Thread: what do I need....a newbie's guide haha

flame.on,

Tools and machines are expensive so you need to make sound decisions unless you are very wealthy.

I strongly suggest that you join your local Woodwork Club in Wodonga so you can use their excellent facilities, acquire some skills and speak to the members who can guide you with your purchases.

If you need contact details, send me a PM.

I would like to get down to my local woodwork club down here, but since I am in year 12, I am after school til late most days after school and when I do get a free second, it is mostly only around the house where I will hopefully turn my back shed into my woodwork area. If I had more time I would check it out, but at the moment I won't be able to drop down there....dam year 12 haha

First things first?
Good measuring and marking equipment.....various sizes of steel rules, squares and marking gauges.

I don't get it

What's haha about it

Wolffie

Originally Posted by Wolffie

I don't get it

What's haha about it

Wolffie

There's nothing haha about it, I tend to put haha at the end of some things I write

Originally Posted by seanz

First things first?
Good measuring and marking equipment.....various sizes of steel rules, squares and marking gauges.

Thanks Seanz, will huntdown and research some good measuring and marking equipment

If I was starting out this would be my list. Budged is a constraint but for about $1000 you can everything Stage 01 to 03. It is always cheaper to buy hand tools from the USA since local seller make a huge mark up. Buy the best tool you can afford, you can tell the difference.

You have three options -

• Refurbish Old Tools - This take time, and the cost savings are not huge once you have paid for time, the tool, and replacement blades/parts. Consider that these tools will never work as well as a modern tool.
• Buy New quality brands like Veritas Or Lie-Nielsen. Avoid Modern Stanley's
• Make your own tools - this can become a distracting obsession

Stage 01

• 6" Engineer's Squares - Buy the best you can afford no less then $80
• 600 mm Ruler - Expect to pay about $40
• Single Bevel Marking Knife - For About $30
• Marking Gauge - The Veritas® Wheel Marking Gauges is Good for $35

Stage 02

You will also need to buy router bits and a Router.

The best place to buy bits are RouterBits.com: where you will find over 800 router bits, forstner bits and other woodworking accessories. The stock the best router bit brand called Whiteside Router Bits made in the USA.

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You will need:
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• Part Number - 2500 - 1/2 Flush Trim 1/4 Shank Single Bearing - Cost - $18.40
• Part Number - SC33 - 1/8 Solid Carbide Straight Bit 1/4 Shank - Cost - $11.40
• Part Number - 1025 - 1/2 Straight Bit - Carbide Tipped - Cost - $12.80
• Part Number - 1022 - 3/8 Straight Bit - Carbide Tipped - Cost - $13.12
• Part Number - 2001 - 1/4 Radius Roundover Bit 1/4 Shank - Cost - $18.80
• Part Number - 1012 - 1/4 Straight Bit - Carbide Tipped - Cost - $11.36
• Part Number - 6400 - Steel Router Collets I.D. 1/4 O.D. 1/2 - Cost - $10.00

It will come to $108.68 plus shipping to Australia for $27.99. To buy the same bits in Australia you would be looking at over $350 Australian.

Stage 03

• Set of Six Chisels Old Trash and Treasure Market Chisels with Wooden Handles are Fine
• Set of Drill Bits Suttons are good Australian Brand cost about $130 for a set of 28
• Water Stones for Sharpening - 800 grit, 4000 grit and 6000 grit about $40 each.

Stage 04

• Veritas® Low-Angle Jack Plane - For Squaring and Smoothing Timber
• Veritas Block Plane - For End Grain and Chamfers

OR

• Lie-Nielsen No.6 Plane - For Squaring and Smoothing Timber
• Lie-Nielsen Adjustable Mouth Block Planes - For End Grain and Chamfers

Stage 05


After the basics you, are looking at a Jointer, Bandsaw, Table saw and Thicknesser.

Good Things To Make For The Workshop

• Saw Horses - Storing Timber, Sawing
• Work Bench With Vice- Working
• Router Table - Cutting Tenon's, Rebates, and Joinery

There are some very good points here.

I am still working out things as I go. It does take time and the search and research increases your knowledge.

TS, yours is one of the strangest order for buying tools I have ever seen.
I wouldn't recommend a router for anyone just starting out and, and of what use are drill bits without a drill?

My basic list for a year 12 student just starting out in wood working would be

Stage one
1) 300 mm Ruler, 200 mm square, 3 m tape measure, pencil
2) 200 mm Tenon saw, 500 mm Ripping Handsaw.
3) 200 g Hammer, set of basic chisels, 2 water stones (800 or 1200, 4000 or 6000)
4) 133 mm Block plane, #4 hand plane
5) 12 mm corded hand held power drill, sets of drill bits and screw driver bits.
6) As many clamps as you can afford
You can make a lot of things (even your bed) with this set, and you can then make your own stuff like
Bench
wooden mallets
Shooting board

Stage two I'd be looking at stuff like
1) Marking gauge, marking knife
2) Crosscutting Japanese pull saw - I love these things, coping saw
3) Expand your range of chisels and hammers
4) Jack plane
5) Cordless drill, countersink bits, dowelling jig
6) As many more clamps as you can afford

Then I'd be looking at stuff like
1) Bigger and smaller squares and marking guages
2) Other hand saws
3) Other hand planes
4) Other power tools
5) More clamps!

The reason I am recommending you focus on hand tools is because power tools die far quicker than quality hand tools. 43 years ago my uncle gave me his entire set of carpentry tools. The power tools died long ago but I still have and use all the hand tools. I have a hammer with 1793 stamped on it - it still works!!!

Well, I too am just starting out )

I have an electric plane (wished I got a hand held one)
jigsaw
drill
circular saw
router & bits
drill bits
belt sander
hand saw
clamps
hammers
chisels
set squares - one of which has already lost all its numbers!
Other bits and pieces which I pick up along the way. I KNOW this list will get bigger )

I have a healthy respect for power tools, whether cord or cordless, prefering to use the hand held stuff.

IMO it depends on your budget, space, your project, but most importantly, your skill level. I have the misfortune of not knowing half of what is on these lists by name(

My first major project is a work bench, which is not finished yet. I also have part of a viking sea chest, not finished yet...

Happy woodworking!

ShazL

HMMMMM

to start, get a steel rule, tape, pencil.

Get whatever planes you can at second hand places just make sure you get the cheap ones you can afford. A Jack plane like a 4 1/2 and a Jointer gets you past most jobs. A hand saw. See if Javali is still around here, he has made a ton of great stuff in a tiny shed with all hand tools and has a hand saw he uses for down grain cuts which he says eats through them.

Stanley knife is good. Given a choice go for the Japanese Olfa ones. Yes I know, just trust me the Japanese make much better tools than the Americans do. The Germans occasionally match the Japs but cost about three times as much.

So hand saw, hand plane, marking and measuring stuff. The stanley knife is a good marking tool as it gives you a thinner line than a pencil.

After that get a mallet or hammer and two chisels. A thin chisel 3 to 6 mm and a wider one between 10 and 15 mm.

You will get a long way with that stuff. Get a start and you will learn as you go what things you could benefit from most.

The above you could get for $100 if some generous woodies throw the odd bit your way.

Studley

I agree with BobL. I hardly ever use the router - you can make heaps of things without it.

Accurate powered tools are expensive, and I reckon you can do a pretty good job with a carefully selected set of hand tools bought second hand. Good Stanley planes are not hard to come by if you are patient. A good saw is easy to be had especially if you are not afraid to sharpen them yourself.

The first power tool I would recommend, is a jointer, mainly because I am crap at jointing with hand tools.

Seems to be marking tools as the first items to get. I know that with out a ruler and pencil it does get pretty hard to measure things out.

Only after three years did I actually get a good square. The one that I was using was just slightly out. It is in storage waiting to be fixed / modified.

I hesitate to recommend these next items.

But.

You know the really cheap chisels at the big hardware stores that sell for under $20 for a set of three?
Get some of them. They are very useful, you can learn how to sharpen etc. and later on in your woodworking career......if you ever have any doubt at all that you should be using a chisel for the task at hand, you can use one of the cheap ones.....they're completely guilt free.

Good idea about cheap chisels. I have had a set for yonks. They need sharpening every time because they don't hold an edge, but they are great for scraping off squeeze out glue and for all those other jobs one wouldn't expose a real chisel to.