Want to get some tools and wood and start practicing.

[CarlC]

As the title suggest i want to get some tools and start practicing Carpentry(as i want to be qualified).
i know the tools i want, they are a plane, chisles, wooden mallet, saw,screwdrivers,the marking gauges.
The only question i have is can someone recommened me some that are good quality and not to expensive, oh and do i need a wood bench?

 

[mambo]

for someone with out much money and just starting out i would recommend car boot sales
look for makes such as stanley record marples irwin and you should find some half decent stuff at a good price to get you going
as for a workbench may find a second hand workmate type bench would fit the bill :wink:

 

[Steve Maskery]

Carl,

From the posts you are posting, you seem to be really interested in woodwork. If you plan to do this over the coming years, as opposed to it being a "fad" then it is worth buying the best you can afford.

My dad was a cabinet maker and joiner. When I started to get really interested (ie when I started work and had a bit of disposable income) he gave me some advice and it proved to be very useful. It was this.

Buy one tool every week (in his case that was every pay-day). It doesn't matter if that tool is a chisel, a carpenter's pencil or a tablesaw, buy one every week and make it a priority in your spending. Easier said than done, I know, when you are starting out, but if you keep to it you will be amazed at how quickly you acquire a decent set of tools.

Remember that one good chisel that keeps its edge is worth more than two chisels that don't.

Brands that are reasonable (not top of the range but not complete rubbish either) would be Marples, Record, Stanley. These are all traditional Sheffield brands, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are the only ones either. Others will have recs, I'm sure. Remember that, by and large, you get what you pay for. Whilst a 5-pce set for £5.99 from the discount shop will get you started, you will soon find out their weaknesses and you'll be out buying replacements. So why not put that £5.99 aside for a week or two and put it towards a set that will last you a sensible amount of time. You don't have to go as far as a £300 set of Japanese chisels!

Also, if you know what you are looking at, you can pick up bargains at car-boots etc, but you can also get landed with rubbish too. Just because something is old, it doesn't mean it is good. And vice versa.

As to a bench, why not start with a Workmate? They are robust, good at holding things, and you can use it to make your first "proper" bench. There are several good books and even decent plans free on the internet.

You were asking earlier about face and edge, and we were discussing the importance of basics. The other primary skill you really must develop is sharpening. Again David has a DVD (I really ought to be on commission) or you could search for Scary Sharp in Google - it is a way of getting good results with nothing more than a piece of glass and a selection of wet&dry paper from Halfords.

All the best,

 

[CarlC]

Thanks alot for your help.Just so you all know i get £30 ema a week, and some of that gos on darts which i might quit in march.
So what your basically saying it get the best i can afford.Oh yer one over thing where do i get a sharpening stone from?Can`t remeber it`s name but there`s one in the topic titles.

My brother has got some Woodworkers books i might see if i can borow some.
Oh yer i think i`ve already said, that i want to be a qualified Carpenter so i`ll be doing it as a job/career.

Cheers

CarlC

 

[Paul Chapman]

As to a bench, why not start with a Workmate?

I would second that. And for those times when you want a larger working surface, you can glue together two pieces of MDF, screw a batten on it and clamp it in the Workmate. You could even fit a lightweight vice to it.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[CarlC]

As to a bench, why not start with a Workmate?

I would second that. And for those times when you want a larger working surface, you can glue together two pieces of MDF, screw a batten on it and clamp it in the Workmate. You could even fit a lightweight vice to it.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Sounds good to me. :lol:

 

[CarlC]

What about this beanch?

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-319466/blac ... kmate.html

 

[CarlC]

:lol: these benches look way to small. :lol:
What could i like do/make on these?

 

[mambo]

yep ive got one of those very ones

you can do loads with it :shock: for a start its a big vice and a platform to support a lump of worktop if you need more space
if you use your imagination there is many ways to use it

i use it as a base for my home made router table top
and for planing doors
and i once built a car trailer using it etc etc

 

[Steve Maskery]

Carl
You can do a lot on a bench like that.

You will also discove that not all benches are the same. I bet there isn't a woody on this forum who has been completely satisfied with their first bench, some of us have made several, and still are not satisfied!

With a Workmate you can start work immediately, dream about making a bench, then actually make one, use it for a while, get dissatisfied with it, use it to make another.....

Don't knock it.

 

[Paul Chapman]

:lol: these benches look way to small. :lol:
What could i like do/make on these?

I wouldn't go for the Black & Decker. You can get similar Workmate clones much cheaper. Although they look a bit small, you can do a lot on them - I built a kitchen on mine back in 1971 :shock: :shock: If you like, I will photograph one of mine and the supplementary worktop I made for it tomorrow and post a picture.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Carl 8)

It makes a refreshing change to find a young lad thats enthusiatsic about something other than trainers mobile phones or computer game's :wink: :lol: Good for you!!
As far as tools goes, I always say to myself "buy good, buy once" Meaning if you get a pro quality tool right off, it'll be easier to learn basic skills with it and chances are it will last for a good few years. Cheap market stall poundstretcher type far eastern tools seem atractive and can be tempting if your on a tight budget, but believe me, they will always let you down and you can end up with a heap of useless junk. Its false economy to waste money buying them, it encourages shoddy manufacturers and helps to ruin good manufacturers. Have you thought to ask your family for some tools for your birthday or christmas? More use than a gameboy. If you have best quality tools you can earn enough using them to buy 2 gameboy's, and still have the tools to earn some more after that to buy 2 pair of trainers, a car, a house etc. Know what I mean :wink:
A good basic skill to practice would be cutting to a line-mark square across a length of 2x1 or 4x2 or something on the face side and face edge, and cut through the wood so the saw split's the line. You should end up with a perfect square cut if you check it afterwards with a try square.

Another thing to practice would be to plane chamfers on the edge of a board. Use a pencil guage to mark a line parallel to your face side and face edge. Say 1/4 inch (or 6 mm) in. Then plane along the corner so you get basically a 45 degree chamfer, even all along and cut to the depth of your pencil lines. Just deceptively simple ways to practice and develope good manual skill and a good eye and a good feel for how tools work.

Cheers Mr S

PS Dont forget insurance for your tools

 

[CarlC]

:lol: these benches look way to small. :lol:
What could i like do/make on these?

I wouldn't go for the Black & Decker. You can get similar Workmate clones much cheaper. Although they look a bit small, you can do a lot on them - I built a kitchen on mine back in 1971 :shock: :shock: If you like, I will photograph one of mine and the supplementary worktop I made for it tomorrow and post a picture.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Sounds like i`ll be getting one then.I just wandered cause it looked way to small.
:lol: Might buy some tools then the bench, :lol: my dads got a workmate bench.my trys his, get a pic of it and post it tomoz.Cause my camera`s busy changing. :lol:

 

[MrJay]

Some of those things you ought to consider making: Marking gauge, bench and mallet should be possible with basic tools and skills. Hopefully you'll end up with good tools and learn stuff at the same time. You could add a couple of saw horses to that list - next best thing to a decent bench.

If you've got a decent size belt sander at college then I've got an old Stanley No5 Jack Plane you can have for the price of postage. It's got a nasty twist in the sole that's gonna take a life time to sand out by hand - but otherwise it's good user's tool. PM me if you're interested.

Cheap DIY style marking out tools, squares and straight edges especially, will plague everything you do. If you see marking out tools in B&Q run out the door screaming.

That sounds like a pretty sensible list of basics you've got. There's lots of pressure in Wooeworktown to buy oodles of shiny tools for this and that. Try your best to avoid it and save the money for getting good basics. There's now't as expensive as cheap tools.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Carl,

As promised, here are some Workmate pictures. The first one is the original Workmate which I bought in 1971 and I'm still using it. It's a bit low - about saw horse height

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... fb525a.jpg

The second one is a more recent Workmate clone. You can buy these for about £20

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... fb5039.jpg

The third is a benchtop which is clamped in the Workmate. I made it from two pieces of 18mm MDF, lipped with solid wood and glued together. I drilled the top to take bench dogs which are helpful for clamping work when planing. The vice is a lightweight Record 57.

I use the top mainly for assembly but it also doubles as a supplementary workbench

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... faf646.jpg

Hope this is helpful.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[CarlC]

I just went over Templars square(shopping mall), and had a look in WHSmith,at the woodworking mags, they had to websites in there i`m going to try:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk

And they reviewed a workbench called wolfcraft which i`ll most prob land up getting the website`s:

http://www.wolfcraft.co.uk

 

[CarlC]

I think this`s the one:

http://www.wolfcraft.co.uk/jcatalog_gen ... oduct.html

It costs £80.
Well tempted to buy it. :lol:

 

[CarlC]

Changed my mind, cause on that wolfcraft site you have to trael to Germany ot buy the stuff.
So had a look on machine mart and seen this one, i`m so going to get this one:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 2131&g=116

 

[brianhabby]

Go for the Workmate Carl. It is dual height, so can be used as a bench but also lowered to be used as a saw horse. It has a remarkable vice which is the full length of the bench and which can also easily clamp awkward pieces that might be tapered for instance. As a previous post said you can clamp a supplementary bench top to it also to make it more versatile.

I've had mine for years and I wouldn't be without it. It also folds up easily when not in use which means it can be easily stored and/or taken on site with you.

Hope this is some help

regards

Brian

 

[MrJay]

Seconded. You'll end up throwing the bench away when you've grown out of it (I give it 4 weeks) and need the space. The workmate will be useful for as long as it lasts.