Thread: Taking up woodwork as a hobby

Hi mate

I too am an amatuer, been doing it on the weekends when I get a chance etc.

I have quite a collection now:

Drills
TableSaw
Router
Router Table
Bandsaw
Thicknesser
Planer
A Few ROS
Belt and Disc Sander
Drill Press
Rulers
Squares
Jigsaw
Mitre Saw
Hand Planes
Chisels
Scapers
etc

The list goes on

Iguess it depends on what you are doing, for me I mostly use the Table Saw, drills, ROS, rulers, squares etc

I know others would mailnly use handtools, some specialise on the bandsaw

Many tools can be interchanged, ie a jigsaw for a bandsaw etc

First thing you need is a decent workbench and if you are space limited like me, put your bench and all machinery on wheels so that you can move them around.

Nearly all of my machinery I bought brand new but I bought my drillpress off Gumtree.

Got it for a great deal and if I started again I could probably save myself thousands.

Cheers

What you buy depends upon what you want to make.

If as a hobby - start with something small that needs relatively few tools, as you note, a box (see Box Making forum). For a first simple box you can probably get away with a couple of small chisels, a good Hand (Tenon or Japanese) Saw, square, and a well tuned No. 4 plane.

Your first attempt will be something to look back on in years to come to see how you've improved. You'll also learn how to use the tools you have and improve with every mistake made.

From there you can add a tool or 2 as you decide you want to make something better and your skills improve. By then you'll also know what tool you want next.

If however you want to be mainly big things, Household furnature, Tables, Chairs, Cupboards and beds, your starting list and number of tools will be vastly different and lots more expensive.

However you start and whatever you make - bon't forget - post a pic.

Hi Daniel

You will find lots of similar questions answered in the threads here. The advice will be mixed & varied! Do a search & read a lot.

Much of the advice will be along these lines:

1. Only buy what you need for a particular project - your tools collection will grow as you gain experience. As you progress you will be drawn to hand tools, or power tools, or maybe some combination of both. Don't rush out & buy a swag of stuff now.

2. Buy the best quality tools that you can afford up front. Poor or average quality will be an exercise in frustration, and you will waste money in the long run, as you will end up throwing them away & replacing them with decent quality anyway (or if you give up, you will not be able to sell poor quality tools, but premium quality often can be sold for close to hat you paid - check out second hand prices of Lie Nielsen hand tools or Festool power tools as an extreme example)

You will always need quality measuring & marking tools for eith power or hand tool work, so maybe this is a good place to start - a reliable and accurate combination square of 150 mm or 300 mm (Starrett, mitutoyo, Moore& Wright are good brands - NOT Eclipse, Craftsman,Stanley or similar of fhe cheap hardware store variety), an accurate engraved steel rule - satin is easier to read than a polished surface, a marking knife (an "NT Cutter" style can work OK) and a fine mechanical pencil. A cutting guage could be added - something like the Veritas wheel guage - click here - would do fine. eBay can be a good source for some items, but you do need to know your prices!! Many items can be sourced reliably from the USA at a fraction of local prices (e.g Starrett squares) , and the US postal service offers relatively inexpensive shipping for roughly shoebox size or smaller packages.

Good luck & have fun.

Thanks for all the help,

Just wondering what the Irwin Marples / Stanley Fatmax chisels are like?

And what are Veritas tools like? are there saws, marking tools etc any good?

Originally Posted by daniel7310

Thanks for all the help,

Just wondering what the Irwin Marples / Stanley Fatmax chisels are like?

And what are Veritas tools like? are there saws, marking tools etc any good?

Stanley Fatmax have had favourable reviews but the Irwin Marples are fairly universally disliked. Veritas is a brand you can trust - they set a high standard in tools and stand by it.
There have been many lists of basic tools done by others so I won't do my own. Here are a couple to consider:

12 Basic Hand Tools for Woodworking | Startwoodworking.com

hand tool kit

There is something to be said for buying used handtools and learning to sharpen them. Chisels are a case in point. You will always have to re-sharpen chisels when using, so learning to do this on cheap ones preserves your later better quality tools from the mistakes that you will inevitably make. We've all been there.
Welcome to the adventure that is woodworking.
Cheers
SG

I was in the same position as you 6 or so years ago and went straight to my local woodwork club, joined and then got an idea of what I wanted to do. From thinking I wanted to make furniture I ended up buying a wood lathe. This saved me many thousands of dollars buying the wrong tools/equipment and in the end I also made many friends who helped me along the way.

Hope this advice helps.

What Scribley Gum Says, although I have had less than stellar results with Stanley Fatmax chisels - bought a couple a while back for house renovation & found the edges folded over really easily. I think you can do better. The new Stanley "Sweatheart" range have ahd good reviews, but as SG says, you will need to learn to sharpen them, and they will need work flattening the backs. Jim davey sells the Sweatheat chisels - see here for a good starter set & good value at $40/chisel. Jim Davey also sells Wood River planes - these are a good compromise between the high price of Lie Nielsen while still providing a good quality tool.

You will also need to get a system for sharpening & learn to use it before you can work with any hand plane or chisels you buy (they won't work properly out of the box) Again, much advice on these forums. A good sharpeing jig will help (Veritas Mk II is one of the better options). Use the "Scary Sharp" system (Google it) to get started without a big outlay in sharpening tools. See here for Brent Beach's in-depth guide to sharpeining using this method - he explains how to make inexpensive jigs as well.

Veritas make some of the best production hand tools around, with high quality materials, machining & finish. Some dislike their slightly less traditional look & would prefer the Lie Nielson tools - a matter of personal preference. There are many Veritas fans on these forums - see the many reviews of their planes by Derek Cohen, for example.

If you don't have a woodwork club close, there may be a mens shed where you can meet people, get advice & share or try out tools while you are gaining experience.

The workbench has many options - design depends on hand tool vs power tool use. (You need a heavier, lower bench for hand tools) Chris Schwarz from Popular Woodworking Magazine has done may blog & magazine articles on bench design & construction. See here for a good introduction to the topic Yor local library may have (or be able to get) a copy of his Chris Schwarz book "Workbenches - From Design & Theory to Construction & Use" , but much of the content can be had by reading his blog entries. A workbench is nothing more than a big clamping jig to hold stuff while you work on it. As with all the other things here, your idea of what you need will probably change with experience, so it might be best to start with something inexpensive & upgrade later, & many great woodworkers have done fantastic work on crude workbenches. See here for a quick & cheap design from Fine Woodworking magazine & here for a video of how to build it. Cost should be less than $300 including a qiuck release vice. A suitable vice would be the Groz - see here - but there are many other options.

Hi Daniel I was going to offer some advice from my own experience of woodworking over 50yrs; limited as it may be it seems the forum members have covered it all pretty well so welcome aboard and enjoy the journey don't forget send in lots of pictures and stay in touch.
colbra

Veritas is no screaming Hello. The 1/2" skews need hours. Most of their products are OK.

Not too happy with your chisels? What was the bevel angle? Did you maybe use a 20 degree carver's chisel for knot-busting that takes 40 degrees?

Power tools:
1. Variable speed 3/8" drill
2. 10" chop saw for square cuts
3. Drill press for perpendicular holes when you need them.
4. Router for edges
5. Table saw for the big stuff
6. Scroll saw for the fiddly things.
7. ShopVac with fine bags for dust.
8. Really learn to sharpen tools. I do that for others, no problem now. I can put a good edge on a new razor blade. No harm in learning how to maintain a $100+ Porsche 301 kitchen knife.

I'm shaping abalone shell with a stone in the drill press, carving fish fins with the chop saw and making dowel holes to put 24" beaks on 36" Raven carvings.
One wonderful ride.

Thanks for all the reply's

Ill start searching for a woodworkers club around my area (Devonport, Tasmania)

As for sharpening, I am interested in knives (although I don't collect them) and i fish as well so yes I can sharpen a knife quite well till it shaves hairs etc, but the don't hold the edge being crappy mass production k mart ones.

Also I LOVE using hand tools way more than hand held power tools (although stuff like table saws, bandsaws i can tolerate.

As with the stanley sweethearts, i saw them in the woodsmith magazine i borrowed form the school library and they gave it a pretty decent review so i think ill look into that

wow, Daniel you are in for a good ride - I am 3 yrs in. My first purchase was a jointer/planer. This allowed me to produce 4 square radiata pine. This let me build a Chris Schwarz/Popular woodworking knockdown workbench 4'x2'. I learnt a lot from this. This is the bench that let me build the bench I now use and in the process learn a lot about hand tools, this is a Roubo bench - just google this and you will find loads of information. I think some woodworking mag subs are good. Our Australian Wood Review is world class, I also like Popular Woodworking but it has an understandably american bias. When it comes to buying handtools there is loads of info on this forum, it really is the best, I have always bought high quality hand tools but have used renovated old tools - just as good, not as glossy that's all. Veritas/Lee valley very good, fantastic service- -acquaint yourself with their website, have fun Ross.

Don't rule out Japanese chisels either: something like these ones provide excellent performance, but don't cost the earth.

The golden rule is "never buy a cheap tool." Which isn't the same as "always buy the most expensive tool available." The trick is working out where the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in...

Originally Posted by NZStu

Don't rule out Japanese chisels either: something like these ones provide excellent performance, but don't cost the earth.

The golden rule is "never buy a cheap tool." Which isn't the same as "always buy the most expensive tool available." The trick is working out where the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in...

Wow those look fairly cool, but what about shipping from japan? anyone else got anything to say about these chisels?

Originally Posted by daniel7310

Hey guys!

I am starting to take up woodworking as a hobby but i don't have ANY tools what so ever.

Could you please guide me in what tools i should buy first and a decent workbench (to build) that will last me years to come.

I am on a fairly tight budget, and my space limitations is a one car garage (very long that could probably fit two hatch backs)

The only experience with woodwork is having two years of high school woodwork but we are limited to two blocks a week that are 1 hour 10 minutes long and they are mixed between metal and wood work (MDT) and I want to get some skill before i take a specific woodwork class where i have to draw my own plans etc

Daniel

less a tool, more an instruction manual

The Anarchist's Tool Chest
Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz makes the case that you can build almost anything with a kit of less than 50 high-quality tools, and he shows you how to select real working tools, regardless of their vintage or brand name.

“The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” will also guide you in building a proper chest for your toolkit following the ancient rules that have been forgotten or ignored.

Schwarz argues that woodworking is a rare and radical act in today's age of cheap, mass-manufacturing and wasteful consumption. He uses the word “anarchist” to describe individuals who “work with their hands, own their tools, and seek to live in a world where making something (anything) is the goal of each day.”