Thread: Newbie Starting Out

Cheap random sander seeing as how there will be a lot of sanding to be done.

Al

I would never be without my vice grips. They're great replacements for pliers because they create the gripping pressure, freeing your hands to concentrate on leverage. They're also good as small clamps although their serrated jaws can damage soft (incl aluminium) or painted surfaces.

Sir S,
I think that if your friend wishes to do any worthwhile woodwork, he will need a means of holding his workpiece - either a vice, or at least some C-clamps. I see no advantage in having a cordless drill. Corded drills are cheaper and more powerful, and less prone to failure. He will also need steel rulers, and a sharpening stone for his chisels. I would also add a block plane. How many more tools he gets will depend on whether his first project whets his appetite for more, and the thickness of his wallet.

Rocker

For a long time, while all my gear was in storage, I got by with:

Hammer
Set of Screwdrivers
Set of Chisels
Box of Drill Bits
Cheap Holesaw
Electric Drill (not cordless, there are things you cannot do with a cordless drill but if your electric drill has variable speed, it can do everything a cordless one can - except work without a power point)
Handsaw
Hacksaw
Multigrips

This covers most of the handyman type jobs you are likely to want to do. You can hang a door, fit a door lock, fix a chair, fix a window etc...

If I needed something else, I just went and bought it.

Sounds like he is into restoration work. That means disassembly, stripping, reassembly and finishing. I would have a mallet at the top of my list and a couple of chisels for paring and cleaning up joints. But most importantly I would get Neil's book. I would particularly read up on his sections dealing with hide glue and polishing. Around page 40 he has some very good pointers on the inability of PVA glue to re-bond to other glues, but this is not so with hide glue. I think a battery drill is of more use in modern techniques involving repetitive drilling and screwing. Ozwinner suggests a ROS and if intending to pursue restoration work further I would be inclined to buy a good quality unit as a sander probably racks up more hours on a job than any other power tool. Clamps are essential for re-assembling joints so I guess a basic kit would include:

Bench Plane
Tenon saw
Mallet, chisels and oil stone
Tape measure and steel rule
Marking knife
Square
Bevel
Bench vice
Clamps
Glue pot
Sanding blocks
Scraper/s
Tack hammer and nail punch
File and rasp
Hand drill and bits
Brace and bits (optional)
Screw drivers
Pliers and a good set of end-cutting nippers.
A Polishers Handbook
Sanding blocks
Consumables

Most of us have extensive inventories of power tools but aren't you folk surprised at just how often we reach for the above basic tools because the power tool is just too much effort for one hole, one screw, one cut or one whatever.

His first project should be a good bench to attach the vice to.

Most importantly he will need a trailer.

With this he can move his dinning setting to Stinkies house and use his gear.

It will also come in handy for bringing home machinery purchased later

Stinkies car has already been filled with one of the dining chairs for a trial run to see how it goes
The plan is I fix the first one ..... he comes over (From Melbourne to Geelong) to watch me fix the second and to pick up the ideas .... and then he fixes the next two and the table. He did suggest that he watch me fix the first one however I felt I needed a trial run so I would know what I am upagainst and wouldn't end up looking like a tool myself.

he'll need an axe for when he farg's it up - either that or a lot of wood filler.

One of the first and definitely the most useful bits of kit I ever bought is my Workmate. I've had it for nearly 30 years. It's been with me on three continents and has handled all sorts of reno work in at least six houses.

It's covered in paint spatters and has holes drilled where no holes should be. The latest indignity it suffered was due to a bit of over-enthusiastic jig-sawing. It's still going strong and I reckon it'll outlast me.

Col

Hey Stinky

As a newly married guy you should know that he'll need a copy of SWMBO preferably b4 the wedding ring stage, to help hold, carry and do the sanding. Problem is after the wedding ring they usually work to their union rules.

Cya

Originally posted by Sir Stinkalot
... My friend has had no experience with any manual labour before. He doesn’t have a tool, hand or power to his name.

At the risk of offending the hand tool enthusiasts amongst us why recommend to a complete novice tools like " scrapers, handsaws, planes, handdrills, and brace and bits"

To use these tools require a fair degree of skill ( after all these years I still can not cut straight with a handsaw and I have not used a brace and bits in 25 years ) which a novice would not have.

I believe the first project a novice does must be succesfull else he will never continue and inappropriate tools will have that effect.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Peter.

ACK!

You mean to say I didn't need to buy all these lovely machines I've bought already ? I'm just starting out (couple months ago I had an incomplete set of screwdrivers & that was it) & I thought I needed every bit & type of machine I could think of, least thats what I told my wife & I don't want her to see this thread or my first project will be to make a bed for me to sleep out in the shed lol. Now I have a workshop, many power tools & a few machines also.

Still don't have a complete set of screwdrivers but I figure once I've got all the machines I'll tell the wife I need those so I can put all the machines together

I can't really comment on what tools a newbie would need as I am one myself. But I would think it's hard to go wrong with a few basic power/hand tools of the like that most have said already as I would think that they would be handy around the house for most any odd job. Only thing I think is that wouldn't you need very good skills (or at least some skills) & know how to restore the correct way to do a good job of it ?

I think the idea of the basic tools is correct, but I think maybe learning the basic skills on less challenging projects that there would be more/better success with would help with skills & provide more confidence so as to tackle more challening work with less cost & frustrations.

But, if ya never have a go, ya will never know.
Hope he finds it rewarding & enjoys it

Cheers
Woodchuck

Ok .... following on from the above advise and some of my own knowledge this is what I have come up with .....

I visited Bunnies on the way home last night and compiled this list of what I think is the basic set .... I have tried to include good quality items without going overboard .... as an example I selected Stanley adjustable wrenches over the Sidcrome due to the price difference .... however on the other hand I selected only 3 good quality screw drivers ($30) rather than a boxed set of poor quality. Now I am sure that somebody will add that the prices can be found better at a different store ….. or that other stores carry a wider range of better quality tools …. however I selected Bunnies as this is where a newbie is likely to start out. Sure there were some items I had to compromise on because Bunnies didn’t carry much of a range but all in all it wasn’t a bad range of choices available.

It was an interesting exercise and I will now be rethinking my insurance. After looking at some of the prices it is amazing how many dollars of tools we must all have. It is very easy to think how much the bandsaw or the lathe is worth being the big ticket items, but that row of 20+ Stanley professional screwdrivers could quickly add up to $200+, or the set of Sidcrome wrenches and sockets $400+.

I have had to zip a word document to make it attach …. otherwise if you don’t want to view the items it came to a total of $665.47.

Stinkalot,

I’d drop the Stanley sharpening thing and include a piece of glass and some wet and dry and even a sharpening jig. Also a number of the items seem superfluous to me – like the hacksaw, two squares when a combination would do, the scraper (seems like a cheapie and probably won’t be used as he’d need to know how to tune it properly). Also those plastic mitre boxes aren’t worth crap – teach the bloke how to use a square, a sharp pencil, a vice/clamps and a handsaw. A cheap GMC router would be a good weapon in the arsenal.

Also don’t skimp on the finishing tools. I envisage that if these are the main tools around and your mate is a bit green everything is going to need to be sanded until the cows come home.

Btw – I hope you’ve got heaps of traditional wax and hard shellac to share – I don’t see those on the list

Eastie