Beginner Tools

[Akwoody2402]

Hi

I've decided to take up wood working.

My initial idea is to begin practising some basic techniques on scrap, before making a rough work bench. I aspire to eventually be able to produce a good quality desk, side table, tv unit and bunk beds.

Over the years I have collected various power tools including a bit saw and circular saw, but no hand tools (chisel etc)

I've taken a look at supplier list but unless I have overlooked something im struggling to identify the best tool suppliers in the UK and also which brands lead the way in quality. I tend to go for medium quality that will last. For instance I don't have a snap on tool set but Halfords advanced.

I am ok looking up the best beginner tools to buy it's just the brand I'm not sure on

 

[Chris152]

Apparently there's an Axminster store in Warrington? If that's not too far, my advice is to go along and have a look at the tools they have on show, get a feel for some of them. It'd be a good start.

 

[MikeG.]

......... im struggling to identify the best tool suppliers in the UK and also which brands lead the way in quality......

You don't need these. Almost nobody needs these. Buy decent utilitarian tools, but you don't need showy expensive top-range tools. They're for rarified master craftsmen and collectors.

 

[MikeJhn]

Apparently there's an Axminster store in Warrington? If that's not too far, my advice is to go along and have a look at the tools they have on show, get a feel for some of them. It'd be a good start.

+1 They have a good reputation, most of the advisory staff are woodworkers, they also have a no quibble guarantee ethic, go along and just ask, you don't have to buy, just talk to them.

Mike

 

[Tasky]

My initial idea is to begin practising some basic techniques on scrap, before making a rough work bench.

You'd be better off practicing some basic techniques by making the workbench itself. Paul Sellers videos on YouTube is one of the best places to start looking for tutorials.

Seriously, it's very good fun and having a solid bench with a vice means you can do so much more, even when doing the basics.

im struggling to identify the best tool suppliers in the UK and also which brands lead the way in quality.

Suppliers - There are dozens of shops. I like Tooltique and Axminster, but also my local antiques shops tend to carry a lot of tools. Ebay can be great once you know what to look for.

Brands - Loads of them, from old to new.
Second hand tools in good nick are often just as good as (and sometimes better than) brand spanky new versions, but at a fraction of the price. For example, you can buy a dovetail saw for £12 and it will be about as good as a Rob Cosman™ Dovetail Saw for £300!
Conversely, if can get a brand new Veritas router plane for £100, grab it... as you're highly unlikely to find a Stanley No 71 that costs you less than both kidneys and your firstborn son!

 

[Sideways]

OK. You asked
Get a Bahco (orange coloured) combination square so that you can draw a decent right angle and measure some dimensions.
An X-acto or some other marking knife to use with it to mark sharp lines.
A #5 jack plane as a general purpose plane - a secondhand one will be cheap enough, stanley or record doesn't matter, it will need a little work to tune up (new or second hand) and this is an important learning experience.
A set of four bevel edged chisels - again brand really doesn't matter - marples with the translucent red / yellow handles were a classic, orange plastic handled Bahco are fine, Hultafors probably good too, you could try Axminsters own brand - these are all perfectly good enough to do quality work without breaking the bank and if you get into fine woodworking you can trade up later and these will still be useful for repair work where you risk damaging an edge on a nail.
Lastly you need a fine saw for doing joints - I like japanese style pullsaws - many others will point you towards a tenon saw of some type. Go to Axminster and ask to try a couple out.
Your last thing is a simple Eclipse sharpening jig or an Axminster clone of it, or a fancier Veritas jig, plus an offcut of float glass from your local glass merchant and some sheets of wet and dry abrasive in a range of grits. That's an entry level way in to learning how to put a proper edge on your plane blade and chisels. Learn how to keep your tools razor sharp or they're pretty well useless.
So you'll get a core set of hand tools for about £150-£200 and these will keep you busy learning and making for quite some time
The tools are capable of making perfectly usable furniture, the fun and satisfaction is in learning how to use them and maintain them.

 

[Akwoody2402]

Thanks for the tips I'll defo check out that shop in Warrington, like you said I might be best seeing and feeling the various options.

I've watched a few videos by Matt estlea and he recommends below what do you think

Faithful engineers squares

And the veritas marking gauge.

Also I have a planer in my toolbox that my wife inherited from the previous owner of her first house. Never touched the thing and it looks beat up I'll post a picture, what are the chances it's a rare find? I mean inthink it has the word INDIA printed into the back though

I'll check out those tools you mentioned. Charity shops near me don't seem to have tools or maybe I need to go in more often

 

[MikeG.]

.........Faithful engineers squares

And the veritas marking gauge..........

You're falling into the trap I mentioned previously. These are unnecessarily expensive. A marking gauge should be pennies. Anything that says "veritas" on it is a damn fortune, and a marking gauge is a marking gauge. They all just scratch a line in a piece of wood.

If you think you are going to be working to the tolerances of engineering squares within the next "N" years, well good luck to you. The only real use for those is for setting up machinery.

 

[MikeJhn]

+1 We are dealing with wood here that expands and contracts at will, you don't have to be accurate down to 1/2mm.

Mike

 

[MikeG.]

........you don't have to be accurate down to 1/2mm......

Hang on a sec.....

 

[pollys13]

Narex do good kit at a decent price. Some might turn their noses up, but I have several Axminster Rider bench planes.

 

[John15]

Workshop Heaven and Woodworkers Workshop are suppliers of good quality tools. Also for hand tools such as planes and chisels have a look on Ebay.

John

 

[Nigel Burden]

All my woodworking tools are second hand.

A Stanley Baily no 4 cost £6, although my Record 51/2 cost £35. Most of my wooden planes were under £20. I made a couple of marking gauges and a mallet out of a worn out jointer. My chisels are ebay job lots or car boot purchases. My set squares are all second hand. In total I've probably not spent much more than £100 on my tools, but in all fairness I enjoy putting tools back into working order.

Nigel.

 

[MikeJhn]

........you don't have to be accurate down to 1/2mm......

Hang on a sec.....

And your point is?

Mike

 

[Akwoody2402]

I'm scouring eBay and there seems to be lots of Stanley and marples sets second hand which is great !! Most of it is labelled "vintage" in I'm not sure how I tell what a good set is and what's in good condition! Help!!!

 

[Akwoody2402]

I found this in the garage, salvageable?

 

[Akwoody2402]

 

[MikeG.]

........you don't have to be accurate down to 1/2mm......

Hang on a sec.....

And your point is?

Mike

I couldn't countenance having the shoulders of a joint out by 1/2 a mm, or 1/2mm gaps between tails and pins in a dovetail. I agree with the broad thrust of your comment about it not being engineering, but joints have to be tight.

 

[MikeG.]

I found this in the garage, salvageable?
View attachment 20181208

Salvageable? It's better than mine. Clean it, check the sole, lubricate it, sharpen it, use it. It'll be great. You'll need a pin hammer to adjust it......and learning to sharpen it properly is the most important skill you'll pick up.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Be careful - most of the Marples isn't proper Marples, it's just a brand name that's been sold. The good older Marples is nearly always red. When people say it is good it's the older stuff to which they refer, although the worst machined casting I've ever seen was an old Marples. The newer stuff may or may not be as good as the old stuff.
Record are accepted to be good up til the '70s and Stanley ther '60 iirc. Ten different people will give you eleven different opinions.
Wooden handles are usually a fair indication that they are at least forty years old - I think by 1980 neither Record nor Stanley were using them.
http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/
http://web.archive.org/web/201412180558 ... lanes.com/
Iirc details for ageing Stanley's apply to U.S. made planes, not British