The Bradawl is the simplest boring tool you will use. Unlike gimlets and bits, it does not take out any wood, but merely presses it aside out of the way, which is good for nail and screw holes, because the elasticity of the woody fibres tends to make them spring back and close around the nail or screw, thus helping to keep it in place. The awl should always be a trifle smaller than the nail. Bore with the cutting edge across the grain of the wood, on the same principle as in driving nails (Fig. 464), lest the wedge shape of the tool cause the wood to split (see Nailing) . Press the awl straight down in this position until the point is well into the wood, when you can twist it a little, at the same time pushing it further into the wood. There is always risk of splitting thin wood near an edge, unless you use great care. The bradawl can be sharpened easily. See Sharpening and also Boring.

Awl 487

Fig. 464.

Do not buy combination awls with " tool-chest handles," filled with an assortment of awls and little chisels, gouges, screw-drivers, saws, etc. Such affairs are sometimes useful, but the loose tools are apt to become lost or broken, and the money can be used to better advantage in other ways.

It is well to have a variety of sizes of awls, fitted into hardwood handles. An awl handle into which awls of various sizes can be fitted, somewhat as a brace holds bits, answers very well, if you have to carry your tools from place to place, but for shop-work it is more convenient to have each awl in a separate handle.

The Marking-awl ox Scratch-awl is simply an awl with a round, sharp point used for marking in carpentry, but for very close work a knife or chisel is better. See Marking.