Woodworking means different things to different folks. Often woodworkers make functional, long-lasting pieces to defuse tensions and exercise their creative muscles. They are hobbyists who know the sawdust is healthy for the soul. Others are turning professional. They are wonderfully paid for their expertise in building coveted furniture. But if you’re a master craftsman or a rank amateur, you need the equipment you need for woodworking. Read this full guide for information on these methods. In short, the equipment for woodworking must contain the following: Power saws, Hand saws, Planes, Sanders, Files, Hammer, Mallet, Drill, Screw Gun, Tape Measure, Square, Sawhorses, Workbench.
Many early woodworkers feel overwhelmed by the huge array of tools currently on the market. It’s quick for you to stack up thousands of dollars worth of costly woodworking equipment in your shop. However, most tools for beginner woodworkers don’t have to be elaborate and expensive. Beginners’ woodworking tools should start with the basics so that you can get a feeling of ease that is at the core of a fine work.
There are five types of basic tools for woodworking. These are methods for cutting, finishing, assembling, measuring and retaining wood parts when turning raw materials into finished works. These tool groups cover all the beginning woodworker requires to create basic to complex pieces. To better prioritize what needs to be achieved in your simple toolbox, here is a beginner’s guide to the need for woodworking equipment. See also our recommendations on the best cabinet table saw, the best electric chainsaw, the best chainsaw, the best chainsaw sharpeners, and the best router saw.
Check here for best chainsaw for cutting firewood
SAWS USED FOR WOODWORKING
Almost any aspect of a woodworking project begins with cutting materials. The best and most important pieces begin with rough lengths of wood. If it’s hardwood like oak or softwood like pine, wood stock needs to be torn and cross-cut to start taking shape. Saws are the solution, but they come in a range of shapes and sizes. They’re for separate cutting tasks. Here’s what you need to start building your set of saws.
CIRCULAR SAW
If there’s one power-activated saw in each beginner’s box, it’s a circular saw. There are countless labels available, but all of them have a similar element. It’s circular blade full of sharp teeth that cuts through the wood. Both circular saws are electrical, but they come with different power ratings. Most of them are corded equipment operating on household current, but there have been great developments in cordless circular saws.
Some view circular saws as more suitable for rugged carpentry than fine woodwork. That’s not valid at all. On the right side, circular saws cut straight, clean lines. A lot depends on the blade you’re using.
Circular saw blades come in three types:
Ripping Blades: Cut material lengthwise along or with the grain
Crosscut Blades: For sawing across the grain
Combination Blades: Designed for both ripping and crosscutting
The differentiation between blades is the style of their teeth. The ripping blades have equally spaced teeth, while the crosscuts have staggered teeth. Combination blades have layouts of both layouts. If budget is your issue, it’s best to invest in a good combination blade fitted with carbide teeth. It is therefore important to consider the diameter of the tip. Circular blades start at 7 1⁄2,” but 10″ blades are popular, and 12″ diameters are required for large-scale woodcutting.
Circular saws are available in two designs. One is just a direct drive where even the blade is installed 90 degrees to the engine and directly to the arbor. Directed drives are the most popular circular saw and the cheapest. The worn circular saws are made for hard work. They do use the same blade patterns, except the blade is driven in front of the motor.
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JIGSAW
Any early woodworker should invest in a good jigsaw. They are sometimes called sabre saws because of their reciprocating, sabre-like tip. This electrical power tools are designed to create delicate cuts that can be smooth, angled or serpentine. Think of the lines of a jigsaw puzzle, and you’ll know what a jigsaw can do.
Jigsaws are entirely distinct from circular saws. Instead of spinning knives, the jigsaws are sliced back and forth or up and down. Blades differ in number and composition of teeth. They are used to cut metal and plastic as well as wood. Fine-tooth blades are used for sawing veneers, while rough tooth blades are used for rough and easy work.
Jigsaws are easy to control with one hand. This makes it easier for you to keep your work securely in your other hand. Jigsaws cut nicely small, complex pieces. One of the best uses for a jigsaw is inside cuts, such as an inner circle or a rectangle. You just dig the pilot hole and insert the blade. With some practice, you’ll quickly learn to make your jigsaw plunge cuts.
COMPOUND MITER SAW
The Compound miter saws are a step up from standard circular saws. They still use the rip, cross-cut and hybrid blades as circular saws. They’re set in the arm or track, though, just like the radial arm saws they’ve almost replaced. Popular blade diameters are 10 and 12-inch, but compound miter saws can be fitted with a smaller size of 7 1⁄2.” For a miter saw, a quality crosscut saw blade should always be used.
Such electrical saws are incredibly flexible instruments. The traditional miter box has been substituted and backsaw in most shops. Beginners notice that driven miter saws allow even more precise cuts for miters, bevels and compound angles. They are conveniently positioned at normal angles like 22 1⁄2, 45 and 90 degrees, but can be balanced for any angle in between. This covers the left and the right breaks.
Driven miter saws originated from traditional cut-off or chop saws. They are also available in versions with sliding arms that expand the length of the cut. They also tip their power heads on one side, making for a mix of miter and bevel cuts. Virtually any set of angles can be sliced with a compound miter saw.
Check here for best compound miter saw
TABLE SAW
Most early woodworkers are investing in a table saw early in the game. Table saws make cuts that are not readily accomplished with other saw types. They are constructed as circular saws on the upside down, where the blade is revealed from below the saw table or the work surface. Blade depth and angle are readily adjusted for accuracy.
There are three models of the main table saw. All three are ideal for starting woodworkers. It depends on the scale of the work you’re going to do and the venue. You may like to see a fixed table that sits in one shop place or a compact saw that can be put away. What are the options your table saw:
See also: Best Table saw for Beginners
Cabinet table saws are heavy and made to sit in position. The name derives from their engines, which are contained in a lower cabinet with a blade driven by a belt and a pulley system. They are outstanding for all-purpose jobs from timber tearing to panel cutting. Many beginners choose the cabinet table they saw as their workspace centerpiece.
The Benchtop table saws are lighter. They are designed to be compact, so they are ideal for switching between places as well as easy storage while not being used. Much of the benchtop table saws are direct drive. That keeps them compact, but they appear to be noisy.
Contractor table saws are the tightest designs possible. Building contractors prefer them to cut jobs efficiently and conveniently when time and space are a premium. Contractor table saws are also inexpensive, making them a good choice for beginners to practice their tasks.
Bandsaw
There’s nothing like a bandsaw to rip the rough stock or make delicate curved cuts. This power tools are a mixture of circular and sabre saws, where the teeth are attached to a continuous, smooth steel band and spin around the upper and lower pulleys. A flat table is placed between the poles that rotate for angled cuts.
Bandsaws come in a variety of styles. It depends on the size of the stock you’re going to cut and how complicated the cuts you want to make. There are two major features of the bandsaw, one of which defines the scale of the bandsaw:
Depth capacity is how far the bandsaw blade is exposed between the pulleys.
It’s also called face opening and varies between 4” for small bandsaws up to 12” or more for big machines. This determines how thick your material capacity is.
Throat depth measures from the blade teeth to the back of the support frame.
This determines how wide your stock can be. A deep throat capacity makes it easier to make curved cuts where work needs turning on the table.
Bandsaw teeth come in rugged styles for short cuts and fine teeth for easy, slower cutting. Blade width is critical for bandsaws. Broad blades are more robust for tearing, whereas thin blades make curved cutting simpler.
For best operational use, make sure to also invest in quality band saw tires for your bandsaw.
Chainsaw:
The chainsaw is an effective and efficient cutting power tool used to cut trees and branches. It works with a motor, generally referred to as a powerhead; that powers a sharp metal chain, driven by a radial clutch, with the chain moving around a channel in the lead bar at fast speeds. When the chain makes contact with wood, the sharp teeth of the chain are dragged across the wood surface, resulting in cutting the wood. The chain is not guarded and this makes chainsaws, the most dangerous handheld operated power tools.
Engine Power Type
Gas Chainsaws
Power is to identify the engine size in cubic centimeters or cubic inches. The larger the number, the powerful the engine, but with more power chainsaws come with more weight. Most chainsaws used by homeowners are typically between 24cc and 46cc.
Electric Chainsaws
Power in an electric chainsaw is measured as Amperage or Amps (A). The larger the Amps the powerful the chainsaw.
Battery Powered Chainsaws
The Power in a battery-operated chainsaw is related to Voltage or Volts. The greater the Volts, the powerful the chainsaw. Battery-powered chainsaws became more powerful in the past few years and are capable of generating enough cutting power like a small gas chainsaw.
FILING, PLANING, AND SANDING SUPPLIES USED IN WOODWORKING
After the pieces of wood have been cut to a rough shape, further effort is required to present an appealing, finished appearance. No matter how good your saw blade is and how great the consistency is, you’re always going to need some sort of filing, planing and sanding supplies. Here’s what the early woodworkers should be investing in:
Planes
Planes are instruments for cutting rather than caustic, sanding devices. Both types of aircraft use a fixed blade to shave off wood fibers, allowing them to take shape and become increasingly smoother. Blade size and width are the main factors on how much content can be extracted at a time.
You’ll hear several airplane names that sound a bit strange, if not funny. Rabbet planes and jack planes both shave wood, but they have somewhat different applications. You’re probably going to hear words like jointers, lines, and spokeshaves. Well, you’re going to hear them referred to by percentages. They’re all sorts of hand planes that woodworkers can examine. These are the selection of hand planes that you may want:
Jack Plane: These tools remove a lot of material from the pass. It’s a “jack-of-all-trades” instrument since both the curved edge and the straight edge forms are available—for smoothing or jointing, respectively.
Block Planes: The planes are smaller and stout. They are ideally suited for tight work where very smooth joints are required.
Joining Planes: Like jack planes, except that they are built to smooth edges and tie parts together. Typically, the joints have long frames.
Rabbet Planes: used to carve right angle grooves along the edge of the board. These joints are called rabbits, and vary from the inner grooves referred to as dadoes.
Scraper Planes: made to remove fine fibers off wood surfaces for super-smooth finishes. These aircraft are often referred to as cabinet scrapers.
Spokeshaves: hand planes designed for curved surfaces. Originally, they were for wagon-wheel spokes, but they made their way to all the woodworkers.
Orbital Sander
If you’re buying an electric wood finishing product, it’s meant to be an orbital sander. This fast-acting devices strip away all the pressure from hand sanding and do it even better. Inline equipment such as belt sanders vary from orbital sanders. In a circle or orbital pattern, they use sandpaper pads that revolve.
A spherical abrasive sandpaper disk is taken and spun in a circle by standard orbital sanders. They appear to leave swirl traces that are difficult to erase, although they remove material easily. Your best investment is a random orbital sander. They’re not circulating. Instead, they oscillate spontaneously, making the silky surface of the wood smooth and mark-free.
ASSEMBLY TOOLS FOR WOODWORKING
Only part of the general woodworking method is cutting and smoothing wood. Once the parts are properly sized and smooth enough to complete, they will need to be assembled. Effective assembly of woodwork relies upon two factors. You need precision joints which are going to match. To assemble and safely fasten them, you will need the right equipment.
For beginning woodworkers, these are the main assembly tools:
MALLET:
Don’t mistake hammers with mallets. They are both striking tools, but they have very different uses. Usually, hammers are steel-faced, but others are brass or plastic. To fit varying head sizes, mallets have large wooden or leather heads and detachable handles.
Their striking shock and surface impression is the difference between hammers and mallets. Instead of delivering it, mallets are much softer than hammers and withstand shock. They often leave minimal strike impressions, making mallets suitable for wood joints to be tapped together.
Beginning woodworkers should know that on chisels, you never, ever use a steel hammer. Shock from steel hammers, leaving raw finishes, allows chisels to slash or jab at the wood. Tapping chisels with a mallet, though, helps them to slice into wood with constant pressure smoothly.
POWER DRILL
Power drills can be the best friend of a starting woodworker. A brace and bit or a hand drill are only used by only a few old-time artisans. Electric driven drills are used so frequently and for so many purposes in the workshop. They’re not for digging holes alone. All kinds of accessories can be bought to convert the electric drill into other tools, too.
If you’re purchasing your first power drill, consider getting a corded model seriously. There is much greater torque and longevity for drills operating on 110/120-volt currents than for cordless drills. Some can learn the cords get in the way, but with a weak charge, they will never let you down.
If you’d like to go for cordless power drills, the voltage is rated. Early versions were 7.5-volt, but were updated quickly. Now, a wise option for beginners is 18-volt cordless drills. They aren’t any more expensive and have considerably more power than 14-volt drills.
Conclusion:
These are methods for cutting, finishing, assembling, measuring and retaining wood parts when turning raw materials into finished works.
These tool groups cover all the beginning woodworker requires to create basic to complex pieces. To better prioritize what needs to be achieved in your simple toolbox, follow the guide to the need for woodworking equipment.