Need some beginners basic stuff...

[exigetastic]

I have been hanging some doors today (B+Q "value" chisels ), and it has made me realise my handtools are woefully inadequate

The Irwin Hardpoint Tenon saw isn't much better, but still great compared to the other saw I had in a "budget toolkit" set I got bought for xmas.

I realise anything is going to big a improvement, but I don't yet have the finesse to justify the big money.

What would you suggest as an intermediate level toolkit?


Ta

Si

 

[matthewwh]

Si,

I was taught to buy the best quality that you can afford and build up slowly, adding tools as and when you need them.

As far as the skills vs quality tools vs money dilemma is concerned, don't underestimate yourself. A few books or DVD's can soon accelerate your learning curve, and then you'll have to buy even more tools because the tools you bought then aren't good enough for your skills now. Kind of like where you are right now, again.

If you buy 'lifetime tools' in the first place, you can develop a bond with them and learn to care for them. For each hour that you invest, you will become more used to their feel and balance. Eventually you won't even notice the tools, they just become a means of communicating your intentions to the materials, rather like the way that you are not consciously thinking about your eyes as you are reading this.

Secondhand can be a good route, if you can find somone who bought well in the first place and cared for their tools properly you may find that you can talk with them about how they sharpen their chisels, file their saws etc, then just 'move into' their tool kit. If you go down the ebay / bootfair route, it pays to set a monetary value on the man hours you will spend fettling and factor that into the price.

Hope this helps.

 

[bugbear]

A few books or DVD's can soon accelerate your learning curve

Yep; if budget is an issue, such things are available in libraries.

There's also much good info here in web-land, although you may need assistance with the wheat-from-chaff issue.

BugBear

 

[JackL]

Couldn't agree with Matthew more. I go back nearly 50 years when I got my first wage as an apprentice and I started buying tools. My Dad who was an engineer insisted that I spent nearly all of my first weeks wage on a screwdriver, saying that it would last a lifetime.
I used it again yesterday. It now looks it's age but the blade end is still as good as the day that it was bought.
I would say that the same principle applies even more so when buying a saw. Use a bad un - then use a very good un - and you'll wonder if it's the same tool!
Buy the best - it pays in the end.

 

[Adam]

Stuff like mallets, chisels, hand planes are all easily and cheaply aquired at car boot sales, and the quality of those will be excellent (OK, you might get the odd duff one but overall you can get some excellent stuff.)

Adam

 

[Digit]

JackL must have had the same dad as me!
I can't remember where and when I got my first tools, but I still have 'em
In many cases SH is MUCH the better buy. Old chisels and plane irons seem much superior to modern, unless you have a lot of cash to spare.
The one exception I have made to 'old is best' is saws. I find the Japanese saws are the best thing since they started putting wind in wheels!
Many suppliers have catalogues and also sell on the net. Anyway, browsing the cats is next best thing to woodworking! :lol: