traditional furniture tools

Check out these sites for starters:

Lie Nielsen: http://www.lie-nielsen.com/

Lee Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/index.aspx

I would check with your trade school instructor to get recommendations of specific tools to start with. You’re going to probably need a variety of hand planes, hand saws, chisels, and measuring & marking equipment, among other things.

-- John, BC, Canada

and this too

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/?gclid=CMrb6Ove6LICFXCmPAodUAkAuw

welcome to LJ’s !

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

Good quality chisels are worth investing in. Bench planes,
not so much. Good old used Bailey planes are fine, but you
can upgrade the irons if you like and get very nice
performance with not much investment. Specialty planes
like shoulder planes are something you learn about as you
learn the craft.

Good sharpening stones are a worthwhile investment. I
use waterstones but the new diamond and ceramic stones
may be just as fast and easier to maintain.

If you want edges than stay sharp as you work, avoid
the chrome vanadium chisels. The chrome vanadium is
easy to sharpen and resists rust but the edges don’t hold
up as well as high carbon (and the new steels used in
boutique chisels). Try to get at least one or two really
good chisels early on. A full set is not needed, but when
you get used to good chisels, you can really tell the
difference in how well they cut and for how long
between sharpenings.

I would recommend:

http://leevalley.com/

http://toolsforworkingwood.com/

I would also recommend LeeValley when it comes to quality hardware, as well as Horton Brasses Inc:

http://www.horton-brasses.com/

I would also recommend Lost Art Press for good books:

http://www.lostartpress.com/books_s/12.htm

My recommendations are based off my experiences with the products from these places.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

Garrett Wade has some good things at fair prices. They
won’t steer you wrong in terms of the quality level they
are selling.

http://www.garrettwade.com/woodworking-tools/c/12395/

Lee Valley is great too.

Welcome to LumberJocks!

I worked in a college wood shop for my primitive years, and I built up my collection of fine hand tools to compliment the stationary tools. First thing is a 4” square, you will be surprised how much you will use it. Get yourself a decent set of chisels, then get a good block plane. After that you will find what you really need and build your collection.

Chris Schwartz as an author of good tutorial books comes to mind if you want to learn hand tools. I might have just godwined the thread as opinions of him are like choosing a religion. I would start by trying to figure out when old Roy (Woodwrights Shop) is on and start DVRing his shows.

No sense in going out to buy high-end stuff right away. You can get one plane that your not really going to appreciate from lie-neilson or you can get an army of users that will get you functional. Get a couple user bench planes (7 and a 4 1/2 would be ideal as you can swap the irons) and an old block plane. If you can find a 9 1/2, its a decent one with an adjustable mouth. clean em up and sharpen them up then go to town. You’ll learn a lot about the planes and you wont be scared to break anything. As someone mentioned where you dont want to skimp is getting a good try square, 4 or 6 inch, also getting a good 48” level/straight edge will be important, but a piece of angle iron or aluminum will work in a pinch. A good ruler(acid etch! not stamped or silk-screened) is important up front as well.

I’d go into some sort of mental breakdown the first time I had to sharpen a lie-neilson, probably will never be an issue for me. I don’t have any compunction about fiddling with the old users that I have so far begged or bought from older relatives, garage sales and ebay.

-- Brian