Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.


Safe woodworking!

"keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.


Safe woodworking!


Most people do best with a combination of power and hand tools. For cabinet
making, a decent tablesaw is usually the first big purchase. You don't need
the best, but you don't want a toy either. A mid priced saw with cast iron
top is best to start with and will take about half of your budget. Unless
you can find good used tools.

A drill that can double as a powered screwdriver is very nice to have. Most
of us find the cordless to be versatile, but a corded one will be cheaper.
Block plane is good for fitting parts. Bandsaw is a very good tool to have,
but a jig saw can do many of the same things for less money at startup.
Measuring devices, square, clamps are a must have too.

Other tools should be bought as you need them.

"keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.

1) Take a woodworking course where you learn to use tools.
2) $1,500 is a reasonably good amount of money. It is enough that you
don't have to buy junk to economize. But good used tools are half the price
of new ones. Look for them!

Beyond that, there is not much we can tell you. For instance; some people
will tell you a band saw is the first tool to buy. Well, I left it for
last; and while I get a lot of use out of it, I sure didn't need it.

"keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.

Safe woodworking!

As others have indicated, the tools you start with should depend on the
projects you want to start with. I'm getting finished with a set of kitchen
cabinets at the moment. Here are the tools that have been indispensible for
me.

1. Table saw
2. Router
3. Surface planer
4. Drill (having both corded and cordless is very handy, but not absolutely
necessary)
5. Clamps
6. Pocket hole jig
7. Circular saw

I have and use a jointer, but there are ways to joint stock without it.
OTOH, nothing planes stock to thickness like a surface planer. I'd
definitely be on the lookout for a used mid-range table saw with cast iron
top. I bought mine (Delta contractor) used for USD$650. I bought the
planer (Delta 13") refurb for $300. You could get a drill for $50 and a
router for $100. Throw in a circular saw, a pocket hole jig and some clamps
and you're definitely under USD$1500. It won't all be top of the line, but
it won't be crap either.

Good luck,

todd

Buy the tools you need to complete the job you are working on.

On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 16:19:06 -0500, "todd" wrote:

"keith" wrote in message
roups.com...
Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.

1. Table saw
2. Router
3. Surface planer
4. Drill (having both corded and cordless is very handy, but not absolutely
necessary)
5. Clamps
6. Pocket hole jig
7. Circular saw

Not a bad list- but make sure you get the appropriate hand tools as
well. You need a good hammer, a couple of screwdrivers, nail set, a
set of chisels, tape measure, rulers, a good level, combination
square, a pull saw, a coping saw (for the trim on those cabinets)
utility knife, aviation snips (to open the other tools, if nothing
else) channel-lock pliers, and a set of sockets and wrenches for
assembly and adjustment tasks. If you don't have this stuff, and
spend your entire budget, you might find yourself at a standstill
right away. It can add up pretty quickly, even though each tool is
fairly inexpensive.

I'll give my own list of "indispensable" power tools, which differs in
a few ways. (Listed in the order I'd buy them if I was equipping a new
shop)

1. Circular saw w/ rip fence attachment
2. Drill / drill press
3. Miter saw and stand
4. Random orbital sander
5. Router
6. Belt/Disc sander
7. Table saw
8. Band saw
9. Thickness planer

The table saw is probably the most useful tool I've got, but it comes
in at #7 because you can do almost anything you can do with a table
saw with a circular saw and a bit of determination- and the table saw
could easily eat your entire budget in one shot. Same goes for the
miter saw- I'd hate to not have the two I've got, but in a pinch, the
circular saw will make those cuts as well.

I'd definitely be on the lookout for a used mid-range table saw with cast iron
top. I bought mine (Delta contractor) used for USD$650. I bought the
planer (Delta 13") refurb for $300.

Jeez man, where do you live? Those are retail prices where I'm at-
you'd think a used tool would be a little cheaper! I paid $599 for my
Delta 36-680 on sale (full cast iron top with the T2 fence)

keith wrote:

Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confused at what tools i
should buy to start off.

i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg:
re fitting cupboards skirting
and some cabinet making.

Need more info
By small projects do you mean jewelry boxes, picture frams
and stuff you can hold in one hand?

Cupboards skirting mean baseboards and trim?

"some cabinets" mean ply carcase and doors with
iron on edge banding or do you mean solid wood
cabinets and/or solid wood raised panel doors?

How much room do you have for setting up a shop?

You going to be taking out or opening up walls and
framing up walls? Renovation include doing dry
wall and running electrical wires etc.?


As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.

The exchange rate that bad - 2/3rds of a euro for a buck?

charlie b

keith wrote:

Hi eveyone,

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off. i would like to make small projects and
general house renovations eg: re fitting cupboards skirting and some
cabinet making.As i havent a lot of money for all the tools at once my
current budget is about 1000 euro or 1500 dollars if any body could
help it would be greatly app.

Generally people think in terms of cutting and fastening tools. Your layout
and measuring tools are equally important--if you can't check squareness
accurately or mark off cuts precisely then you have little hope of actually
_making_ them precisely. A good combination square (one of these things
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Hand+Tools%2C+Carpentry&pid=0093870 0000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Squares&BV_UseBVCookie=Y es,
I used the Sears catalog just for illustration--I'm not sure they're called
the same thing outside the US) covers several bases and a good one is
exceedingly precise--it's expensive but worth the money IMO. You should
also have a good long straightedge and an appropriately sized framing
square (they come from not much bigger than the combination square on up to
very large sizes). If you're working with dimensions larger than a third
of a meter or so then a good steel tape is essential, get one that handles
the longest length you're likely to have to deal with. You should have
some kind of level, what kind depends on what you do--if it's mostly small
work then the one in the combination square will suffice but for cabinetry
you'll be wanting a longer one.

Eye protection is another area that is often put on the back burner--get
yourself a good face shield and a pair of safety glasses--nothing like a
chip in the eye to ruin your day, and that can happen with hand tools as
well as power tools. Ear muffs as well if you work with power tools.

Another area where people starting out tend to cut corners is work holding.
Until you have a bench that's going to be a problem. You'll find a
WorkMate
http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide/CategoryOverview.aspx?cPath=2516.2521
to be very convenient until you can get a bench built and once you've got a
bench you'll still find it a convenient thing to have--it will hold things
that are very awkward to hold any other way and it's nicely portable. A
lot of people sneer at them but the fact is that it's a brilliant piece of
engineering. It's not a substitute for a full sized workbench but it beats
the Hell out of working on the floor or the kitchen table or a piece of
plywood across a couple of sawhorses. If you do mostly small work then it
might turn out to be all that you need.

Sharpening tools--a good set of diamond stones will handle just about
anything and last practically forever, for the finest edge you can add
Japanese waterstones or black Arkansas or use ultrafine sandpaper stuck
down on a piece of plate glass. If you get a bench grinder make sure it
has friable wheels (these are usually white), the "regular" kind overheats
tool steel with remarkable ease.

Something to think about up front is an air compressor--the ability to use
pneumatic in addition to electric tools gives you flexibility that you
wouldn't otherwise have--if you've got the compressor then you won't ever
be in the situation of looking at a tool and saying "this is what I need
for this job but I don't have a compressor".

A couple of power tools to think about--a Dremel and a Fein Multimaster.
These aren't the tools that you grab when you go to build a cabinet, these
are the ones that do all sorts of odd jobs that you otherwise would be
scratching your head over and wondering "how am I going to do _that_". I
wouldn't say that you _need_ either of them, but once you have them you may
find yourself wondering how you got along without them. Both can do
amazingly precise work and reach into places that it's almost impossible to
get at any other way and with a suitable choice of cutter cut damned near
_anything_.

A tool you'd never think of--get a couple of pieces of 25mm or so thick
lignum vitae, maybe 75 mm wide by half a meter long (nothing magic about
those dimensions, basically just a couple of short boards). I picked up a
couple on a whim a while back (the lumber yard had a pile of cut-off ends
from a job and I've never actually _seen_ the stuff before) and find that I
use them for all sorts of things--not as lumber but as tools. I'm forever
grabbing them to do one thing or another--distribute a load or "nudge"
something or hold something down (they're quite heavy for their size) or
prop something up.


--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

I'd go with the class suggestion. The way I did it was to get a couple
books and just start projects. Any project takes three steps to the
hardware store anyway.

I guess my point is that everyone does it differently. Before you
spend the whole $1500 start doing what interests you and see where it
goes.

Make sure you get a good assortment of hand tools and basic fasteners.
For my kids I spent about $100 and got them basic tool kits when the
graduated.
Big claw hammer
Little claw hammer
Torpedo level
Twine
Small assortment of fasteners.
Big and little vise Grips
Big and Little channel locks
Keyhole saw
Ratcheting screwdriver handle with a lot of bits as a set
Cordless drill
Cordless screwdriver
Screwdriver set
Big and little tape measures
Leatherman Multi tool
Needle nose pliers
Square / straight edge

Controversial Point: I believe that if I have several small tools such
as several tape measures, hammers, levels, etc. I will always be able
to find one. This is not necessarily true but I still do it

And more
Probably my favorite tool is my power miter box. Mine is corded. I
had a cordless but I sold it.

Making nice long shavings with a hand plane on fragrant wood is still
about the coolest thing you can do in woodworking.

Tom

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:47:21 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:


Generally people think in terms of cutting and fastening tools. Your layout
and measuring tools are equally important--if you can't check squareness
accurately or mark off cuts precisely then you have little hope of actually
_making_ them precisely.

....remainder of excellent post snipped...

Great point about the Workmate, I use mine constantly. A couple of
other ideas: plenty of clamps, large and small. Nothing like getting
ready for a big glue-up and realizing it will require two more clamps
than you have. A decent set of brad-point drill bits - much better
for woodworking than the bog-standard bits that really are designed
for drilling metal. A plastic-faced dead-blow hammer, just in case
Home Depot is fresh out of lignum vitae cut-offs

On 17 Jun 2006 12:37:06 -0700, "keith" wrote:

I have just started woodworking and i am confeused at what tools i
should buy to start off.

None. Don't buy a thing until you _need_ it.

Back off on the tool buying.

Back off especially on the power tool buying.

Buy some timber instead. You can't make anything out of tools alone,
this isn't a collecting hobby. To do any sort of woodworkign you have to
_do_ some woodworking, to some _wood_. Doesn't matter if it's good or
bad to start with, you just have to get right out there and do some.

$150 will tool you up to make chairs. $1500 won't last a single shopping
spree in a power tool shop. So go easy on those shiny toys!

Andy Dingley wrote in
:


this isn't a collecting hobby.

It's not? Why then do I have three squares, a half-dozen pencils, two
whole sheets of plywood, 2 2'x4' sheets of plywood, 2x2s, a multitude of
screwdrivers (both electric and manual) and four different hand saws?

I just got a lathe too.

For the record: I do use most the tools I have for different uses. They
aren't there to look pretty.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm