First set of handtools - buy in shops or wait online

[leechild]

Hi

It's a quiet Friday at work so thought I would use it productively by asking some more beginner questions. From reading around I can see that to begin with you can do a lot with just mortise and tenon joints. So with this being new to me what brand or set of tools do u think I would need to start off? If there's any shops in London I could pick some of this up all the better but I know usually u have to go on Amazon for a decent price on most things. Thanks.

 

[Ttrees]

Get one or two Stanley Bailey or Record planes on eBay in the collectables section.
and also look for a stone the seller may have also while your at it.
This is where you should be looking if your planning to make wise buys.

Get a cheap copy of an eclipse honing guide
Find some timber and a fire door for an accurate bench top to plane on.
I would look for the cheapest diamond stone the ones with the nickel steel base for fine work like lapping the back of an iron.

 

[thetyreman]

start with a set of cheap chisels, I am using narex, they are good enough for me, the key is learning to sharpen well and consistently, so you'll need stones of some kind and ideally a workbench before you even begin, each thing has it's place, you can't build a house without foundations first.

 

[JWD]

Throw us a budget pal!
+1 for narex
i've tried the collectable planes thing but i guess i was unlucky as the one i got had a base that was so uneven i couldn't even try and fix it - although keep checking gumtree and schpock as you can get people who don't know what they're selling on there.

 

[Alexam]

Hi Lee, or is it Jack?,
welcome to the forum and your start in a new dimention.
When I first joined this forum and even before joining, every time I opened the forum, the first section I looked at was the For Sale. It can get you lots of 'goodies' from members, who have usually looked after thier tools.
Good luck
Malcolm

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You have a PM.

 

[leechild]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. And to those for the literature reference. I'm pretty sure Mr Reacher would have been able to turn his hand to woodwork should the occasion ask for it. Will update when I have read some more and bought a couple of things.

It's funny since starting and moving to our first house when we've been furniture shopping I've found myself looking under tables and desks to see how the pieces are joined together. Some of the stuff that's out there is so simple but then they whack a £200 price tag on it and it's designer!

 

[leechild]

Would you more experienced people agree with what's said in this article:

http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/ha ... -beginner/

 

[John15]

Would you more experienced people agree with what's said in this article:

http://www.renaissancewoodworker.com/ha ... -beginner/

Yes, an interesting article with some good advice and suggestions. If you think some online tuition would help, have a look at Paul Sellers' Masterclass. £10 a month for a weekly episode, and good value IMO for beginner and average skilled hobby woodworkers.

John

 

[deema]

IMO there are three steps to woodworking and depending on what your doing, will depend on what you should buy / brands etc you need. My definition of the three steps are
1. Cut to size. If it's sheet materials or real wood will make a difference. I would certainly recommend buying a small selection of good secondhand handsaws. Panel saw, tennon saw (14") and spend a little time tuning / sharpening them up. After that it depends on what your materials you are using.

2. Flat square and true. Doesn't apply if your mainly going to be using Sheet material, but if it's real wood, you will avoid many frustrations if you learn how to get stuff flat square and true before you start looking at trying to joint it. If you are looking for hand tools I would get a brand new Lie Nielsen, Veritas or Clifton no 4 or 6 plane. This I'll enable you to know and feel what a properly setup plane is like to use. Which ever you don't buy new I would buy secondhand. (Record, Stanley old tool)

3 Jointing. Sheet materials are different to real wood. Either screwed together, dowelled or biscuits are the routes of increasing cost. I've avoided Domino which I personally feel is over kill for most people.

For real wood, good marking out tools (secondhand engineers square, knife and metal ruler) and about three chisels in addition to the tennon Saw will enable most joints to be achieved. (1", 1/2" 1/4" ) Narex or secondhand such as Palm tree that are very cheap but I really like them.

In summary, there is really only one tool that I personally feel really benefits from being a top brand and bought new. Everything else is better and cheaper bought secondhand if you want to watch the budget.