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sean.brock

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Hi everyone,

At present i'm turning my garage into a workshop (for a hobby, not a career, yet).

So far i've built myself a workbench (just still waiting for the benchtop materials).

Most of my tools are pretty cheapo stuff, and what i want to know is what types of things should i be looking to get first to help me along the way. I'd like to be able to build as much as possible in the way of benches and stands. So far i have a pillar drill (from a post here) and i plan to buy a lathe for my intrest in woodturning.

My first thing i am considering buying is a decent saw and mitre block, is this a good place to start.

Any advice is most gratefully received,

Sean

Oh and can anyone recommend any good magazines (i think i have a copy of "good woodworking" and loads of back issues of a US magazine called "shopnotes")
 
try tools made by a company called Festool

:twisted:
 
Sean,

Despite what others may say :roll: you don't need a lot of tools to make most things. Fancy tools only make the job easier and quicker for the most part.

If you are just starting woodworking try to pick one aspect of woodworking and concentrate on that. If you try to spread your money for tools too thinly you will be disapponted.

Keith
 
no too much really, but i can always save and a local club gets 20% off at the local DIY stors which is nice

I've looked at this for a start, as i'd prefer to use elbow grease tools as opposed to power tools to get the skills

http://www.abbeypowertools.co.uk/buildi ... 12064.aspx

My first attempt at cutting the legs for my bench ended up completely UNsquare
 
sean.brock":3l6aqbco said:
My first attempt at cutting the legs for my bench ended up completely UNsquare
Well thank goodness for that. I'm fed up with all these folks rolling up with "First Projects" that turn out ot be immaculate Bombe Chests and Queen Anne Highboys... :lol:

What sort of thickness of bench leg are we looking at here? I too had infinite trouble cutting things square and threw myself upon the mercies of such a saw - but it's really not cut out for thick stuff IME. A well set hand saw and some practice goes a long way. As does a little work with plane, chisel, rasp or file to tidy up, depending on size, available tools and inclination. If you do still desire such a saw, personally I seem to trip over at least one at every car boot sale I attend, so you could save a bundle if you're so inclined.

Cheers, Alf
 
Hi Sean,

If I were in your situation, I wouldn't buy one of those mitre saws. I think you will find it quite restrictive and its accuracy will a bit approximate :cry: If you are just starting out and want to buy some decent hand tools that will help you do good work, then I think you should buy just a few but good quality tools. As a suggestion I would say a couple of good quality saws (one rip cut and one cross cut), a couple of good bench planes (say a jointer and a smoother), a block plane, and some chisels. I've found that you can pick up very good quality chisels for about £5 each from second-hand shops. Learn to sharpen the tools well and practice using them. And if you are struggling with technique, just post a question on the forum and I'm sure there will be plenty of people happy to help you.

Cheers :wink:

Paul
 
didn't expect this many replies so soon.

Ok - Saws - Whats the difference between em (rip cut and cross cut) (remember im a complete noob)

Planes - heard they're easy to use, but hard to use well. oh and whats the difference.

Chisels i'm fine with, but sharpening, on a stone or a grinder.

Any books with all this info in that anyone can recommend.

and thanks for all the advice so far
 
sean.brock":5mmbgb0s said:
sharpening, on a stone or a grinder.

Most people use stones for final sharpening. There are three main types - diamond; oil stones (natural or man-made); and water stones. Don't ask which is best - there is no general agreement and it comes down to personal preference. If you go to the top of the page there is a link to 'videos', where Alf and Gidon have done three excellent videos on sharpening using all three types of stones.

Cheers :wink:

Paul
 
sean.brock":11q2gdc9 said:
Ok - Saws - Whats the difference between em (rip cut and cross cut) (remember im a complete noob)

Hi again Sean,

As none of the saw experts have been along yet (I'm not one of them :oops: ), the basic difference between rip and cross cut is the way the teeth on the saw are filed and set. Rip cut is for sawing along the grain and cross cut is for cutting across the grain. Here's a link which is probably a bit more advanced than you are looking for at the moment, but it explains the difference far better than I can http://www.vintagesaws.com/cgi-bin/fram ... sharp.html

As regards what is a good saw, there are some very good ones available today - makes like Pax, Adria, Lie Nielsen and Wenzloff. Cheap saws are not good at all and if you don't know how to sharpen them you will struggle. Second-hand is another option but again, if you don't know how to sharpen them it might not be a good option for you at the moment.

Here's a link to one of the best if you fancy a good drool (and with the value of the £ against the $ at the moment, they are great value) http://www.wenzloffandsons.com/saws/index.html

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers :wink:

Paul
 
sean.brock":10chjv2y said:
Ok - Saws - Whats the difference between em (rip cut and cross cut) (remember im a complete noob)
It's all down to the shape of the teeth - a potentially complicated subject that you probably don't want to get into now. Crosscut teeth act like lots of little knives that slice across the grain cleanly; rip cut are more like little chisels that chop out with the grain. You can use a x-cut with the grain for ripping, but it'll be slower; equally you can use a rip saw across the grain, but the cut will be rough because the fibres won't be cleanly sliced as with the x-cut. To start out, unless you fancy equipping yourself with a full range of saws in one go (I wouldn't), I'd suggest a 7 or 8tpi panel saw and a 12 or 14" backsaw about 13tpi, both crosscut. With those you can do an awful lot and add a rip saw, hand saw, dovetail saw etc as you find the need. If you can go secondhand, I would, but as Paul says sharpening is a problem. Whereabouts are you?

sean.brock":10chjv2y said:
Planes - heard they're easy to use, but hard to use well. oh and whats the difference.
Between easy to use and hard to use? The sharpness of the iron usually. :wink: The whole plane thing can't really be summed up in one post, so instead here's a little light reading.

sean.brock":10chjv2y said:
Chisels i'm fine with, but sharpening, on a stone or a grinder.
In addition to Paul's main three, there's also "Scary Sharp" using abrasives - often popular with the tyro because it's initially cheap and quick.

sean.brock":10chjv2y said:
Any books with all this info in that anyone can recommend.
I generally plump for the Collins Complete Woodworker's Manual by Jackson & Day. For specific hand tool stuff it's hard to beat the old stuff by Charles Hayward for the solid basics.

sean.brock":10chjv2y said:
and thanks for all the advice so far
You're welcome :)

Cheers, Alf
 
Excellent advice here, really appreciate it. I'm off to the local bookstore tomorrow to see if i can get my habds on that book, and then to Keenlysides for some tools (local shop) and they've got a woodturning day on that i want to go along to as well.

I live in northumberland just about 15 miles from Newcastle.
 
Ok peeps, just me back again to burden you with my inane ineptness ;)

I've decided to get myself a handsaw from the PAX range, yeah i know they're expensive, but they're obviously woth the money (might save a few quid and go for the lynx range, if thats sensible, please comment).

I actually managed to also pick up a mitre saw thing at the car boot sale while looking for chisels and stuff for £2 as well.

My first project is going to be a simple frame for a mirror, with mitred corners. My plan is this. Cut a recess into the frame to slide the mirror into (got a router for this from a friend) and mitre the edges (45 degree?). How do i keep the mitres together, is it just wood glue, or staples on the back (working on getting that book, they didn't have a copy at the weekend).
 
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