I’d really love to start making something, even if it’s basic. Any tips on where to start? Tools, wood, etc?
If you are in the US, don’t trust any dimensions for wood. Buy a cheap caliper and measure to confirm. Personally, I prefer to work in metric to resist the urge to round to a nice fraction. That being said, measurements are always relative and wood is very forgiving so keep a few offcuts labeled and stored away to use as a reference.
As far as tools go: a cheap pull saw, square, hammer, and a steel straight edge will get you started. Harbor freight has some cheap entry level tools worth buying once to learn on. A drill would be my first power tool purchase if you don’t have one.
I sprang for a starrett combination square when I began my woodworking journey and it’s probably the single most useful tool I own.
It’s not necessary to have a square that precise, but knowing one part of the process is dead square is handy for figuring out where error comes from when there are issues
IF you have enough for a “full size” shop, including workbenches, a table saw, etc. Then I recommend Steve Ramsey (Woodworking for Mere Mortals). He has a lot of projects and shop tips for people just getting started. He also has a website that has a constantly updated buy list for how to build a shop on the cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/@SteveRamsey
IF you are tight on space, but still want power tools, then Peter Millard (10 minute workshop) is a UK woodworker that does a lot of cabinetry and custom builds in a small basement UK shop. It’s really nice, and he even has a series of projects where he starts with just some super basic tools, and then makes slightly more complicated stuff every week.
https://www.youtube.com/@10MinuteWorkshop
IF you want to try your hand at a no power tool shop (which can still be expensive to buy the stuff), then Paul Sellers is a great instructor. Most of his videos assume you don’t know anything and are just starting out.
https://www.youtube.com/@Paul.Sellers
Finally, Stumpy Nubs is a great channel for just general info, shop tips, and safe handling of tools. Just beware that he slips in a lot of “Just buy this one last thing from my affiliate link and it’ll solve all your problems.”
https://www.youtube.com/@StumpyNubs
Wood Whisperer, Tamar at 3x3 Custom, Lincoln St. Four Eyes, Izzy Swan, and a bunch of other channels are a lot of fun too, but most of them have moved into more of a “watch me make this awesome thing with my quarter million $$$ shop.”
Also Rex Krueger is worth having on the list https://m.youtube.com/@RexKrueger
Welcome to the community! I’m gratified and flattered that my project sent you over here, so I’ll try to point you to some good resources.
Information/How-To
As others have said, your local library likely has an entire shelf of woodworking books, that’s definitely worth checking out.
Youtube is a great resource here. There are lots of great woodworkers of all stripes posting useful and fun videos. Some excellent channels include:
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The New Yankee Workshop. The classic PBS TV show starring Norm Abram is being officially uploaded to Youtube.
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Stumpy Nubs. A tool tips sort of channel that offers quite a bit of practical advice.
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3x3 Custom. The host, Tamar, tends to post project vlogs, things like “here’s how I built this bed frame.”
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Wood By Wright How To. One of them hand tool purists who relies almost entirely on hand powered saws, planes, chisels and files to build his projects, occasionally allowing himself to use a modern power drill. He has a fun dad-joke style sense of humor and a lot of great videos on technique.
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Woodshop Companion. Craftsman Nick Engler, author of many woodworking books, shares fun and practical tool techniques and projects.
Among many more, those are just some of my favorites.
Another great place for woodworking information is your local makerspace. Makerspaces come in all shapes and sizes, I was a member of one with a very complete wood shop, along with a membership full of craftsmen of all stripes who were excited to talk about their work.
Finally, of course, there’s this Lemmy community and its members.
Tools
You would be amazed what you can get done with a good hand saw, a few chisels, a block plane and a file or two. Though it can also be a pleasure to work with a garage full of power tools. Which way you go is up to you.
You can of course go spend a few grand down the tool aisle of your local home center, but that kind of outlay can be a bit much if you’re just starting out and aren’t sure if woodworking is for you or which direction you want to take your new hobby. Markerspaces/friends who are also into woodworking are again great resources here. You can find pretty good deals on tools at garage sales, estate sales, pawn shops, swap meets, thrift stores, hell your local library may have tools you can borrow.
Some of my tools I bought at Lowe’s, some of them I bought on Amazon, some of them have been in my family for generations, some of them I made myself.
The first thing I want you to put in your cart when you go shopping though is a good pair of safety glasses, and some hearing protection for power tools. If you’ve still got those cloth masks everyone had during the pandemic, I find those can be nice when sanding or otherwise creating a lot of dust.
Wood
Some folks break down pallets to get wood. Some folks buy 2x4s from the big box store and chop those up. An aisle or two over from the construction lumber you’ll find “project boards” which are a little better, but still not wonderful. I don’t want to steer you away from these sources of wood, because newcomers are often more willing to take chances, make mistakes and get messy with lumber like this, and the lessons you’ll learn the hard way from barely dried yellow pine are hard to teach otherwise.
You’ll want to find a proper lumber yard or sawmill in your area. It can be intimidating to walk into what seems like this huge, professional B2B operation and ask for three boards but they usually love to help. They usually stock wood that is rough cut with the idea that you’re going to surface it yourself, but for a fee they’ll surface it for you so you don’t have to invest in those tools or learn those techniques as you just get started.
It can be really intimidating to learn about all the different species of wood and their characteristics, but start with a few, learn to compare and contrast them, and then go from there. Pro tip: there is a type of maple that takes on these grey streaks that some people think are unsightly, so it’s sold for shockingly cheap as “paint-grade maple” or some such. This stuff is very nice to work with, a lot better than construction lumber, and very affordable.
Starter projects
You may have an idea for what you want to build, but if you’re thinking “I want to build [thing] but that feels complicated, what are some more beginner friendly projects to get me started?” here are a few ideas:
Repair or restore existing furniture. Find a crappy old dresser at a thrift store, clean it up, fix it up. Great project for learning about stain and finish, to practice sanding techniques etc.
Bookshelves. A lot of my earlier projects were bookshelves made of plywood. A great project for practicing with the table saw.
Cutting boards or coasters. Great projects for practicing jointing and panel glue-ups.
Work benches, jigs and tools. You can buy a workbench but it’s probably good practice to build one. You’ll need lots of jigs and fixtures that you can make yourself better than you can buy; I would never buy a taper jig, for example.
Keep in touch, let us know how you’re coming along. I hope you have lots of fun.
I’m nowhere even remotely comparable to a proper furniture maker, but I can tell you some pitfalls to avoid.
Don’t cut wood without eyes, ears, and face protection. The dust, noise, or fumes will get you one day or another, if without protection. I prefer earmuffs over earplugs, but if earplugs then use the ones which tether both ends together. For a face mask, I like low-profile half-masks like this one: https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/respirators/p100-half-mask-respirator-sm
Resist the urge to dive into woodworking by starting with reclaimed wood. For example, pallets are a cheap/free source of material, but it’s a hodge-podge of different varieties, all riddled with nail holes, dents, and brown stains from rusty fasteners.
That’s not to say it can’t be done, but it certainly aggravates the process if you’re just starting. I once came across a section of 2x4 recovered from a pallet, thinking that it would cut just like the pine I was used to. Instead, it wrecked two drill bits and burned a circular saw blade as well as itself. I later mailed a sample of it to the USDA Wood Identification Public Service, who informed me that it was Acer (Hard Maple). Up until then, I didn’t even know that maple came in both varieties.
It seems hard maple is tougher than nails drill bits. I’m still learning.
White maple is my go-to for projects I want to keep. I love how clean it is and the large curvy grain patterns. Titanium bits and saw blades help and getting your saw blade sharpened after a couple of large projects is a good idea but you’re going to be burning through it a lot of the time even with high quality brand new cutting tools. I leave an 8th extra on and bring it down with a belt sander to deal with the burn marks. Downsize drill bits by one size and use a file for holes that you will be able to see into.
If you use reclaimed wood don’t assume all of the metal has been removed. Sometimes nails and screws break instead of working out and that can be easy to miss especially for someone checking a large amount of wood. If a saw blade hits a nail you potentially have a very dangerous projectile. Run a magnet over the wood while you’re marking your cuts to make sure. If you’re going to be working with reclaimed wood a lot a wand style metal detector is a good investment.
So that if one works it’s way out it doesn’t fall onto your freshly spread glue or bounce into a spinning saw blade.
This might be true, although I do it mostly so I can remove the earplugs and rest them around my neck if someone needs to talk to me.
The best PPE are the ones which have the fewest barriers toward using. Even the minor annoyance of having to set down untethered earplugs is best avoided, if it acts as a subconscious disincentive towards using PPE. Good safety policy adapts and accommodates this aspect of human behavior.
In a home workshop, there is no OSHA, so I’m fully responsible for my own safety protocols.
Unless you’re going the hand tool purist route, the table saw is IMO the central tool in the shop. It can rip, cross-cut, and cut joinery like dados and tenons. So you want a good one with a solid fence that won’t frustrate you. I haven’t been in the market for one in a while, so my suggestions will be out of date, but I’m sure others here can help you.
When you’re starting out you’ll probably be buying your wood S4S: surfaced four sides, so it’s smooth and pretty much ready to go. This is how all the wood at the big-box hardware stores comes. Wood from specialty dealers will come rough, and you can surface it yourself with the right tools ($$$) or have them do it for you for a fee ($).
It’s probably best to start with a project in mind, even if it’s shop shelving or something that doesn’t have to be heirloom-quality.
