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		How to Make Tools (Peace Corps, 1977, 51 p.)
			(introduction...)
			Information
			A temporary hammer
			A chisel
			A drill
			Saw made with two pieces of wood
			Saw made with four straight pieces of wood and string
			Permanent hammer with bamboo handle
			Permanent hammer with wood handle
			Tin can drill
			Holding the wood with a bench hook
			Another wood holder
			Knife from metal packing strip
			Combination saw and knife
			A screwdriver
			Tongs
			Tweezers
			Tin cutting using the chisel or a tin cutter
			A heating stand made from a tin
			How to make a round hole in a tin
			Making an equal arm balance
			Detecting changes in temperature without a thermometer
			Making a set of weights
			Conversions between metric, British and American weights and measures

Holding the wood with a bench hook

Fig. 29

When sawing or drilling wood it is often a problem to hold the piece of wood so that it does not move. This is especially true when a person is working without another person to help. A simple piece of equipment to hold a branch is shown in the diagram above. The following diagram shows this support being used. This is called a bench hook.

Fig. 30

You will need the following materials.

Three pieces of wood more than 30 cm but less than 36 cm long and between 6 and 8 cm around

Two pieces of wood which are between 11/½ and 13 cm long and are between 6 and 8 cm around

Six nails, 5 cm long

Saw

Hammer

Drill

Chisel

The three longer pieces of wood are used as they are. The two smaller pieces of wood are chiseled so that they have the shape shown in the diagram below.

Fig. 31

Drill three holes in each of the two smaller pieces of wood, in the places shown in the diagram below.

Fig. 32

Attach one small piece of wood to the top of one end of the three longer pieces, and the second small piece underneath the other end of the three longer pieces. This can be done by putting a nail into each hole in the short pieces and hammering each nail through and into a long piece. To secure, hammer the points of the nails so they are bent back. The bench hook is then ready for use; it looks like the one shown in the diagram at the beginning of this section.