Ok, I know this is a hugely loaded request, but here goes:
I am new to this forum and somewhat new to woodworking. Had some classes in high school, worked for a home builder during summer break in college. I am not afraid of tools. I consider myself very handy. I have a pretty good DIY tool collection.
Scanning all the posts on here, I became pretty intimidated as to where to start. Any recommendations? Tools to get, etc.? I figure I will start with small projects such as birdhouses or a small stepstoll or something. I would like to build a nice bench, too but think it may be beyond my skill level at this point. I am also intrigued by doing my beginning work using mostly handtools. I am not afraid of getting new tools. My wife would say I am addicted to it.
Just looking for some guidance and to avoid some pitfalls so I don’t get discouraged.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Replies
Hi
For tools that you might want to get, I would recommend the following in this order for general all around woodworking use: circular saw, Contractor or cabinet table saw, jointer, planer, drill, router, random orbit sander, router table, band saw, drill press, dust collector, dust filtration unit. You will need some hand tools as well in no particular order: pencils, safety glasses, chisels, mallet, screw drivers, pull saw or back saw, tape measure, ruler, hammer, rubber mallet, deadblow hammer, and many clamps.
Figure out what you want to build as the list above may have things you don't need. If you aren't sure what you want to specialize in, do some of the following: bird houses, foot/stepping stool, hall table, stool or chair, boxes using different joints, bookcase, china hutch or secretary. After completing this list you should have an idea of what you'ld like to spend most of your time on. Most important, try integrating a new skill or 2 in every project (that's my favorite part :).
Slacker Extraordinaire
Specializing in nothing but knowledge in everything.
Also, you might be able to get scrap wood from a local cabinet maker. Often times their scraps are not what many of us would call scraps as they are relatively large. It's a great way of learning about different kinds of woods, and for practicing techniques.
Slacker Extraordinaire
Specializing in nothing but knowledge in everything.
A couple of good books will help to get you started. Don't be afraid to build a bench,you'll need it. You can build an excellent bench for under $150.00. This includes at least one vice. I have built quite a few benches, used to make them for a manufactuer for assembly tables. All of these benches were made of construction lumber that was bought in advance and stickered for three months or more.
Without a few power tools this would hard for a rookie to do. But the legs, strecthers etc can be made with mostly handtools.An old slab door or just a couple of 2x10's with battens underneath will do for your first bench. Now you will have a bench to build birdhouses etc.
I'll post a couple of pics of a bench and end vice I made for my grandson this past spring.The bench is full size 27"x 84" if I recall. It is only 26" high as he is only 9 years old, we'll make new legs in a couple of years. If you take your time and make the legs and strectchers correctly, then in a couple of years when you have more tools you can make a laminated top.
mike
Welcome to the hobby (addiction)! Building pieces with hand tools is a great exercise, especially if you want to connect with historical woodworkers or if you get inspired by going to Williamsburg, etc. I began using handtools much more after having a full shop of power tools to broaden my skills but also in order to connect a little with the guy I'm named after (who I never met) who was a cabinet maker in the old country. However, there is a certain gratification to getting a job done in a timely manner, so probably like most, I use hand tools in combination with all the modern conveniences for most things I make. The first project I made was a simple trestle coffee table. I used my parents' trestle dining table made by Hunt Country Furniture as a model. The coffee table is still in my living room some 25 years later.
When starting a wood shop, you'll probably find 2 schools of thought regarding which tools to buy first. Some say that you should build your shop around a good table saw. Others say a good bandsaw is the place to start. I prefer the table saw argument, mostly because if you have limited funds, I think you can do more with a good table saw and a cheapie bandsaw than vice-versa. Also think of adding a chop saw when you can, but don't get too far along without considering dust collection for your health.
Also, I think being afraid of your tools is good. You might choose to call it a healthy respect instead, but complacency around tools leads to injuries. Before you use something like a tablesaw, please be sure you understand about binding and kickback, etc.
Happy Woodworking
Hi CPR, and welcome to the board. There are lots of friends here who are more than willing to answer your questions and give help to get you started. For hand tools, you'll need a block plane and a #3 or #4 plane for general work and a #7 or #8 for jointing longer boards. Yes, it's nice to get a Lie Nielsen plane for mega$$$, but a nice old Stanley, Seargent or Millers Falls plane will get you started just as well. The first book you should get is one on 'How to sharpen' your planes. There are several methods, each working very well, it's just what you like (can afford) that determines which way to go. A number of friends at my local woodworking club will say to get a circular saw and streight-edge for cutting large pieces of plywood into small pieces and to get nice streight, clean edges. Lay the sheet of wood onto a 4 x 8 piece of foam insulation and set the sawblade to cut 1/8 of an inch into the foam. That will get you started nicely, without the expense of a large table saw. It will also give you some time to make your decisaion on which cabinet saw to buy, without rushing into a decision on that machine. Next, a bandsaw for most of the other cutting. Pick up tools as you need them. DO NOT forget to include several woodworking files, they are great for 'breaking' edges and getting rid of saw marks on wood. There are many brands of saws, drills, planers, shapers etc. Look into Grizzly brand of equipment, not the most expensive, but lots of 'bang' for the buck. In your post you do not say where you are located. There are many woodworking Clubs around the USA, The guys and gals there will be a great source of help to you. If you check on the 'front page' of this board, you should find a listing of clubs in the USA.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (East of New York City)
You also might consider taking a woodworking class if you have a nearby technical shool. That way, you get to use their tools and machines. You also get the opportunity to take a little time for your decision. I just bought a book (Taunton Press) called 'Working With Hand Planes' and there are several methods presented for each process. You can decide which works best for you. If you look on the forums homepage, there are some books shown at the bottom, and they have a good selection on sale now for 30% off. It's a good time to buy. If you want to use handplanes, the 2 that will do the most initially are: low angle block plane and #4 smoother. You could substitute a #5 Jack plane for the #4, but that's your choice. Find out how to fine tune them and you'll be off and running. I have been seeing (and buying) some really nice planes on ebay and there are some block planes/#4 is decent/salvageable/very clean condition. Just don't outbid me! lolUltimately, you need to decide what you want to make and how you want to make it. For birdhouses, handtools would be great and you can make them as simple or elaborate as you want. I don't know how many birds will actually appreciate dovetailed corners, but it would be great practice. Remember, don't take any mistakes too seriously, don't rush anything, don't get too close to moving cutters and have fun. Scrap wood is easy to find if you make a few calls. I would start with softwoods, then go to hardwoods. Look at antique stores and yard/rummage/estate sales for bargains, as well as ebay to get a handle on the pricing. Don't rush into buying, but for many decent Stanley planes (and others, like wooden bodied planes), you can get them for $25 or less. I would think about avoiding the aluminum bed WWII vintage and the mose recent Stanleys. Aluminum just won't hold up to heavy use or accidental dropping and it can leave black marks. If there's a builder's supply warehouse that specializes in overstocks and liquidations, you can get a marble or granite floortile, small countertop or backsplash to use as a surface to sharpen on. I have been using silicon carbide sandpaper on granite with very good results, along with a honing guide from WoodCraft (about $13). A good square and straightedge will ne needed to see how flat and square the planes are and I would take a square when looking for them. Do a search in the forums for any info you need, as just about anything you can think of will be here.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
CPR,
Welcome to the club!! You have just embarked on a journey that is dangerous to your wallet, but much fun and very satisfying.
What to buy? You'll have to answer a couple of questions first:
What's your budget? (Both $$ and space -- how big is your shop? This will influence both what you buy and what size -- a full size floor model drill press vs a smaller bench top model, etc.)
What's your (and your family's/neighbors') tolerance for noise and dust?
Do you want to go with power tools, hand tools, or a mix of the two?
What to build? I would suggest that you build something a bit harder than you know you can. Maybe it will take a little longer, but you will gain new skills and much more confidence. Don't expect perfection, but work toward making each project better than the last -- make NEW mistakes each time.... :-)
Before you lay out any of your hard-earned money on tools, I suggest spending some of it on some good woodworking books and doing some reading first. Cambium, Taunton, and Astragal Press all have an excellent selection of woodworking books, covering almost every aspect of the craft. After that, you will have a better idea of what you might want to build and how you want to go about it (power or hand tools or mix of the two).
Some of the tools to consider, regardless of whether you go the power or hand tool route:
A good set of bench chisels (1/4 - 1 inch by quarters) with a mallet and sharpening system of your choice, and a couple of mortising chisels (1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 inch seem to be the most useful);
A jointer, jack, smoothing, and block plane (buy good ones so you'll only have to buy them once -- old pre-WW II Stanley, Miller's Falls, Sargeant, etc., or new Lie Nielsen, Veritas, or Clifton; there are also a number of new wooden plane makers doing very nice work (Steve Knight, Clark & Williams, etc), if you incline in that direction.);
A set of good layout tools (combination square, marking knife, try square, rule, straight edge, marking/mortise gauge, etc);
A good, solid, heavy bench; buy or make -- how much $$ and time do you have and how long do you want to wait to start your first "real" project? Either way works equally well. Other threads on this site have some pretty good insights and some strongly held opinions on the pros & cons of buying or making your own bench.
CLAMPS!!! You can never have enough clamps!!!
Etc.....
For truth in advertising purposes, I have to admit that I once was a power tools guy and wanted a shop like Norm's. But, after way too much frustration, a couple of near misses, spending too much time setting up tools and creating jigs, breathing too much saw dust, and doing too little actual wood working for the time and effort spent.....I have gone completely over to hand tools. I like not having all the noise, dust, etc., and being able to get right to working on the wood itself without having to make some jig or another first.... But, that's what works for me; your mileage may vary.....
Anyway, welcome to the club; have fun, and good luck!!
James
CPR... where to start depends entirely on what you fancy building... never did see the point in building bird tables when there's no way I can put one to use...
In your situation... no idea what to build... no tools t build with... I'd look to start preppin the most important tool you'll ever have... yer head... Have a look in the book section; there's tons of material there about projects, technique, tools, materials and a bunch more besides...By the time you've armed yourself with enough reference material I reckon the first project you'll need is a bookcase to keep it in...
Next thing to figure... where ya gonna be doing this?? What space do you have?? Trust me, there's never enough... Does the space have competition?? i.e. do you need to pack everything away to get the car in the garage?? Your shop layout needs to permit situations like that... things like mobile work stations and storage cupboards...
Next thing to figure out is the starter kit of tools... the basic minimum you'll need to get you building things... Don't buy anything off the cuff till you've done some research first... it might prevent you making the same mistakes I madewhn in your position; I'd spare you the frustration...
Lastly... you've already tapped into one of the best online resourses there is... there's a wealth of experience and advise available to you here... some grouchier than others.. but each and every one of em had to start right where you are now... tap into it anytime you're unsure...
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Your question sounds like something my new son in law recently asked about "stuff" he needs for their new house. My shop really intimidates him since my collection of "stuff" goes back about 40 yrs - lol.
I told him that the way to go about it is to figure out a project that he wants to do and what tools he needs to do it - then go buy the tools he needs. The first projects will be outrageously expensive since buying tools ain't cheap, but fairly soon he'll find himself walking past the tool department unless he just wants to windowshop before he gets his materials.
Of course, he has the advantage of having me for a father in law so he can borrow "stuff" or use my shop if he really needs to - lol.
CPR,
I love woodworking - after 20 yrs of it, I still learn new stuff, still make mistakes, etc.
As far as tools go, I think you need the following power tools to be able to succesfully complete a project of any size: skill saw, table saw, jointer, router, sander, drill. Also, an inexpensive bench grinder / sharpener can save you tons of $$$ over time.
Handtools: Good set of chisels (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1), block plane, thin-blade japanese pull saw.
I suggest first projects that allow you to do more with the tools: cross-cut sled for the table saw, work bench, router table, router guides.
Good luck; post pictures of your work.
TTF
Wow...
Thank you all for the quick and thorough response. I figured it would be several days before I would get this many responses. That tells me a lot about this forum and thise who care enough to share their knowledge. Rest assured that I will be back here all the time.
As luck would have it, I received a brochure from the local vo-tech school just yesterday. A 12-week beginner;s woodworking class starts Jan 30. Will be mailing my check to sign up today. Everything that was mentioned in the above messages will be touched uopn to some extent. I.E. Chisel use, Hand plane use, sharpening, table saw, etc. Looking forward to it.
Again, thank you all very much for your guidance.
CPR
Welcome! I'm glad you have found out just what a great bunch this is. Instead of rejecting you as a 'newbie" everyone jumped in to help.I was in a similar situation a few years back. Great interest for many years, but no time. Handled all the repairs around the place and built a lot of things out of sheet goods. Then I went to a 'Woodworking Show' and attended a seminar by Marc Adams. Wow! It was a new day. I came home and signed up for a one week class. Built a walnut table with a glued-up top, hand-cut dovetails and tapered legs. All of this was TOTALLY new to me. But the results were remarkable. Learning the basics from a Pro makes all the difference in the world.I can strongly recommend 'Marc Adams School of Woodworking'. About 20 miles south of Indianapolis. I've been to 7 or 8, 5-day classes - table, chest of drawers, turning, design, veneering, finishing etc. Classes in month of April are resereved for newbies.Good luck. I hope you have as fun as I do.Jerry
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