Woodworking
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The Stoves -
I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The StovesDo not buy from Home Depot. Their tools are so-so and their wood is mostly junk. Instead find a real lumber yard and build up a relationship with them. My lumber yard will let me have scrap and end pieces for free. Frequent moving sales and flea markets to build up your tool collection. Look through the want ads for used woodworking machinery instead of buying new. Used Delta industrial equipment is generally better than any consumer equipment. (Go to a Home Depot or Lowes and look at the saw they use to cut lumber. It's almost always a Delta)
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Woodworking is my hobby also. I've made many pieces including dressers, bookcases, and an entertainment center. If you have the space and can afford it (they are pretty cheap at the lower/smaller end), I would highly suggest you buy a table saw. It doesn't have to be a large one - say a 10-inch blade. See if you can get one with an expandable table. Not only does this tool save you an enormous amount of time for cutting and ripping, it will provide repeatable cuts. I initially just had a frame saw and a straight-edge that I made. While this proved effective, the constant measuring and clamping of the straight-edge and then ripping with the frame saw took ages. The table saw is a versatile tool too. You can buy dado blades for cutting dados and rabbets, can cut mitre angles, tennons etc. After this you'll be hooked and will then start looking at compound mitre saws, routers (a router is a brilliant and invaluable tool too), scroll saws .... Also, if you plan on doing much re-finishing, save yourself hours and hours and pain by buying a sander. Again, it doesn't have to be a huge belt sander, but it will save you endless hours of tendious sanding by hand. In fact, buy one anyway - you'll need it regardless of whether you are re-finishing or just building from scratch. Welcome to the best hobby anyone can have!
While I am not a wood worker and have absolutly NO talent in this area my next door neighbor is a cabinet maker and furniture maker of some 40 years experience and even taught the trade at a trade school for 10 years. His shop is something to be seen . He has a tool for everything and the place is kept spotless. However his advice to aspiring woodworkers is to first learn to do each task using hand tools as it gives a deeper understanding of the process. He still ( at 72 ) sands a lot by hand because he likes the feel and smell of the wood. He made a small Bombay type chest for me that is simply beautiful with inlays and curves and turned legs. He says that there are carpenters and craftsmen and the difference is in attention to detail. Richard "Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer --Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The Stovesbrianwelsch wrote: Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Keep your fingers away from turning blades ;) Gary Kirkham A working Program is one that has only unobserved bugs He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read
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Do not buy from Home Depot. Their tools are so-so and their wood is mostly junk. Instead find a real lumber yard and build up a relationship with them. My lumber yard will let me have scrap and end pieces for free. Frequent moving sales and flea markets to build up your tool collection. Look through the want ads for used woodworking machinery instead of buying new. Used Delta industrial equipment is generally better than any consumer equipment. (Go to a Home Depot or Lowes and look at the saw they use to cut lumber. It's almost always a Delta)
Stuart van Weele wrote: Their tools are so-so... I wouldn't call DeWalt or Ryobi so-so tools. Milwaukee is also a good brand. Few folks know that DeWalt tools are actually made by Black & Decker. As a matter of fact, their lines used to overlap, with the sticker being the only difference. Stuart van Weele wrote: My lumber yard will let me have scrap and end pieces for free. So does The Home Depot and Lowes, depending on whom you ask. Free scrap lumber does not a good lumberyard make.
"When I was born I was so surprised that I didn't talk for a year and a half." - Gracie Allen
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The Stovesbrianwelsch wrote: Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Just one: When designing bookshelves, make sure you count the thickness of the wood when you're calculating the total height! -- Diane C "I think it would be a good idea." (Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of western civilisation)
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The StovesQuality tools are expensive, and not always the best-known brand. Craftsman, Dewalt, Ryobi, all are acceptable, but not the best. Black and Decker, though popular, is a low-end brand, even though the same company owns Dewalt - avoid it for any critical tool. Noname brands - Allied and their ilk - are not worth a moment's consideration, even for simple tools like files and chisels. It will be years, though, before your skill develops enough to need the really good stuff. Learn to do tasks manually, without power tools, before you spend a large sum on expensive toys. Invest first in a good set of chisels, a pair of planes, one each cross-cut and ripping handsaw, and a couple of hammers, then master them before you get too carried away. Don't forget measuring tools - a quality tape measure, marking gauge, try-square, roofing square and spirit level will all pay for themselves quickly. Get a decent drill motor and a high quality bit set - HS steel bits are good for general work, and you'll want chamfering bits to set wood screws properly. For larger diameter holes nothing beats Forstner bits, but they're quite pricey. Spade bits are good enough for rough carpentry, but try to avoid using them on furniture projects - if you do, keep them very sharp! You can't get too many clamps. For rough work and preliminary gluing up of projects the slide type that fits on a steel pipe works well, but later in the project you'll want to switch to web-type clamps that don't mar finished surfaces. C-clamps are good for general work on smaller pieces, and there are specialty clamps for all manner of jobs. Always use scrap wood between the workpiece and the clamp - a lesson learned after spoiling a few finishes! Speaking of finishes, learn about them, try many kinds. The result never looks like the samples in the store, so you have to develop your own techniques for each type to get the results you envision. Also read up on adhesives; plain casein-based wood glue is still the best all around wood adhesive, but different situations call for other solutions. Learn about them and practice on scraps first! One of the best resources I've found was a publication called Woodworker Magazine, I believe. I'm not entirely sure that was the name, nor do I know if it's still being published, but I was a charter subscriber. They published a magazine in a format suitable for collecting in three-ring binders, and each issue had a project of the month, along with parts lists, detailed drawings, list of sources, and each
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The StovesI don't if you are somewhere that gets it, but the TV programme 'The New Yankee Workshop' with Master Carpenter Norm Abraham has me enthralled, and no-one would accuse me of being a big DIYer. There is an associated website, where you can buy plans of his stuff and videos of Norm in action. All the Best Julio
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I've always wanted to try my hand at woodworking. To make bookcases, tables, benches, etc. I've got the desire, patience, and now finally, I also have the space. I'm starting out by cleaning up and repairing the few pieces of furniture I already have. But am looking forward to playing with saws, and designing pieces, sanding and staining, and after awhile actually using someting I made. :) Anyone have some valuable lessons they learned the hard way to share? Recommend any good 'How To' books? What to look for in quality tools, etc.... Thanks. BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The StovesThanks everyone for your input. I have alot of learning ahead of me, but I'm sure it will feel great when I finish my first piece. :-D BW The Biggest Loser
"Farm Donkey makes us laugh.
Farm Donkey hauls some ass."
-The Stoves -
I don't if you are somewhere that gets it, but the TV programme 'The New Yankee Workshop' with Master Carpenter Norm Abraham has me enthralled, and no-one would accuse me of being a big DIYer. There is an associated website, where you can buy plans of his stuff and videos of Norm in action. All the Best Julio
Yes, Norm's cool, but have you really looked at his shop? The guy's got half a million dollars in shop equipment on that set.
Software Zen:
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While I am not a wood worker and have absolutly NO talent in this area my next door neighbor is a cabinet maker and furniture maker of some 40 years experience and even taught the trade at a trade school for 10 years. His shop is something to be seen . He has a tool for everything and the place is kept spotless. However his advice to aspiring woodworkers is to first learn to do each task using hand tools as it gives a deeper understanding of the process. He still ( at 72 ) sands a lot by hand because he likes the feel and smell of the wood. He made a small Bombay type chest for me that is simply beautiful with inlays and curves and turned legs. He says that there are carpenters and craftsmen and the difference is in attention to detail. Richard "Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer --Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
I don't doubt that your next door neighbour is quite the craftsman, but I have to wonder that for the hobbyist doing everything by hand is not only untennable it's downright soul-destroying! Obviously he's a pro - which is quite a difference. You screw-up by hand and it's a significant amount of time down the drain. Cutting a perfect rabbet by hand is simply a watse of time these days as is cutting tennons by hand. I can understand that using your hands gets you "closer" to the medium so to speak (my father is a sculptor so I do understand this thought process) and I am always in awe of those who can make perfect cuts like this by hand. But for the hobbyist ... I think that's another ball game. I's like to use some of my hand tools more often, but I just don't have the time.