Projects for a beginner who lives in a flat

[Mg88]

Hello!

I have never delved into the realm of woodworking as a hobby before. I love looking at what people have created and it would be great to be able to make carvings, or furniture one day.

I am assuming hand tools would be the best area to start, as I live in a one-bedroom flat. I do, however, have an electric drill and screwdriver.

I am on a low budget this month, but do not mind if the wood has an ugly appearance, as I love crafts in general, and it would be fun to decorate the finished piece.

Basically, I was wondering where the best place to start would be- tool-wise and project wise. I don't mind waiting a month to have a better budget, but I would love to at least start looking into the basics.

Thank you

 

[John15]

Hi Mg,

Welcome.

To do any sort of woodworking you first of all need a workbench of some kind. There is a post in 'General Woodworking' for one in a Rutlands sale. It's a bit on the light side but OK for work in a one bedroomed flat I imagine.

John

 

[marcros]

what about something like chip carving? the outlay would be minimal, and the mess created manageable.

To give you an idea of what can be created, with experience https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chip+ ... CAYQ_AUoAQ

you could also buy a piece/offcut of planed wood cheaply and easily, avoiding having to prepare it.

 

[Mg88]

Thank you to John15 and Marcros.

I workbench seems like an expensive thing to buy for a hobby which I am not certain I will remain enthusiastic for. Is anything easy to make without a work bench? Chip carving looks nice! I have already started a Pinterest for it

 

[AndyT]

Japanese woodworkers seem to manage all sorts of wonderful stuff sitting on the floor in their slippers holding wood against a board with a stop on it. You could try this if you are young and supple enough! This sort of thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_p7libPJKg&feature=player_detailpage&list=TLDxZfZMuDuAE#t=165
But that's a whole system of work and approach to craftsmanship not to be undertaken lightly.

When I lived in a flat with no workshop I managed to make quite a few bits and pieces (bookshelves, musical instrument cases etc) using a Workmate folding bench which I could put away in a cupboard afterwards. If you want something to hold wood to saw and drill it, while standing upright, you can do a lot with one. But do make sure you buy a proper old dual-height branded Workmate made of steel in the 1970s, or better still a really old one with an alloy x-frame. Don't buy a modern copy, even if it has the Workmate name on; they are flimsy rubbish.

As for what to make, what do you need? Necessity is a great motivator.

 

[Water-Mark]

I saw a few videos on youtube last year by a guy in the States who had a tray and about three carving knives.
He used to take a folding chair into the woods and sit quitely carving away, sometimes he'd take wood with him other times he'd carve what he found.

Looked like a very serene approach to carving.

 

[Graham Orm]

You Tube is your friend.

 

[GLFaria]

I fully agree with AndyT about the usefulness of the Workmate. I too live in a flat, so use mainly hand-tools - and always have used them with my Workmate (dual height with the alloy x-frame), for over 45 years. I find it just a bit low for planing - ideally it should be a couple inches taller - but so far my back is up to it.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Welcome to the forum Mg88 - and to the wonderful world of getting splinters!

What you can achieve in a small space is only really limited by your determination and ingenuity. I was reading a book by Charles Hayward recently ('Antique or Fake'). He 'served his time' as a cabinetmaker in London just before WW1, and described streets of terraced houses in Shoreditch that had virtually been taken over by the cabinet trade. Each house room had one or two tradesmen in it, making and repairing furniture of every description. There was virtually no machinery (and in those days, no hand power tools at all), yet the most complex chairmaking, veneering, carving and finishing was completed. During clement weather, larger planks were sawn to size in the gardens, otherwise they were poked into the rooms through the windows.

If they could do fine work in those conditions then, we still can now!

As a suggestion for 'research', may I suggest popping into W H Smiths next time you're passing, and picking up a couple of specialist woodworking magazines? There are mags that cover fine furniture, carving, turning and more basic woodworking. The articles may not necessarily be what you are looking for, but there will be plenty of adverts to give ideas of what things cost, and sources of further information. Depending on where your inclination leans, there are some excellent books on the market, and a bit of a webseach for blogs and similar (try www.norsewoodsmith.com for a sort of blog accumulator) should also yield useful ideas.

Have fun finding out, and when you've got more questions, we'll do our best to help out!

 

[Benchwayze]

MG..

Welcome to the forum...

Get yourself onto the flea-bay and see if you can secure one of the old, Black and Decker workmates. You can't beat those if you don't have a workshop.

At a push you can probably get decent results from a genuine modern one. You can always fit a square of MDF or ply, clamped in the jaws, for when you need a table to sit at and work.

HTH

John

 

[iNewbie]

As a suggestion for 'research', may I suggest popping into W H Smiths next time you're passing, and picking up a couple of specialist woodworking magazines? There are mags that cover fine furniture, carving, turning and more basic woodworking. The articles may not necessarily be what you are looking for, but there will be plenty of adverts to give ideas of what things cost, and sources of further information. Depending on where your inclination leans, there are some excellent books on the market, and a bit of a webseach for blogs and similar (try http://www.norsewoodsmith.com for a sort of blog accumulator) should also yield useful ideas.

Have fun finding out, and when you've got more questions, we'll do our best to help out!

Local Library is good too.

 

[RogerP]

I'd really recommend getting a Workmate. They fold up to store away and can be had for less than a fiver (some 0.99p) on eBay.

It gives you something to work on and something to hold stuff with.

 

[boggy]

You might consider spooncarving, the materials can be found in your local park or in a skip. The only tools you need are the knives and probably a saw and a small axe. See http://www.robin-wood.co.uk for info on knives and for instruction a character called Barnaby Carder runs courses www.barnthespoon.com.

 

[rdesign]

look up the milkman's workbench perfect for the flat worker.

 

[dh7892]

In addition to the good ideas above, I'd recommend looking at some of Paul Sellers' videos on YouTube. He's got a very pragmatic mindset when it comes to how many tools he thinks a new woodworker needs to have to do some good projects so he won't be tempting you into buying too many gadgets.

Also, he talks a lot about projects like spoon carving and things you could do in a very small space.

When I was living in a rented house with no space for a shed, I managed to do a bit by screwing a board onto the boxed-in section above the stairs. That way I had a fairly well-anchored but still removable "bench". It had one "leg" to support it where it cantilevered out. I fitted a vice to it and it was surprisingly useful. Doing same thing with the milkman's workbench would be great.

I think a workmate is a good idea but I never found a good way to plane anything on it without it moving around frustratingly. Perhaps it was because I had a cheap knock-off one that didn't have the footplate to stand on.

 

[RogerP]

..........
I think a workmate is a good idea but I never found a good way to plane anything on it without it moving around frustratingly. Perhaps it was because I had a cheap knock-off one that didn't have the footplate to stand on.

With Workmates the earlier version the better. When they were first marketed they were very good indeed but with each subsequent version they were a little cheaper made and a little worse to use. Until we reach the current offering that bears little resemblance to the original and most of the clones I've seen are horrible.

 

[Benchwayze]

I think a workmate is a good idea but I never found a good way to plane anything on it without it moving around frustratingly. Perhaps it was because I had a cheap knock-off one that didn't have the footplate to stand on.

Never had a problem with standing on the footplate. Used my one out on site more than anything. In fact I bought one recently on eBay. A real oldie, and in a cosmetic mess, but it does the business! :lol:

 

[GLFaria]

There are some ways for lessening the moving of the bench.
I glued a piece of leather at the end of each top and prop the workmate against a (very...) heavy wardrobe.
For planing longer planks than this would allow, I use a couple of slats, with 20mm wooden dowels on the underside, spaced so they fit the dogholes on the WM top.
Works well enough for the kind of light work I do, even though I sometimes have to block some lateral movement by positioning my foot against one of the feet of the bench.

 

[Graham Orm]

Fix the feet to a piece of ply and stand on it.

 

[bugbear]

Fix the feet to a piece of ply and stand on it.

Have you seen a "Mate Tools" Workmate (i.e. the mk 1, even before B&D got it) ?



BugBear