Outfitting the shop

[Herv Peairs]

Hi John,

A few years ago I was where you are now. My progress has been slow, mainly due to the fact that gardening tends to trump woodworking, but it's coming along. I'm still in the building shop appliances stage. Maybe I need to move further north where the winters are longer. Here are some thoughts:

To teach your hands, video is your friend, second only to an actual teacher. Nothing beats seeing someone actually, say, plane a board. When you have a new task at hand, refer to several video sources that demonstrate what you need to do. Approaches differ to a surprising extent. I have watched and learned from Christopher Schwarz, Paul Sellers, The English Woodworker, The Renaissance Woodworker, David Charlesworth, Rob Cosman, Tom Fidgen, and most recently, Matt Estlea. A lot of useful videos are available for free on YouTube. Don't get me wrong, I love books and am reading some of the old masters like Charles Hayward. But without video, I'd be lost.

Tool rehab is seductive. I enjoyed doing it. It's not woodworking. If I were starting over, I'd mostly buy new tools rather than fuss with old ones.

I see Lie-Nielsen saws on your list. If learning to sharpen handsaws is not high on your list (it's not woodworking), LN is a very good choice, other things being more or less equal, because they'll sharpen your LN saw for $25. That's a deal. I am an amateur hobbyist with a full-time job that has nothing to do with wood. Apprentice rites of passage like freehand honing and saw sharpening are cool and useful. But if your time is limited, you don't have to go there unless you want to.

Good luck!
Herv

[Brian Holcombe]

19th century Disston and similar panel saws are fantastic, I certainly prefer them to modern.

[Jacob Reverb]

A good, easy-to-read 6" rule. I like this one (it has 32nds and 64ths on the back):

http://www.starrett.com/metrology/pr...etail/C604RE-6

[Jim Koepke]

A good, easy-to-read 6" rule. I like this one (it has 32nds and 64ths on the back):

Does anyone use 64ths in woodworking?

My most used 6" rule comes from Bridge City Tools. One side reads from left to right and the other side reads right to left:

BCT 6%22 Rule.jpg

https://bridgecitytools.com/collecti...-6-pocket-rule

jtk

[Bill McDermott]

Although you probably already have these fundamentals, for the record I am adding:

- AWL, icepick or some other pointy thing. Use it for all sorts of things.
- KNIFE. I use a razor knife a lot. I also use a mora carving knife for a lot of trimming and cleaning.
- FILES. A good mill file and a half round cabinet rasp are super useful.
- HANDSCREWS. Two modestly sized handscrews provide solutions to all manner of work-holding problems.
- BENCHHOOK. Not for the shopping list. But I rate it as an essential hand tool.
- BROOM, BRUSH & DUSTPAN. Use 'em every time I'm in the shop. Like other tools, don't cheap out.
- GOOD LIGHTING. It really does improve accuracy.
- SANDING BLOCKS. A few blocks set up with replaceable sanding paper through the common grits get frequent use.
- OIL and WAX. Some way to keep them handy for regular use to lube cutting tools and for general wiping / protection.
- COUNTERSINK.
- SCREWDRIVER. A good quality 10 in 1.
- HAMMERS. A general purpose claw hammer and a tack hammer.
- SCRAPERS. A Card Scraper for sure. I strongly recommend a carbide paint scraper as well. Just use that thing all the time. Glue, wood, gunk, whatever... amazing.

You might want to lay in some construction lumber. Pick some 2X boards that look good and let them dry and acclimate in your shop. E.g., 4"x4"s are useful but take a long time to shrink down to where they will stay. You will always find a use for construction lumber over time. While building out, you will eat a lot of it. Plus, you can play with your new toys on inexpensive wood.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Does anyone use 64ths in woodworking?

Only because I can further divide them by eye and estimate to the nearest 128th. Otherwise I would put a burr on it and turn it into a scraper.

[Jim Koepke]

Although you probably already have these fundamentals, for the record I am adding:

[edited]
- BENCHHOOK. Not for the shopping list. But I rate it as an essential hand tool.

- SANDING BLOCKS. A few blocks set up with replaceable sanding paper through the common grits get frequent use.

You might want to lay in some construction lumber. Pick some 2X boards that look good and let them dry and acclimate in your shop. E.g., 4"x4"s are useful but take a long time to shrink down to where they will stay. You will always find a use for construction lumber over time. While building out, you will eat a lot of it. Plus, you can play with your new toys on inexpensive wood.

With bench hooks you will find it is very handy to have them in pairs when supporting work on your bench for sawing or fine tuning.

After years of wood working it appears many starting out in woodworking focus on building a finished piece of work more than they do in learning the essentials. Making a few shop appliances like, bench hooks, shooting boards and saw horses are great tools in learning the basics of joinery and assembly.

All of my sanding blocks have coves (flutes) on the sides. This makes it easier to hold a sheet of sandpaper. A scrap of 1X4 makes a great 1/4 sheet size sanding block.

A stack of 2X3s and 2X4s was selected over time whenever there was a visit to either the blue or orange borg. Mostly they were selected for the way the grain was running. These came in handy when it came time to build a lumber rack. All the material was already on hand.

Main wood Storage.jpg

It looks like a mess, but it has been organized a bit better since this picture was taken.

jtk

jtk

[Phil Gaudio]

John: I think it would be a daunting task to come with the definitive list of what you need in your hand tool workshop. I might take a slightly different approach: pick a skill or joint you want to master, and let that define what you need. If hand cut dovetails suits your fancy, then a relatively small number of tools is needed. Once you have mastered that, add projects and tools as needed. Approaching the problem this way may result in fewer mistakes being made in procuring tools you really don't need. Phil

[John Isgren]

John: I think it would be a daunting task to come with the definitive list of what you need in your hand tool workshop. I might take a slightly different approach: pick a skill or joint you want to master, and let that define what you need. If hand cut dovetails suits your fancy, then a relatively small number of tools is needed. Once you have mastered that, add projects and tools as needed. Approaching the problem this way may result in fewer mistakes being made in procuring tools you really don't need. Phil

That s basically how I have been building my list. I sketched up a couple of projects (starting with shop appliances and benches), then based on watching mainly Paul Sellers and Rob Cosman, I figured out what tools I needed. I am trying to keep it simple and not buy dedicated task tools. For example I will start doing rebates with saw in chisel vs buying a rebate plane. The most exotic things on the list are router and plow planes.

[John Isgren]

Been busy placing orders today! LV, LN, and Grizzly! Saws from Vintagesaws due tomorrow and 2 planes from Patrick Leech due next week!

[John Isgren]

First boxes coming in. First up two vintage saws from vintagesaws.com
7F9F594D-EA54-4D27-AEF7-BDEABA0D324D.jpg

1930s Atkins 51 Crosscut 8pt 26”
6825A089-1337-486D-9866-377544FB3F0E.jpg54D08710-4797-44FD-99C2-8E70D4CD0A9C.jpg

Phoenix Rip saw 28”

527CE299-72C4-4877-A317-167222B107FE.jpg

Vintagesaws.com was a pleasure to do business with. I decided that I wanted older saws, but I wanted them already tuned so I know what good is once I start sharpening myself.

[Jim Koepke]

Looks like you will have years of service from those two.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Blue tape!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Cornwall]

Someone might have said this but in case nobody said this, that welder is not a good idea in your wood shop.

[John Isgren]

Someone might have said this but in case nobody said this, that welder is not a good idea in your wood shop.

I agree that it is not ideal, but it is what I have to work with. That end of the shop will be the cleanest, and all of the welding equipment is on wheels,so I can move out into the main barn if I am doing a lot of welding. Beyond that I will follow the 45 minutes rule and not leave the shop for 45 min after metal working (welding or grinding).