Rulers are used to both measure distance and to draw straight lines. Tape measures are flexible rulers made from cloth or metal and are useful for measuring longer distances and in tighter spaces. Both rulers and tape measures provide similar accuracy, commonly down to \({1 \over 16}\) or \({1 \over 32}\) inch. A steel framing square is made up of a shorter ruler (tongue) and a longer ruler (blade) that meet at a 90° (right) angle. A framing square is often used by carpenters when framing stairs and roofs.

Wood saws are categorized primarily by their teeth. Crosscut saws utilize knife-shaped teeth that cut across the grain of the wood while rip saws cut with the grain using chisel-shaped teeth that rip the wood cells apart as the cut is made. The kerf (slot) made by by a crosscut saw is much smoother than that made by a rip saw but a rip saw cuts much faster. Coping saws are a type of bow saw used to make detailed often curving cuts using replaceable blades with fine small teeth.

A Class 8 bolt is made of very hard metal and larger TPI saw blades are most appropriate for very hard metals.

A punch is narrow and is used to drive objects like nails (pin punch) or for making guide marks for drilling (center punch) or patterns in wood or metal.

Drill bits remove material to create holes. They come in a variety of sizes, maxing out at ¼" for woodworking and ½" for metalworking. The majority of drill bits are right-handed which means they cut while rotating in a clockwise direction.