Returning to Woodworking - advice please

[Phil Pascoe]

Buy yourself a decent Jigsaw (and router, maybe) and and a decent collection of of second/third/fourth hand top class hand tools. All the machines in the world you'll still need hand tools afterwards.

 

[TRITON]

This...
Is worth its weight in diamond encrusted platinum.
https://www.axminstertools.com/axca...MIoKmprtWt9gIVkmDmCh0FkQDuEAQYASABEgIhU_D_BwE
Not super cheap, but about the same as a good router or other powertool. But really really quiet.
Easy to cut with a fine toothed Japanese saw, then creep up to the mark at 10pm and not have the neighbours banging on the walls.
Every mitre you ever do(within capacity) Spot On 100%. Even a tiny smidgen out of square, you can adjust it infinitely.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Jeez .......... he hasn't any tools - that is not a starting point, nice as it maybe.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I would put a drill/driver at the top of the list. Spend more than you think you should. Then, I would buy tools specific for the job you are doing next, as you do the job. That way it doesn't hurt quite so much, your significant other doesn't go bananas at the thousands you spend, and you get the shiny new tool you need, as you need it. My first power tool was a chop saw which is hardly ever used now, but I did all sorts of things with that and nothing else, back in the day. Oh, and some chisels so you can open tins of paint easily.

 

[Jameshow]

Yeap as above....
Drill
Jigsaw,
(if cordless get the same make / system)
Plane no4 + block
Rip saw
Tenon saw
Dovetail saw
chisels+ mallet
Claw hammer
Screwdrivers
Combination square
marking guage

Folding or fixed workbench.
Clamps

 

[Oakay]

Advice please

I am returning to woodworking after a nearly 30 year break, lost all my tools and finally buying a home and will have space and time to start a workshop again.

Hobbyist who lost all my woodworking tools 20+ years ago

Looking for some advice, trying work out budget, I guess initially I can get £500 to start then another £500 in a few months, not even sure if this is viable.

What tools table, mitre saws, router anything else?

Buying a house and will have a garage/ workshop where I can woodwork again.

Will need all new equipment, initially for updating the house, then back to making furniture, predominately real wood trunks etc. I like doing joinery and make boxes without screws or nails go figure, it relaxes me!

Would expect a mix of sheet material or real wood around the house.

Maximum size and length being to cut , skirting boards, wainscotting, decking, fences etc.

I am starting from scratch, so don’t have any tools apart from hand held power drills etc.

Not sure if I need a sliding table.

Ok with second hand, but unsure how to determine a good from a bad table saw.

Ok buying from Ali Express, no rush on this, we’ll at least another 2-3 months before I need anything.



I have a whole garage to use as a workshop.

That budget won't get you far. Maybe best find a mate with a workshop and offer your garage as excess storage/assembly area in return for sharing his/her better equipped workshop, and the £500 can go toward basic essentials and a contribution for electric and wear and tear.

 

[Oakay]

I really don't know what you can do with 500 pounds, but whatever it is, I'd make it portable and hand held. To spend it on something like very low quality table saws and miter saws is a money loser in the long run and you're out money plus you have a useless tool if you still have it.

I'd go another direction - I'd get a good quality site circular saw and create something out of sheet goods (battens, etc) that will allow you to rip and crosscut cleanly, straight and square. Get a circular saw that works well with a chip guard to get decent cut quality and choose a blade on the slower/finer side (doesn't have to be some high dollar blade, just a finish work blade) and go from there.

AT least when you're done, you'll still have decent portable tools.

As far as what you want to do, if you're not turning out boring middling quality stuff, you could also work entirely by hand, but the learning curve would be steep at first.

Save some of your money for a decent thicknesser and don't blow all of it on a mediocre table saw and miter saw.

Not enough budget by far to prioritise a thicknesser. Better get thicknessing and even heavy sawing done by a small cabinetmaker who will probably put it through their machine for some tea-money. They might even speed sand it as well.

 

[Jameshow]

Best budget table saw is the axi / kity 419 200mm table saw.

Or the 250mm 619 if you can afford it.

Cheers James

 

[Recky33]

That budget won't get you far. Maybe best find a mate with a workshop and offer your garage as excess storage/assembly area in return for sharing his/her better equipped workshop, and the £500 can go toward basic essentials and a contribution for electric and wear and tear.

Now that's a very good idea

 

[Argus]

It's best to buy what you need, when you need it......
Having said that, whereabouts are you in Wales?
I'm moving/down sizing and will probably be selling off some stuff over the coming months.

 

[TominDales]

Advice please

Looking for some advice, trying work out budget, I guess initially I can get £500 to start then another £500 in a few months, not even sure if this is viable.

What tools table, mitre saws, router anything else?

I have a whole garage to use as a workshop.

Hi and welcome to the forum. apologies but you will get swamped with advice, probably more than you need as we have all been in your shoes at some point. Its exciting to know you will soon have a garage workshop.

I'm with @Terry - Somerset in recommending you start with hand tools. Also put time into planning the layout of the workshop and the early house projects, and defer spending money on power tools for now.

Kit yourself up with basic hand tools for DIY and a portable electric drill.
A house has a huge variety of things to fix so a good selection of basic hand tools is the place to start, especially as you learnt the trade 20 years ago, you will know how to use them well. Machine tools save time on big jobs, so best to wait until you really need one before buy. A new house comes with loads of unforeseen expenses and you may find your £500 budget will get stretched. Carpets and curtains cost more than most furniture!!

Given you have some time, I recommend you research either some second-hand hand-tools on ebay or gumtree etc or Aldi etc. A rip saw, a few chisels, a tape and strait edge/spirit level of ca 1m in length, a crosscut/tenon saw - these can be quite cheap to start with for household joinery. basic tools for household repairs, plyers, wiring plugs etc. pare scrapers and painting/filling/paltering. Some sandpaper/AlOx paper and block. It seems like you have an electric drill already if not that is an essential purchase also a few drive bits for it. and a set of wood and masonry bits.
You will need some clamps, I'd recommend a set of f clamps by someone quite cheap like Silverline, you will find clamps hand hold down strait edges to help with marking and sawing. Hold things in place, not just for glue ups.

Put some thought into designing your garage workshop
Having a dedicated workshop space will save a lot of time in your new house for getting jobs done. Rather than spend time researching power tools, I'd recommend you draw up plans and a layout for your shop.

It will need storage, shelves draws etc for tins of paint, tools so that you can find everything - could be a tool wall. You will need a bench of some sort, it could be an old table that is converted/reinforced or something more bespoke. But having the space nicely laid out will make house jobs faster and out of the way so as not to annoy the rest of the household etc.

Power tools for a workshop - delay this to the second £500 and you are in the house
I'd wait before buying expensive power tools you may find most of your first year is spend getting the house nice with basic DIY stuff ie nailing down loose floorboards, replacing carpets etc etc. Power tools are easy to source and come quite quickly so you can leave off buying until you really see the need.

You have identified a mitre saw. I have to say its one of the tools I use the most, as for that budget you can get one that is as accurate or more so than by hand and with a good blade (may need to buy that as an upgrade) will leave a good surface.
But I'd wait until you are settled in before buying more power tools as you can do most stuff by hand, so you want to buy them to save time.

I would not look at a table saw at this stage, cheap ones are fraught with problems, good second hand requires a lot of knowledge and you can afford to wait this one out. They are also hazardous to use and to learn to use safely.

Also you can do a lot with a portable circular saw and a strait piece of wood, if you need to break down sheet board etc it can be done by hand, you can upgrade to a small portable circular saw. However if you eventually buy a band saw or saw table then the circular saw will be used less, but for some people a circular saw or skill saw is all they ever need in term so powered saw.

A router is a very versatile shaping tool and can be used for joints such as mortice and tennon, but again you can do these with a drill and hand tools. However if you decided you needed a shape skirting to fit a defined shape then a router would be a priority. However see if you buy board to the required shape. I'd recommend doing dovetails and box joints by hand you soon learn to do them quickly, and unless you go into business I cant see the need for power tools for these joints as the satisfaction on doing it by hand outweigh everything else.

However I'd strongly recommend you wait before buying power tools wait until you have your second £500 or more, in the meantime do some research on this forum on what people recommend for different types of tool. Its very exciting moving into a new house with a garage, personally I'd try to spend the time designing the layout of the shop and even the house projects at this stage and not commit to buying power tools.

 

[glenfield2]

I wouldn’t turn your nose up at buying some tools from Lidl or Aldi. Hand tools like screwdrivers, pliers, clamps etc are cheap and good. Even some chisels. And my Lidl 20v drill has taken 3+ years of daily hard use without fault. Chop saws etc can be ok just need a better blade and careful checking for accuracy.

 

[busta999]

That budget won't get you far. Maybe best find a mate with a workshop and offer your garage as excess storage/assembly area in return for sharing his/her better equipped workshop, and the £500 can go toward basic essentials and a contribution for electric and wear and tear.

Not an option open to me.

I have a odd assortment, of power drivers, palm sander, sheet sander, saws all, etc, my Dad’s old black and decker workmate.

Given this is mainly about a 16 year old new home remodelling it seems getting a good mitre saw is a good start.

 

[busta999]

It's best to buy what you need, when you need it......
Having said that, whereabouts are you in Wales?
I'm moving/down sizing and will probably be selling off some stuff over the coming months.

Currently in Chepstow, moving, hopefully soon to about 30 mins north of Swansea.

Definitely interested… wife approved an increase in budget

 

[busta999]

Hi and welcome to the forum. apologies but you will get swamped with advice, probably more than you need as we have all been in your shoes at some point. Its exciting to know you will soon have a garage workshop.

I'm with @Terry - Somerset in recommending you start with hand tools. Also put time into planning the layout of the workshop and the early house projects, and defer spending money on power tools for now.

Kit yourself up with basic hand tools for DIY and a portable electric drill.
A house has a huge variety of things to fix so a good selection of basic hand tools is the place to start, especially as you learnt the trade 20 years ago, you will know how to use them well. Machine tools save time on big jobs, so best to wait until you really need one before buy. A new house comes with loads of unforeseen expenses and you may find your £500 budget will get stretched. Carpets and curtains cost more than most furniture!!

Given you have some time, I recommend you research either some second-hand hand-tools on ebay or gumtree etc or Aldi etc. A rip saw, a few chisels, a tape and strait edge/spirit level of ca 1m in length, a crosscut/tenon saw - these can be quite cheap to start with for household joinery. basic tools for household repairs, plyers, wiring plugs etc. pare scrapers and painting/filling/paltering. Some sandpaper/AlOx paper and block. It seems like you have an electric drill already if not that is an essential purchase also a few drive bits for it. and a set of wood and masonry bits.
You will need some clamps, I'd recommend a set of f clamps by someone quite cheap like Silverline, you will find clamps hand hold down strait edges to help with marking and sawing. Hold things in place, not just for glue ups.

Put some thought into designing your garage workshop
Having a dedicated workshop space will save a lot of time in your new house for getting jobs done. Rather than spend time researching power tools, I'd recommend you draw up plans and a layout for your shop.

It will need storage, shelves draws etc for tins of paint, tools so that you can find everything - could be a tool wall. You will need a bench of some sort, it could be an old table that is converted/reinforced or something more bespoke. But having the space nicely laid out will make house jobs faster and out of the way so as not to annoy the rest of the household etc.

Power tools for a workshop - delay this to the second £500 and you are in the house
I'd wait before buying expensive power tools you may find most of your first year is spend getting the house nice with basic DIY stuff ie nailing down loose floorboards, replacing carpets etc etc. Power tools are easy to source and come quite quickly so you can leave off buying until you really see the need.

You have identified a mitre saw. I have to say its one of the tools I use the most, as for that budget you can get one that is as accurate or more so than by hand and with a good blade (may need to buy that as an upgrade) will leave a good surface.
But I'd wait until you are settled in before buying more power tools as you can do most stuff by hand, so you want to buy them to save time.

I would not look at a table saw at this stage, cheap ones are fraught with problems, good second hand requires a lot of knowledge and you can afford to wait this one out. They are also hazardous to use and to learn to use safely.

Also you can do a lot with a portable circular saw and a strait piece of wood, if you need to break down sheet board etc it can be done by hand, you can upgrade to a small portable circular saw. However if you eventually buy a band saw or saw table then the circular saw will be used less, but for some people a circular saw or skill saw is all they ever need in term so powered saw.

A router is a very versatile shaping tool and can be used for joints such as mortice and tennon, but again you can do these with a drill and hand tools. However if you decided you needed a shape skirting to fit a defined shape then a router would be a priority. However see if you buy board to the required shape. I'd recommend doing dovetails and box joints by hand you soon learn to do them quickly, and unless you go into business I cant see the need for power tools for these joints as the satisfaction on doing it by hand outweigh everything else.

However I'd strongly recommend you wait before buying power tools wait until you have your second £500 or more, in the meantime do some research on this forum on what people recommend for different types of tool. Its very exciting moving into a new house with a garage, personally I'd try to spend the time designing the layout of the shop and even the house projects at this stage and not commit to buying power tools.

Thank you so much for the time and sagely advice. The house is a bit odd, it was built with two large garages next to each other and an open gap between them, the one I am using is the smaller of the two and is within the walls of the main house, the other much larger one is built on the house built is linked through an overhanging roof extension at the front so it all looks as one.

I will use the smaller one as a workshop until I build a new workshop on the side of the other garage, the smaller garage then becomes batteries, pv management, network hub and all the home automation and AV services.

i used to love my workshop, I loved building storage trunks using no nails or screws just joints and glue, it was very rewarding.

 

[Alexam]

Is a bandsaw on your list. I have a Record BS400 that I will be selling soon. Need to look at prices to know what they go for, but if it is on your list, it's a good one?

 

[thetyreman]

before buying anything, think about what you plan on making, the tools follow what you want to make, you may not need as many tools as you think.