New to Woodworking

[Chuck Durst]

Hi All,
I know that you have been asked this countless times but here i go. I'm new to the woodworking hobby/profession and an looking for some advice on how to get started. My wife baught me a table saw last christmas and I just got it put together last week.I've done some wood work in high school and worked in construction for yrs. What are the basics that i will need to start with. I'll probably do mostly box work at 1st to learn the basics. Thanks for all of everybodys help.

Chuck

[Justin Leiwig]

What I did was hit the library and half price book stores. They have millions of books on starting woodworking. It was really invaluable help to me.

[Scott Wigginton]

Can you elaborate? Are you referring to basic tools or basic skills?

A good starting project would be a cutting board. I high recommend watching some podcasts from the wood whisperer (http://thewoodwhisperer.com/), episode 7 is his cutting board.

For tools, if you're looking to dive in headfirst the MS cashback (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=94103)is a pretty good way to get started, Grizzly has some great deals going on. If you're going to be doing boxes a bandsaw is a great start, here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=95065&highlight=ultimate+bandsaw)is a discussion regarding the Grizzly Ultimate which can be had for $450 (you'll get $100 back in cashback).

Let us know more and I can be more specific :D

[Burt Alcantara]

Chuck,
You're already doing the right thing by joining a forum (or 2 or 3...etc).

For box making I'd strongly suggesting getting the Doug Stowe Basic Box Making book and DVD. You will learn how to make table saw sleds and make basic joinery construction. As the scale is small you won't have to worry about waste. You could even use 2x4s.

Check out SmartFlix.com. You can rent woodworking (among other things) DVDs for $10 delivered. Take a look at Fine Woodworking's web site. I subscribe to the site as it has invaluable information for the beginner and intermediate woodworker.


Burt

[Matt Day]

First of all, why did it take you 11 months to put your TS together?! :eek:

Try doing a search on this and you should find some info. This was posted recently for example:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=944741#poststop

The first thing you need to determine is what kind of wood you're going to work with: rough sawn or dimensionalized. If you buy milled lumber from the yard or big box, you don't really need a planer or jointer. I'll assume you're going to use dimensionalized lumber.

I would get a fixed/plunge router as one of your first tools, and a good project to start with would be a router table for said router.

Get lots of clamps too!

[Chuck Durst]

Thanks all,
11months I know, but in my defense I fell off a ladder at work and got hurt in Apr. I will be working mostly out of the big box stores with prefinished. As far as boxes, mostly boxed shelfs for storage something I hope is simple and will get me used to working with the tools and finding my wife storage for her stuff I'm going to move out of the basement for my work shop ??? I'll definetly look up the library and half price book store. thanks for all the help so far,a router,table and band saw seem to be high on everybodys list. I didn't want to start buying stuff without getting some GOOD advice on what to start with.

Chuck

[Scott Wigginton]

I'll definetly look up the library and half price book store.

I checkout 6-10 woodworking books about every other month just to see tool specific techniques, shop layouts, and project ideas.


I can't believe I forgot probably the most important tool you need to get sooner than later, a good dust collector. You can read up on the health risks and other info on Bill Pentz's website (http://billpentz.com/woodworking/Cyclone/Index.cfm). Not saying you need to go drop $1K on a Clearvue Cyclone, but read up on the topic, do searches on this forum or on the web, and make sure you protect yourself.


-Scott

[Ray Schafer]

The first thing that I would buy is the Kreg Pocket jig set (which sells for about $139). When I first got into woodworking, I got enamored with all of the fancy joints and jigs. One day I stumbled across a website where a guy made the comment that "dados, rabbets and dovetails are for people with too much time on their hands." That struck a chord with me.

Now, before I get beat up for that quote, let me say that all joints have their place. I just found that most of the things that I did in the first few years was storage shelves, storage cabinets, and "non-fine-furniture" which could all be made VERY quickly and easily (and still look good) with pocket screws.

With a tablesaw and pocket screws, you can make lots of cool stuff. Then consider each tool as you need it. A jig saw addition can stand in for a bandsaw for a long time.

In fact, I am considering a series of projects where I use only a circular saw (with a new sharp blade), a home-made circular saw guide (you can find these on the web), and pocket screws. I just want to show that you don't have to have a ton of fancy tools to make some simple and nice-looking furniture.

My main point is that you don't have to invest in tons of tools before you start some great projects.

Ray

[Ray Schafer]

Scott makes a good point. Buy a respirator right away.

[John Bailey]

If you start with boxes, you'll progress quickly to other projects. My advice is to buy tools that you will need for your next project. A table saw is going to do many things for you. Do enough projects with it so you know how to use it. Personaly, I like band saws and don't have a table saw. But that's because I don't make things that have many straight lines. The advice you've already gotten is right on. You already have the band saw, if you added a router, router table and a band saw, there's not much you couldn't make.

Also, most important is to be safe, and you can never have enough clamps.;)

John

[Von Bickley]

Chuck,

Welcome to "The Creek".....

I think a good place to start is small projects like simple bookcases and end-tables. If the bookcases don't turn out good, they become shop cabinets. Adirondack chairs are fun to build and really make some nice chairs. I also like most of the NYW books and they have some good projects to start with such as Shaker step stools.

[Chuck Durst]

Hey all,
Thanks so much for the advice. I an looking to start out with easy stuff. I can see by the responses that everybody here is looking for me to start as cheap as possible. The more I look at tools the more I see it could cost a large fortune and I figure its going to be the person who messes up not the tool at least early. I do like the jig saw Idea, its something that could have a lot of various uses. thanks for all the help.

Chuck

[Chris Schumann]

Popular Woodworking's I Can do That series is good:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/icandothat/

Download and read the manual, use it to buy a few things you'll need (combination square, etc.) and then look at the free plans they have for quite a few useful household projects.

They recommend you buy a Workmate for a first bench, if you don't have one. I should heed that advice! (heading to Craigslist...)

[Chuck Durst]

Popular Woodworking's I Can do That series is good:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/icandothat/

Download and read the manual, use it to buy a few things you'll need (combination square, etc.) and then look at the free plans they have for quite a few useful household projects.

They recommend you buy a Workmate for a first bench, if you don't have one. I should heed that advice! (heading to Craigslist...)
Hi Eveybody,
Thanks for the great read Chris. As I sat down and looked over the book my wife wanted to know what was so interesting so I showed her. She scene the coffee table that was on the projects list and know I have a project to do and not all the stuff yet.It looked simple enough but still a pretty big task for a beginner.Thanks for all the help.

Chuck

[chris yount]

The basic band tools will get you a long way before you unload your savings on high dollar equipment.It has been my finding that more expensive equipment usually makes it easier to do the same work.Just be sure to buy quality tools with as much usefullness as possible.Like buying a 1/2" router that can use 1/4" bits also,instead of buying a 1/4" first then then needing to buy a 1/2" later.
If your going to be doing a lot of practice pieces a small air compressor and 18ga brad nailer could be helpful. You can use a few brads to hold the pieces together and then take back apart if needed.The air compressor also can be used for many other household chores as well.
Good luck