8 TOOLS I should have bought sooner \ Beginner WOODWORKING tips
8 TOOLS I should have bought sooner \ Beginner WOODWORKING tips
Starting out in any hobby is hard work. Woodworking is no different. I spent a lot on tools that seemed right for me at the time. Now, a few years down the line I realise that there are choices. From sandpaper to drill bits, you can go cheap or expensive.
In this video I hope to show you the options and help you to choose.
A few links to the tools you have seen
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CHAPTER 1
3M Extract Sandpaper (all grits) – UK Link – https://amzn.to/43m34uH
US Link – https://amzn.to/3MOmvFJ
CHAPTER 2
Self Centring Drill bits (Cheap) – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/42l12d2
US LINK – https://amzn.to/43lNBLd
(Expensive) – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/45I05OV
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3WJNiHP
CHAPTER 3
DEWALT Right angled drill attachment – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3IW4moe
US LINK – https://amzn.to/45N5owH
Cheaper Angled Drill attachment – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3IW4moe
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3MR9yeg
CHAPTER 4
Kreg Jig 720PRO – UK Link – https://amzn.to/3IWvnaZ
US Link – https://amzn.to/3OWibXs
Wolfcraft pocket hole Jig (not recommended) – UK Link – https://amzn.to/3X30pUJ
US Link – https://amzn.to/3WLES2u
CHAPTER 5
Stanley Edge band trimmer – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3ITXPuc
US LINK – https://amzn.to/42lvNi7
(The US Stanley doesn’t look to be as good value as the UK price)
CHAPTER 6
JAPANESE PULL SAWS
Small flush cut saw – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/43ENgDf
US LINK – https://amzn.to/43ju5za
Larger Rip/Cross Cut saw – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/43G8Ua9
US LINK – https://amzn.to/45HouUS
CHAPTER 7
Cheap Honing guide – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3Cgoyx7
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3C6ldRv
VERITAS Honing Guide – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3Cbk37c
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3WP2gMr
CHAPTER 8
PICA PENCIL – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3oEiQCm
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3MRBs9I
PICA REFILLS – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3OTqVha
PICA BUNDLE – US LINK – https://amzn.to/3oWgVsM
TRACER PENCIL SET – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3ITjDpM
TRACER PENCIL SINGLE – US LINK – https://amzn.to/3N9SJMV
NO BRAND SET – UK LINK – https://amzn.to/3ITYko4
US LINK – https://amzn.to/3N89A2G
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All UK links are for products that I have used. US links are the closest I can find. They are recommendations made from my experience, your may differ.
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Visit me at the following places.
email – startmaking2022@gmail.com
Inst – https://www.instagram.com/startmaking2022
Website (early stages). www.start-making.com
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#BeginnerWoodworking #BeginnerTools #diy
Thank you for showing me this, I love the self centering bits, I didn’t even know there was such a thing, I could have used this a billion times.
Koh-I-Noor 5219 I use this for pencil
I have such a love for ply it could be a fetishism. I consider covering the edge sacrilege 😂 unless it’s veneered ply.
Anyone else or is it just me?
I care a lot about marking. For me, layout accuracy usually dictates how much swearing I’ll be doing as I work through the project.
For marking, a marking knife or guage is king for most of my marking in solid wood. My Pentel GraphGear 1000 0.5mm and 0.3mm for when I need marks to be removable or curved. The GraphGear can take a large variety of leads of varying hardness and color. It has a barrel that can rotate so you know which hardness is in that particular pencil. The tip retracts inside so you don’t have to worry about breaking it. It also doubles as the pencil I regularly carry. I have several of them in my work area with different leads and colors for different tasks, but I usually have a 2b in my pocket. Just one plus leads will set you back $15ish depending on sales and such.
I own the Pica and the lines it makes are too wide for me. If I sharpen it and then mark a long line, I can see the line thickening as it goes. I can also tell the rough order I made my marks because they get thicker and thicker until they get thin again suddenly because I sharpened the pencil. The wider lead also contacts my rules and such leaving graphite dust on surfaces from time to time which can be annoying. I use it for more construction-type work and for marking rough cuts. It really excels there because the thick lines don’t matter much when you’re working to 1/16th" accuracy.
Good, easily and quickly adjustable dividers and pinch sticks. I try to refrain from measuring from a rule too much. Each use of a rule is a place I can screw up and curse at myself later. I tend toward using dividers and pinch sticks. If I’m measuring by rule or divider, I’ll record each measurement onto a story stick first and use that for the duration of the project. If I need to take a quick measure of something bigger than the divider, then pinch sticks it is. I have made many sets over the years, so I usually just lock in the measurement and label it with some masking tape. Now I’ve got it, it is a measurement of the reality of the thing, rather than trying to line up reality to a line on a rule. I can use pinch sticks to align things, a second set can be used to make an opening parallel. An extra pair can be used to ensure square. Pretty amazing how often I pull those things out. I don’t need to do any math. I just need to see if it fits. If not, adjust and check again.
I handfitted Western handles to my Japanese saws. I never did like the stick handles.
👌👌👌
Strange, I exactly did all the same mistakes. Lesson learnt for me : low cost tools are finally expensive, you have to by another one… Thanks for the video.
Let me know if there are any other tools you can’t live without. Thank you for watching.
Excellent very detailed, to the point, I think you are an organised person, but say your not, because you recognise when you’ve not been, disorganised people don’t recognise that, they just carry on being disorganised, good tips though and the Japanese saw came into U.K. on mass about twenty plus years ago,
Have had a set of those self-centering bits for many,many years. They are so handy. They’re made for countersunk holes but can be used with non-countersunk holes also-with a bit of care and the appropriate sized bit.
Way back in the old days my beginer sander were a pair of corded Black & Decker entry model. Cutting my own sand papers reinforced with duct tape in the back to extend the life of the sand papers.
Edge trimmer router would be suggestion. It’s super versatile for a bunch of other jobs as well
Study the construction techniques in high quality antique furniture and you’ll find a frequent use of pocket holes. In the right circumstance, they can be a good joinery technique.
Rebates and dadoes are better than pocket holes
Greetings & Thanks from Ireland
The power is transferred. Is a transference of power.
Looking in the background and all your hand planes are laying blade down! Not good.
liked, subbed, enjoyed. I don’t do cancel culture bs – only positive gets stuff done.
Ive been using Picas since about 2016… and in that time I’ve found myself using them less and less . they start off a tight fit in the holster, but after a while those little fins inside the holster wear to the point the pencil just doesn’t hold… and you loose it.
For wood working they’re a total waste of money, regardless of your skill. The stock leads are too soft for any thing other than scribbling nots on plasterboard or marking out first fix. For woodworking they brought out the hard leads, but the tips still dull to quickly for any real accuracy so you end up sharpening them all day… and since the sharpener is at the bottom of the holster its a real fan. Tracer brought out there’s, and the little green ends fall of.
All of the brands also use the same Chinese mechanism in their own plastic shell after a while they part ways and the whole thing falls apart.
That said, props for being just about the only “5 tools i wish i had to start with” videos to touch on sharpening….. not a fan of the veritas – too complicated for me, the trend guide has a wide brass roller too, and a simpler set up – although there’s no options for micro adjust or cambered irons like the veritas.
Power is transmitted is perfectly correct
Well, I have a cheap ‘Made In China’ double sided ‘Japanese pull saw’ and the cheap sharpening guide, at $100+ I won’t be changing to a Veritas (Pretty sure tax will be extra in USA, is VAT added in UK ?)
I don’t have any of the other things and it’s doubtful I be them either although the DeWalt angle head adapter at $19.00 is actually pretty cheap and could be useful.
Personally, Kreg pocket hole jig is still overpriced, a moveable clamp could be devised for the $5.00 one (plenty of DIY ones on You Tube as well)
I don’t make anything with pocket holes though and still think they look ‘cheap’ particularly on expensive furniture (I tend to crawl around underneath stuff when my wife has to have ‘something new’
Why does this just seem like a product review video?
Or an audition tape for an advertising company?
I’m sorry my dude but this is less of a get the best you can but these are the products you’ll need and more of the get the most expensive items because they make you a better wood worker.
My most used tool and a must have in any shop is a digital Vernier calliper. Preferably Mitutoyo brand.
Hey, hold on a minute..
That handblock you have for sandpaper, does that have velcro for round discs? Where to get one of those?
I finally got the Kreg 720 pro. Should have got it the first time. My only disappointment is I do not care for the square drive screws and prefer the Torx drive screws. Otherwise, the jig itself is great. One tool I cannot do without is my Ryobi 18 V Jig saw. I did not expect it to be so valuable.
Thank uou for your view on tools. I’ve something to share: my dad went to a trady school in the 30"s, learned how to file ballbearings. His life toke him to airplanes. But before he unexpectedly died he told me a lot about tools. Later in my life i met a technical designer with woodworking as "hobby".
My dad taught me metallurgy and his replacement taught me tools and precision. Both said cutting down a decent brand tool for an inch, file/grind them roughly and then sharpen them.
50years on I still use the 40mm and 20mm plain steel Nooitgedagt.
Considering the "medium-expensive" paper, I personally can do very well with it. I sanded quite a bit with it (with a good Kärcher dust extractor) and I had NO dust flying around.
I did the same before with a mediocre dust extractor and it was quite the opposite of it: there was dust everywhere!
I recommend checking the dust extraction beforehand! You can definitely put the cheaper paper to good use then. Though: Better paper, better results!
Such a drill bit is absolutely worth the money! I have one that can be attached to my screwdriver and it saved me a lot of times! Check out cordless screwdrivers that allow for exchanging the chuck for other useful bits, e.g. the drill bit mentioned!
I went with an mechanical pencil with a 0,7 mm 2B lead, and it does everything I want very well. I’ve not yet seen a reason to upgrade to the one you mentioned.
For more coarse markings I just use ordinary coloured pencils and sharpen them from time to time. I there have different colours for different materials to write on.
For the other tools I do not really have a valid opinion, because I never use(d) them.
What I clearly can recommend:
– carpenter’s square
– combination square
– good clamps
– good drills (!)
– some good files
9:10 transmitted!
Thank you for braking things down to my level…. Haven’t worked with wood for over two decades, this is helping me
just between you and me this video’s sponsor was that first 100 dollar pencil right mate? haha big data sent me this video when it figured out I am on a tool buying mega spreee lol you really like that pencil I had to watch it twice because it felt like subliminal hypnosis going on lol, you like the pencil way too much, I’m surprised you don’t use a marking knife, but pencils are definitely sexier 🙂 but yeah good video I did pick up the self centering drill bits which will solve a common problem I have and the xtract paper which I was already on the fence about just like the japanese saw and you pushed me over the edge. I personally swear by the dowelmax jig from Canada and have used it to put down 10’s of thousands of dowels even in 10" long butt edges making tabletops and benchtops without a single failure, now that is an awesome tool!
cheers
Spend the extra bit on the good bit because it’s a good bit better.
I have tried all those marking pencils and they are all useless; the best option is a mechanical pencil (propelling pencil) cheap and easy, lead is nice and thin and makes a good line. I have 3 with difference size leads .05 .07 and a .09 of course they wont be mentioned in this video because the emphasis here is to buy the dearest item because it will be the best, I have found this is not true in all instances. But of course if you get paid to promote something then you have to go with that. I have the Kreg jig and yes, it does a good job but believe me the cheaper ones does exactly the same job and equally as well, and to spend big money on a jig that can only be used for certain limited applicaction, buy the cheaper one.
Great video. I concur with pretty much everything you have explained here. I recently "treated" myself to a set of no name cheapo hinge centre drills that look identical to the cheap ones you showed. I am very underwhelmed. They are not concentric and wobble as they spin. Granted, they were under a fiver for a set of three but they are junk, frustrating to use and I wish I’d just spent a bit extra and gone for the Trend ones I’ve been eyeing up for a while. I have the Woodcraft pocket hole jig too and as you said, it works and I have been glad of it from time to time, but the results are not great, although it seems to cut a bit cleaner than you showed. Fine for some tasks although it is a bit of a faff to use. I’m tempted by the Kreg one you have and your demonstration of it was impressive.
Great video, thank you
Thank you! That was great
Pocket hole are good for cabinets that’s about it
I am confused by the sand paper discussion. The dust extraction holes on my Bosch orbital sander line up with the holes on basic sandpaper pads. I don’t get the advantage of having holes (or airflow) in areas where there are no suction holes – as with the mesh type expensive sandpaper discs.
Great video!
Well thought out and excellent presentation!
Well done!
Hinge centre drills are a waste of money.
The springs in them give up.
As a site carpenter and former carpenter I select a drill bit that is the clearance size of hinge holes and with the hinge in position I spot through leaving a centre on the wood. Then I chuck a pilot drill and pilot the screw holes. Much more certain and less junk tools in your bag.
Wolfcraft makes a better version of the 90 degree bit driver. It has a bigger and square handle, which is easier to hold on to. With regards to the Japanese saws, then they are way easier to make straight cuts with – because they cut on the pull. When a saw cuts on the push, there is a tendency to wriggle in the wrist on the push. That tendency is totally eliminated with the pull saws, since you activate the bigger muscles in the arm as well as the back. The push saws mainly activates the pecs and the lower arm muscles. Personally I never use the push saws anymore. I can do the exact same things with the pull saws. It is just a matter of getting the correct ones.
I disagree with the advice on the Veritas honing guide – yes it is precise and repeatable, but it’s over spec’d for normal humans, requires multiple jigs, is time-consuming to use, and is very expensive. Veritas make a side-clamping jig that is inexpensive, has the same high quality tooling, will take chisels and plane irons, and requires no jiggery other than a projection block that you can have the satisfaction of making yourself from the template provided. Save yourself a ton of dosh and keep it simple.
4:32 If I did a lot of hinges, I might look into one or two of those drill bits, but I use transfer punches instead. They’re at home in machining, but very useful in other areas too, definitely in woodworking. A cheap set will do the job.
Oh and the other tool that’s worth having is the Mirka? Set that decorators use, I bought one many years ago long tube to hoover or Henry that is hand used but takes as good as all dust away through mesh pads, really good
What a great video. Food for thought !
Don’t much like pocket holes in finished projects, but for making jigs, a good pocket jig is wonderful.
Snubs and elitists are everywhere. Woodworking is no different.
And none of them are building their base cabinets with hand cut dove tail joinery anyways…
I think you may have missed a trick with the marking tools. The knife. It should have a flat edge on one side to mark along a ruler or other edge. It will give you a very precise groove line to work to and increase accuracy in general.
Another area is the process of making out. It’s not tools but more about how they are used. Without getting too silly about it, there are ways to go about measuring and marking and also not measuring and marking. For example,using the actual board as the measure for a slot cut instead of trying to abstract everything to numbers that may not be consistent with reality.
Thanks for the material.
I would like to compliment you on your insight and your guidance to beginners. keep up the good work.
Would a centering drill jig work in lieu of the self centering drills? Like machinist tool guide in woodworking? Sure, more parts, less regidity, more risk of offcenter holing. Looking to be frugal and starting out. One thing i deal with is a wall of perfection must be matched, and logically i know perfection is not attainable, and i just need to start. Its rough. I want to see thongs through. I really do, but some sort of mental block says i must know everything on paper or the tube before i start.
Great to see Phil Collins is still working.
Just wanted to say great video and very encouraging/positive for the beginner woodworker. I have just subbed and look forward to going back through your vids. 👍👍👍👍