How Beginners Get Started in Their Woodworking Businesses

For the beginner:
Let's start off with the myth that you need a well equipped shop and some very expensive machinery. This is not true! I started with basic hand tools. My first woodworking project was a small step stool. I had, at the time I made it, with one crosscut saw and one ripsaw (crosscut = cross the grain - rip saw = with the grain) and I had to buy a coping saw half way through my project in order to cut the two arches in the sides of the stool. I also found an old chisel in a flea market for 50 cents. I used it to pair the mortises to accept the hinges. My step stool project cost about $8.00 for the pine and $ 15.00 for the tools. The step stool plan came from
a woodworking magazine I got at my local book store (by the way, the magazine was used).

Okay, since part one of this article deals with building your tool crib let's start by discussing power tool vs. hand tools. When we took shop in high school all the woodworking was done by hand {tools}. The shop teacher would not allow any student to operate the table saw, band saw or any other power tools with out qualified supervision, and for good reason!

So with this in mind I would recommend starting off with a trip to your local "Woodworking" store. No, not the local hardware store. A quick internet search for your location will help you find a woodworking store. I shop at Rockler Woodworking & Hardware store. There is a catch - I only shop there when I absolutely can't live without that "special" tool. To back up a little bit, I usually go to this store when I am planning to start a project. But when I first started out I would visit several woodworking stores just to learn and sign up for "how to" demonstrations, like hand cut dove tails, mortis and tenon joinery, finger or boxed joints and so on. I think that's a very good way for beginners to start out. Learn for the pros!

What hand tools would I recommend for the beginner?

Measuring tools:
We begin with the woodworker motto: "measure twice & cut once". I only use a tape measure for rough measurements. I never use a tape measure for my final cuts. Why? Tape measures are not accurate enough for fine furniture construction. I use a flat high quality metal ruler. I don't like the ones graduated in 10th or in mm. If you're a mm person then by all means use it. I have, over time, purchased several flat metal rules in various lengths. I would start off with 12", 18", 24", 36" - With a graduation scale starting out at 1/32. Why 1/32nd over 1/16th or 1/8th? Well, for example, let's say that you are working on an end table with a pull out draw. The last thing you want to do is rely on the plan measurements for the draw construction. You want to accurately measure the final draw opening (when you get to that point in your construction) as you may find a slight variance between the plan and the actual draw opening. A flat ruler graduated in 32nd will give you an accurate measurement from which you can construct the draw from. I try always to use the same ruler for my final cuts.

Are you squared away?
Tri or try square is one of the most important hand tools you will come to rely on. When you make cross cuts you will want an accurate 90 degree angle. Here is an excellent description from Wikipedia: "A try square is a woodworking or a metal working tool used for marking and measuring a piece of wood. The square refers to the tool's primary use of measuring the accuracy of a right angle (90 degrees); to try a surface is to check its straightness or correspondence to an adjoining surface. A piece of wood that is rectangular, flat, and has all edges (faces, sides, and ends) 90 degrees is called four square. A board is often milled four square in preparation for using it in building furniture. Try square is sometimes spelled "tri-square", or referred to as a combination square. A traditional try square has a broad blade made of steel or brass that is riveted to a wooden handle. The inside of the wooden handle typically has a steel or brass strip fixed to it that is precisely 90 degrees to the blade. Some blades have either metric or English graduations for measurement."

A woodworking term that may need some refining: "four square" is also referred to as S4S = surfaced all 4 sides. This means that the lumber mill has planed/jointed all 4 sides of the board and is sometimes referred to as a "factory edge". I never rely on this interpretation. I use two means to confirm that the board is true. One is to sight down the edge for dips and to sight down the face to see if it is flat and not warped. I also use my try square to insure trueness. Which brings me this question: how do you know if your try square is square? Grab a flat board and with your try square draw a line then flip the square over and slide the edge up to the line, if the drawn line matches the edge of the square, your go to go. If not - trash it (assuming it not one that can be adjusted). When you buy hand tools - go for quality!

At this point you are now able to accurately measure and choose a board that is true and ready to use in your project.

Have you been chiseled?
There are two types of chisels - one for chopping mortises and one for pairing wood. I have both sets and seldom use them now. But, when I started out I was asked by my wife to make some bar stools for our new kitchen. Since I don't like using hard fasteners such as screws and nails, I needed to make 24 x 3 mortis and tenon joints. I did not want to spend money on a router and router table so I purchased a set of chisels and with the use of my trusty try square I laid out all of the mortises on 12 legs. I hand chopped each and hands sawn each tenon to fit each mortis. Yes, it is time consuming but I really enjoyed the work.

Where we're going?
Note: you can search the internet to find examples of mortis and tenon joinery. The stools are made of red oak purchased from my local home center. I was lucky, as the home center stocked the exact sizes I needed for my project. All I had to do was cross cut to length. I made both the bar stools and the step stool with a hand saw, back saw, try square, coping saw and a set of chisels along with sand paper, oak stain, clamp band and glue. The bar stools are now 20 years old and still standing. You can email me for pictures of both projects. As you learn more woodworking techniques and improve your skills you will be able to take on complex furniture projects.

There is no need to run out and buy a bunch of hand tools and power tools you think you will need. The wise thing to do is to determine what furniture project(s) you want to make and only buy the tools you need to make it, including power tools. For example, I needed to make two oak file cabinets with two draws each. The plan called for dove tail joinery for the draws (front half blind and back full dove tails). I did not consider cutting the dove tails by hand as my client wanted them made ASAP. So I spent some time viewing my woodworking catalogs and decided to purchase a 24 inch dove tail template and dove tail router bit. Now all my draw construction projects have machine dove tails whether or not the plans called for dove tails.

The whole point of this article to encourage you, the beginner, to get started in woodworking. Woodworking is both rewarding and fun. You can build almost anything you can imagine without going broke on tool purchases. So start small and grow. Soon you will be marketing and selling your creations for fun and profit.