Woodworking 101

Getting started with woodworking is among the easiest hobbies to peruse. The materials and tools are readily available near you, and very few tools are actually essential. Let's work through what you actually need, shall we?

First off, get yourself a saw and a miter box. We'll get into the crazy power tools later, of course, but anything you absolutely need to cut can be cut by hand, and with proper equipment, it's very little trouble. Do not buy a hacksaw. A hacksaw is a fine tool for cutting through metal pipes as it's designed for, but using it on wood will be unnecessary effort. Miter boxes often come with a saw, but in my experience, they tend to be mediocre. The orange handled hand saw sold by Harbor Freight has an aggressive cut, and the blade is sufficiently inflexible as to work well with a miter box. It'll run you about ten bucks, and the box will be about seven more. This will allow you to make nicely squared off or 45 degree angled cuts without complicated marking, measuring, leveling, etc.

Second, grab a rotary tool. Which one you pick is largely personal preference, but I suggest starting with a corded one at your workbench. You really don't need all the bits in the world, saw, screwdriver, drill, and sanding are the main bits you'll find yourself actually using, while the obscure ones mostly sit in the box. I should note that sanding using a rotary tool is usually best for small areas, as the sanding tends to be too uneven for larger ones. We'll get into what's best for that later, but the important thing is that you have a way to drive screws and drill holes rapidly. You'll find a notable speed increase for some projects by having a separate tool for each, and as you build out your toolkit, you'll want dedicated tools, but for starting, a rotary tool is fine.

Lastly, you'll need some materials. Hold off on the ornate hardwoods, and grab some inexpensive pine at home depot, or a chunk of firewood to start. Unfinished, untreated 1x2, 1x3, or 1x4s at home depot run between one and two dollars each, so you can get a fair amount to mess around with for a small sum. While you're there, scoop up some wood glue and a range of screw lengths. Wood screws are ideal, but if you've got other screws laying about, there's certainly room for substitution.

You'll note that no hammer and nails are listed above, and this is not an error. They're absolutely fine if one is shingling a roof, but if used on wood, splitting is frequent, and there are fairly few times when a nail is superior to using a screw. We'll cover the exceptions as they arise, but unless otherwise specified, assume that always using screws is ideal.

If you've got materials, now what? Well, pick a small project. I suggest starting out by making a small box. A surprisingly amount of projects begin with primitive shapes with a few added details, and in woodworking, you usually have a box with some added carving or features. Being able to make the box is essential.

Before you start, make a quick sketch of where each piece ought to go. Do keep in mind that actual dimensions are smaller than the nominal dimensions advertised, usually by a quarter inch. As an example, a 2x4 will generally actually be 1.75" x 3.75". If precision is important, measure your wood before planning and cutting.

I typically do all measuring and cutting in a single stage once the plan has been made, but if you are feeling cautious, it's okay to do it one at a time. It's also a good idea early on to pencil on the wood where each cut or screw needs to go. As you gain experience, you'll start eyeballing it accurately, but early on, speed is less important than precision.

Pre-drill all holes with a fairly thin drill bit. Pine splinters easily, and if you attempt to skip this step, you'll likely have some problems, and perhaps need to cut additional pieces. Before selecting which screw you wish to use, hold the screw up against the pieces you are joining. Select the longest screw that doesn't go through the bottom piece to get the best join. Usually, each joint ought to have at least two screws, and depending on the exact nature of the joint, you may want more. Avoid placing two screws extremely close to one another. Ideally, you want equally sized chunks of wood between each screw hole/edge for maximum strength.

I suggest investing in four 90 degree angle clamps. They'll run you about $15 bucks in total, and while they're not strictly necessary, they will be of great help in holding everything precisely in place while pre-drilling and screwing. Four allows you to hold four pieces of wood in a square, avoiding the situation where by the last bit of wood, you realize you've deviated from level. Additionally, you'll be less likely to tire yourself out from forcefully holding wood in place. While hand tool injuries are generally less horrifying than power tool injuries, it's good to start building the right habits early, and it's best to clamp things into place instead of holding them by hand when possible, keeping your hands well away from the saw blade/drill bit.

I haven't figured out how to get images to work yet, but I'll mess about with it a bit more. As we get into the more interesting bits, they'll be essential for demonstrating some of the techniques.