"Good tool – half the job". This old carpentry wisdom also and especially applies to pre-Christmas handicrafts. We give you an overview of all tools and aids, you for your homemade stars, Nativity scenes and Santa Clauses need.
Christmas time – craft time. And as so often, only then do you find out, what one lacks in tools and aids, if you need it. So now is a good opportunity, make a thorough inventory. We have put together a selection of things for you, to make your crafting easier – so you can look forward to your next project.
Let's start with the actually self-evident tools: You will definitely need a pencil (1), best Jder Hardness H, in order to be able to mark precisely in the millimeter range. Of course, this includes a sharp sharpener. For measuring, Line drawing and cutting require a steel ruler, even better an angle (2), with the additional 90°- and 45° angles can be measured. Also a circle (3) often comes in handy. Of course you have scissors at home. If it's not paper scissors, better buy one (4): The cuts become cleaner. You can achieve even better results by cutting with a paper knife (Cutter, 5). As glue (6) enough for plain paper- and cardboard work a tube of all-purpose glue, but already with plywood, especially with the different plastics . you need to have various special glues on hand.
CUT AND SHAPING
With the most popular handicraft material, the plywood, the usual household tools are no longer sufficient. That is especially true then, if you of certain objects, for example our poinsettias, want to produce whole series. To bring cut wood into an attractive shape, a precision drill grinder is suitable (7) preferably. This all-rounder drills, milled, brushes, engraved and cut with all your might, where the one-handed device only 450 grams weighs. The price is with approx 37 euros without accessories such as drilling, Mill- and engraving attachments quite affordable.
A bit expensive (42 Euro), but just as useful is a mini jigsaw (8). The ultra-thin saw blades are ideal, to small format, cut out curved motifs, the device itself is much easier to handle and smaller than the scroll saws that are also suitable. A simple jigsaw, on the other hand, is the cheapest solution. Normal jigsaws with their comparatively coarse saw blades do not come close to the cutting quality of their smaller relatives. With the mini jigsaw you can cut wood up 10 mm thickness, boards up 3 mm and non-ferrous(NE-)metals up 2,5 cut mm.
For long, Straight cuts, however, is a table saw (9) better, which is also in mini format (300 x 262 x 170 mm) for ambitious hobbyists. The cutting depth is with 22 mm however limited, 45However, ° cuts are still possible. The costs: from about 350 Euro.
But not only wood is cut, but also paper and cardboard. A pair of paper scissors, even when sharpened, revealed but at long, straight cuts weaknesses, because it has to be repeated again and again. Sharp knives such as the well-known cutter are more suitable here. A so-called Excel knife is ideal for curves and filigree cuts (10), because you have a better view of the cutting edge tip due to the slim shape. The replaceable blade of this knife is so hard and sharp, that even strong cardboard and thin wood can be cut with it. These knives are considerably more stable than the cutters with their snap-off blades, so that the price of 3,50 euros could well be worthwhile. You can get the right replacement blades for about 40 cents the piece. You can make two parallel cuts at once with the strip cutter (11) execute, and at a freely selectable distance of 2 to 35 mm. Including ten replacement blades, the twin knife costs a lot 42 Euro.
No cutting tool despite the sharp blade: das Rundlocheisen (12). These punches for paper or cardboard are important there, where holes firstly small, secondly, they must also be exactly circular. These punches come in 0.5mm increments of 1 mm diameter up to 4,5 mm. A punch in the smallest version (1 mm) Costs approximately 1,50 Euro, the biggest (4,5 mm) lies by 2,20 Euro. Whether a full set of eight irons is worth it for you, you have to decide. In any case, be careful, that the cutting edges of the punches are hardened.
Despite all the fine tools, it cannot be avoided, especially with wood, that the cut edges must be finely broken and sanded. Therefore belongs next to the usual sandpaper (They should be from 80's- be fully equipped up to 240 grit) a small set of files (13) to your workshop. You can also reach places with the files, those for your grinding- paper-covered hands are inaccessible. Even when workpieces are to be strongly rounded, the use of files is recommended. After all, you don't want to waste time doing boring work. For all filing cases you need four different shapes in at least one size: a round file, a square file, a triangular file and a flat file. For good results, the file length should be 8 cm, otherwise the work will be too fiddly. You can get complete file sets from approx 8 euros at the hardware store.
For the different handicraft materials wood, Paper and plastic require different adhesives and fasteners. Even if there is a so-called all-purpose glue, such all-round adhesives are always only a compromise and can only be used for connections of minor importance. Because most glue bottles come with very small or no brushes for application, is ideal for gluing larger areas (from about 10 x 10 cm) Parts made of paper or cardboard use a spray adhesive (14) an.
Important: Do not get too close to the workpiece and spray on in strips, otherwise the paper will be difficult to smooth out. For gluing smaller areas you only need a glue bottle 15), which has the smallest possible exit hole. This is the only way to achieve precise gluing, as is sometimes necessary with small snippets. Wood, on the other hand, needs the right glue, no matter how small the adhesive surface is. For small handicrafts, that are not placed outdoors, normal wood glue is enough (16) out of, if you want it to be weatherproof, it has to be the more expensive waterproof glue. plastic glue (17) usually has a catch: He does not glue every plastic. For polyethylene (PE) and foamed plastics you need special glue (for example Uhu-por).
The latter is suitable for extremely porous surfaces.
What good is the most careful preliminary work?, when finally the finish, i.e. the surface treatment, misses? Again, a lot depends on the right tool, a complete set of brushes (18) is therefore mandatory in the handicraft equipment. Feel free to invest a few euros : mehr, denn Echthaarpinsel (for example from the red marten for about 10 Euro pro 6er-Set) do not lose their hair even after long-term use, do not fray so easily and thus guarantee a high-quality color application. However, you need wide brushes for lacquers and glazes (10 to 40 mm). Do not forget, always clean the brushes carefully after use, so that you can enjoy them for a long time.