Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 6:7

"And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building." — 1 Kings 6:7 (ASV)

Neither hammer nor ax ... heard. — This striking provision, involving much labour, and requiring no little skill, was one of reverence. It may have been suggested by the prohibition (Deuteronomy 27:5) of the use of tools on the altar of the Lord. But the idea implied in this prohibition was rather different—namely, the use for the altar of stones in their simple, natural condition, without “pollution” by the art of man. It has been chronicled in Heber’s well-known lines:—

“No workmen’s steel, no ponderous axes rung;
Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung.”