Tools for beginner woodworking

Hey I'm interested in getting into woodworking.if any of y'all could set me up with a list of tools/brands needed for basic beginner woodworking/rehandling. Thanks a lot! -Joe

Hi Joe...

I've been learning for about 24 months... It definitely depends on what you want to make but here are the things I use all time:

saws - now I use a 240mm ryoba saw and a 210mm dovetail saw - but I started with really rough stuff - pretty much pruning saws. I think if you take the time you can get good cuts with pretty much anything (but it's good to have a rip/cross option for when you start joining).

chisels - I only have 3 - 9mm, 15mm, and 30mm... these are japanese chisels - setting them up takes some time, and you need to be good at sharpening on waterstones already. I have been sharpening knives with waterstones for a few years so this wasn't a problem - but I did get some advice from a very gifted japanese woodworker nearby. (I also have some cheapo ones that I started with and will probably never use again - I would use these if you don't know how to sharpen well however.)

sharpening - you will need stones - hard ones.

Drills - depending on what you make I would recommend a drill (maybe with a hammer action if you're mounting things into brick or masonry - i.e. shelves), and an electric impact screwdriver - makes things much easer.

Hammers - one for nails, one for chisels, plus a mallet for knocking joins in.

Measuring - the longest metal ruler you can get, nice flat measuring tape (muji sells a good one), a combination square with depth gage - a regular try square, marking knives are good (I use a kiridashi)..

Clamps - get a few different ones to see what you like. I use large quick clamps for most things.. spring clamps for easy little things, but I would like to buy some big sash clamps for laminating tabletops etc... You need probably minimum 4 for any project, the bigger the clamp, the bigger the things you can make.

Planes - I have been borrowing some old planes to get used to - you need them to dress wood and for finishing - but I can't yet suggest what you might need.

Glue - get ultra strong wood glue, plus non-toxic one if you are making kitchen things or beehives, plus polyurethane one for anything outdoor.

Abrasives - gotta sand.

Plus regular tools are very useful - pliers, toolbox saws, things you will need for hardware..

I'm definitely forgetting some things - but I'm sure there's some much more experienced woodworkers out there who can add to the list (or amend my mistakes)..

Cheers
Jake

I am an amateur home woodworker as an occasional weekend hobby, which I got into by starting to re-handle my own knives. I am set up in our garage. Now I am a big fan of Paul Sellers, who has lots of helpful videos, books, blog for new woodworkers. I have headed down the path of preferring hand tools (mostly) rather than power tools. I mostly use hand saws, rasps, files and sandpaper for my handles. You will need a workbench and vise as well. I did get frustrated with a cordless drill for installing pins and corby bolts straight and did get a proper drill press. I do also use a dremel or a hand held 3x18 belt sander secured in a vise on occasion. A shop vac handles my dust well enough. Most will tell you you need a long thin belt sander which could be helpful, but for my pace and occasional work, I have not missed it. A small buffing wheel in my drill press or handheld drill works well enough for polishing.

So my list for handle making tools includes:
Marking/measuring: combination square, calipers, divider
Saws- some Japanese ryobas and another small fine saw, small dovetail saw, coping saw, jewler's saw
Clamps- can never have too many clamps of all shapes and sizes, and a good sized vise (on a sturdy workbench)
Shaping-small belt sander, dremel, a variety of rasps, files and sandpaper
Drilling- hand held drill or drill press to make straight holes with good depth control
Buffing- micromesh paper, small buffing wheel in drill press

I have acquired all sorts of helpful items over the past few years. The list goes on and on if you want to expand to larger scale woodworking projects: planes, chisels etc. there are lots of "starting out in woodworking" tool lists, but I found the advice from Paul Sellers most helpful. If you want to get power equipment you can get things like a bandsaw, long thin belt sander, tablesaw, buffer, lathe etc. I don't have the space or tolerance for all those machines. I am happy with my slow paced (mostly) hand tools. Good luck on your journey. Let us know what you decide to get. I have been very thankful for all the advice and knowledge I have gained here on the forum.

Some other good advice re tools I received was to really get the best you can afford. Don't worry about not having the skill to use them perfectly yet. If you have nice tools, and are a bit nervous to use them, you will go slower, take more care, do more research, and improve faster.

This advice needs to be qualified against the idea that if you are not sure what you are doing you might not be buying the right tools for the types of things you want to make. I guess this means get lots of advice on what tools you should get - talk to real woodworkers NOT just shop assistants.

thank you for all the advice. i really appreciate it. how much did yall spend on yalls set ups? my budget is about a grand to start out with.

well really - you can spend as much as you're comfortable with. The list I put up could be achieved for $200 or $2000. I would recommend building up the set slowly though - getting things as you need them (and getting good ones when you're ready to buy) - and borrowing what you don't have if you can until you're sure about the size/style you want. Doing a beginners woodworking course is a good way to get started and they will likely have a list of tools you need for the class and will lend you the rest - its a good way to get a sense of what you can do with what tools. Your early projects aren't going to be perfect, so perfect cuts and finishes are less of the focus - more important to learn techniques and about timber. I think there's something to be said for making do with the basics (a skeleton set of tools) for a little while so that you can really tell why a good/right tool for the job is the right tool for the job - or what makes the good tool better. Just don't waste too much cash on cheap tools because you will quickly hate/out-grow them.

JayGee said:

Just don't waste too much cash on cheap tools because you will quickly hate/out-grow them.

Click to expand...

Wise words.

The above comments are really perfect- start slowly, buy the best you can afford, and watch youtube videos!


I would also add, it's really important to start with low pressure projects as it can be discouraging to not have the first projects turn out all that well. In practice, I mean use affordable wood and make things that might not be the center of your home... I know some folks that have tried to have their first or second project be a real showpiece, like a dining table... only to end up frustrated and quitting the hobby.

I still find that in any given season (as I hate woodworking when it's cold in the garage) I'm best off by making a couple projects for the shop, or jigs before getting into something for the house... Might be a waste of energy at some point, but as of the moment it helps me transition back into thinking about the process in the right order.

I was about to start a similar thread, but figured that this one is exactly on the same topic. I have just set-up a very limited 'worshop' in our kitchen. It is basically a 30x80 cm hard wood board with a smaller vise that I can clamp on the kitchen counter. Yes - my loving wife actually allows me to do that

The only work I have done so far was to make a new handle for a pot lid (it is not quite ready yet) from olive wood and I did most of the work with little hand saw, short bladed finish puukko (Iisakki Aito - full flat grind with no secondary edge bevel was a lot of help) and really poor small files (that keep loading up).

I am pondering to try to rehandle some old knives (western handle) just to give the whole process a try. I would like to ask what tools I am going to need at minimum? Obviously a belt sander is not going to happen in a kitchen.

I do not have too many woodworking tools yet, but the german online shop http://www.fine-tools.com carries a very respectable selection of tools - I have to admit I find myself a little lost of what I really need. I guess I need some chisels and carving tools and ability to sand flat surfaces and glue wooden parts together and maybe some pins (never worked with those before).

I would appreciate your help. Thanks.

I am in th process of rehandling/refurbishing a sabatier i got from my parents and all i plan on using is a couple of files (bastard and what i call a smooth file, not as agressive as the bastard) which a i am using to remove the finger guard and bulk removal of timber for the scales and a selection of wet/dry sand paper.

Can't really see why chisels would be of an advantage unless you were trying for hidden tang from a set of scales.

PS i am no expert and have rudimentary woodworking skills gained from a few basic projects.

Not that much needed for handles really - although Western handles would be more complex. Chisels are useful for making tool (saw and chisel) handles from two piece construction. I think you would need at least a rasp (like the shinto saw rasp) to do rough shaping of material too. Files are generally for grinding metal not wood. If you are making hidden tang, then you need a needle-saw - they look like a file but have saw teeth - in order to clear out a hole (after drilling it). It also strikes me as very difficult to do the precision drilling (especially on Western handles) without a drill-press - but maybe a steady hand could do a good job.

I realize that this thread has been around for some time so if your still interested in woodworking, I can offer some insight from my 40+ years of furniture building.

When people ask the question about what they need to get into woodworking, the first thing I ask is;

What are you planning on building now and in the future?

How much space do you have for a shop?

What is your level of skill and knowledge right now?

What is your budget now and possibly in the future?

I started off with the goal of building my own furniture, adding on to and remodeling my entire house and for a short ten year period I set it up as a second business.

I first of all (forty years ago before internet) got all of the reading material I could find on woodworking, wood properties, etc. Second I found a place "Japan Woodworker" and worked with the owner "Fred" to build up my hand tool supply with quality tools and I bought a Swiss Inca Table Saw with Mortising Table attachment from him. Over the years I have purchased a lot of great quality Japanese Chisels, hand Planes, hand Saws, marking knives, etc. However, to do the kind of woodworking I wanted to do, I also had to get a wide long bed Jointer, a Power Planer, Bandsaw, Shaper (now most use router tables).

One of my first projects was building my own woodworkers bench (found the plan in Fine Woodworking magazine).

Let me know how much of a commitment you are going to put into this and I can add to the fine recommendation you already got from the posters above on here.