When I saw "birdcage", my first reaction was to, as I have a feud with birds that invade my roof line uninvited and avoid any blogs to do with birdcages... however, after a Google inspired by curiosity, I discovered what they actually are and not prone to jumping all over the place like those spring loaded punches.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Thanks Ryan. Hey LittleBlackDuck.... Birdcage awls are square and make lots of really nice holes because they ream or cut the hole rather then puncturing like other awls and punches. They are expensive to buy but beautiful to make. Providing you know how to heat treat steel etc.
I had the luxury to have gone through a recent "makers" revolution of hand tool makers, and many types of tools. Having lived not far from Cincinnati Ohio where at that time one of the best sources for information was Pop Woodworking magazine. I have seen, used, and own a wide variety of Awls. I love me some awl, and have a small collection of types and makers in my shop.
Essentially peeps use them to mark lines, as in a scratch awl, and as a starter point to drill a NON-wandering hole. Making a dot into your wood so the tip of your bit has a spot to start cutting into the wood, and doesn't go skating all over the place.
Birdcages are a square shanked awl, used primarily when you want more meat, heavier duty awl, but if you need a Birdcage you may be using too big a whammer for the chore at hand. Mostly it comes down to feel, and what makes you happy, because there are plenty of round awls that you can whack with a whammer, and a lot of birdcages you can press the tip in by hand pressure alone. For aesthetics I think the Birdcages get a wider audience.
If you want to read, and see a lot of info on the subject today, I think the fastest round up would be to go to Tools for Working Wood, and put the word AWL in the search box.
I have several Awls, but I find mine are more often kept with items I use them with, than an "Awl Central" kind of awl garage. So I have one with brad point bits, I have a few with marking supplies and some with other types of drill bits, and just a few near measuring supplies. I find I use them a lot for "locating" a spot. or starting a hole. I tend to use a marking knife a lot more often for scratching a line, but a lot of users do use them to mark lines, instead of a pencil.
I don't know how to do this stuff without at least a few Awls, if you don't have one at all, I'd say making one is a good entry to tool making, a fun craft by itself.
