Jacob Maichel Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 My advice, 1. someting to cut with I.E. table saw, bandsaw etc.. 2. square and tape measure 3. sanding device of some kind bench or hand 4. patience 5. glue and clamps. All depending of A. what are you making and B. by hand or power. I went cheap and baught a lot to begin with I agree with all the woodworkers who say buy the best you can and wait til you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 My advice, 1. someting to cut with I.E. table saw, bandsaw etc.. 2. square and tape measure 3. sanding device of some kind bench or hand 4. patience 5. glue and clamps. All depending of A. what are you making and B. by hand or power. I went cheap and baught a lot to begin with I agree with all the woodworkers who say buy the best you can and wait til you need it. Dude! I have never met anyone else who I am not related to that spell their last name the exact same way I do...Crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 There's two of them...separated at birth...one raised in luxury....one raised by wolves...meeting for the first time. JACOB!!! FIRST POST!!! Welcome to Spagnuolo's Wide World of Wood!! Good place to hang out. Lots of good guys AND Gals to learn from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankMatz Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 A lot of great information so far from a great bunch of folks, but then that's kind of what one would expect from The WoodWhisperer Site. I don't think I can add much to what others have said so far but I thought I could give some insite from my own experience. Getting back to your original question I wouldn't change things much on the way I started. Besides the usual homeowner hand tools of hammer, hand saws, screw drivers etc... I'd get a good circular (skil) saw except today it would be a Track saw. I made my own track for mine years ago and still have (and use) that same Craftsman 7 1/4" I bought back in 1971. The same goes for the Jig Saw and variable speed/reversible drill bought shortly there after. The Random Orgital sander did give up the ghost some years back and has been replaced and augmented with a 9" belt sander. It is important to buy quality but it is equally important to take care of your tools and not abuse them. These are two things my father drilled into me years ago. I've built many of my own furniture pieces in past years and still use most today without the necessity of a table saw, although today I do have and use my father's Craftsman 100. A Stanley #5 Jack Plane, #92 Shoulder Plane and Stanley adjustable mouth block plane were also early acquisitions, as was a good shop vac. I started out with pipe clamps and amased quite a collection over the years. Stay away from the 1/2 and get the 3/4" and then good quick release adjustable clamps as time and need requires. I've only recently (within last 5 years) bought some K clamps but end up using those first now. You can't have too many clamps. I'm not in the same league with a lot of the folks here and don't really consider myself a wood worker but more of a frugal homeowner and hobbyist. Consider what you need for the task at hand and purchase as needed. The other thing is that growing into wood working is just like growing up, you have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run, so select those tasks carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankMatz Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 ==> with a 9" belt sander there was a poll on the 'least used tool' in the shop -- the belt sander won hands down... everyone blames Norm for having one in their shop... I don't know why. I built a wood jig for mine years ago and so I also use it as a sanding station. It has served me very well and I don't regret ever buying it. With a 14' X 20' basement shop I just never had the room or need for a stationary sanding station. Another wood jig for the drill with a disc attachment and my old belt driven 6" grinder provide all I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Overall I'm fairly happy with what I did. If I had it to do over again though I'd have bought a better tablesaw to begin with, as I outgrew my first one in about a year and a half (too small, too underpowered). The biggest thing that I thought worked in my favour was research. I did a lot before each tool purchase, not being made of money and not doing it professionally brands like Powermatic, Delta (for a unisaw) were out of my reasonable price range. So I looked around at a lot of the different reviews and found those that were frequently listed as best value and I haven't really been unhappy yet. The stuff I've gotten is well made and reliable, may not be as pretty or have quite the same fit and finish as the most expensive brands, but accurate and dependable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 ==> with a 9" belt sander there was a poll on the 'least used tool' in the shop -- the belt sander won hands down... everyone blames Norm for having one in their shop... Doesn't surprise me too much. I have one that gathers dust, but it does get used for home reno. I blame Norm (and David Marks to a lesser degree) for brad nailers that do nothing but gather dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghmyn Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 ==> brad nailers actually, my 21g and 23g get quite a bit of work in DIY -- I just did 8' of linear bookcases --- you can do practically invisible moldings with headless 23g. The 21g and 18g are great for through-away jigs... But you are correct, Norm must have had stock in the company producing the nails... Did he ever make anything without 'a couple of brads'? Ha, that's the best part. You can almost predict when those words are going to come out of his mouth. "And I'm just going to secure it with a couple of brads." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Oh yeah, mine do get used when I'm redoing a room at home for baseboard and the like, but not in the shop. I suppose the reason they just gather dust is cause I've got more home remodeling that needs to be done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Actually I've got a Grex 23 gauge pinless. It's actually the only one I do use mostly for jigs and parts that will never see the light of day or things I don't care about. But yeah the 18 gets no play at all. The stapler gets occasional use (I used it to help a friend speed build a gate to replace the one he had on his cheap HOA fence that fell apart). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronnie Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 So what kind of wood work do you have a desire to do? Have you seen any thing that someone has built that has inspired you to build? Im sure that if you think about it you can answer these few questions, and from there you can answer some of those other questions. :mellow: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 First would be a bench, if you don't have a place to work and hold your stock your going to have a headache. For handtools, smoother plane (#3 or #4), jack plane (#5), router plane, 1/4 1/2 3/4 quality chisels, good set of oilstones, dovetail and crosscut saw For powertools, table saw, bandsaw, router with shop made table, dust collector. Follow this up with a planer and then a jointer. Even though I have become quite good at flattening and dimentioning I don't enjoy doing all of it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmconlon Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have just started the hobby as well and grapple with this question all the time. I have made a few purchases based on the projects I wanted to try, and so far I have been pleased with the outcome. Maybe looking at my list will help you make some choices... 1. Set of Chisels 2. Mallet 3. Dovetail Saw 4. Plunge Router 5. Router table top (bought a pre-fab top from Rockler and made my own base) 6. A couple of heavy duty parallel clamps 7. Misc assorted clamps of different sizes 8. Bandsaw (I bought a used Rigid on ebay for $100 and fixed it up... replaced the tires, blade, balanced the wheels, replaced the belt, and replaced the guide blocks. I use it all the time and would say it is adequate.... If I had to do it over again I would spend the $$ for a better bandsaw) 9. Kreg Bandsaw Fence 10. I already had a shop vac in the garage, but I did purchase a few adapters to be able to hook it up to the various power tools. At this point I am doing small projects, so I do jointing on the router table. I am hoping a decent hand plane shows up under the Christmas tree this year. ....also I read Peter Korn's "Woodworking Basics: Mastering the art of Craftsmanship" Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nef Posted November 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 So what kind of wood work do you have a desire to do? Have you seen any thing that someone has built that has inspired you to build? Im sure that if you think about it you can answer these few questions, and from there you can answer some of those other questions. :mellow: :D I am hoping to do a mallet, coasters, domino set, a desk, a small bench etc ... My class starts tomorrow finally. It's been a looooong three weeks. I can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiska Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Sorry to interrupt with a stupid question, but as a foreigner I can't know which store chain you always refer to as 'the borg'. I'm very familiar with the Star Trek variety of them, but it would be intriguing to understand this one too ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid-woodworker Posted November 30, 2012 Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 Haha, it refers to what we also call the "big box" stores and varies by region. On the east coast of the US, it could be Lowes, Home Improvement or Home Depot. The reference is because in many cases, their presence in an area almost always causes smaller hardware and garden shops to close, forcing you to use the Borg. I now buy very little there, choosing to buy wood and hardware either online or from the few small hardware stores in my area. We also have a woodcraft close by so I have more options for tools also. Good question actually, we sometimes forget that not everyone understands the references. BRuce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiska Posted December 3, 2012 Report Share Posted December 3, 2012 Thanks Bruce for the explanation. That behaviour has been seen here too and would translate here to Bauhaus, K-rauta (Kesko hardware) and Starkki being the Borg. Especially Bauhaus as a megamarket seems to kill all paint and hardware stores within 50km radius next to no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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