How to best approach a first box project

[MattRoberts]

I'd agree with Pete - work with what you have, make your box and then you can consider other tools / work benches and all that jazz. Keep it simple, and then look to expand it into other techniques

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I would agree with the others and practice on some scraps first of all.

Have a look through the timber at Homebase and pick out some straight bits!

Get a decent handsaw - Homebase / B&Q sell the Irwin ones with lots of teeth per inch. They are so much nicer to cut with than some of the Stanley (FatMax) ones that people often pick up or get bought.

Get a drill and a selection of bits - hand drill will be fine for these sort of projects.

Also - do you have a try square / engineer's square type thing? Need to check you have got the corners at ninety degrees of you will have no end of problems.

Enjoy yourself - I have a 3 and 5 year old. It's been a great way to unwind and switch off from parenting problems. My son and my daughter now love helping and getting involved as well.

 

[AJB Temple]

Alice

Further to my earlier thread, you are welcome to visit my workshop (50 minutes train from Cannon Street) later in the year. Along with your baby. My kids are teenagers now, but all ages are welcome. I will show you how to make boxes with nice jpints and detailing if you want. Just PM me if you want to do this sometime.

I would not fret about the Workmate. When I first started woodwork at home I had a Workmate (which I stupidly put in a skip a couple of years ago) and an old table. No power tools. Despite these handicaps (we are all spoiled these days with our gear) I managed to make acoustic and electric guitars and numerous other things. A workmate is really a site carpentry bench and so you may find it a bit low for some tasks. But the key thing is to keep it simple and make something. Once the bug bites you can work out what you need next. A box is simple and quite honestly you can make one in your kitchen with a set square, pencil, saw, ruler, glasspaper, hammer and some panel pins.

 

[Jacob]

..... A workmate is really a site carpentry bench ...

Too flimsy for site work. Better alternative is two (or 3) saw horses.

 

[fiveeyes]

alice..with all the help that you have received, you will be fine. As you see, there are many ways to do what you want to do. Take your time and do learn the basic's. After all, I have been at this for several years, and still make some of the finest kindling that you will ever see. 5

 

[AJB Temple]

Jacob:

"Too flimsy for site work. Better alternative is two (or 3) saw horses."

Jacob, here in alice we have a new woodworker and we don't need to be discouraging. Tradesman have different needs, as we all know perfectly well, but for around the house (her "site") a workmate us a useful and suitable tool that folds up out of the way and has the advantage of a full length vice. She has been bought it as a present and I think it is a nice start to getting her into woodworking.

And....I used to own a property development company converting large disused country houses, and have employed many tradesmen over the years. A surprising number of them used collapsible workbenches, including old original workmates and various similar things from Bosch and Triton. I am building two timber framed buildings right now and I still use a Bosch equivalent as a portable work table (along with heavy duty trestles and other stuff obviously). They are tools and perfectly effective for what they are designed for.

 

[Jacob]

...
Jacob, here in alice we have a new woodworker and we don't need to be discouraging. ....

Yes but sometimes it could be reassuring to be able to blame the tools instead of putting it down to one's own failings!
Workmates do have their uses, they do look a good idea, but they don't quite live up to the promise IMHO.

They are tools and perfectly effective for what they are designed for.

It's not very clear what they are designed for e.g. too bouncy for sawing, hammering or planing, unless you can jam it (or the workpiece) against the wall. Too flimsy for a step up.

 

[alicemaryflorence]

Jacob, that's quite a negative post given that I'm just starting and have already been given my bench. I'd prefer if you could stick to giving me tips and encouragement. Someone has already pmed me with ideas on how to make my workbench more useful. That approach would suit me better than simply pointing out the negatives. Hope I don't offend you, just I'd prefer not to get disheartened before I've even begun. Cheers

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[No skills]

Jacobs not easily offended.

A bag of sand draped across each bottom part of the workmate will help stop it moving around so much, best thing to do now is to just go make something - it might not meet your expectations but the more you do the better you get.

 

[jlawford]

There's a video with Paul Sellers sitting on his B&D workmate to stop it wobbling, which goes to prove that where there's a will there's a way.

 

[Jacob]

Jacobs not easily offended...

Oh yes I am!
I'm very sensitive, especially after several pints of Bass! :shock:

 

[No skills]