On Sun, 15 May 2005 10:55:10 GMT, "Scottie"
wrote:
I have decided to start doing a bit of DIY
Woodworking or DIY ? Or both?
How should I start my new hobby?
Stop buying tools. Buy some timber instead, and a few books.
Tools are sold by people who want to sell tools. They're not interested
in whether they get used, or used well - they're just trying to shift
them. So back off on the tool thing - it's a good way to spend a _lot_
of money. In a small shed they also eat up storage space.
Books. Go to the library first, because UK libraries are still pretty
good on woodworking books. You can spend a _fortune_ on books!
Here's a rubbish list I really must tidy up some day.
http://codesmiths.com/shed/books/woodworking.htm
The "workshop 3" (Workshop Book, Workbench Book, Toolbox Book) are good
ones to borrow soonish. You should also buy the Ian Kirby saw book
(because you already have a table saw). Tage Frid wouldn't hurt, even if
you have to buy it new.
Take a look on eBay for woodworking books. You're after Joyce's "The
Technique of Furniture Making" because it often comes up cheaply and
particularly for old out-of-print books; "Planecraft" and anything by
Charles Hayward or Bob Wearing. Any of the Fine Woodworking "collected
volumes" too. Avoid Time Life, Reader's Digest, anything on paint or
finishing, or anything that smacks of "Changing Rooms".
Don't be afraid of furniture books from the "antique" end of things
either. A good "History of deisgn styles in the 18th/19th/20th century"
is a good read and will give you lots of ideas too. I'm doing some Tudor
radiator cabinets just now - and why shouldn't I use a 400 year old
design style for them ?
Other useful books are tool catalogues. Axminster, Tilgear, Screwfix
for starters.
Pricelists from your local timberyards too. Shop around on timberyards -
it's your biggest cost and most UK ones aren't very good. My local guys:
www.interestingtimbers.co.uk might give you some ideas on pricing.
Magazines. Go into Smiths and get copies of Fine Woodworking, Furniture
and Cabinet Making and Good Woodworking. You'll probably find Good
Woodworking the best read at first, but get at least one copy of the
others, just for inspiration (FWW is the only woodie mag I subscribe
too)
I would like to buy a book that would show me how to use the
rooter
Pat Warner's web site.
Routers really cry out for router tables, These are easy to make
(stupidly expensive to buy). A rolling "plywood cube" router table will
store away neatly and provide storage beneath it too.
How do I set-up the shed
You put a bench in it. This is your main tool of all - don't
underestimate it. 100 bucks from Happy Shopper (Northern Tools) isn't
good enough. Axminster's cheapies are more like it. Or build your own -
2x4 leg framing, lots of bracing and a top of doubled 3/4" ply with 4mm
MDF top skin against wear. Boxing the back and sides with 1/2" ply makes
it nice and rigid and turns it into a tool cupboard. Then learn to make
framed doors for the front. Buy a S/H cast iron woodworking vice to go
on it too - the country is full of these things (usually by Record or
Paramo) and they're not expensive, so long as you don't have to post
them.
If you're at the DIY end of things, a Workmate is a handy thing to have
too, especially with that flagged outdoor space. You can put the table
saw / router table onto wheeled trolleys and use them outdoors too. A
table saw needs a big space around it, especially for working plywood
sheets.
I'm a big fan of trestles for outdoor work too. Make a pair, and make
them so they either nest or fold for storage (shed ceiling, on chains).
what is the best sort of job to start with?
Short ones that make something where you don't think afterwards "Why the
hell did I make _that_?" You're only learning yet, don't expect too
much. But make something that you can get finished.
If you read too many copies of Good Woodworking, you'll find yourself
making a dovecot (doves are evil things) or a decorative garden
ziggurat. Project guides that lead you through the whole process are a
good thing, but if you don't look wide enough, you'll find you've made
something that you really don't want afterwards. Why _does_ my Dad have
a half-completed windmill in his workshop ?
There's also the Making Things for the Workshop trap to fall into.
Mainly a problem for metalworkers, it's all too easy to turn "I could
make myself that router table rather than buying it" into "I fancy
making another router table, just to try out this new idea". Making
what you need is good. Having the workshop itself become your reason for
making anything is bad.
There's a great deal of woodworking you can do. Even in a tiny
workshop, you can fit a hobby into it. Some people take up turning, or
fly-rod making. Personally I like timber-framed barns, which also take
up little space (you do it on site, someone else's site). Don't commit
yourself just yet (stop buying those tools), try a few things out, see
what appeals to you.
If you're building simple fitted-in furniture around the house, then
we;'re talking plywood or MDF and biscuit joints. Now this is good stuff
- it keeps spouses happy and it gets the telly off the floor, but when
you've built one MDF cube with a door on, you've pretty much built them
all. Well, maybe not all
http://codesmiths.com/shed/furniture/cabinets/swarf/
Try reading uk.d-i-y too
--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.