The Only Tools You Need to Start Woodworking!

Whats Happening Everyone! In this video I try to answer an ofteen asked question What tools do I need to start woodworking? Its not so easy answer but I list the bare essential hand tools you will need to start a woodworking hobby.

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[Vrya]

Just did my first wood project yesterday! I made a replacement for a drawer that broke. I owned a jigsaw (without guiderail), a corner ruler, a drill and some sandpaper. I bought a piece of pre-planed multiplex, multiplex sealer and a clear varnish. I had an old cupboard handle lying around so i finished the drawer with it. I’m so excited for my next project! Measure twice, cut once!

[billbarnes]

I fell in love with wood working in the seventies, and have been an electrician for over forty years.

[arthurrsaker]

Great video John. A clear concise no bs breakdown of the essential tool categories. The only addition I would suggest, and it might be considered borderline nice to have, or something to put on the tools for the next step in one's development list, is a carpenter's brace and a few mortice size auger bits . Not only great for its obvious use in boring holes, but also for removing most of the waste in mortices, efficiently, leaving only a little chisel work to be done with hand pressure only. Useful for any woodworker who needs to stay below the noise threshold of his neighbours annoyance, or those he shares a home with. Some spouses might demand that the first acquisition, before even so much as a carpenter's pencil arrives on the scene, should be a sound-proofed shed ( ! ), preferably at the far end of a largish garden. To aspiring woodworkers so unjustly afflicted, might I suggest you can use the soundproofing to your advantage in augmenting the selective deafness endemic to the male of our species, and the shed should be of sufficient dimensions as to afford a bit of lcomfort and luxury, as your sanctuary and shelter. A stove to cook bacon butties and a small refrigerator for essential supplies and medications, and a comfortable old couch for obtaining the maximum benefit from a chaps meditative moments, should be regarded as the bare minimum requirements if the woodworking environment is to contribute usefully to the production rate. I am always open to suggestions as to how to improve on the foregoing arrangements if anyone has any bright ideas, please don't hesitate to add them to the comment.

[billbarnes]

“The best tool for every project is the proper mindset “

[styleden]

The video and comments are great. I like everyone's take on what is essential. When I retire I will be spending a lot of time at the inlaws apartment. The biggest limitation will actually be sound. Plan on putting together a minimalist tool kit.

[JohnWayne-sghx]

The best. After watching around 30 videos about what tools I should start collecting, this by far was the most honest (gives a quality vs. cheaper option) and concise video. Exceptionally well explained and just ordered the Collins book 👍

[RamaSivamani]

Great video! I would add two things, a good wood glue ( I would recommend titebond II) and clamps. Other than that I think everything you need is covered well in this video.

[kevingirling]

I’ve spent 35 years woodworking in industry as a Cabinetmaker and as a hobbyist at home. I’ve never had a lot of money for tools. Invest in a good quality square, those cheap sliding 90/45 ones can be inaccurate. And accuracy when checking for square when dimensioning stock is paramount. Shinwa make some very good quality squares at a reasonable price, their steel rules have very legible etching on them. If you are going for the Veritas type marking gauge, yes they are great, I have one, but opt for the mortice gauge instead, I regretted buying the single one….Rather than a Veritas low angle Jack plane, for that money a starter could purchase a decent condition 1960s Record Jack, clean it up and install a quality new blade (Ray Iles) and a Record block plane. Sheffield Marples (mid 1990s are good steel, not the new ones made in the far east) bench chisels are good as long as they aren’t too rusty and pitted. As to saws…..should a western beginner woodworker really start with Japanese saws? The technique is different, and while they are nice to have alongside western saws, I personally feel unless you are going down the route of learning how to do woodworking ‘Japanese style’ you should begin by learning western techniques first. Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, not the push stroke, some say this is more accurate…….but I found them awkward to start with, a western saw that cuts on the push stroke is easier to handle from the start. Japanese craftsmen tend to work on their backsides sitting on the work, their approach to using the tools is slightly different…..A decent hardpoint panel saw will rough cut your stock. Spend the money on a decent tenon saw for the basic joints, then get a Dovetail Saw later once you get more advanced. My toolkit is full of a mix match of different new and second hand tools……but have care what you buy. Make sure it is not rusted beyond recovery…..pitted chisels should be avoided.

[theofarmmanager]

Finally, someone who who is doing something to help people wanting to take up woodwork but is intimidated by the marketing plos of tool companies.

I’ve been woodworking for over 45 years and, especially, I have every tool imaginable - many of them I have 2 or 3 or 4. I’m lucky enough to have a great workshop full of machinery (as you get old, machinery is vital as the body won’t let you do repetitive actions like hand planing). And yet, you don’t need all of these to go and make something. Start simple and then see how you go.

The tool companies spend fortunes marketing tools that “you must have” “you can’t be a woodworker without this”. All rubbish. A few tools and some timber is all you need.

And, as some else has said, a proper mindset. Then practice, and practice and….practice. Nothing good ever came first time. Practice sharpening, sawing straight, measuring accurately. All those cost nothing but are the real “must haves”.

I don’t sell the tools that I no longer need - I give them to charities such as men sheds (which also have women) so that people can make things.

A very good saying from over 100 years ago

Patience and precision lead to perfection.

[MrDexter]

How many people are going to ask what a “Topper” is. Love the video. Perfect video for someone starting out. Fair play to you John. 👍🏻

[parttimewoodworker]

"If you need to buy more than 1 new (or used) tool, to complete an upcoming project, then do another project first". Someone told me this several years ago, and it still rings true today. Buy tools as you need them, but if you need to buy too many, you are probably going to get in over your head. It's a nice and simple way to build up a workshop, while still doing some pretty nice projects. For someone starting out with zero tools, you aren't going to go buy everything you need to build a workbench. You'll probably start with a hammer to hang a picture, then a drill to put up some shelves, on so on.

I think this is a great video for the start, and even experienced woodworkers (that's not me) can learn something. Keep it simple.

[cmdrsocks]

Great set of tools.

When I was young (school age) we had a static caravan on a site that was pretty much off grid (only the showers had power), all the caravans had gas lights/cooker/heater.
My dad bought a big old double axle showmans caravan that was basically an empty shell and he and I spent a summer making all new fitted furniture for it and refurbishing it with no power tools at all - this was before battery drills were a thing for DIY.

The tools I would add to the kit are:
A two speed hand/breast drill (we had one with a 10mm chuck made in Poland) with a selection of bits (in low gear you could probably use a hex shank Auger up to one inch in softer wood)
Screw drivers, we used a mid size Stanley Yankee (I still have that one, now about 60-70 years old, my dad bought it before I was born) and double ended phillips/slot one that came out of the tool kit in an Opel car he had
A good box cutter/carpet knife - we had a 1970's Stanley clamshell design.
A 12oz hammer - better for furniture than a carpenters or framing hammer.


For a workbench we had a 1980's Black and Decker Workmate (they do NOT make them like they used to!).

[maryhastings]

I think this was a very good overview.

[manylch]

Fantastic video... The only category (4th)I would have added would be "finishing" which at the basic level is just sandpaper and some wood/rubber blocks. This is also a basic skill which is essential to get right.

[nickbuhaenko-smith]

Excellent video. I really appreciate that you split tools into different categories. Merci beaucoup from SW France.

[areareare]

Two years later, but thanks for this - I only have an apartment so I have to use hand tools (may blow the fuses for the entire complex if I try anything else). I had got a book where I could "learn to make boxes!" and everything was done with major power tools like planers and the like. Good to see what I genuinely need and thankfully, I pretty much have just a bit more than this. I can

[redbeard]

I gotta say after watching videos for several days trying to figure out which tools are important for starting woodworking and which brands to go for, etc. This video is the most simple and easy to understand. Thank you very much!

[fractode]

Some comments, to this excellent video.

- Buy the best you can afford, even if you are starting out. Back about a million years ago, our woodworking instructor told us that "the most expensive tool you can buy is a $5 hammer".

- I would recommend Paul Sellers's book _Working Wood 1&2_ . Paul is the epitome of the craftsman, a true inspiration. And the bane of the power company.

- I'm glad you stress _start small_ . I know a man (today, an extremely accomplished hobby woodworker) whose first dovetail project was done using only a Swiss Army knife and a screwdriver. (I'm not sure what he uses today, but I'm sure he's upgraded.) Around his dining room table are eight chairs, each in a different style, or from a different era. He made them all, and they're all beautiful.

- *BEWARE OF "SETS"!* I wonder how many woodworkers out there have "sets" of drill bits, chisels, etc., in which most of the set is in "original" shape (through non-use)? I don't think the Webb telescope has found that number of stars, yet. Buy what you need--you'll save money, space, and time looking for things.

- Last but not least: one woodworker, I think it was the late, great Sam Maloof, said that the first major tool an aspiring cabinetmaker should purchase is...a woodstove! They're great for, er, "memorializing" the projects that didn't quite work out. (Backwards dovetails, anyone...?) I certainly wouldn't recommend this, of course--but it's heartening to know that even the giants of the craft had their "oops!" moments.

Semper shavings and sawdust!

[BMad-weqf]

I recently merged my tools with my fathers (65 years of collecting) and am working on weeding them. This was helpful. Thank you for sharing.

[twrea]

Great advice.. I would also say to check flea markets and yard sales you can find items also at pawn shops but those maybe over priced.