Best "tools" for learning woodworking with hand tools

[Matt Evans]

Oh, one other thing...Pedro mentioned a bow saw. I like the idea of having a couple of bow saws in various sizes for different purposes. Are there any thoughts on that?

I have the Frank Klausz DVD on hand tools and he uses a bow saw that looks like it's 18"-24" long and has a larger blade in it than some of the smaller ones, e.g. the Gramercy bow saw, that I've seen. If I wanted to make a collection of bow saws in various sizes:

What would be good sizes?
Where would I get the blades?
And where would I get the pins to hold the blades?

I know that Gramercy sells the parts, but I assume they would only work on the smaller saw.

Thanks,

Rob

Go gramercy for the small turning saw parts.

For the larger ones, get a blade from highland woodworking, or lee valley. (I think Lee valley still carries 'em)

The larger hardware is easy to make. In fact, here is a link to Brian Millspaws shop made hardware. Quick, easy, and efficient.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost...3&postcount=11

[Prashun Patel]

If it were me - and it was me - I see no prob with a top made of mdf. Instead of holdfasts and dog holes, consider t-tracks.

If you still want dogholes, then I do agree MDF will not hold as well; I know this from experience on my own bench. The way around this is to insert hardwood filler strips where the dog holes will go. If you cut yr top mdf panel cleverly, you won't need to cut channels after glue up.

MDF won't sag if properly supported underneath.

[Steve Friedman]

Midcoast Maine is hand tool heaven. The three resources that immediately come to mind are:

1. Lie-Nielsen in Warren - www.lie-nielsen.com - go play with tools and ask Deneb some questions.
2. Shelter Institute in Woolrich - www.shelterinstitute.com
3. Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport - www.woodschool.org

Also, I would contact the Maine Woodworkers Association - www.mainewoodworkers.org

Steve

[Rob Marshall]

Hi,

With a short Google search I found an article from Popular Woodworking entitled: The Mystery of Holdfasts. Here's the link:

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ar..._of_Holdfasts/

I just skimmed through the article ,but it seems to focus mostly on their testing of the holdfasts themselves, and it does mention that they used both hard and soft woods. From the article it seems that the holdfast itself is what will determine which woods, hole diameters, and bench top thickness, will work best for that particular holdfast.

They listed the Lee Valley hold-down as their top pick even though it's not a "traditional" holdfast (it uses a knob to tighten it down rather than a rap with a hammer). But, other than the hand forged ones, it looks like it's also the most expensive.

The article was written in 2005 and apparently the Gramercy holdfast from www.toolsforworkingwood.com was still in development. They said it worked well in both hard and soft wood but only if the bench top thickness was less than 2-1/2". I don't know if there have been improvements on that and the website only mentions that the top thickness needs to be at least 1-3/4". The website also mentions that sanding the stems makes them work even better...

Thanks,

Rob

[Rob Marshall]

As to Matt's question about the type of woodworking I'm planning on doing (BTW, I can be verbose and run-on with the best of 'em )...not really sure.

I was thinking about furniture. The first couple of projects are simple ones of putting some frames on the inside of some windows around the house. It's a long story, but some of the windows were never framed...And I would like to look at building a sofa and love seat (our current ones are broken and my wife can sew and has a heavy duty sewing machine). Beyond that I need a new computer desk, book shelves, entertainment center, DVD cabinet...I think once I get started there will be lots of honey-do's to be done.

Again, I can't thank everybody enough for all the help,

Rob

[Rob Marshall]

Hi Steve,

Yes, Mid-Coast Maine does seem to be hand tool heaven.

I went by Lie Nielsen a few weeks ago. They tend to be on the very-well-made-and-not-inexpensive side of things. Which would be great if I had a larger budget.

Although I was very tempted, had I gotten a moment with no one else in the shop, to talk with the guy who was on duty in the retail store that day. He really needs some pointers on good customer service, e.g. don't ignore a customer even if you're engaged with another customer. My wife and I wandered aimlessly about the store looking at stuff while he gave someone a sharpening demonstration. He didn't even say hi to us for the first 10-15 minutes we were in the store.

I have driven by the Shelter Institute in Woolwich, but haven't stopped in yet. I did see that they are having a free "Intro to Sharpening" class on Nov. 20th, I'll have to see if I can make that.

And I keep checking the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship website, but I missed their summer session and all I saw initially were longer, 3-9 month, programs for aspiring professionals. They do have community classes that are evenings and weekends, so I'll need to keep my eye on their site when they come out with their 2011 schedule. I think the only community classes coming up were "Learn to Turn".

Thanks,

Rob

[Kevin Grady]

I heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in learning to use handtools:

http://books.google.com/books?id=o2m...page&q&f=false

This book has been an incredible resource for me. The sharpening section is great. Check your local library for it.

Other books I've found useful:

The Hand Plane Book, Garrett Hack
Classic Hand Tools, Garrett Hack
Hand Tool Essentials, Popular Woodworking

From my experience, the very first tools you should get: books. read as much as you possibly can.

Also, some DVDs I've found useful:
Dovetail a Draw, Frank Klausz
Making Mortise and Tenon Joints, Frank Klausz
Sawing Fundimentals, Christopher Schwarz

I try and read from many different sources about a topic, finding different approaches, thry them out in the shop and find what works for me.

[Steve Branam]

I'm new to woodworking (well, I wanted to start on it years ago but didn't get very fair...just barely into the very frustrating "I have no clue what I'm doing" part ) and want to be a neanderthal...I guess. I would like to stay away from tools that require amps and watts and instead will run just fine on elbow grease. Although I realize that well sharpened tools will require less of that

Also, and I'm sure just about everyone starts off this way, finances and space are limited...So the questions are:

a) What is the minimum set of tools one needs in order to get started?
b) What books/DVDs/Websites would you suggest for help in learning techniques for sharpening, sawing, planing, chiseling, gluing, finishing...all the basic skills one needs in order to become a somewhat proficient woodworker?
c) Are there specific exercises, or simple projects, that you would suggest to someone who wants to practice, and perfect (I hope ), all the basic skills? In particular simple projects that yield useful and worthwhile results .
d) What would you do for a fairly functional, but very inexpensive, workbench?

Yep, you'll get dozens of completely conflicting opinions, all of them right!

So here's mine. I've started a series of blog post for folks exactly like you, under the heading "Intro Hand Tools". The main page, with table of contents is at www.closegrain.com/p/intro-hand-tools.html.

The table is linked to the various blog posts that cover each subject. I've only completed a few chapters so far, but have others in the works. Some of your questions are covered, others will be in the future (along with short videos of each specific skill). The references section lists books and DVD's; the tools section lists my version of "the absolute minimum set" (everyone has their own list!), and my version "the useful additional tools" as you can afford them.

I also have a short series of posts on a build of Roy Underhill's portable workbench. You could build it from a pine 2x10 pretty cheaply. Workshop projects make good practice projects, because they don't have to be pretty, but they still get the job done, and you can learn from your mistakes before you commit to fancy expensive wood.

There's a good tool guy who usually shows up at the Montsweag Flea Market in Woolwich (just across the road from the Shelter Institute) that I've gotten a number of things from. He spends his time buying up old tool chests and then piecing them out. They usually contain a mix of paint-spotted hardware store junk and magnificent antiques; these guys were real builders. I was there this past weekend, he told me he would be at the antiques mall in the old mill in Brunswick this winter, said there were other good dealers there.

Keep an open mind, there are always at least 5 ways to do any task. Pick the ones that speak to you, based on what catches your interest (and the tools you have available). And sometimes try a completely different method, just to learn!

[Bruce Haugen]

Mosey on over to Thomas Moser's shop on Main St. in Freeport. It will make you want to learn everything there is to know about woodworking.

[Matt Evans]

Yep, you'll get dozens of completely conflicting opinions, all of them right!

.........(snip)

Keep an open mind, there are always at least 5 ways to do any task. Pick the ones that speak to you, based on what catches your interest (and the tools you have available). And sometimes try a completely different method, just to learn!

Yes, there are very few things that you have to do a certain way. Steve has it right when he says whichever way catches your interest will likely work out well for you.

Whatever you do, no matter the type of joinery or technique, pick ONE method and stick with it til you have it down. Then, if you feel as though it may not be the best method, try a different one.

Most skills carry over from one method to another, so even if you tried a mortice first approach, got that down, then moved to a tenon first approach, you wouldn't be losing any skill building practice.

(That being said, I wouldn't recommend anyone START by trying to emulate F. Klaus freehand dovetails. . .work your way up to the really hard stuff, and get familiar with the tools first)

[Russell Sansom]

I got along for many years without holdfasts. When I finally drilled a couple holes in my bench for them, I just never used them. I'd simply become accustomed to square dogs and clamps. BTW, since round dogs rotate, there's an advantage to square.
Here's one tool not mentioned yet that changed my woodworking from "what's going on?" to "heh, this all makes a lot of sense!"...a shooting board. Of course, you need a plane to use on it. For me that was a #8 jointer, but I see that many people use shorter planes. Every project I start requires a shooting board.

[Andy Guss]

Hi Rob,

I'm close to being in your boat. I am relatively new to woodworking, have a limited budget of time, space, and funds, bu I was curious about how to start.

The good news is that there are tons of very valuable resources available for free online and for pretty cheap otherwise.

Also, as a Bowdoin grad, I miss Maine and its people more than any other place I have lived or visited. I'll say Durango, Colorado is a close second.

So, first off, my wife and I bought our first house. We put our offer in last December 14th or so, two days after we saw it for the first time. The house had a workshop built into the side of the garage. Something about that little workshop triggered something in my psyche that must have been bursting to get out, because suddenly all I could do was think about woodworking.

First I started looking at local classes at the colleges, high schools, and community colleges. I found one open to the general public at a local commnuity college taught by a well respected local craftsman. It meant that I would be gone Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 10:30 pm, but my wife said it was ok and I signed up. At this point I had essentially zero tools. The class was amazing. I loved it. Not only did I learn about commonly used power tools and hand tools, but we learned abot design, milling, different species of hardwood, etc. To be honest, my favorite part of the class was hanging out with all the guys there. Senior citizens could take the class for free, so the same group of them, 6-7 take the same class over and over each semester just to keep learning, building, and have access to all the amazing shop tools. At least one of these guys was a general contractor with 50 years building experience. Some of the classmates were as much of a resource as the teacher. In any case, that experience was as close to solid gold as I have found as an adult. For the whole semester it cost me about $500.

There was no actual textbook for the class, but the teacher recommended Peter Korn's book, "Woodworking Basics". I have purchased that book, along with many others, and I love it and recommend it. There are good exercises, descriptions of techniques, projects, information on tools, etc.

While on that note, Popular Woodworking magazine has a downloadable manual for beginning woodworkers on their website as a companion to their monthly "I Can Do That" projects that covers basic tool selection and shop setups to get everyone up and running with the basic set of machinery and equipment. For people getting started and with a budget, this is a great resource for projects and information.

Fine Woodworking magazine offers a free 2 week trial on their website. You can go sign up for that and then download as many articles and plans as you want for the first two weeks. I like the site, and the articles so I just subscribed and have a full time online membership, but you can get what you need for a few years of reading material in two weeks. They have a video series and several articles about getting started. I also suggest you look at the "Rock Solid Plywood Workbench" while there.

Popular woodworking has a free downloadable article on their popular "$175 Workbench" as well as the article on teh 24 hour workbench that you can read about. Also, Woodsmith magazine had a tv episode on building an inexpensive MDF workbench and the plan for that is a free download at their site. If you can catch that episode in reruns, I think it addresses exactly what you are interested in, even if you ultimately choose a different bench design. (Season 2, episode 206)

Personally, I suggest you learn Sketchup. It is a great way to design projects and make plans, measurements, drawings, etc. There are many, many websites and tutorials available specifically about using Sketchup in woodworking. Also, I can help with this, but I have put together a list of helpful sketchup links if you want. I used Sketchup at my work before I ever got started in Woodworking, but it has been very helpful for working out the geometry for my own designs.

When it comes to books and tools, my main suggestion would be to buy used as often as possible. Ebay is tough for good deals on tools, but great for good deals on books. Likewise, Amazon and A- libris have sections on older, out of print, or used books. Somebody already mentioned the library. But, Fine Woodworking has run off "Best of " series of articles for years reprinted from the magazine as books. You can get these for about $3 each and the information is great. That's just one example. There is also completely free, like the Gutenberg projects free e-book "Carpentry for Boys" by Zerbe. Suer it is about 800 years old, but I can't imagine there is not something in that book that everyone could learn a bit from, even if it is just for those names in the glossaries.

When it comes to used tools, classified ads are hit or miss and can be a frustrating and time consuming way to outfit your shop. On the other hand, it is pretty much the only way to come home with an Emmert vise without breaking the bank. Once you know what you are looking for, it will be easier to get what you need without overspending. My main advice is to be very patient. Eventually there wil be a good deal on every single tool you need. You can just get them one at a time.
When you have a good idea what tools you want for your shop and how you plan your shop layout, you will be able to prioritize.

Lastly, you are already taking advantage of the internet forums. I have to say that so far my experience has been that woodworking forums are the most helpful and civil of any forums I have ever participated in. These ones are great. Also I like the ones at OWWM. I get a weird vibe at lumberjocks, but you can always try them out for extra opinions.

If there is something specific that you want help with let me know. I have come up with pretty cheapo workarounds for almost everything my budget limitations have thrown at me so far.

Andy

[Jerome Hanby]

A wood stove?

[Rob Marshall]

Hi Steve (Branam),

Oddly enough, I was looking at your blog the other day (I plan on visiting it regularly). I came across all the entries on your Roubo bench and was quite intrigued. Especially when I saw that you're in Mass. and had recently been to Nashua for the tool exchange (I used to live in Nashua and our kids still live in the area).

I've been to Montsweag but perhaps the guy you mention either wasn't there or didn't have much that day. I also went by the flea market in Brunswick a few weeks ago, but they didn't (at the time), have much in the way of tools. I'll keep an eye out for the guy you mention when I wander back through there the next time.

And I agree with you and Matt that perhaps I should be thinking a lot like Charles Emerson Winchester III, who once said: "I do one thing at a time, I do it very well, and then I move on..." much to Hawkeye's consternation Sorry, miscellaneous MASH reference

Also, I have (I think) all the pieces I need to make a shooting board, just haven't gotten to it yet...need to fix up my planes first Well, there are probably a whole lot of things that need to be done "first"

Thanks,

Rob

[michael osadchuk]

Hi Matt, thanks for the suggestion.

Let me ask the question this way: If I used pine for the top, would I have problems using holdfasts? i.e. Would the holes be likely to widen when using a softer wood?

In an earlier reply, Michael pointed me to a PDF for "Bob and Dave's Good, Fast and Cheap Bench" which is made completely of pine. They use square dog holes, I was thinking of using round ones...but I'm not dogmatic about it, mainly because I like the idea of holdfasts. So my concern is that the holes would widen because of the pressure against the walls. Although the length of the holdfast might mean that the pressure would be spread out over a large area and perhaps it wouldn't be a problem. Does anyone have any experience with this?

On the other hand, I think it would be a safe bet that there have been many discussions, maybe even religious wars, waged over the topic of which woods to use for a bench. Maybe someone could provide me with a few links because I'm not sure I want this thread to get too side tracked with the bench...

Again, I really appreciate all the help.

Rob

Rob,

I would hazard a guess that upward of 90% of shopmade woodworking benches have round dogholes. I use Lee Valley brass bench dogs and find they don't rotate and wouldn't expect homemade wood ones to either.

Round dog holes are just easier to do - drilling into the solid completed benchtop - than incorporating them into an earlier construction stage.
Also you can leave the location of them as one of the final steps, after you have changed your mind a half a dozen times about vises and other details that will have an influence on where you put the dogholes. Also you can more accurately align the dogholes with each other (as well as with vises) on the otherwise completed workbench so that you can use homemade hold downs and other jigs interchangeably in more pairs of dogholes.

Pine will hold dog holes fine.

One of the qualities you typically want in workbench is mass/stability.....when you are handplaning or sharpening a hand plane blade or pounding something in place you don't want the workbench moving around.

Don't rush out and buy all kinds of accessories for a workbench ... I have a nice holdfast from Lee Valley that I haven't used for a decade because I found other (cheaper and homemade) solutions more convenient.
Look up books or online resources from an earlier time for cheap homemade workbench accessories ....for example, Robert Wearing has another book, called Making Woodwork Aids & Devices that duplicate many of the items you will find in a glossy catalog from a woodworking supply store.

good luck

michael