Beginner Introduction

[SnakeNuts]

Hello all,

My name is Alex and I'm a 36-year old Dutchman living in the heart of Suffolk. I'm currently employed as a programmer in the games industry but that won't last forever...

So I've decided to dive into the woodworking hobby. Programming is creating things with your mind mostly, but I'm looking to do something with my hands as well.

I'm 5 weeks into a woodworking evening-course at Cambridge community college which - although slowly - is giving me some needed insights into how to start out with this, but my real start into making things will come when I set up shop at home. Which is where the real challenge starts I guess.

I'm on a tight budget to begin with, so I'll be digging through this (and probably other) forum(s) to find out what I minimally need to keep me going.

Anyway, cheers everybody!

Alex C.

 

[Michael7]

Hello Alex,

I'm new myself to woodworking and with only a handful of posts to my name but I'm taking in a lot by reading posts from various people. I have made a few things for around the house. I have said to myself that if I can buy the tools and materials for less than the price of going into a shop and paying for the piece of furniture or whatever then its worth it. Although, so far the materials consist mostly of MDF but as the amount of tools gather at some point I will only have to buy the wood. By then I might have a go at a nice bit of hardwood.
I have to say that its a brilliant way to use up time while being productive also. It's great seeing an idea in my head come to life.

Michael

EDIT " but as the amount of tools gather at some point I will only have to buy the wood"-- am I kidding myself here. You see I have this big thick catalogue and it's called Axminister ...............

 

[the_g_ster]

Welcome to the forum guys.

Good luck for all that sawdust making!!!

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Alex

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[MrJay]

Hi.

The first thing that you should know is that there are two distinct camps of woodworkers. Those who lust over power tools and those who lust over hand tools; there isn't much interdisciplinary mixing unless supervised by an arbitrator (see above post). Just like celebrity love island; you need to pick you camp.

 

[SnakeNuts]

Hi.

The first thing that you should know is that there are two distinct camps of woodworkers. Those who lust over power tools and those who lust over hand tools; there isn't much interdisciplinary mixing unless supervised by an arbitrator (see above post). Just like celebrity love island; you need to pick you camp.

Hmmm... Tricky that. My gadget-loving side drools over the power tools I see in the Axminster catalogue I recently got through the mail, but my wallet (and my wife) will probably force me into getting hand tools first.

Are there any powertools I simply must have though? You know, the ones I don't even have to go into argument over with the wi.. er, wallet?

 

[promhandicam]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I hope that you will find good advice on your chosen area of woodworking. Despite what MrJay infers, there are plenty of people here that reside somewhere between the two camps he mentions - don't feel that you have to choose one side or the other :roll:

Regarding powertools I think it will depend on what you really want to make. The tool I probably use most is a cordless drill and these can be picked up quite reasonably. A decent circular saw is also a good investment as it can be used in conjunction with a saw guide to accurately dimension sheet material and boards.

Best regards,

Steve

 

[ByronBlack]

but my wallet (and my wife) will probably force me into getting hand tools first.

If you see the price of some handtools, you'll be emptying your wallet faster than with some powertools.

But I would still advise going down the handtool route first. For a couple of reasons:

1. You'll gain an excellent set of skills to allow you to do things quicker and easier than with some powertools.

2. You can work without power, work at night and in relative peace.

3. You'll be more of a craftsman if you don't rely on an expensive jig/powertool to do it for you, and therefore have more satisfaction in the building of your piece.

4. Once you can cut some joints by handtools, you'll have more of an appreciation of the powertools variety.

However, having said all of that, I would definitly recommend a good circular saw, drill and maybe a palm sander to help you finish while you develop hand plane skills.

If your buying your wood in the rough, you may need a small benchtop jointer or thicknesser - or a scrub and jointer hand plane.

A good set of chisels would be very useful too.

The most important thing though IMVHO: A good square, straight edge and accurate measuring device.

 

[motownmartin]

Hello all,

My name is Alex and I'm a 36-year old Dutchman living in the heart of Suffolk. I'm currently employed as a programmer in the games industry but that won't last forever...

So I've decided to dive into the woodworking hobby. Programming is creating things with your mind mostly, but I'm looking to do something with my hands as well.

I'm 5 weeks into a woodworking evening-course at Cambridge community college which - although slowly - is giving me some needed insights into how to start out with this, but my real start into making things will come when I set up shop at home. Which is where the real challenge starts I guess.

I'm on a tight budget to begin with, so I'll be digging through this (and probably other) forum(s) to find out what I minimally need to keep me going.

Anyway, cheers everybody!

Alex C.

Hi Alex and welcome.

I'm new myself, only joined yesterday and not made anything yet apart from some oak pelmets for my Kitchen units, this where the purchase of a inexpensive router came in very handy, couldn't see me making such a good job with chisels.

As far as budget goes, i've spent £600 on tools so far, both hand power tools.

Look out for books on ebay and Amazon etc, i've bought £800 worth of books for £70 and found them very useful.

 

[woodbloke]

Alex - welcome to the forum, lots of great advice given already. Not sure about the 'two distinct camps' arguement, most folk seem to have hand and power tools (even those living beyond the Tamar ) it just depends on what you want to do. For me, handtools will always come first, when you can do everything you need to do with hand tools to your satisfaction then you can IMO start to build up your power tools...all they do is to make life easier and take away some of the sheer hard grind in doing everything by hand. That said, some power tools provide techniques which are difficult or impossible to replicate by hand, the biscuit jointer being one and bandsawn veneers being another - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Alex,

Welcome to the forum. I use mainly hand tools. Of the few power tools I have, the most useful to me are a biscuit jointer and a router. If you can afford only one router, I would say go for a 1/2" one.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Shultzy]

Hi Alex, As many have said before me starting with good hand tools is a must. I would endorse what Byron said about buying a good square, straight edge and an accurate measuring device, as without these you can't make anything accurately. A lot of diy stores will cut board to size accurately so you don't need to buy power saws to start making things. Don't forget its no good buying an expensive power tool, only to find it sits gathering dust because you don't really need it.

 

[Dave S]

Alex, hi from just up the road in Norfolk. I'm also a programmer, though nothing quite so exotic as games!!

Good advice so far.

As well as diy sheds cutting sheet material to size, it is possible to get both softwood and hardwoods already machined. The choice may be more limited and a bit more expensive, but it does mean you can forget about things like planer thicknessers and rip saws at this time.

Bear in mind that whilst looking at that nice set of chisels/saw/router or whatever in the tools catalogue, it's easy to forget that you will need to budget for more mundane things like cramps and screwdrivers, drill and drill bits, for example.

If you read back through the forum, you will often see it said that it's not worth buying cheap tools. I'm not saying that's wrong - far from it. But I would also say there is an element of 'what you've never had, you don't miss'. For example, if I had the use of a Lie Nielson plane (one of the best makes available) I would probably find it hard to use anything less thereafter, particularly if I used any 'difficult' timbers. As it is, never having used one, I'm quite happy using my Stanley (£20 off ebay) and it does me proud.

One source of cheap tools which I've not really seen mentioned is auctions. Not Ebay (although there are some bargains to be had there) but your regional auction houses. Often when someone passes away, the entire contents of the shed end up in auction, often sold as 1 lot. I've seen a shed's worth go for £50 on more than 1 occasion. *

HTH
Dave

* I even saw ('scuse the pun :lol: ) a 3-phase Attendorf(?) panel saw go for £100 once!

 

[MrJay]

Are there any powertools I simply must have though? You know, the ones I don't even have to go into argument over with the wi.. er, wallet?

Kettle?