Achievable ASVAB

8. Shop Information

Our ASVAB course is currently in development and is a work-in-progress.

Finishing Tools

2 min read

These tools prepare and refine a wooden surface after the main work is done, smoothing, shaping, or protecting materials for a clean final result.

Handheld finishers

Handheld finishers rely on manual effort and simple mechanical action to remove or refine material without a power source.

Tool	Used for
Files	Removing small amounts of material at a time.
Rasp	Removing slightly larger, and more aggressive amounts of material at a time.
Planes	Slicing thin layers off of wooden product.
Wood Chisel	Taking chunks out of wood.

Electric finishers use a motor to speed up sanding and material removal compared to handheld tools.

Tool	Used for
Belt Sander	Removing material. The coarseness of the sandpaper determines the aggressiveness of material removal per turn of the belt.
Orbital Sander	Smoothing the final surface of the product.

Handheld finishers

Manual tools for smoothing/shaping wood without power
Range from fine material removal to aggressive cutting:
- Files (small amounts), rasp (larger/coarser amounts)
- Planes (slice thin layers), wood chisel (remove chunks)

Electric finishers

These tools prepare and refine a wooden surface after the main work is done, smoothing, shaping, or protecting materials for a clean final result.

Handheld finishers rely on manual effort and simple mechanical action to remove or refine material without a power source.

Tool	Used for
Files	Removing small amounts of material at a time.
Rasp	Removing slightly larger, and more aggressive amounts of material at a time.
Planes	Slicing thin layers off of wooden product.
Wood Chisel	Taking chunks out of wood.

Electric finishers use a motor to speed up sanding and material removal compared to handheld tools.

Tool	Used for
Belt Sander	Removing material. The coarseness of the sandpaper determines the aggressiveness of material removal per turn of the belt.
Orbital Sander	Smoothing the final surface of the product.

Key points

Handheld finishers

Manual tools for smoothing/shaping wood without power
Range from fine material removal to aggressive cutting:
- Files (small amounts), rasp (larger/coarser amounts)
- Planes (slice thin layers), wood chisel (remove chunks)

Electric finishers

These tools prepare and refine a wooden surface after the main work is done, smoothing, shaping, or protecting materials for a clean final result.

Handheld finishers rely on manual effort and simple mechanical action to remove or refine material without a power source.

Tool	Used for
Files	Removing small amounts of material at a time.
Rasp	Removing slightly larger, and more aggressive amounts of material at a time.
Planes	Slicing thin layers off of wooden product.
Wood Chisel	Taking chunks out of wood.

Electric finishers use a motor to speed up sanding and material removal compared to handheld tools.

Tool	Used for
Belt Sander	Removing material. The coarseness of the sandpaper determines the aggressiveness of material removal per turn of the belt.
Orbital Sander	Smoothing the final surface of the product.