Tool Choices

[Lonsdale73]

Okay, wood-worriers, time to call on the benefit of hindsight. With all you know now, if you were setting up shop from scratch and some kind soul gave you £200 to get started - what tool(s) would you spend it on and why?

 

[marcros]

what do you plan on making?

 

[Lonsdale73]

what do you plan on making?

In my case, mostly a mess, but I'm interested to know what you guys consider to be the essential tools that you wouldn't be without now that you've got them. There is a back story behind the question which I won't bore you all with

 

[marcros]

what do you plan on making?

In my case, mostly a mess, but I'm interested to know what you guys consider to be the essential tools that you wouldn't be without now that you've got them. There is a back story behind the question which I won't bore you all with

i get where you are coming from, but it is a bit dependant on your plans, and to some degree on the size of what you are making.

If i had a couple of hundred quid spare though, i would spend some of it on a decent combination square, sliding bevel, marking gauge, steel rule etc. These things needn't cost a lot, but they are essential IMHO. I bought a starrett combination square earlier in the year and wish that I had done so when I started. I would make sure that you get a 4" double square, because they are so useful. And a nice small block plane- I have got the LN 102 or 103 and I use it on every job.

 

[PAC1]

A good quality No 5 plane or the low angle version. It took me years to understand this error
The wood to build a good bench or the vice for a bench

 

[JakeS]

For me, assuming I already had workbench and vice, I think probably:

- Two or three Narex chisels (they seemed to be a really good trade-off between quality and price when I got mine!) - I use 6mm and 12mm the most, I think, but it really depends what you'll be doing
- A No. 5 or 5 1/2 plane (old second-hand Record or Stanley is much cheaper than buying new)
- cheap diamond stones and an Eclipse-style honing guide so I can actually use the chisels and plane after the first week or so. I'm sure many on this forum wouldn't even deign to spit on a diamond stone set that cheap, but they work perfectly well and £200 isn't enough money to even be allowed in the same room as DMT stones!
- A cross-cut and a rip saw. For me that would mean Japanese saws - a cross-cut dozuki and a ryoba - because I vastly prefer cut-on-pull and like the thin kerfs. Technically one could make do with just the ryoba, 'cause it's double-sided, but I like the spine on the dozuki. With these two you can do nearly everything, even if tool merchants will still try and sell you a special saw for dovetailing and a special saw for tenon-cutting and a special saw for Tuesdays and so on
- A decent combination square - 15cm or more by preference. Don't get a super-cheap one (I have a small Bahco myself that I'm very happy with, otherwise I'd be suspicious of that price!)
- A marking gauge. I would never get a pin gauge in hindsight, these brass-and-cutting-wheel ones are fantastic.
- A sharp knife of some sort - even a box-cutter will do in a pinch, but a scalpel handle with replaceable blades (#10 by preference) is better. You can get fancy single-bevel marking knives, but I wouldn't waste money out of a £200 budget on a pair unless I saw them cheap second-hand.

By my count that lot comes to around £180, so I'd spend the rest on some glue and a few grades of aluminium oxide sandpaper.

Or if such obvious consumables aren't considered part of this budget, then a scary-sharp sample pack and a cheap granite cutting board from Sainsbury's to stick them to.

Or beer, so I could at least enjoy a good ale while cursing myself for forgetting whatever stupidly important thing that I've forgotten above...




If I didn't have a workbench and vice, then it would depend a lot on how much I already had in the way of general DIY tools to build a workbench with in this hypothetical scenario...




I mentioned this to my girlfriend and she said she'd just blow it on lottery tickets in the hope of being able to buy much more, better stuff!

 

[Lonsdale73]

For me, assuming I already had workbench and vice, I think probably:

- Two or three Narex chisels (they seemed to be a really good trade-off between quality and price when I got mine!) - I use 6mm and 12mm the most, I think, but it really depends what you'll be doing
- A No. 5 or 5 1/2 plane (old second-hand Record or Stanley is much cheaper than buying new)
- cheap diamond stones and an Eclipse-style honing guide so I can actually use the chisels and plane after the first week or so. I'm sure many on this forum wouldn't even deign to spit on a diamond stone set that cheap, but they work perfectly well and £200 isn't enough money to even be allowed in the same room as DMT stones!
- A cross-cut and a rip saw. For me that would mean Japanese saws - a cross-cut dozuki and a ryoba - because I vastly prefer cut-on-pull and like the thin kerfs. Technically one could make do with just the ryoba, 'cause it's double-sided, but I like the spine on the dozuki. With these two you can do nearly everything, even if tool merchants will still try and sell you a special saw for dovetailing and a special saw for tenon-cutting and a special saw for Tuesdays and so on
- A decent combination square - 15cm or more by preference. Don't get a super-cheap one (I have a small Bahco myself that I'm very happy with, otherwise I'd be suspicious of that price!)
- A marking gauge. I would never get a pin gauge in hindsight, these brass-and-cutting-wheel ones are fantastic.
- A sharp knife of some sort - even a box-cutter will do in a pinch, but a scalpel handle with replaceable blades (#10 by preference) is better. You can get fancy single-bevel marking knives, but I wouldn't waste money out of a £200 budget on a pair unless I saw them cheap second-hand.

By my count that lot comes to around £180, so I'd spend the rest on some glue and a few grades of aluminium oxide sandpaper.

Or if such obvious consumables aren't considered part of this budget, then a scary-sharp sample pack and a cheap granite cutting board from Sainsbury's to stick them to.

Or beer, so I could at least enjoy a good ale while cursing myself for forgetting whatever stupidly important thing that I've forgotten above...




If I didn't have a workbench and vice, then it would depend a lot on how much I already had in the way of general DIY tools to build a workbench with in this hypothetical scenario...




I mentioned this to my girlfriend and she said she'd just blow it on lottery tickets in the hope of being able to buy much more, better stuff!

Great stuff. Nowhere near enough a replies to draw any firm conclusions but interesting to note of the three replies, measuring, marking and planing take precedence. And beer.

I'm guessing the diamond stone and honing guide are like a lot of things - fit for purpose determined largely by whose hands they're in. I have some nice chisels but scared to use them lest I knacker them and can't sharpen them. Been looking at Narex rasps though.

I've got a combination square - wasn't particularly expensive and I don't think quality or accuracy is that great. I did splash out on the Woodpecker TS600 which I love and Incra right angle and mitre squares so I am reasonably confident I can measure accurately. With these, would I still have need for a better quality combination? I also have that very marking gauge and found it a lot easier to use than a traditional pin version.

I did buy a fancy Japanese marking knife which looks pretty - whenever I go in the drawer it lives in. I still prefer a Stanley knife or scalpel, usually with a 10A blade. In the graphics industry, they're the ones used to cut or score, 10's are scrapers.

Intrigued by the scary sharp sample pack - may require further investigation

 

[Eric The Viking]

I did buy a fancy Japanese marking knife which looks pretty - whenever I go in the drawer it lives in. I still prefer a Stanley knife or scalpel, usually with a 10A blade. In the graphics industry, they're the ones used to cut or score, 10's are scrapers.

Intrigued by the scary sharp sample pack - may require further investigation

My knife is a Pfeil, similar to this one with a double edged blade (comes to a point in the middle). I can use it to mark on either side of a line, but it still has a single bevel whichever way I'm cutting. I used to use a Stanley knife (or an Olfa-style snap-off blade one), but it's not as robust, and there's always the problem of squinting at it trying to get the bevel at right angles to what I'm marking. It resharpens easily, and the flats you get in the wooden handle actually help stop it rolling off the bench!

Also try one of these for marking to reference edges. They used to be had for cheaper elsewhere, so look around. I now have two of them, so I don't have to reset during projects. Wonderfully simple and useful - I have never got on with the traditional sort with a point. Hint: grind the screw flat in the end, or replace it with a countersunk one so you can take measurements straight from existing rebates. I'm sure the posh ones are better made, but the cheap ones work, and that'll do for me!

Go scary sharp - you won't regret it! Even if you use another method eventually, it's a no-skill way to really sharp edges (I should know!), and really, really satisfying when you try the first really sharp tool you've done yourself.

E.

 

[JakeS]

Great stuff. Nowhere near enough a replies to draw any firm conclusions but interesting to note of the three replies, measuring, marking and planing take precedence. And beer.

It took me a little while to really internalise it when I started doing woodwork, but the task of preparing to cut your joints is at least as important as actually cutting your joints.
Whenever you cut, odds are you'll be cutting to a line - so if that line isn't accurate, your cut isn't going to be accurate, no matter how close to the mark you are. And then the plane is necessary to actually make your stock flat and square once you've measured it and found out that it isn't. ;-)

Also try one of these for marking to reference edges. They used to be had for cheaper elsewhere, so look around. I now have two of them, so I don't have to reset during projects. Wonderfully simple and useful - I have never got on with the traditional sort with a point. Hint: grind the screw flat in the end, or replace it with a countersunk one so you can take measurements straight from existing rebates. I'm sure the posh ones are better made, but the cheap ones work, and that'll do for me!

In fact, you can get a Veritas one - complete with countersunk screw at the end - for not that much more on Axminster. They do a double-wheel one as well, which is almost twice the price - I'd rather have two singles, personally!

(I would have especially liked two marking gauges this weekend - my partner has expressed an interest in making small boxes, so we were both out in the garage using different thicknesses of wood at the same time...)

The only problem I've ever had with my cheap one (I have the one I linked to, which looks identical to me) is that I left it tightened one winter, and when I came to use it once it had warmed up, the fine adjuster was jammed! If I had a fancy Veritas one I might have been more reluctant to put it in a vice and use some pipe grips to get it free again, though. ;-)

Go scary sharp - you won't regret it!

The major bit of advice for scary-sharp that I didn't learn until it was too late is that while you can get away going forward and backward on a diamond plate or an oilstone, with wet'n'dry or lapping film you really have to limit yourself to backward strokes - or sooner or later, the corner of your blade digs into the film and ruins it.

 

[JandK]

"I've got a combination square - wasn't particularly expensive and I don't think quality or accuracy is that great. I did splash out on the Woodpecker TS600 which I love and Incra right angle and mitre squares so I am reasonably confident I can measure accurately. With these, would I still have need for a better quality combination? I also have that very marking gauge and found it a lot easier to use than a traditional pin version."

You will be very happy with the Woodpecker and Incra's. I would ad a larger engineers square to that a 300mm model and the small 150mm Incra rule for precise layout.

Measuring and marking is what is needed to put any plan/project into operation, make sure that all your measuring devices measure the same you will be astonished to see how many differs even up to 1mm. Here is an interesting video by Peter Parfitt on this subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqddRHxe0Hw

HTH
Jan

 

[dzj]

Invest the £200 in an introductory woodworking course and you'll get all the answers you need.
Such knowledge will be of greater use than a hand plane or two.

 

[Lonsdale73]

Invest the £200 in an introductory woodworking course and you'll get all the answers you need.
Such knowledge will be of greater use than a hand plane or two.

Got a separate budget for that