As a none practical, handyman, DIY type person learning woodwork as a hobby, here are a few things I have realised during my steep learning curve over the last month or so since beginning working with wood. Most of these points you read about and are common sense, but I still had to go through the learning process myself before I got that ah now I get it moment of realisation ...
Like most physical activities the process of building something can be subdivided down into smaller components. For example the thought of building a complete table to a beginner can be quite daunting (remember I am talking about someone who has never built a thing out of wood in their life), but by considering the tables components almost as separate projects things seem to become easier.
A tables components might be table top, table legs and table skirt. Building each component can also be subdivided down into smaller processes such as marking out and cutting to size. By making each small sub process repeatable you quickly find yourself developing skills by habit and getting better and better each time you do them.
To start with (I found) using a pencil to mark out seemed normal and the marking knife seemed both a little strange and a little clumsy, you cant even see the knife lines as easy as a pencil! But it didnt take long before I realised just how much more accurate my lines and cuts became when using a marking knife. By forcing yourself to use the knife (even if you use the pencil to darken the knife line) from the beginning, it quickly becomes a habit to reach for the marking knife instead of the pencil. Therefore, put a marking knife at the top of your shopping list when considering what tools to start with.
If two pieces of wood are accurately marked out and cut to the correct size (and shape) joining them together with a bit of glue becomes a lot easier, so (for me at least) learning these two components alone has been critical in actually finishing a project that at least fits together. Ok, my projects may not be finished (another sub process) to the highest standard but their completion has at least given me enough enthusiasm to continue learning.
Assuming a beginner has somewhere to work and a suitable surface (bench) of some kind to work on, I think the very first projects a complete beginner should build are a bench hook and a shooting board. Similarly, what tools should a beginner buy first? Tools to build a bench hook and shooting board should be the answer!
The bench hook being a simple project allows cross cutting with a handsaw to become at least easier and a lot more accurate. It wont replace bad technique or a faulty saw but it will help immensely by forcing you to saw in a repeatable choice, meaning your body will learn to saw better by repetition or habit. As a beginner its therefore very important to listen to your body when sawing - is your posture forcing you to cut at an angle at the end of each stroke? Taking things nice and slow for the first few projects will ensure the habits you develop are good ones from the start . Its harder to unlearn and break a bad habit than it is to develop a good one!
The bench hook also serves as a warm up in marking out and cutting before starting your next project...
Once you have your bench hook you can then use it to help build a shooting board, which does have to be built accurately to work properly. These two projects will become your best friends and suddenly initial cutting of components to size will become easy and stress free.
You can cut close to your marking lines by using the bench hook and quickly bring the cut down exactly to your marking lines squarely and accurately using the shooting board. Once you realise that this accuracy is repeatable you also relax as there is less risk of screwing up and you find your sawing technique improves further from not being tense, relaxing your grip on the saw and not over trying to cut accurately. A table with four legs all of exactly the same length is a wonderful thing to a beginner!
The last habit I have developed is making sure my tools are sharp and ensuring the act of sharpening forms part of my build process. After rough cutting wood for specific components, I lay out the pieces and spend a short while contemplating the next steps and what tools are likely to be used. Having those tools readily to hand and already sharp ensures I can concentrate on building and get into a groove, rather than stopping to sharpen.
Sharpening is a gatechoice skill that is absolutely essential when using hand tools and like the others has to be practised. I found that by investing in a good sharpening jig and some quality diamond stones my results became repeatable and not such a hit and miss affair (like when I tried honing free hand).
If I do need to sharpen mid process then I force myself to do it sooner rather than later, again helped by having a sharpening process that is easy and repeatable. For example I know its only going to take five minutes to sharpen my chisel and therefore only a minor inconvenience!
However, as a beginner there is a period of time before you realise the tool is blunt or not as sharp as it could be. Is the grain in the right direction or difficult, is this wood generally hard to work with, am I doing it wrong or is the tool just blunt? By sharpening the tools before you start takes achoice this element of doubt and knowing you started out with a sharp tool any change in performance will be more obvious when the tool does get blunt.
In summary, the last month or so has taught me that sharpening, accurate marking and cutting were the three foundation skills required for me to develop further. Without these three core skills my wood working career wouldve likely to come to an end pretty soon!
I would be very interested in hearing from other people what their own personal pivotable points were advancing in their learning curves. All tips & tricks appreciated...
There are not many positive reviews on this little rabbet plane, even anything! Today I decided to examine it more closely and verify its performances. Although a simple structure, it has an adjusting mouth. The bullnose structure, with the front part of the sole very narrow, allows the plane for using it in special situations, such as finishing a blind rabbet or working close to the intersection of stiles and rails.
The body plane consists of two sliding parts; a screw allows to lock the parts into position and set the opening mouth to the desired width. Unfortunately, every time you perform this operation, you have to reset the blade (troublesome without a blade adjusting wheel), for which can be certainly convenient to adjust the mouth in an intermediate position and avoid too many changes. Another weak point is the lever cap; it holds the blade in its position by a thumb screw. It has little contact surface with the blade and it is quite thin and induces apprehension when the screw is tightly closed. The iron sits at 45°, bevel down, what that preferably addresses this plane for using it with the grain.
The sides were square with the sole.
I run a plane tune up. With the blade in working position, but retracted so that it cannot cut, I lapped the sole using glass plate attached sandpaper. The blade was sharpened with a 30° bevel. For this iron type I used the Stanley sharpening guide. In these blades its very important to obtain the cutting edge perfectly square with the sides. The lever cap was in contact with iron only to one side, making the plane practically unusable. I accurately smoothed this zone and in order to ensure a good contact I had to make a slight correction (I used a file) to the protrusions that form the lever fulcrum. The iron bedded satisfactorily.
The final result is quite good and the plane proved to be accurate in finishing rabbets. More than one doubt remains, particularly regarding a good blade grip. Read More..
There are two important benefits to accommodate a good number of tools in the carpenters bench: they are alchoices on hand and, adding a consistent weight to the entire structure, greatly enhance stability. On my bench I obtained the most space possible: in addition to the classic dresser, I used the open compartment under the top to accommodate the wooden planes I use more frequently. In the shorter side where the vice is not present there is another space, built in the thickness of the legs and when I fixed some instruments for measuring and tracking.
Of course, the planes are king, occupying most of the available space. The two large drawers on the left side are occupied by combination planes. One of the drawers on the right side is devoted to tools for drilling, brace, hand drill, gimlet, tips etc..
As I was finishing up the boom arm for the Ghetto WorkCenter, it dawned on me that I could also hand a tool holder on it.Festool includes tool holders as part of the WorkCenter. They also sell individual ones that fit on their CT vacuums. I have one of the individual ones. Unfortunately, my CT22 is too old to fit it. I have mine set into a block of wood that I clamp to my bench and BenchMark table. My ultimate plan is to use the Festool Tool Holder as a model to make a cabinet to hold all my sanders. For now, it served as a model to make a Tool Holder to fit on my Saw Tray.
This is how it began.
I began with the same piece of ½” baltic birch Ive made the rest of the Ghetto WorkCenter out of. I began by tracing the V shape of the tool holder onto the plywood. I used a forstner bit to make the rounded bottom of the V. Then I cut out the rest on the bandsaw. My bandsaw cuts weren’t exactly straight, so I used my rasp to flatten them out.
The Vs, fresh off the bandsaw.
After smoothing the sides with a rasp.
Once the V’s were rounded over with the router, it was just a matter of attaching the cleat and spacer so I could hang it on the saw tray.
Im loving my Bosch MRC23EVSK. It has great dust collection & visibility to boot.
The cleat on the left hooks the saw tray and the spacer on the right keeps in basically plumb.
Even with the ½” plywood, it’s working great so far.
She holds like a champ.
I’m not sure if I’ll add more accessories to the Ghetto WorkCenter, but for a little bit of plywood and some cheap fasteners, it’s proving to be a great addition to the shop.
Over the past two (2) weekends Ive been able to get back out to the tree house. Though Ive only been able to get half-days in, I have managed to just about finish the sheathing.
The tree house, as it stood before the last two weekends work.
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This video shows the sheathing of the gable ends, and all the frustration that entailed.
This shorter video shows an easier day of protecting the roof and sheathing the clearstory wall.
The next step will be to install the clearstory windows. The next two (2) weekends are just about spoken for, but hopefully Ill sneak in some window time too.
The sample Kalwall panels Im making the clearstory windows from.
Here is a list of my wood working specific tools which I am starting out with.
Tools I inherited with the boat which I have removed rust, serviced and cleaned as best as possible in WD40 & light oil:
3 x Small F-Clamps
3 x Medium F-Clamps
Panel Saw ~10tpi rip (Old Self Sharpen Style)
12" Back Saw ~12tpi rip (Old Self Sharpen Style)
Bit & Brace (with ratchet function)
Egg Beater Hand Drill - (broken handle)
Small Hammer
3 Wood Rasps (Flat, Half Round & Round)
12Pc Carving Set (looks cheap)
7pc Hole Cutter Set 32 - 70 mm
Spade Drill Bits - 28, 25, 23, 16, 13, 12 mm
Forstner Drill Bits - 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 mm
Various Lip & Spur (Brad Point) Bits
Wood Plug Cutters & Bits
After some time reading about wood working online and learning about tools and their specific uses, I decided about 6 months ago during one of my visits to the U.K I should purchase a few new tools to compliment those above and try to have a go while living on my boat in the Caribbean. The tools remained untouched aside from a few Pre-Atlantic crossing boat preparations and repairs and have only just now been unpacked.
Everything came from my local ScrewFix store and I have provided links.
Stanley No4 Smoothing Bench Plane
Stanley Block Plane
Stanley Metal Sureform Block Plane
Stanley FatMax 5pc Bevel Chisels
Stanley FatMax Coping Saw
Stanley 23tpi Flush Cut Saw
Irwin 12" Pullsaw 14tpi
Stanley Stone & Honing Guide
Stanley Bevel Guage
Combination Square
Wooden Mallet
3m Imperial / Metric Tape Measure
12" Steel Ruler
I do own other assorted none specific tools such as screw drivers, files, pliers and spanners, etc, all of which Im sure will come in useful along the choice.
Tools I now realise I will probably need soon are some layout tools such as marking gauges and a good marking knife. More importantly, before anything else I need to sort out my space with some form of bench. Who knows at some point I might even get some wood as well.
Woodworking can be as dangerous as it is rewarding. Its important that you stay safe while you have fun in the shop.
Knowing that without safety there is no woodworking, The Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnuolo, has lead the Woodworking Safety Week campaign for many years. He’s made his own posts about safety and he’s been kind enough to share links to other community members safety posts too. This years post is here.
This will be my third year writing a post for Woodworking Safety Day (formerly Safety Week). Both last year and the year before it was an easy post to write. My first safety week post was about a good friend of mine who took off two (2) fingers with a table saw. My second safety week post was about my dropping a spinning router bit into my left palm.
Luckily, this past year has left me with no injuries to speak of. Unluckily, that’s left me short of my usual cautionary tale for safety week. While I could tell you of my friend Tom’s recent kickback episode, I’ll leave that to him (Tom’s never short on things to say).
Ouch . Kickback - 1, Tom - 0. yfrog.com/ntv86rzj — TomsWorkbench (@TomsWorkbench) April 28, 2013
Instead, this year I’m going to share some simple advice:
If you’re nervous, or what you’re doing makes you uncomfortable, don’t do it.
These are words I live by not just in my shop, but also at my day job at a commercial roofing firm. While I’m not here saying that you can’t get hurt unless you’re nervous, I will say that I feel being nervous makes you more likely to get hurt.
When we’re nervous or uncomfortable we’re also distracted. We spent too much time being nervous or uncomfortable and not enough time paying attention to what we’re doing. Getting hurt then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So please, if you’re in the shop and what you’re doing doesn’t feel right, please don’t do it. The right tool for the job, waiting for help or just resting and approaching the task with a clear head will alchoices be faster and cheaper than your injury.
Paul Sellers position is that of a snob (and I think, working against the growth of woodworking). You can read for yourself here:
I am still very concerned about children in woodworking issue. Yesterday I saw two girls and one boy in the whole show and only a handful of women. That is no fault of the show,me or the other vendors. I think this is directly attributed to machine manufacturers who do indeed hog the market and have nothing to offer to balance out the problem. Since machines dominate the market of woodworking and in fact invade sanity at every level, we will never see this change. No one seems to be responsible for bringing about change and so the problem goes on. Eventually this situation will be sealed and woodworking could one day become a machine only form of making and no longer a craft.
This next comments will indeed get me in deep, deep water. You cannot use a machine to work wood and call it Woodcraft. The machine substitutes for the very thing we call skill and art, but it cannot replace it. Anyone that says a machine is a tool can never understand the art and craft of woodworking. As long as we think and express this, we will never see children and women in the wood shop working with their hands.
If you’d like to read the full post, or check out Paul’s entire site, you can here.
The children who were captivated by Chuck Benders hand cut dovetails when the Woodworking Shows visited Somerset, NJ were apparently not in attendance when the shows hit Tampa.
In those closing paragraphs to his 3/16/13 blog entry, Paul says a lot.
He says woodworking “could one day become . . . no longer a craft.”
He says that its not the Woodworking Show’s fault, his fault or other vendors fault that he didnt see more children at the Woodworking Shows (though Ive heard from others there were many children). He says it’s the machine manufacturers fault that there are so few women and children in attendance.
He says that since machines are dominating the market and invading sanity and as long as this occurs things will never change.
He says “You cannot use a machine to work wood and call it Woodcraft.”
Itll come as a disappointment that this beautiful chandelier is not woodcraft. I hope no ones told Todd yet. Hell be sad.
Thankfully, I’m not the only (or even the first) to call Paul out on what he’s said. In her blog post, Megan Fitzpatrick, the Editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine put it this choice:
There are many more examples to which I could point – but that would distract from my assertion that woodworking teachers and writers (and editors) perform a massive disservice to the craft by perpetuating a hard line between hand-tool woodworking and power-tool woodworking. And I find it breathtakingly arrogant (and irresponsibly divisive) to state that only by using hand tools can we call it woodcraft.
Machines have eradicated many of the barriers for all people to enjoy woodworking – particularly for those new to the craft (whom, as you imply, Paul, we need to cultivate). In some cases, machines lower the skill level and physical strength required to build something. In addition, machines used to fabricate tools (both hand and power) make those tools affordable to the home woodworker.
I’m glad that we have prominent woodworkers, woodworkers with soapboxes, who promote the craft and don’t discriminate based on method. Megan does more for the craft in her rebuttal to Paul than any hand or power tool does. Tom Iovino is rallying everyone around getting the next generation started with Get Woodworking Week. Matt Kenney proudly proclaims that there is no cheating. Marc Spagnolo just want’s everyone to learn to build. Todd Clippinger constantly asks, “why arent you in your shop?”These friends, and many, many others, practice a craft known as Woodcraft. They also help teach it to newcomers and spread the joy it entails.
After all the work that went into it, I was disappointed to learn this book stand wasnt woodcraft.
Hopefully I’m helping too. I did think long and hard about it, and I know that my recent suggestion to a beginning woodworker that he use pocket screws instead of hand cut mortise and tenons would fall under Paul’s wrath. I also know my advice provides a much lower barrier to entry and will get completed projects under my friend’s belt. Diving right into hand cut joinery would likely just result in frustration.To Paul’s snobbish claims, I say a machine is a tool. I use tools and practice Woodcraft. I know that to be true.Since Paul spreading his snobbery instead of Woodcraft as of late, I’ll leave the last word to Megan.
Tools don’t build things; people build things.
And statements such as Paul’s help to build nothing.
Editor’s Note:It has been brought to my attention that Paul’s statements are opinion, and opinion should not be treated as fact. While I agree with this, I feel that simply dismissing Paul’s statements as opinion gives him a pass for the the weight his opinion carries (given his position in the woodworking community) and harm I feel it does to the community.
To start with (I found) using a pencil to mark out seemed normal and the marking knife seemed both a little strange and a little clumsy, you cant even see the knife lines as easy as a pencil! But it didnt take long before I realised just how much more accurate my lines and cuts became when using a marking knife. By forcing yourself to use the knife (even if you use the pencil to darken the knife line) from the beginning, it quickly becomes a habit to reach for the marking knife instead of the pencil. Therefore, put a marking knife at the top of your shopping list when considering what tools to start with.
