of the tool from the workpiece.
Inside and Outside Calipers:
A caliper is a device used to measure the distance between two opposite sides of an object. A
caliper can be as simple as a compass with inward or outward-facing points. The tips of the caliper
are adjusted to fit across the points to be measured, the caliper is then removed and the distance
read by measuring between the tips with a measuring tool, such as a ruler.
Inside calipers are used to measure inside dimensions such as the inside diameter of a tube, while
outside calipers are used for measuring outside dimensions such as the outside diameter of a tube
or a piece of bar stock. Because the arms on calipers are made of fairly light metal, they may be
sprung out of shape quite easily. They require a light touch. The accuracy achieved in making
measurements with simple calipers is very much dependent on the machinist.
It is used in many fields such as mechanical engineering, metalworking, forestry, woodworking,
science and medicine.

Slide Calipers:
It is a device to measure the length or width of any small object with greater precision than with a
normal scale. While the least count of a cm scale is one mm, the least count of Vernier calipers is
normally 0.1 mm or even lesser. Different Vernier calipers have different least counts.
Verniar Calipers consists of a rectangular steel bar graduated in inches on one side and centimeters
on the other side. This is known as the main scale. Over this scale, another small scale slides called
Vernier scale. The instrument has two jaws. One jaw is fixed at the end of the main scale, while
the other jaw is movable. It is a part of the sliding Vernier scale. Each jaw is at right angles to the
main scale. Usually when the two jaws are touching each other, the zero of the Vernier scale
coincides with the zero of the main scale. If it is not so then the instrument has a zero error.

Try Square:
A try square is a woodworking or a metalworking tool used for marking and measuring a piece of
wood. The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right angle; to try
a surface is to check its straightness or correspondence to an adjoining surface. "Try square" is
named because it is used to "try" the squareness. The try square has a blade (straight edge) and a
stock (beam) which are fixed together at exactly 900. The stock is much thicker than the blade. The
edge of the blade and the stock are perfectly sharp and straight. It may be made entirely of steel or
wood or it may have a stock of wood and a blade of steel. The blade has metric or imperial
graduations or a combination of both.
In order to keep the try square accurate, care should be taken not to drop it. All the angles of the
square, exterior as well as interior, must be perfect right angles. If a try square is suspected of not
being accurate, it may be tested easily. In that case, a board should be used that has a perfectly
straight edge.

Centre Punch:
It is a tool consisting of a metal rod with a conical point for making an indentation, to allow a drill
to make a hole at the same spot without slipping. A drill has the tendency to "wander" if it does
not start in a recess. A center punch forms a large enough dimple to "guide" the tip of the drill.
The tip of a center punch has an angle between 60 and 90 degrees. When drilling larger holes, and
the web (the center of the drill tip) is wider than the indentation produced by a center punch, the
drilling of a pilot hole is usually needed.

Drill Bit:
A drill bit is an essential accessory for any drill, used to create holes in various materials with a
circular cutting motion that removes the material leaving a clean hole. The drill will grasp the
upper end of a bit called the shank in the chuck. It is important not to use a drill bit that exceeds
the maximum drilling capacities of a drill as this could cause damage to the tool. Keeping the bit
sharp is important to ensure less load on the tool and better cutting results. Drill bits are available
in various types and diameters depending on the type of material to drill or the size hole required.

Hammer:
A hammer is a tool that, usually featuring a head fixed to a handle, delivers a blow to an object to
break it apart, drive it into another or beat it into a desired shape.
Ball-peen Hammer:
Ball peen hammer is a hammer with two ends on the head, one that is round and the other flat.
Sometimes called a machinist's hammer, a ball peen is a good choice for working with metal. Its
steel head is harder than that of a claw hammer, so is less likely to chip on impact. Ball peen
hammers are commonly used to drive cold chisels, set rivets, and bend and shape metal. They have
wooden, steel, or graphite handles. Though the process of peening (surface hardening by impact)
has become rarer in metal fabrication, the ball-peen hammer remains useful for many tasks. The
peening face is useful for rounding off edges of metal pins and fasteners, such as rivets. The ball
face of the hammer can also be used to make gaskets for mating surfaces.

Claw Hammer:
A claw hammer is a tool primarily used for hitting nails into, or extracting nails from, some other
object. Generally, it is associated with woodworking but is not limited to use with wood products.
It is not suitable for heavy hammering on metal surfaces, as the steel of its head is somewhat brittle;
the ball-peen hammer is more suitable for such metalwork.

The head is made of steel and the handle of wood, fiberglass, or steel. One side of the head is flat
with either a smooth or textured surface and is used for pounding another surface. The rounded
end of the claw, in conjunction with the handle, is used to gain leverage when pulling out a nail.
Chipping Hammer:
A Chipping hammer is a tool used to remove welding slag from a weld and welding spatter from
alongside welds. Also known as welding hammer, it is used by carefully swinging and hitting the
weld to shatter the slag. To remove spatter, the wide flat part of the chipping hammer is slid along
the surface of the job. Applicable in case of standard arc welding as slag is not produced during
MIG or TID welding. However, it is used for removing weld splatter in all welding process.

Screw Driver:
A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, for screwing and unscrewing (inserting and removing)
screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the
screw head before turning the handle. The shaft is usually made of tough steel to resist bending or
twisting. The tip may be hardened to resist wear, treated with a dark tip coating for improved visual
contrast between tip and screw—or ridged or treated for additional 'grip'. Handles are typically
wood, metal, or plastic and usually hexagonal, square, or oval in cross-section to improve grip and
prevent the tool from rolling when set down. Some manual screwdrivers have interchangeable tips
that fit into a socket on the end of the shaft and are held in mechanically or magnetically. These
often have a hollow handle that contains various types and sizes of tips, and a reversible ratchet
action that allows multiple full turns without repositioning the tip or the user's hand.

A screwdriver is classified by its tip, which is shaped to fit the driving surfaces—slots, grooves,
recesses, etc.—on the corresponding screw head. Proper use requires that the screwdriver's tip
engage the head of a screw of the same size and type designation as the screwdriver tip. The two
most common are the simple 'blade'-type for slotted screws, and Phillips, generically called "cross-
recess".
Phillips Screw Driver:
A Phillips screwdriver has a head with pointed edges in the shape of a cross, which fit neatly into
the cross slots of a Phillips screw. You can buy a Phillips screwdriver in five different sizes,
ranging from zero to four, with four being the largest. An advantage with Phillips screwdriver is
that it is self-centering. Its "X" design won't slip out of the X-slotted screw. Instead, it grips the
screw firmly in the center, provided it's the suitable size for the screw.

Flat Screwdriver:
A flat-head screwdriver is a screwdriver with a wedge-shaped flat tip, used to tighten or loosen
screws that have a straight, linear notch in their heads. This is arguably the most common tool on
the planet. Its primary function is to drive slotted head screws.

Allen Key:
An Allen key, Hex key, or Allen wrench is a tool used to drive bolts and screws with hexagonal
sockets in their heads. The tool is simple, small and light. It is L-shaped and is often designed to
be used with both side There are six contact surfaces between bolt and driver. As a result, the
contact surfaces of the screw or bolt are protected from external damage. It can be used with a
headless screw. The screw can be inserted into its hole using the key. Torque is constrained by the
length and thickness of the key.
Wrench:
A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque
to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning.

Adjustable Wrench:
An adjustable spanner/wrench is an open-end wrench with a movable jaw, allowing it to be used
with different sizes of fastener head rather than just one fastener size, as with a conventional fixed
spanner. Usually, the lower jaw is movable to adjust wrench size. It works well with both standard
and metric fasteners
Combination Wrench:
A double-ended tool with one end being like an open-end wrench or open-ended spanner, and the
other end being like a box-end wrench or ring spanner. Both ends generally fit the same size of
bolt.

Open-ended Wrench:
It is a one-piece wrench with a U-shaped opening that grips two opposite faces of the bolt or nut.
This wrench is often double-ended, with a different-sized opening at each end. The ends are
generally oriented at an angle of around 15 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the handle. This
allows a greater range of movement in enclosed spaces by flipping the wrench over.

Pipe Wrench:
The pipe wrench is an adjustable wrench or spanner used for turning soft iron pipes and fittings
with a rounded surface. The design of the adjustable jaw allows it to lock in the frame, such that
any forward pressure on the handle tends to pull the jaws tighter together. Teeth angled in the
direction of turn dig into the soft pipe. The jaws of a pipe wrench will not stay parallel, rather form
a triangular grip on the pipe and may get stuck onto the pipe. They are not intended for use on
hardened steel hex nuts or other fittings because they would ruin the head; however, if a hex nut
is soft enough that it becomes rounded beyond use with standard wrenches, a pipe wrench is
sometimes used to break the bolt or nut free.
File:
A file is a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. It is common in
woodworking and metalworking. Most are hand tools, made of a case-hardened steel bar of
rectangular, square, triangular, or round cross-section, with one or more surfaces cut with sharp,
generally parallel teeth. A narrow, pointed tang is common at one end, to which a handle may be
fitted

A file’s face can be single cut or double cut. A single cut file has one set of teeth; a double cut file
has two. Some files are single cut on one face and double cut—or even smooth—on the other.
Most hand files are classified as Swiss Pattern or American Pattern.
Flat File:
Used for general filing of metals such as steel. They are rectangular in section and are the most
common type of file used in workshops.
Half-round File:
They are rounded on one side and flat on the other. Ideal for rounding out holes; they can be used
on concave, convex, or flat surfaces and for a smooth finish. These files are most commonly used
to deburr or remove material from the inside surfaces of cylindrical workpieces or to cut half round
grooves.

Round File:
Round files are known as machinist's files and, just like half round files, they can be used for
creating semicircular grooves, finishing and deburring concave surfaces. They are also known as
rat's tail files, as they both look similar. They are tapered in width and thickness and can be single
or double cut. Their taper allows them to be used to enlarge round holes. Because of narrow points,
they are often used in jewellery and sculpture making to create detailed patterns in bracelets.

Triangular File:
A triangular file is a specialized tool for trimming and sharpening edges. Its unique, three-sided
design makes it a great tool for sharpening hard-to-reach places such as saw teeth. A triangular file
looks much different than a traditional file. A traditional file is long and flat, with two rough sides,
but the triangular file has three sides, each at a 60-degree angle.
Square File:
Square files a can be used in slots and key ways. They are also used for roughing when turning
round drill holes into square slots. As the name suggests, square files have a square cross section.
This means that they can be used to file square or rectangular notches in a workpiece. They can
also be used to create right-angled notches by turning the file to cut with its corner.

Rasp File:
A rasp is coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood or other material. Typically, it consists
of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case-hardened steel with
distinct, individually cut teeth. A narrow, pointed tang is common at one end, to which a handle
may be fitted.
Pliers:
Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly. They are also useful for bending and compressing
a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a
fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum,
and longer handles on the other side. This arrangement creates a mechanical advantage, allowing
the force of the hand's grip to be amplified and focused on an object with precision. The jaws can
also be used to manipulate objects too small or unwieldy to be manipulated with the fingers.

Needle-nose Pliers:
Needle-nose are both cutting and holding pliers used by artisans, jewellery designers, electricians,
network engineers and other tradesmen to bend, re-position and snip wire. Their namesake long
nose gives excellent control while the cutting edge near the pliers' joint provides "one-tool"
convenience. Because of their long shape they are useful for reaching into small areas where cables
or other materials have become stuck or unreachable with fingers or other means.
Diagonal Pliers:
Diagonal pliers are pliers intended for the cutting of wire. They are generally not used to grab or
turn anything. The plane defined by the cutting edges of the jaws intersects the joint rivet at an
angle or "on a diagonal". That is where the name came from.

Vise:
A vise a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises
have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever.
It is used in both woodworking and metal working.
Measuring Tape:
A measuring tape is a flexible ruler used to measure distance. It consists of a ribbon of cloth,
plastic, fibre glass, or metal strip with linear-measurement markings. It is a common measuring
tool. Its design allows for a measure of great length to be easily carried in pocket or toolkit and
permits one to measure around curves or corners.