Discussion
I have recently started playing around with wood, and have built a couple of things that I think have turned out OK. I enjoy the design process and figuring out the problems that inevitably arise. However, I am still very much the noob, so I thought I'd ask the PH hive mind - what are your toptips? What are the must have tools? What are the unlikely but ever-so-useful tools? Are there good websites with (very) easy projects?
And of course, any thread is useless without pics, so can we see what you've been building?
I'll start with my pretty basic but unbelievably sturdy step-stool, so you can all point and laugh.
And of course, any thread is useless without pics, so can we see what you've been building?
I'll start with my pretty basic but unbelievably sturdy step-stool, so you can all point and laugh.
robbieduncan said:
Brave! Posting a picture with your screwdrivers out of order!
They are in order! L-> R we have Philips small and large, then four flatheads in increasing size. Having them all in ascending size would have the large philips in the middle of the flatheads, and that would make my teeth itch!
jas xjr said:
That looks great. Must be very satisfying to make something like that.
I would look at using some plug cutters,at least you can do that retrospectively.
As with most things, practice makes perfect, plus the opportunity to buy more tools
Thank you! Yep, I'm finding it very satisfying, and it's just fun learning something entirely new. So many tools out there that I have no idea what they're for, or how you'd use them. Will look up plug cutters! I would look at using some plug cutters,at least you can do that retrospectively.
As with most things, practice makes perfect, plus the opportunity to buy more tools
You already have an Alexa in the workshop, so you have the essentials right!
Some things which I have found handy (it's a dangerous slope):
Some things which I have found handy (it's a dangerous slope):
- A little hand-plane (no. 4 or 5) is handy for rounding over the edges of the wood.
- A small bandsaw is amazingly productive, and they're often pretty cheap. Even cheaper are Japanese pull saws, which are very quick at cutting wood.
- Osmo oil is great for finishing wood
- Biscuit joiner
robbieduncan said:
Brave! Posting a picture with your screwdrivers out of order!
...and that plumb rule doesn't seem to be hanging plumb!. If you think you're going to make a go of it as a hobby, invest in decent sized, heavy woodworking bench, something with a front and end vice/holes for bench dogs and a tool well.biggiles said:
You already have an Alexa in the workshop, so you have the essentials right!
Some things which I have found handy (it's a dangerous slope):
Good list.Some things which I have found handy (it's a dangerous slope):
- A little hand-plane (no. 4 or 5) is handy for rounding over the edges of the wood.
- A small bandsaw is amazingly productive, and they're often pretty cheap. Even cheaper are Japanese pull saws, which are very quick at cutting wood.
- Osmo oil is great for finishing wood
- Biscuit joiner
Decide if you want to do hand work or machines, or a bit of both.
For hand work I'd add a couple of decent chisels - Narex are a good make, a good compromise between quality and price. I have a lovely set of Ashley Iles, but they're a bit more expensive - lovely to use though. Get a narrow one (6mm) a medium one (12 or 16mm) and if you can stretch to it a wider one (20 or 26mm).
but....
Learn to sharpen edges properly. This is most important. Planes and chisels only work well when properly sharp.
I've found the Scary Sharp system works well for me - it's relatively cheap and easy to use - I now sharpen freehand but get a decent honing guide to start with. There are plenty of Youtube guides on how to sharpen.
A random orbital sander gives a nice finish, use Abranet sanding discs, they extract dust better than traditional discs and last longer.
Speaking of dust - get some extraction if you do a lot with machines - even a Henry is better than nothing, wood dust can become a problem over time and wearing a mask soon becomes annoying.
A biscuit joiner is nice but wouldn't be on my must have list.
A pocket hole jig like this one https://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/product/PH_JIG/2/24... are very versatile for joining wood.
A good Japanese hand saw(s) is one of my essential tools.
There so many tools out there but it depends on 3 things really money, space and what you are going to make.
I Would love to have a pillar drill but I haven't got the space so brought a drill press stand instead.
As for ideas You Tube is full of projects.
A pocket hole jig like this one https://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/product/PH_JIG/2/24... are very versatile for joining wood.
A good Japanese hand saw(s) is one of my essential tools.
There so many tools out there but it depends on 3 things really money, space and what you are going to make.
I Would love to have a pillar drill but I haven't got the space so brought a drill press stand instead.
As for ideas You Tube is full of projects.
designforlife said:
I made this wood plane some 12 years ago now at university for a woodwork module... the clamp/clip was rapid prototyped using a 3D printer about the size of a BMW mini....how time's have changed
I lack the tools these days, but do enjoy a bit of model making here and there.
Loving the planeI lack the tools these days, but do enjoy a bit of model making here and there.
Cheers, it all comes apart (intentionally) and you could actually put a real blade in there, doubt it would last long as an actual plane though!
Probably one of my proudest souvenirs from my time at Uni, it has adorned my office desks ever since graduating.
I would love to get into wood turning on a little lathe eventually, just need the space for a mini workshop.
Probably one of my proudest souvenirs from my time at Uni, it has adorned my office desks ever since graduating.
I would love to get into wood turning on a little lathe eventually, just need the space for a mini workshop.
A little while ago, elderly neighbour of mine had asked me to fix her bird feeder. I did, but the whole thing was pretty rotten, and it wouldn't last much longer, so I decided to build her a replacement. It would be a more interesting project than the stool, as it had to be effective, but also look good.
I looked a few designs online, and also went to a couple of garden centres to steal ideas.
I saw one arrangement for the stand that looked interesting - and also pretty straightforward to construct, so I 'borrowed' it!
I also invested £7 in a mitre box, made it so much easier!
Anyhows, it turned out like this...
The neighbour was very pleased with it, and a couple of days later put a card through my door, which had in it a £20 book token! There was no need, but it was a nice touch. It seemed only right to get a suitable thing, so I bought the Collins Complete Woodworker's Manual by Jackson and Day, a large tome full of good stuff! I've only dipped into it so far, but have already learnt a whole bunch of useful stuff!
It also gave me ideas for my next project - more on that later!
I looked a few designs online, and also went to a couple of garden centres to steal ideas.
I saw one arrangement for the stand that looked interesting - and also pretty straightforward to construct, so I 'borrowed' it!
I also invested £7 in a mitre box, made it so much easier!
Anyhows, it turned out like this...
The neighbour was very pleased with it, and a couple of days later put a card through my door, which had in it a £20 book token! There was no need, but it was a nice touch. It seemed only right to get a suitable thing, so I bought the Collins Complete Woodworker's Manual by Jackson and Day, a large tome full of good stuff! I've only dipped into it so far, but have already learnt a whole bunch of useful stuff!
It also gave me ideas for my next project - more on that later!
Stop now. It is addictive, massively rewarding - especially if you have a family and friends with more “custom” furniture and cabinet needs but little money.
When I had a big enough workshop at home, I had a lot of machinery to hand to turn trees into usable wood. As my (still amateur) skills progressed, I saw woodworking as a challenge to design and make projects without any nails, screws or metal fixings, well with the exception of hinges for a kitchen I made for the MIL. All the drawers were held together with half blind dovetails, but being lazy I cut them on a router jig of course
. Then I got into making furniture out of free pallet wood... very rewarding to see the transformation from rough, warped, twisty and shaken junk dry splintery wood into beautifully smooth lammed up panels for reasonably fine usage.
I think it was Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop that took me away from hand tools and into the machinery side. Inside a year I had raided Axminster Power Tools to buy extraction systems, workshop filters, induction motor sliding table panel saw for 8x4 sheets, thicknesser, jointer, bandsaw, sliding mitre saw, lathe, stupidly powerful induction motor router as I couldn’t justify a spindle moulder, a gazillion bits and jigs bought (panel raisers, rail and stile cutters were the reason for the induction motor router) and made, 1 metre wide panel belt sander, more clamps than I could store and a whole bunch of almost redundant (except for the biscuit jointer, ideal for aligning lam ups) hand power tools.
So, I loved doing the fine cabinet making with all that gear, but even for all silly projects, such as garden planters for Mother’s Day gifts, they had mortise/tenon joints and groove inserts for multiple chamfered edge panels with a fully dovetailed soil box inserts etc. Also did wooden telescopic leg artist easels for the daughter, and we owned probably the only fully jointed oak rabbit hutch around (I even made wooden hinges for that one
I moved out of the house with the big workshop 5 years ago and dreadfully miss my tools which now sit in my mother’s garage. The good news is I have 5 window frames to make for her shortly, so the they will be getting a dust down. Managed to make a fully jointed rocking crib a few months ago with very basic tools used to transport some baby shower pressies to a relative rather than use a bag or box.
Brilliant hobby, but totally addictive and you end up with a lot of friends with nice furniture
Even now I am looking at some oddball craft style projects and thinking of pulling the machinery back into use and having a little side business. Just need a little spare time... and a workshop.
ETA:
Whatever you do, don’t buy the Time Life, Art of Woodworking set of books. You will never escape the damned hobby. And keep away from YouTube with the “woodworking projects” searches
When I had a big enough workshop at home, I had a lot of machinery to hand to turn trees into usable wood. As my (still amateur) skills progressed, I saw woodworking as a challenge to design and make projects without any nails, screws or metal fixings, well with the exception of hinges for a kitchen I made for the MIL. All the drawers were held together with half blind dovetails, but being lazy I cut them on a router jig of course
. Then I got into making furniture out of free pallet wood... very rewarding to see the transformation from rough, warped, twisty and shaken junk dry splintery wood into beautifully smooth lammed up panels for reasonably fine usage.I think it was Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop that took me away from hand tools and into the machinery side. Inside a year I had raided Axminster Power Tools to buy extraction systems, workshop filters, induction motor sliding table panel saw for 8x4 sheets, thicknesser, jointer, bandsaw, sliding mitre saw, lathe, stupidly powerful induction motor router as I couldn’t justify a spindle moulder, a gazillion bits and jigs bought (panel raisers, rail and stile cutters were the reason for the induction motor router) and made, 1 metre wide panel belt sander, more clamps than I could store and a whole bunch of almost redundant (except for the biscuit jointer, ideal for aligning lam ups) hand power tools.
So, I loved doing the fine cabinet making with all that gear, but even for all silly projects, such as garden planters for Mother’s Day gifts, they had mortise/tenon joints and groove inserts for multiple chamfered edge panels with a fully dovetailed soil box inserts etc. Also did wooden telescopic leg artist easels for the daughter, and we owned probably the only fully jointed oak rabbit hutch around (I even made wooden hinges for that one
I moved out of the house with the big workshop 5 years ago and dreadfully miss my tools which now sit in my mother’s garage. The good news is I have 5 window frames to make for her shortly, so the they will be getting a dust down
. Managed to make a fully jointed rocking crib a few months ago with very basic tools used to transport some baby shower pressies to a relative rather than use a bag or box.Brilliant hobby, but totally addictive and you end up with a lot of friends with nice furniture
Even now I am looking at some oddball craft style projects and thinking of pulling the machinery back into use and having a little side business. Just need a little spare time... and a workshop.
ETA:
Whatever you do, don’t buy the Time Life, Art of Woodworking set of books. You will never escape the damned hobby. And keep away from YouTube with the “woodworking projects” searches
Edited by SeeFive on Sunday 9th June 13:48
The best tools to get depend (to an extent) on the type of work you want to do and how you want to go about it (i.e the balance between hand and power tools).
A good tablesaw is incredibly useful and some say it's the heart of any workshop. However, I don't have one and manage to find other ways of achieving the same outcome.
A router is definitely something you should look at. With the right bits and jigs, it can do an incredibly wide range of tasks.
One approach would be to buy the tools you need for each project as you go along.
A good tablesaw is incredibly useful and some say it's the heart of any workshop. However, I don't have one and manage to find other ways of achieving the same outcome.
A router is definitely something you should look at. With the right bits and jigs, it can do an incredibly wide range of tasks.
One approach would be to buy the tools you need for each project as you go along.
Cheers for all the replies about useful tools, I've been having a huge amount of fun researching and working out what bits would be most useful - as uncinqsix says I'll be trying to add just what tools I need for each project.
And so, the current project. I've (far too) many books at home, and was using standard sized, cheap-but-decent bookcases from Argos. I decided that a custom built one would fit the available space better, plus have more room on its shelves. It would also be a relatively straighforward project, albeit the largest , by some considerable margin. I wanted it to be a proper job as well, not just bodged together like my step-stool at the start of the thread, so maybe it was time to go shopping for tools..
First off, I needed to get smooth and accurate 90^ cuts, so I invested in this Sliding mitre saw, which I see has just increased in price by £20 since I bought mine! I love the thing, it makes quick, accurate and smooth cuts, and is very easy to use. A future project will be to build a stand for it.
In all previous projects I'd just used screwed together butt joints, but here I needed something a tad better, and decided to use what I later discovered were called housing joints. At first I thought I could carve the trenches using the mitre saw, but the depth of cut was pretty uneven. So I started looking at routers. Looking on Amazon they seem to start at £55 or so, for brands that I've never heard of. But then I found this Bosch at a great price! After a little bit of practice I was able to make really nice clean trenches for the shelves to sit in.
Whoever mentioned pocket hole jigs, (which I had to look up as I'd never heard of them) thank you! Brilliant little device, really easy to use, and exactly what I needed for much better looking joints! Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
Other stuff I've been finding useful - clamps! Don't know how I managed before, they make it so much easier!
Anyhows, this is how it is this morning, I just need some ply to form the back and job's a good'un!
And so, the current project. I've (far too) many books at home, and was using standard sized, cheap-but-decent bookcases from Argos. I decided that a custom built one would fit the available space better, plus have more room on its shelves. It would also be a relatively straighforward project, albeit the largest , by some considerable margin. I wanted it to be a proper job as well, not just bodged together like my step-stool at the start of the thread, so maybe it was time to go shopping for tools..
First off, I needed to get smooth and accurate 90^ cuts, so I invested in this Sliding mitre saw, which I see has just increased in price by £20 since I bought mine! I love the thing, it makes quick, accurate and smooth cuts, and is very easy to use. A future project will be to build a stand for it.
In all previous projects I'd just used screwed together butt joints, but here I needed something a tad better, and decided to use what I later discovered were called housing joints. At first I thought I could carve the trenches using the mitre saw, but the depth of cut was pretty uneven. So I started looking at routers. Looking on Amazon they seem to start at £55 or so, for brands that I've never heard of. But then I found this Bosch at a great price! After a little bit of practice I was able to make really nice clean trenches for the shelves to sit in.
Whoever mentioned pocket hole jigs, (which I had to look up as I'd never heard of them) thank you! Brilliant little device, really easy to use, and exactly what I needed for much better looking joints! Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
Other stuff I've been finding useful - clamps! Don't know how I managed before, they make it so much easier!
Anyhows, this is how it is this morning, I just need some ply to form the back and job's a good'un!
SeeFive, you're not wrong about it being addictive and rewarding! All the time spent in the workshop just feels so 'right'. Pottering away with the tunes going, designing, solving problems, creating. It's just great!
And I've already had my first build request - a friend wants me to make her a coffee table.
And I've already had my first build request - a friend wants me to make her a coffee table.
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