I think I must have reached a certain age because I’ve suddenly developed an urge to buy some woodworking tools. No idea if I’ll use them or whether I’ll really have the time, but I’ve got this idea that I could maybe build some simple practical items around the house, storage, tables, things like that, nothing fancy and most likely on the shabby chic end of the spectrum.

Anyway, I was wondering about tools. I’m guessing chisels should be decent quality? Is a saw just a saw and something to replace once blunt? Half decent 16oz hammer. Anything else? How much would you realistically spend to get started? No desire to start forking out on power tools or any specialist equipment just yet.

I did a bit of joinery many years ago so have a basic understanding of what’s involved, just looking for some decent starter kit.

the things you want to make,  the processes you want to use and the materials you want to work with dictated what tools you need. Enzi Mari’s ‘Autoprogettazione’ was republished recently – a whole suite of woodworking plans that only require a hammer and a saw.

Cutting
Chisels and a sharpening stone. A pu saw for fine work, a panel saw for rougher work. Plane.

Marking measuring
Bevel, square and combination square, sharp pencil, Stanley knife, metric tape measure, long rule / straight edge.

4 quick clamps (to start) for work holding.

1st project make a pair of sturdy saw horses. Add a old external door or other heavy work top and with the clamp will make a good portable work surface.

A decent set of Marples chisels will be around £50-70
Get an oilstone too to sharpen them.
The Screwfix own brand chsiels got good reviews a few years ago. Half the cost of Marples.
Saws, you can pay a fortune to get a quality ‘old style’ saw. The typical hardpoint saws for general cutting are fine for most uses. Get a fine one for fine cuts, rough for rough cuts. They last ages.
Planes. FB marketplace, available for £10 upwards. 20 years ago they were £30-40 secondhand, they are not desireable to many people now, youngsters don’t bother with DIY.
A decent wooden mallet rather than a steel hammer does it for me. Hammers have their uses, but it isnt something I use much. I use a rubber mallet more than a steel headed one.
A fret saw is useful.

Start small with basic tools before you regret spending big and realise you may not have the time or skills.

Speaking from experience (trained joiner as well)

Edit, that said, I have recently built a man cave/lean to/work shop that I intend to use more in later life when I have the time and skills to make ‘stuff’

Every wood working project I do starts with the table saw.
Get a big one. And a dust extractor.

You really need to start by spending approx £15k on Festool power tools 😉

Don’t get obsessed with American YouTube channels where they either have huge garage with massive tables saws and every tool going or have big beard and set the teeth on all their saw before each cut. Just do as footflaps and spend a minimum of £10k on festool tools.

Planes. FB marketplace, available for £10 upwards. 20 years ago they were £30-40 secondhand, they are not desireable to many people now

What have you been smoking? with the exception of maybe a no4 stanley you’re paying daft monies on the usual places. Paul sellers has ruined cheap quality hand tools for everybody 😀

For hand tools old is way better than new the casting on plane body’s is way better.
The chisels will be better grades of steel and hold an edge longer.
Don’t go for an oil stone that’s long gone tech diamond grit is way more practical and less likely to go wrong.
Good combination sq
Speed sq
Get a rubber Thor hammer for chisel work, hammers are for beating the life out of things on site.

Top tip is Google image Marples boxwood handles chisels get familiar with them then go eBay shipping for mixed lots of carpentry tool.
In fact there is one now with two Marples and other stuff on eBay now. Cheap as chips
Restore the tools and you will enjoy them more.
Saws pull and push work a treat but a real nice brass back tennon saw is a joy until you have to sharpen it.

I did it for a living
Site toolbox = anything that got stolen I could replace on the way home jelly handled chisels plastic screwdrivers ect.estwing hammer ect.
Planes where alway Stanley for site work too.
Workshop was all my nice stuff as I worked on my own lots of old record and Marples tools with a dose of Japanese and USA.

And a big vise with blue with record cast into the front.

Ps Marples went shite when Irwin took over the name

You really need to start by spending approx £15k on Festool power tools 😉

Yeah that’s all well and good, but he’ll need more than just a drill. Beat up that another few K.
And red tools are better, get Hilti. They’re much cheaper 😳

Restore the tools and you will enjoy them more.

I’m not saying this isn’t a good idea.

but I’d start with some decent new basic chisels, narex or something shoogly handles horrific out of square grinds and ex paint pot levers are a ball ache to get nice (this coming from who enjoys sharpening a saw) even worse if you don’t really know what you are trying to achieve.

Not that my woodworking ability makes me an expert in any way but various family members are quite talented cabinet makers and I have a good idea of how a good well set up hand tool is supposed to perform. Its kind of usefuf to have somethign perfectly functional to start with.

Enzi Mari’s ‘Autoprogettazione’

I know its not the ethos but some of those tables in particular could look pretty amazing with some refinement

Personally I would get a few books that include some plans for the sort of things you want to make. From there you can have a think about what is achievable and what tools you’ll need. I would say depending on what you want to make you need something to hold your work. A workmate is surprisingly useful and I still use mine most days when on site. Start small and work through the build process in your head, you will soon pick up what you need, it helps to know someone to ask for advice or even to borrow things like clamps, you never have enough of those!

Paul sellers on youtube will show the way on setting up handtools
Stumpynubs is ok too I think that’s his user name on YouTube
As for new VR’S old buy one new one and a bench grinder for the old stuf but I do love sharpening stuff it’s a skill that never leaves you once you have it

I know its not the ethos but some of those tables in particular could look pretty amazing with some refinement

I’ve seen some very elegant bits of furniture riffing on those designs. Got a bunch of nice slender maple boards sitting in my container waiting to be an Enzo Mari table one day when I have a bit of time on my hands

Pk13 gives good advice. So do others here but The Brick put me off at “sharpening stone” 😎
Tools are in at least 3 categories.
1) you can’t do the job without it
2) it will let you do the job quicker
3) it will let you do the job better

I design and make good and pricey furniture. I’m happy to use the cheapest crappy tool if it’s for a one off job and the results don’t matter, or the cut is hidden. Because I’m semi retired I don’t care if the job takes a bit longer so I don’t buy category 2 things, and I don’t use things that will take a finger off, like a table saw.
I’m happy to spend £1000 on a tool that takes my work to another level though.

Oh, and always cut away from yourself, never towards. And a sharp tool is safer than a blunt one.

And a sharp tool is safer than a blunt one.

Except the thinking tool that should remain sharp or you should stop 😁

but The Brick put me off at “sharpening stone”

Could you elaborate please. I am just using the term as a general term, I know there are lots of methodss of sharpening.

I’m saving money but just watching the American Youtube videos 😉

Serious answer, as well as the channels mentioned above check out Rex Krueger. He has a “woodworking for humans” series where he assumes no previous experience and few tools. He also has a whole bunch of easy to follow tool restoration stuff. His “cheap plane tuning” video is excellent.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4SLNED1DiNPHComZTCbzw

Thanks all. I might just buy a couple of cheap bits to get started and take it from there.

Steve Ramsey – Woodworking for Mere Mortals on YouTube is really good, he gives a good starting guide on a few simple projects to start with and guides on what tools to buy first.

https://youtube.com/user/stevinmarin

Could you elaborate please. I am just using the term as a general term, I know there are lots of methodss of sharpening.

@TheBrick

Sheet of glass, window cleaner spray and several grades of wet & dry; and, if you fancy, a honing guide – I’ve got the Veritas but there are alternatives.

If you can be bothered, research and buy vintage. Pre-Irwin Marples are much better (go by the shade of blue for the earlier ones). My absolute favourite chisels are Ashley Iles. Get a reversible diamond stone and make a strop.
I watched four vintage chisels labelled only ‘Made in Sheffield’ go on Ebay for £410 a few days back but bargains can be had.

I’ve bought a few things from https://www.tooltique.co.uk/ – they have lots of old planes, chisels, etc sympathetically refurbished. Worth asking around though, there must be thousands of boxes of old hand tools languishing in attics and sheds that people have inherited and don’t know what to do with.

There’s a big difference between woodworking as a hobby (which is where much of the hand tool nerdery lies) and woodworking as a way to build useful stuff for your home. I barely use chisels, planes or hand saws because tracksaw and jigsaw cover 99% of wood cutting needs that I have.

I detest oilstones. But I love diamond stones – I’ve got a few and the cheapest B&Q £5 one is better than any oilstone. I don’t like the way they go hollow (unless you’ve served a 5 year apprenticeship) in 5 minutes, put a curve on your blades and get indelible stains on everything.

There’s a big difference between woodworking as a hobby (which is where much of the hand tool nerdery lies) and woodworking as a way to build useful stuff for your home. I barely use chisels, planes or hand saws because tracksaw and jigsaw cover 99% of wood cutting needs that I have.

That’s pretty much was I was going to say.

Hand tools are useful and some are so cheap you might as well have them but for actual making stuff power tools are the way to go. £15,000 spent at Festool will buy you a few useful pieces but you really don’t need to spend that. There are loads of cheap tools that are not that far behind the expensive stuff, eg Lidl track saw, Katsu router. If even that is too much then a jigsaw is probably a good starting tool for home projects.

As a slight curve ball option making furniture from other furniture is a good halfway house. Either upcycling something shabby or repurposing something to another use. Much easier to end with something useful and nice looking.

It’s a fair point. But being able to get some basics down by hand is pretty bloody handy.

A handplane a saw and some chisels will get almost anything done with a very small outlay.

To achieve the same with power tools you need atleast one saw, jointer, planerthicknesset and router some safety gear and somewhere you can get absolutely covered in dust.

I found my mitre saw such a ball ache to lug around it rarely got used over a handsaw so I sold it. The tracksaw you can prise out my cold dead hands.

I sit firmly in both camps. Favouring power tools when it’s needed or its ply etc and handtools for entertainment.

@butcher – Loads of good advice from really experienced folks. You can also never have enough clamps. Can I ask how much storage space you have?

A half sheet of ply wood with some stud work timber for bracing makes a great power tool/big job portable table if you get some foldaway metal saw horses. Ideally you want three if cutting large pieces, I like these since they store so well.

https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/Toughbuilt-Tou-C700-2-5055945212105-Saw-Horse-Adjustable-Jobsite-Trestle-Table-Twin-Pack

To be honest unless you are spending big money on brand new hand tools (i.e. Veritas and top end Axminster) you still end up doing a whole bunch of finishing to get them up to scratch. Plus you will need to know how to maintain them eventually.

Seems like mid priced new gives you OK steel but terrible QC. Stuff I had to do is along the lines of re-shaping hammer claws/nail vs to be straight/even, or having to lap the base and file the mouth on a new Stanley bullnose plane (it was £50 😬 and I couldn’t find a nice one on eBay).

There’s a big difference between woodworking as a hobby (which is where much of the hand tool nerdery lies) and woodworking as a way to build useful stuff for your home. I barely use chisels, planes or hand saws because tracksaw and jigsaw cover 99% of wood cutting needs that I have.

Personally I’m in the function over form camp, I mainly make shelves / cupboards etc out of hardwood Ply. My idea of a fine sand is 120 grit. Whilst I appreciate stuff which has been beautifully finished and sanded with 1000 grit, I really can’t be arsed, personally, to go to that level.

The only hand tools I use are pencil, rulers, square, levels and the odd chisel for internal corners. I’ve never sharpened a chisel and most have notches in them from hitting hidden nails etc when cutting and lifting floor boards.

My #1 tool is a track saw, I have a table saw and chop saw, but they rarely get used as I can do pretty much everything with the track saw and get mm accuracy. I use a small router and sander for tidying things up.

I’m probably going to sell the track saw and replace it with a plunge saw as the depth guage on my tracksaw (bosch) is rubbish, I want one which auto adjusts for the track width. Also the plunge saws have better dust collection as the blade is enclosed.

Robin Clevett has some good videos on how to use the right tools
https://www.youtube.com/c/ukconstruction/videos

Thanks all. I might just buy a couple of cheap bits to get started and take it from there.

Where are you?
I’ve probably got too much stuff here, things that’ll never be used again, so can go to a good cause for much cheapness.

Robin Clevett has some good videos on how to use the right tools

I like the SkillBuilder channel, didn’t know he has his own one as well…

https://www.youtube.com/user/skillbuilderchannel

It depends completely on what you want to make and what you want to make it out of.

Cabinets – board material – MDF HDF chipboard – Track saw
Solid timber then its going to prove more expensive as you need to process the timber to the sizes you need and for that the basic stuff is – Table saw, bandsaw,cross cut miter saw, Planer/thicknesser, pillar drill.
Chisels – they’re not carving specialists so likely only need about 5, from 6mm to 1″(I’ve at least 50 of these)
Powertools – Router(about the handiest tool there is, set upside down in a table or piece of board it becomes even more useful., drill/s, sander. Hand power planer isnt that good as its ok for rough, but its not accurate in the slightest.
Electric pinner is handy, to help hold things together while the glue sets.
Lots of clamps, from long 1700mm+ sash to 6″ F or G clamps- Cannot have enough of these and no way you’ll survive on less than a dozen.

Slight thread hijack but relevant nonetheless…

Dust extraction has been mentioned here a couple of times. What kind of budget friendly set up would you recommend for an ‘occasional use’ person?

I’ve still not bought anything BTW. I think I need an actual project first and decide what I need to start with from there, otherwise I fear I might just have tools gathering dust in the back of a cupboard.

DIY cyclone seperator.

http://www.jpthien.com/cy.htm

There’s a video on YouTube that shows you how to build one from two plastic buckets as well.

There’s as many opinions on which tools to buy as there are opinions on which bike to buy. That said a good browse of the Axminstertools.com website should give you a few comparison options.
To be honest, there are a couple of good antique / junk shops around here that sell loads of used, secondhand tools. I’ve bought loads from them, planes, chisels, drivers, drill bits. They all look old, but when properly sharpened they are quality bits of kit and sell for next to nothing prices.

I’ve just started getting into making things. Made a large woodstore and a bed for my van.
The problem you may have at the moment is getting hold of timber.
I’ve been using mostly free pallets/scrap wood from the kindling box at the local agricultural/builders merchants.
I just had an idea of what I wanted to make and used the few tools I had lying around, basically an electric drill/screwdriver and a hand saw. In trying to make something you’ll quickly learn all the things you have done wrong and all the tools which would have made the whole process a lot better and easier. I’ve actually quite enjoyed realising everywhere I’ve gone wrong!

Axminster power tool company is a bit short on tools, powered or otherwise currently(Probably as they all seem to be from China)
But handy to know what you want, or what’s available.
After that, Ebay is your friend. You can pick up old chisels that are way way better quality that the cheapo of equivalent price.

Ultra basic kit
4 chisels
A saw
A drill – and bits
A block plane, or No4 smoothing plane
A sharpening stone
A router – And bits
Couple of screwdrivers
Some 4H pencils

Woodworking magazines often have basic projects in them, along with all the details of sizes of eoch component. Then its just a matter of following the instructions and looking at the pictures.
You Tube is good if you get stuck.

We look forward to seeing your own version of ‘Tally Ho’

If you get stuck, ask Kayak, world class accident or myself and we can talk you through any probs.