Workshop Tools

English Vocabulary

There are hundreds of tools used in a workshop. Saws are some of the most common. A circular saw is attached to a table and spins round in a circle. It is used to cut large sheets of wood. A hacksaw is a saw with a small long blade attached to metal, used to saw smaller pieces of wood. A small version of this is a handsaw. A jigsaw is a handheld machine which has a blade which juts out of it and vibrates in and out. It is faster than a hacksaw and can go round corners easily. A power saw is a generic name given to any type of saw which is electric. They are easier to use than normal saws, and faster.

A drill is an electric tool that spins round and is used to make holes in material so that a screw can be put in. A hand drill is an old fashioned drill which isn't electric. You have to wind a handle to make the drill move round. A drill bit is used to screw in the screw, and there are different types and sizes to fit different screws. One type is a Phillips screw, which only has one groove in it instead of two. A screwdriver can be used as well, which is a non-electric version of a drill and drill bit.

Instead of a drill a nail can be used instead. It doesn't have spiral grooves round the long section and a hammer is used to bang it into the wood. Alternatively, glue can be used to stick two things together, normally wood, which is a material made from trees. Once you have applied the glue and stuck the pieces together you have to use a clamp to hold it together until it can dry.

Some tools which are used to measure things are a measuring tape, which is a long flexible ruler which winds back into a metal case. A spirit level measures the angle of something, so you can make sure it is completely vertical or horizontal. A square is a tool which is used to make sure something is at right angles to a straight edge. If you want to make a groove in a piece of wood then you use a chisel and to make the wood smooth afterwards you would use a file, which is a long metal tool with a rough edge. A mallet is a rubber hammer which is used to bang delicate objects which would break if you used a normal hammer. A nut is another type of screw which goes through wood or metal and comes out the other side. A washer and bolt are then attached to it, using a monkey wrench or a spanner.

If you use electrical tools then the cord on it might not be long enough, so you would need an extension cord. Electricity can be dangerous and to stop you from electrocuting yourself if you cut through the cord then you need a grounding plug. Inside it is a fuse which will break as soon as you cut through it, cutting off the electricity immediately. If you did cut through the cord you would need to connect it together again, winding electrical tape around the connection to stop the wires inside from poking out. Some electric tools you might use are power sanders, which vibrate pieces of sandpaper. Sandpaper is paper which has pieces of sand glued to it which you rub against a piece of wood to make it smooth. Once it is smooth you might paint it to make it a different colour. You would apply the paint with a paintbrush but you might need to remove old paint first, using paint thinner to dissolve it. If you had a large area to paint you might use a roller, which is a sponge that spins round when you push it in order to cover large areas of material.

In order to keep your electric tools working well you would need to put oil on the moving parts, which would stopping them from rubbing into each other. Make sure you use work gloves, to stop the oil from getting onto your hands. If you wanted to dig a hole you would use a spade and then a shovel, to move the soil.

You would keep all your tools together in a box called a toolbox. The table you used in the workshop is called a work table, and you might carry around material in a wheelbarrow. If you wanted to get to you tools easily you might attach them to a pegboard which is a sheet of wood screwed to the wall. It has hundreds of holes drilled into it which you can then stick pegs into, which are bent peices of metal that you can hook tools onto. If you couldn't reach the tools at the top you would use a step ladder, which is a small metal set of vertical steps, used to get up to a metre higher. If you wanted to get any higher you would have to use a ladder, which is similar to a step ladder but much bigger. Some other tools that you might hang onto your peg board include a plane, which is a handheld tool that skims off any pieces of wood that are jutting out at a join, or pliers, which is a tool that is used to grip onto a small piece of metal. A hatchet is a small axe used to cut small trees, and any leaves which fell on the ground during this could be gathered up using a rake. A Stanley knife is a knife that is used to cut through material like thin wood or paper.

Next Activities

Try our hangman game about Workshop Tools.

You may also be interested in our vocabulary notes about things you will find at a Construction Site.

If you found this English Vocabulary about Workshop Tools interesting or useful, let others know about it.