Best First Hand Tools and First Projects for Hand Tool Woodworking
Best First Hand Tools and First Projects for Hand Tool Woodworking
What are the best first hand tools for woodworking and what should I build first? today on Wood By Wright 2 we will be looking at a beginner set of hand tools and what projects you can make with those. this is beginner woodworking and limited tools fun for anyone who wants to have a fun time int he shop.
Where to find hand tools: HandToolfinder.com
Sto sided Wet stone: https://amzn.to/36HkjcZ
How to make a mallet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO4QtjMuN4Q
How to make winding sticks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfVp9D8mg_c
How to make a woodworking bench: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhRRcYMYLkI&list=PLAbayqjimalF1LLgzA5W7lVkLYBf-Y5LJ
Old First hand tools video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKvyJ4CrvDQ
Kling Spore Paper deal. https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/bb00001/
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James is so wrong on this and I’m going to tell you why…. Because at the end he says we’re going to bicker and say how wrong he is. I wished I had a video like this when I started. I did everything backwards. Hell, I owned ever tool before the ones on this list and what a hard road it’s been. Great job James 👌
I strongly disagree on the part where you buy a new as you need it for a project. One should buy a new tool when you get the itch 🙂
Beautiful tool my brother 👌💖👌💖🙏 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
Don’t you use power machine?
Excellent video! Thanks! Best advice: Don’t buy anything till you need it!
Loved my first Mill Boss, took the time to show me everything. I still have the memo pad and kept notes on everything, edge banding, Hing Plate, Drawer Gigs. But taught me so many skills like letting chisels do the work so not to fillet my knuckle skin. I think this is a general rule for the new hires who have chisels, show them.
really appreciate this video. I’m newly retired a 64yo newbie so don’t laugh when I ask ‘what’s a dovetail?’
my favorite mallet is a 12” hunk of 4×4 with the bottom half carved away for a handle. you just make a 1” cut all around the middle and carve the handle out. Lasts about six months then you make a new one.
Sorry to be late to this party. Here is what I have realized as a now experienced newb.
4 tools are needed to start:
1) something to mark/measure
2) something to cut
3) something to pare/trim
4) something to assemble (until aquired skill can rely solely on #3, when you then have choices for assembly)
Every tool is just a variation on these 4 tasks.
Thanks for all the help and insight over the years, James.
No! You need to buy every Lie-Nielsen and Veritas tool in their catalog before you can even think about doing your first project.
Wobbly table 😅 am on that stage now 😭
There is so many why’s in this video. Why the clogs and WHO IN THEIR RIGTH MIND WOULD PAINT A PLANE BLUE. AND IT BETTER NOT BE A ORIGINAL OLD BOATBUILDERS PLANE IN THE BACK, PLEASE DON’T FORCE ME TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC TO HUNT YOU DOWN!
Otherwise a nice video, and I agree on most of what you are saying.
Why am I watching this? After working as a professional woodworker for the last 20 years this video should be completely waste of time. But I enjoyed it for some reason, except for the f…ing blue planes!!!!
Thank you.
Loved my Bench in the cabinet shop, I was excited to jump in to our multiple projects. Surface was 4×8, at waist level the perimeter had a perimeter shelf between knee and waste level for easy access to all jibs, formers, jointers, vice. Larger jigs on bottom ankle shelf. Pneumatic tools hung on 1 corner. On average I assembled $50,000 of Cabinets alone on the table while managing the line boring, edge banding, Hinge plates. Boss ran the table saw (no software) bff ran the paint, stain, laminate, Joints, Frames, helper pre loaded jobs. The 4 of us installed each job. Didnt make much money but loved my job and coworkers. The Recession and GCs holding retainer carrots destroyed my bosses shop. Small shops, baby your negotiated Contractor Client relationships. Your value is your craft and punctuality. Dont be afraid to negotiate an expedited Retainer agreement. Your labor Burden and hourly rates need to be in writing.
I made my Roubo style workbench out of 2 dinertables i got for €10 each.
If you want to start woodbuilding this is a great first practice and workbench.
Pro tip : have a look at decent Japanese saws like (shark Saw) they make life a lot simpler.
Get the cheapest chisel you can find to learn how to Sharpen
And get a quality set for actual woodworking like (Bahco)
If you need a handplane and you do have the money , go for a Lee Nielsen or Veritas. ,Forget the new Stanley ones.
Quansheng is a Nice budget version and better quality than Stanley.
Thank you. I like your philosophy of Just do it, don’t worry, and have fun
Great video, thankyou for sharing.
I suggest a flat granite tile from the big box store instead of glass for your first sharpening setup. Cheaper and safer.
Add card scrapers to the list. Cheap and useful as final steep..
Hello sir I’m leaving in Pakistan I. I want wooden tolls
Another good thing about a bench being your first project is that every mistake you make will be right there in front of you every day you’re woodworking. So you’ll remember those mistakes.
For me it was not planing some of the surfaces straight enough on my joiners bench, and not leaving the wood settle for long enough, so it has a few gaps here and there.
But, to make myself feel better I just tell myself that I didn’t have a bench to make the bench on.
I have everything except the plainers. Now I need to build a work bench. At 77 I figured I could try wood working.
Thanks for another terrific video, James. A couple of FB groups i follow get the "I’m just starting; what do I buy/build first" question on the regular.
Now I have a video to share in answer.
First project should be a Fully Equipped Workshop! Go out and splurge! Then regret and you will make woodworking a career to get your money back lol
subscribed, hit the bell and ready to go
Thanks for making this video. It’s reassuring to know I already have most of what I need, that my grandfathers used 25-35 years ago. I could swear they had a hand plane, but I haven’t seen one yet. Their tools are in serious need of restoration and sharpening, but I suppose I can make do. I’m just not too confident about the saws. They’re all bent and toothless, I’m not sure I can fix them. They’re all rip saws though, so I may have to take the time to adapt one or two as well. I still have their workbench and a small vice. It’s not looking too bad, I guess. 🙂
Doing it since you were 5 years old guy? So in between shitting in your pants and rubbing it all over your face, you were building custom furniture huh?? Lol. Just playin with ya man, great vid
You can sharpen crosscut blades with a bike chain btw, just have to heat it up. I used to live off-grid for years and had to figure out a way
Saw, Handplane, two stones (use three surface method to flatten no need for flat surface), chisels and a strop.
Great advice and video James!
So I am a bit discouraged at the cost of some of these hand woodworking tools. I know I can spend weekends searching garage sales and antique shops then more hours trying to restore them, which by the way I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I can also try to get some cheap tools from Harbor Freight or Amazon but many of the review like the one I saw on Stanley’s New No. 4 Bench Plane said thing like it worked OK after a spent hours getting it right, or it broke after a couple of weeks of use. Then you think maybe I’ll spend a bit more than $30 and find the next jump up is $130-$225 for the same tool. Is there a brand out there that hits the middle of the road? I don’t want to be junking tools or spending hours trying to restore them and the cost of some of the more expensive tools has me thinking I can get that in a power version for less.
Great inspirational video for a new woodworker. Takes me back to when I started my hand tool woodworking journey. Thanks James
Good advise and logical too.
I might add a small cutting hatchet. I was lucky enough to be my granddad’s favorite grandchild. He left me a bunch of nice woodworking tools. I’d rather have him back, but such is life.
What is a quality workbench build you recommend?
I started hand tool woodworking off and on recently. I have made my first firewood mallet and been practicing dovetails using old fence post scrsps. Used firewood to carve out a couple jewelry boxes to gain experience with chisels and am just trying to get things looking nice. Have no previous woodworking experience at all. Thank you for the videos. They are my go to
Building a workbench is a lot like voting. For best results, it should be done early and often.
Thanks for the video! It’s a great reminder that I have all I need to get building. I’m thinking about upgrading my chisels from the Harbor Freight chisels soon with individually purchased chisels. Do you have a recommendation on the order of chisels to get (Namely for household furniture)??
I know it depends on my own work, but I will be traveling to Japan soon and I’m thinking about picking up 2-3 chisels while I am there and I haven’t figured out which chisels I use most yet.
7:59 that gesture
Thanks for a great video, as always, James.
Can someone explain to me this whole “number 4” & “number 5” hand plane business in a bit more detail for those looking at descriptions that do not match such tags….?
Need a mallet, take a broken oak limb (stripped of bark) that is regularly shaped. A leg from a broken discarded table/chair can be used. I often just grab (grabbed) a chunk of 2×4 for a mallet. Yes, I have a mallet now.
I’m so glad to hear someone NOT say stuff like “you’ll want your chisels to be of the highest quality so be prepared to spend big bucks on a good set, and get no fewer than three grades of sharpening stones…etc.” On the other hand, recommending $7 chisel set from Harbor Freight and a few pieces of sandpaper, tells me this guy isn’t going to dampen my enthusiasm by throwing a lot of obstacles in my way. Subscribing.
My first tool wasn’t a hand tool, it was a 4.5 inch circular saw that was bundled with a folding sawhorse/work table from Worx. That being said, I definitely agree that a saw should be the third tool a woodworker gets at the least.
I haven’t built my own workbench yet because I live off a fixed income, but that’s certainly a priority when I do have the skills and money to do so.
One time i have read in some place: "the workbench its not most important stuff, but surely its one of the most, simply its the biggest clamp in the shop"
For sure people just starting out need a lie Nielsen replica no 51 shooting plane and a vintage Stanley metal shooting board. The number one bench plane is for serious woodworkers only while casuals only have no. 2-8 from post ww2 era. Lol! 😅 My favorite starter woodworking tools for real though have been my harbor freight chisels and ryoba saw. As I upgrade other tools to meet my projects & skills per your advice, I still can’t think of a reason why I’d need anything else from my chisels yet. A 1/4”-1 1/2” is an incredible value for so many beginning projects. Thanks for the content.
Auger bits are actually really hard to come by in the West and sets are REALLY expensive. Suggestions? No MWTCA even close to me!
Wish I saw this before I went crazy 😕 buying tools 🔧 😩
Great video bud. I think I have went completely out of order but that’s okay…lol.
I am call BS on cheap steel. Never buy an edge tool that is not hard.