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Hi!
I’m new to woodworking, and want to set up my own beginner’s woodshop. I have built one table so far through the California College of Arts and Crafts–and LOVED it. Now I want to start practicing on my own, but I don’t know where to begin. Do I need to have power tools? If so, what should I start with? What hand tools do I need? Any advice is appreciated!
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Your post might get more answers in the FineWoodworking forum, although there are folks here who can answer. http://webx.taunton.com/WebX?14@@.ee6b5a1
*Hi, in school what was your favorite tool? Thats the tool that I would get first. With me I love the wood lathe and the scroll saw. I got those first then over the years I added on by buying routers, surface planer and joiner. Any questions feel free to email meJoe
*When I became a carpenter my father would tell me every Friday after payday to buy one tool for under $20 every week. The big tools take investment but you'd be surprised how much you build up in hand tools over 2-3 yrs. by buying small hand tools weekly. It worked exteremly well for me.
*Check to see if there are adult ed. classes that teach woodworking in your vicinity. Before i had a full shop, i paid a pittance to local high school program and got to use all the goodies. You might see if there is a woodworker who would trade shop use for some labor. This would be a good way to see how deep your interest runs, whether as a hobby or a vocation, to handtool-style or power-user. Some of it you just won't know until you try it. Go to woodworking shows and tool shops and get a subscription to Fine Woodworking and Woodshop News and whatever else you can afford. Read the threads here and in Knots. You can email me if you want to know what specific tools i started with and what i enjoyed the most. You go, girl!
*Pick a project. Then see wht tool you need to build it. Remember, while most use power tools for just about everything......carpenters thru out the centuries worked without them! Decide what you need.....and what you want. A circular saw and a straight edge can do alot of what the table saw does. usuallt the table saw is quicker, easier, and sometimes safer. And a hand saw can do what the circular saw does! Buy the best of what you can afford. A few good tools are more helpful than a lot of junk tools. Check for used and reconditioned tool. And start and stick to the basics. Jeff
*As Jeff said, pick a project, research what tools you need, don't go crazy ($3000 tablesaws?)but buy the best that can be afforded, and most of all...HAVE FUN!Hey George, I bet you still spend 20 a payday on small stuff....and still don't have it all, huh?, I know I don't.CSR in AZ
*You got that right Chris! There is always something new and shiny just waiting to put in my shop. Actually though it still makes it all fun, reminds me of what I am and what I do every time. Good habit's are hard to break.
*And a twenty spot don't buy much anymore. Figure a saw blade runs at least fourty to sixty bucks.
*Okay I admit it, sometimes I do exceed the $20. I saw your post for help wanted though and since you do stairs and railings there's always countersinks, spade bits(chew a few of those up installing newels?), things like that. It's like my ex said ,I could always find some new tool to buy. That's one of the reasons she's my ex.
*Brittany, the original people on Easter Island carved giant statues using nothing much more than a pointed rock; ancient temples were built using two tools, one sharpened to cut, and the other heavy and blunt to pound the sharp tool; the great cathedrals in Europe were built by men who carried all of their worldly possesion, including their tools, in one bag suspended from a shoulder strap. You buy tools to make the work faster and easier, and, to improve the result of the action the tool was design to perform (cut, smooth, bore, dimension). OR, you do like the rest of us and buy the shiniest tool in the store because you just gotta have it.
*TOOL SHINY, GEORGE WANT!GRUNT GRUNT GRUNT!
*b WBA At Your Service I was at the woodworker's show in Philadelphia over the weekend. I saw a combination machine from Laguna Tools that was only $23,000. The thing was so pretty it belonged in my living room as sculpture, not in somebody's workshop. The salesman was kind enough to let me know that my 2 year old Unisaw was a piece of crap. I wonder how many $23,000 machines he sells in a year.....
*Hi Brittany Walker.I believe the most important tool is the sharpening stone, preferably to 8000 grit.Seems to me that nothing else matters if it aint sharp.Hope this helps.alan joseph [email protected]://www.crosswinds.net/~informapauperis
*Brittany, one more thing: paint all your tools pink to keep these jokers from stealing them off ya!
*Been buying tools all my life (I'm 60) Buy a little at a time. Save & buy the big stuff. You can get on with a few things. Beware of the gadget stuff. Figger out what you want to build & design your shop tools around that. I never made a lot of money with shop work. More money in remodling. Ended up doing a lot of commercial case work. Heavy! Back is always sore. & remember.....Try to improve your craftmanship on each project.
*Brittany - If you are interested in woodworking (by hand in the classical sense, as it appears in your post) buy a good woodworker's workbench. I'm surprised that nobody mentioned it.Jeff Clarke
*Or make it...great project. 'Course you sort of need a bench to make a bench.Taking a course, as you did, is a great way to avoid reinventing wheels, and you will definitely progress faster....maybe consider continuing in that direction (and getting a handle on what tools you NEED)at the same time you add tools. I teach some continuing ed night classes, and without exception there are some people in there with well equipped home shops, that don't know how to use the tools. We always have lots of eureka moments as something becomes clear.
*Makes 'em easy to identify if they do borrow them, too.
*You are recieving some very good advice here. I would consider doing what has been suggested that is taking some more classes at adult ed or community college. But one thing that I would be careful of and that is avoid buying alot of "neat" tools that once you spend the money and its usually a large chunk of change. Then find out that you dont need it or rarely use it. When you decide to start buying tools especially power tools. Look for quality used tools in good condition. You can also find "factory reconditioned" tools sold at some tool stores for a substantial discount and they carry the same warranty that a new tool would have. But most important take your time because in the woodorking world theres always someone with a neat idea for a tool that you just gotta have and once you buy it, it sits on the shelf.
*Other questions to ask youself is where are you going to do your work, and how much room do you have? Don't let lack of space deter you, learn to adjust to it.
*Also, some areas have woodworking clubs, and commercial places that you can rent by the hour. I've never done it myself, but I have been wondering about them. The commercial places rent bench space and power tool time, and they also sell materials, so when you cut that quarter sawn oak too short...I'm guessing these may only be in larger cities, but I'm not sure. I know I have seen them in OKC and in the D.C. area.
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Hi!
I'm new to woodworking, and want to set up my own beginner's woodshop. I have built one table so far through the California College of Arts and Crafts--and LOVED it. Now I want to start practicing on my own, but I don't know where to begin. Do I need to have power tools? If so, what should I start with? What hand tools do I need? Any advice is appreciated!