Hi All,
In response to the recession, I’d like to save some money in woodworking and on lumber. I’ve been thinking of buying used tools, using coupons, buying on ebay. Any advice, tips, or tricks to save a buck and to keep up quality would be much appreciated.
-w
Replies
If you have the space and can wait, air drying your own lumber can save you a lot of money. See if there are any local sawyers in your area. You can usually get green lumber a lot cheaper than dried lumber (especially surfaced). Buy good tools, not cheap ones. The cheap ones cost you more in the long run.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
(soon to be www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
It looks like you've got all the right ideas about saving money on good tools. I'll add that you should get very familiar with current models and the going prices so you'll recognize the real deals that come along periodically. Also, keep watch the bargain alerts on wwing forums....there are deals that come and go within a few minutes, so be ready.
I've managed to get a fair amount of lumber for free....friends, old furniture found curbside, garage sales, etc. Buying rough sawn is usually cheaper than buying dimensioned lumber. Also, there are certain types of lumber that will be cheaper in your geographic area...get familiar with them and seek them out. In our area woods like butternut, ash, and elm can go pretty cheaply if you can find it.
Thanks for those tips. I see a lot of those 12"x4" beams in my neighborhood, douglas fur. I might try to denail one.
-w
woodophile,
recession or not, I have taken to checking out estate sales and auctions, and have found some astounding bargains on good tools. For example, recently saw a decent 14" Powermatic bandsaw go for $50 at an auction. Also have seen some stockpiles of good wood go for a fraction of their value at these sales.
garage sales and estate sales....brilliant idea!!!-w
I'm not a weird minimalist, but the older I get, the more I find I can do without. Sometimes the woodworking world seems a lot like the fishing tackle industry -- most of the goods are designed to catch fisherman rather than fish. My point is that if you're trying to keep the budget down it's better to stick to the basic equipment with which you can accomplish just about anything and stay away from the specialty tools that only do one job - and often don't do it very well. Buying three really good planes will put you in pretty fine fettle; buying ten crummy ones will frustrate all your efforts to do good work.
Verne
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to cut it up and make something with it . . . what a waste!
Woodo, welcome!
You don't give your location, but that will play a pretty big part in the availability of tools, as well as the type, quantity and quality of lumber. (Green wood is great if you have the room and time to dry it and the tools to work it once it has dried).
I search Craig's list quite a bit, and e-bay occasionally for tools. It is also a good idea to listen to friends, keep an eye on big box store clearances, and always check out a few pawn shops. There are deals to be had!
Caution--there is an inherent risk in buying used tools--kind of like used cars. Most folks won't easily part with something that is serving them well, but there are always exceptions. As has already been said in this thread, know what you are looking for and its approximate value--and be ready to assess whether it is worth the risk to you if it fails to perform as you had hoped.
W ,
Start building stuff out of recycled materials when possible the " Green effect"
could pay off in Green as well .
Tools , basics , depending on what you want to do . Good used on larger machines but not top of the line unless it's right .Drills and small electric new , hand planes used if they are good .
regards dusty
Used machinery. Rebuilding a Unisaw is far easier than doing a brake job on your car if your are the least bit mechanical.
Yep, and you get to do it standing up, instead of lying on your back looking up as the crud falls in your eyes.
Could be a heck of a lot safer for the whole family if you rebuilt the saw not the brakes .
regards dusty
Several of your responders mention yard sale wood. I've long had the habit of buying old ball-bats for $.50 to $1.00. They are of top quality ash, and make excellent tool handles for chisels and turning tools. I've also used them for parts for Windsor chairs.
Tom
You don't say whether you're looking for used hand tools or used power tools. In both cases, though, knowledge is your friend. You can get great deals on good quality used tools, particularly hand tools, if you know what to look for. If you don't know what to look for, you can spend a good deal of money on inoperable junk.
Some resources on the hand tool side of things are Michael Dunbar's excellent book on using and restoring antique hand tools. From the standpoint of Stanley handplanes, there's a lot of good web references, particularly Patrick Leach's Stanley Blood and Gore: http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html. And there are many resources on restoring and using old tools of a general nature on the web.
Be careful though, such a pursuit is a slippery slope - soon you're like me and have 400+ wooden molding planes!
wow! cool site.
sometimes I go to this one for cheap stuff:
http://www.propertyroom.com/searchresult.aspx?CategoryId=433
Police auction, stuff!!!!
-w
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