Tools For A New Woodworker? – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Allan who writes: I am interested in woodworking but scared of buying a crap ton of tools and sucking at it. Can you please tell me what I should buy to get started? Thanks.
And here is my response:
When you are getting started, tool-buying decisions can be very daunting. To make matters worse, this is the worst possible time to buy your tools. You are just now learning about different aspects of the craft and your personal preferences, how can you be expected to know which tools to buy?!?! Not to mention if you decide you don’t really like woodworking, you don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling all of these recently purchased tools (although I have gotten some great deals this way, haha). So there are a few things I recommend doing. The first is to take classes. In a class setting, you will get some hands on time. This will not only tell you what tools you will need/want, but will also tell you what aspects of woodworking you really enjoy. Some folks like making big cabinets, so they need bigger tools to get the job done. Other folks fall in love with turning, scrolling, or intarsia, all of which require a smaller set of tools. And still others decide they want to go the non-power tool route and use hand planes and chisels for all of their work. So purchasing anything real expensive at this point would probably be inadvisable. Find a local woodworking store, or better yet a college or institution that gives woodworking classes. Knowing what you want to make and what tools are required to make them is the first step in coming up with a purchase plan that is appropriate for you.
I know that advice is a little abstract, but its advice I wish I had when I first started. Could have saved me lots of money. I would be more than happy to help you with specific tool choices as you progress.
***** Now I know you guys have some concrete suggestions for someone just starting out. Let’s here ‘em! *****
Great reference articles from FineWoodworking.com:
Getting Started in Woodworking – Check out Video #2
Soup Up a Flea Market Chisel
Evaluating Low Cost Chisels
Evolution of a Workshop
I recently had a question from a viewer concerning my shop setup. The gentleman was building a new shop and had questions about equipment arrangement. He stressed that he wanted to get the setup right the first time. This made me laugh a little. If I only had a dollar each time I thought my shop was FINALLY setup perfectly………….well, I wouldn’t be rich but I would have at least 20 bucks.
Whether minor alterations or major rearrangements, my shop has seen its share of modifications. New tools are usually the culprit. You just cant drop a new tool in the middle of the floor. You need to find the perfect spot. Preferably a spot that fits into the shop work flow and is located near an appropriate outlet. For most of us, this is the biggest challenge. Most of our garages and basements are inadequately wired for a shop. But for the viewer who emailed me, there was still time to increase the number of outlets, and that was the advice I gave him.
It is important to recognize the fact that the setup WILL change and you need to be able to adapt. So if possible, its always a good idea to have multiple 220v outlets and numerous 110v outlets throughout your shop. Today, in my own shop, I had a work-flow dilemma. My shop, while generously-sized, has limited wall space. Most walls either have doors, garage doors, or something else in the way. And walls are a natural place to put a large tool. So some of my tools are positioned in the middle of the floor in a group of three. The group in question consisted of a drum sander and a planer sitting perpendicular to one another, and a 14” bandsaw wedged between them. This worked for a while, but there were two major issues. First, when going from the planer to the drum sander (the usual work-flow), I had to pick up the whole pile of boards and walk around to the other side of the little triad. Once there, I had no place to sit the boards as I sent them through the drum sander one by one.
The fix was rather simple and involved putting the drum sander and planer side by side so the out-feeds were going in the same direction and finding a new home for the bandsaw. So now the drum sanded pieces can rest right on top of the planer and I don’t have to carry them around when moving from one machine to the other. It will probably save me a few seconds per board and makes the whole operation easier and safer. The workflow just makes sense.
Now I have been in this garage for almost 3 years now and none of these tools are new to me. So why did it take this long to come up with an ideal solution? I wish I knew. But the moral to the story is there is no reason to think of our shops as static entities. Our equipment changes, our needs change, our tastes change. Heck, I sometimes like to move things around just for the sake of seeing something different. I find it very inspiring. Just ask my wife who recently came back from a work trip to find our office completely rearranged just for fun.
Shop Setup
If you are setting up shop for the first time, or just rearranging things for more efficiency, these links will be very useful to you. I’d like to thank Gina over at FineWoodWorking.com for providing us with the links.
Smart Shop in a One-Car Garage- Space-saving solutions for a small work area
A Layout Kit for Small Shops- Modeling in two or three dimensions is a lot easier than moving around your heavy machinery to get a shop plan you like. By: John Yurko
Workshop Tour: An Efficient Garage Workshop-With wheel-mounted tools and cabinets, a two-car garage transforms into a versatile workshop
Rock-Solid Plywood Bench-Build this simple but versatile workbench in a weekend for less than $250. And you don’t need a jointer or planer. By: Cecil Braeden
An Island Workshop- A central island for power tools, work surfaces, and dust collection makes the most of this two-car garage shop. With Alan DeVilbiss
All About Lumber Storage
All about Tool Storage
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