# Help a newb out please!



## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

Hello all,
I started getting into woodworking about a month ago and since then I have spent countless hours researching tools and such so that I can try to avoid buying the same tool twice. At some point I have made myself more confused than when I started. I have a limited budget and I am not sure where to start. I ran across this site and I am considering doing semester 1 and 2 to start. Does anyone have any experience with this gentleman? Is this a good way to get started? I also read that reading the Anarchist's Tool Chest by Chris Schwarz would be a good way to get started possibly.

I have an antique store near me that has some really dated planes from Stanley and Bailey, so I suppose that is an option but I really have no clue what Im looking for to determine if they are good buys or not.

Somebody set me straight!!


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

The Anarchist's Toolchest by Chris Schwarz is a great place to start if you're interested in using hand tools. He gives a good overview of the various types of tools and how they are used. Some people don't like his style, whereas others love everything he does. I think it's a decent place to start. I don't know anything about the hand tool school you listed.

Regarding the Stanley planes, there are so many variables involved that it's hard to say, sight unseen, if you're gonna get a good deal. Perhaps someone on here will be willing to sell you a plane or two. DonW has a lot of planes and he sells cleaned-up versions for good prices.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Hi,

I haven't been at this very long, and I'm a bit of a bookworm myself. I find it easy to get mired down in details and not actually 'do' anything. What has worked for me it to pick a project, and then buy the tools specifically needed to complete it. Along the way, I'm learning new skills. When I bought my table saw, I bought a book on table saws so that I could work safely. But it was only in using the table saw that I gained confidence.

So while you do need some knowledge to be able to work safely, all the research in the world doesn't stack up to the value of experience.

Good luck
S


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

you have found a site here
with some of the best
and most experienced woodworkers

ask whatever you need to learn/do

and someone will be able to help

welcome to LJ's


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## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

Brandon - Thanks for the insight on the book. I might just go ahead and get it, maybe I'll do the electronic file…

Sandra - you managed to sum up exactly what has happened. I have gotten entirely to hung up in the details and as a result, I haven't built anything. This must change.

Patron - your right, the advice and friendliness within the community here at LJ is what made me decide to register. I look forward to picking a lot of brains round here.

Thanks for all the advice! Does anyone have any insight on the aforementioned " hand tool school?"


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

Shannon, has some nice stuff. Only watched his free videos. Also of a similar nature, Paul Sellers has an online offering. I personally would lean toward Mr. Seller's style but that is very subjective.

Take a look at their free videos and see if it meets your needs.


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

Mikey
build a box. any box. miter the corners or butt them put a top and a bottom on it. just about all wood working is a box of sorts. it is a great start and you will quickly learn what you need to know. what tools you need, what tools you may want. when you are finished building put some finish on it. your next box will be better if you analyze what you liked and did not like. learn from the mistakes, and re-enforce what went right. there is plenty of help here. welcome to LJs


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

buy a "kit"

Like "Ikea"

what could go wrong ?


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## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

David - ill be sure and take a look at Mr. sellers site, thanks for the insight.

Jumbo - Your right, I need to just start somewhere, I could use a box or ten 

Thanks all! This site is fantastic!


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Welcome to LJ's MikeyLikesIt!

Great advice above, maybe get some scrap wood on Craigslist and 
build a couple of boxes, or a shelves for your new to you hand planes.

Enjoy the journey, it's going to be a great one.


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## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

Waho6o9 - Thanks for the encouragement. I need to remind myself that it's about the journey rather than the destination.


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## paratrooper34 (Apr 27, 2010)

Mikey, I work pretty much exclusively in hand tools. When I transitioned about four or five years ago I started reading, A LOT. Personally, I think there is no one source for learning. Books were primarily my big source for info, but I also watched some videos (youtube is FILLED with stuff), I watched some podcasts (lots on there too, free), and read woodworking magazines (Pop. Woodworking, Wood, FineWoodworking, etc)

If you are going to start woodworking and learning it from the basement level, you are going to need to learn an awful lot of info. You need to learn the tools, how to sharpen them (a completely separate skill), how the tools accomplish different tasks, how wood projects are built (joinery techniques), and your tools' supporting cast (workbench, clamps, vises, etc).

I have no experience with the Hand Tool School you mentioned. I have seen many of Shannon Roger's podcasts however, which are entertaining. I am not the kind of person that is going to learn a lot from his offering in The Handtool School, so I chose not to pay for that. It might be good for you however.

Here are two things I would suggest: go to your local bookstore and check out their books on woodworking. Barnes and Noble for instance has a lot of books on woodworking. While the Anarchist's Toolchest is a good read, it is in no way the be all end all for learning how to work with handtools. In fact, I place it low on the list if I were making a list (by the way, I am definitely a fan of Schwarz). Anyway, at your local bookstore, you can see and touch what they have which will be helpful in deciding what you want. Next thing I suggest is to check a woodworking class in your area. This will give you a feel for where your talent level is and a good experience to be around tools. By seeing and using the tools, you will get a feel for what you need and what you want. Sometimes what you want and what you need are at very different ends of the spectrum.

And lastly, there is this site. It is a wealth of info available to you in real time. People on here (myself included) document our work on blogs so you can see the processes in pictures and read about them. These could be very helpful to you as well. Best part about LJs: FREE!

I think the more education you give yourself before you jump in, the more benefits you will reap down the road by wisely spending your limited budget dollars on tools and everything else that goes with the hobby.


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## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

paratrooper34 - Very detailed and helpful advice. You are right, there is a ton of info to learn. My wife mentioned the other night, why do you pick the most complex hobbies like golf and woodworking lol. I worked as an electrician for several years, so I am not a stranger to tools. Which is why I am trying to be careful how I spend my money. I know first hand how easy it is to buy the same tool twice. Sometimes it can't be avoided, but I need to minimize it as best I can.

Thanks again!


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## Duality240 (Nov 24, 2012)

Mikey,

Although you mentioned planes in your original post, you haven't clearly stated whether you want to get into old fashioned woodworking using only hand tools or if power tools are o.k. I don't use many hand tools but I would assume that if the Planes you are looking at are being sold in an Antique Shop, you can pretty well guarantee that they are overpriced. 
If you want to jump feet first into woodworking and you don't mind using power tools, I would suggest a table saw be your first purchase. Most shops are built around the table saw for good reason. It is one of the most versatile woodworking tools you can own. 95% of the projects I build are built exclusively using the table saw. With the right jigs, a table saw can do just about everything.
Welcome to LJ's (I'm new here myself) and more importantly, welcome to the world of woodworking.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

http://wkfinetools.com/

You're welcome Mikey. The above site is awesome and will
help shorten the learning curve.

Hand made tools rock, looking forward to your progress and projects
as well.

I have an extra block plane with your name on it, PM me should you want 
one.


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## ShannonRogers (Jan 11, 2008)

Mikey,

Paralysis by analysis is very common today since there is so much info available online. The Hand Tool School was build around the idea of getting people working quickly while building some very useful project for your shop. This was you build skills while not spending a fortune on wood and having to worry that each project comes out perfectly. You will just ding up the projects by using them in the shop anyway. One thing I should mention however is that if you do pursue a membership to not buy a bunch of tools first before signing up. Not everything I list is required right away and there are may alternatives (cheaper ones too). Tool buying should happen as needed not en masse. Finally, have you checked out the free preview of lesson one? It is quite long but I think a good introduction.

Also feel free to hit me up with any questions you have or stop by one of the monthly live sessions. These are open to the public and I'm available to answer questions or demonstrate anything you ask from an email or the chatroom. The next one is Tues 12/11 (next week) but the dates are always listed in the top right corner of the site. I also email out to my mailing list when they happen so let me know if you want to be added.

Enough sales pitch, welcome to the wonderful world of woodworking and no matter the course you take you will find that woodworkers are extremely helpful and will go above and beyond.


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## wdworking (Oct 29, 2011)

Semerster 1 & 2 are well worth the money from the HTS. Best around for hand tools. I also have the book by Chris Schwarz, I would read anything he puts out. Love the humor in them.


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## TimOgden (Dec 3, 2012)

I've been a member of Shannon's site for just over a year. I'm a big enough fan that this post finally compelled me to actually join LumberJocks so I could respond.

When I joined HTS, I'd been doing power woodworking for quite a while and had accumulated a good number of power tools (table saw, band saw, router & table, jointer, planer) plus a number of jigs. Nothing was top of the line, but nothing was junk either.

But still with all those tools I was really unsatisfied with the results I was getting. For every task there seemed to be a specialty jig necessary (or a tool upgrade) to get things repeatedly just right. Out of frustration I decided to see if learning to use hand tools would give me the level of precision I was looking for without turning my basement into a professional cabinet shop.

I was blown away at what Shannon was offering. At the time his site was even cheaper and was a shocking bargain. At the current prices I would consider it excellent value. What you get from HTS is not just the videos, which are great, but you get Shannon. Ask him a question anytime and he will answer. Ask him about anything, even things not covered in your subscription and he will answer. He goes out of his way to help.

And as a bonus being an HTS member gets you discounts on lumber and on hand tools.

After six months with Shannon's videos and a few direct questions, I built a wall-hanging display cabinet for my grandfather's tools entirely by hand. You can see pictures on the HTS Facebook page.

One final recommendation I will make if you are looking to get into handtool woodworking: check out hyperkitten.com and his tools for sale list. You'll get good quality used tools at very fair prices and be able to get started without a second mortgage or the need to upgrade until you're doing it completely out of "want" and not "need".


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

First I might say woodworking is not like golf. With golf there is a defined goal and struck rules. We don't have that in woodworking. Starting from zero is tough. Will you be a power tool guy or a hand tool guy? Are you going to build cabinets, furniture, boxes or art?

I'll be glad to help get you into some hand planes, whether it's advice about the ones at the local antique store or shipping one fully tuned, but hand planes are a story all its own.

Have fun in the journey and let us know how we can help.


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## DVB (Jan 6, 2010)

Mikey

I'll give you a bit about my own personal woodworking journey and you can see how it applies to your situation, since in my opinion, everyone's woodworking journey is different and we all find different things about the craft that appeal to us. As I'll explain in a bit, I think Shannon's Hand Tool School is fantastic and I have been a member since the very beginning. I personally learned more from these online courses than I ever had before. But again, that is a personal statement from me. I'm unable to attend woodworking schools, and even though I've read many books, watching something on a video and then utilizing the practice exercises that Shannon has in his semester's strengthened my skills tremendously.

In a nutshell, I started off watching Norm and thought the key to woodworking was to go out and buy a bunch of power tools and just starting trying to put stuff together. How hard could it be right? Norm made it look so easy. So, not having much money to spend I bought on price and though I bought some instructional woodworking books, I didn't understand many of the fundamental principles about joinery, the wood itself, etc. 
As a result, my woodworking creations were pretty much crap. As I started to realize what was missing, I personally found myself not only wanting to learn specific fundamentals of the craft, but also gravitating towards hand tools. So when the Hand Tool School came out, it seemed a perfect fit.

Here's my take on Shannon's videos. For me, these videos are great because they provide a fundamental starting point on how to approach the craft from the ground up. For me, I wouldn't be where I'm at without them. I learned about the properties of wood and how it behaves, how to mill stock using only hand tools, how to sharpen all my tools, how to properly lay out different types of joinery, how to appropriately use marking and measuring tools and Shannon takes you through a progression that builds upon skills. With each topic, there are practice exercises and it ultimately culminates in actually making something that used those skills. If you're diligent and follow these exercises, you will actually make some really beautiful and useful projects. These are all skills that are available in many places, but another one of the great things is that instead of having fifteen books on the myriad of woodworking topics, it's all in one place.

Eventually your process for woodworking may change. I know mine has. I started with all power tools, then sold most of them and bought all hand tools, and am now re-incorporating power tools to do particular tasks that are faster and more efficient. Yet, I know and have experienced certain occasions where the power tool is not the best, fastest, or safest method to use, and I can fall back on the hand tool skills I learned from Shannon. So now I find myself using both power and hand tools to make things and I more thoroughly enjoy both the process and the results of every project.

As for the Anarchist Tool Chest, I enjoyed the book. Perhaps you might also consider some of Chris Schwarz's other material on re-conditioning older tools. I think he just came out with a video on re-conditioning an old hand plane. If you go through his blog you can also find some worthy info.

Again, this is just my little journey and these are just my two cents. Undoubtedly someone else has a different experience and can provide a different take. I just think back to when I started and wished I would have asked the question you did. Good luck

Dave


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## RavinHeart (Jul 30, 2009)

Mikey,

On your question about the Hand Tool School, I think it is very much worth it. I have been a member since Shannon started up and happy I am. I have been doing woodworking in one form or another since I was 11 (now 38). I look at it as every bit of knowledge is important to me. Anyone that tells you they know it all … is lying  I consider Shannon a good teacher and all around good guy. Check out his preview and stop by a live session and check it out first. As he said above, you don't have to go out and buy all the tools you think you need either. I have a shop full of tools now but started out with just a few. You will be amazed what you can build with just a few tools. Then you can slowly buy the tools you really need as you need them. To many of us become tools collectors instead of woodworkers 

I hope you enjoy the craft as much as I do.

Ravinheart
(Andrew)
ravinheartrenditions.com


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## JPSzcz (Jan 31, 2010)

Mickey -

The Antarchist Tool Chest is great book to find out what tools to get. Lost Art Press's book, The Essential Woodworker (http://www.lostartpress.com/product_p/bk-ew.htm) is a great one to learn how to use them.

That being said, nothing teaches you as much as getting out there and making something. I agree with jumbojack. Build a box. Then another. Then a bigger one. Then one with another box inside. before you know it, you will be making a dresser of your own.

Enjoy the ride!


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## BerBer5985 (Oct 10, 2011)

Another site you might want to check out is Paul Sellers. He offers a monthly subscription site he just started for around $15/mo. He also has a wonderful set of DVD's and a book on getting started into woodworking. I like Paul Seller's methods in regards to sharpening and his take of doing hand tool woodworking. He uses not much more than some chisels and a Stanley #4 plane for just about everything. He also has a lot of free videos on his site Paulsellers.com. He runs a school in New York for about month and also in Europe. I think you'd be hard pressed in my opinion to find a better value than what he offers. I like that he doesn't push you go out and buy Lee Valley tools or Lie Neilsen although he says their nice, but you don't need them. Check him out. Also, another affordable hand tool workshop to add to the mix is Rob Cosman and his handtool workshop. He offers tons of content and walks you through a lot of hand tool projects as well. I've heard great things about Shannon's site as well, although I haven't ventured there yet.Hand tools are addicting and I find myself reaching for them more often than power tools the more I get into projects. I don't run a machine shop where I'm pumping out 40 furniture pieces a week, but it's a home hobby workshop where all of my pieces are one-off's and in that regard, I don't think power tools are much quicker at getting things done and sometimes take more time to set up than just using hand tools. I highly recommend you check out Paul Sellers website and explore more into his view of real woodworking.


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## Woodcanuck (Mar 9, 2010)

Mikey,

I'll try not to repeat what's already been said, but I'd recommend a couple of things.

The Hand Tool School is really great, I've been a part of it from the beginning. My background was mostly power tool and I wanted to learn more about hand tools…I've learned a lot and I continue to work on developing skills and techniques. Shannon is a great guy, always open to questions and his videos are really informative and aren't preachy.

The Anarchist's Tool Chest is a great book, Chris knows his stuff and his information will save you a lot of heartache and trial and error, very worthwhile and a great read to boot.

I recently also picked up a book by Jim Tolpin, The New Traditional Woodworker. This book is really down to earth and is a great place to start down the hand tool path. It gives you a lot of basic info about tools and the mindset for woodworking. I think it would be a great accompaniment to Chris's book and Shannon's school.

Hope this helps
Ian


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I disliked the writing style of The Anarchist's Tool Chest, but I agree Schwarz knows woodworking. The last chapters on building the tool chest has some good skill builders.

Jim Tolpin's The New Traditional Woodworker is excellent.


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## MikeyLikesIt (Nov 22, 2012)

To everyone who contributed to this thread, thank you! There is so much advice in this thread it's ridiculous. The best part is if I get " analysis paralysis" as Shannon called it, I can just review all the great links and info contained here.

I know I haven't been here long, but I've been on several forums over the years. So far this is the most helpful community I have found on the Internet.


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## tombuhl (Dec 3, 2012)

Welcome to the wonderful world of wood. It is good to do a bit of background reading, but best to avoid going too far on tool purchases. Plenty of time to get carried away on that. Good to pick a project, from book, online or your own wish list for the home and garden. Then figure out which tools can make that happen. The Anarchist Tool Chest is fun and useful read, but I would not use that as the shopping list until you get a few or more projects under your belt. His advice on what to look for is valuable from the very beginning.

The WoodWhisperer web site is a favorite of mine. Both for content and for style (to my taste). He has a subscription Guild service, but many, many good videos on basic operations and projects and the free portion. I've been Guild member since beginning. Good stuff.

Shannon is also a friend and great resource. Even if you go power tool or mix (which is many of us), having hand tool skills are invaluable for fitting, finessing and just expanding your arsenal to approach any project.

It has been mentioned, but I'll chime in with "make something." There are many valid learning styles, but many of us are more receptive to teaching, once we've gotten our hands and brains involved.

Initially, like you, I read some books, but after that initial foray I found that the magazines (Fine WoodWorking and Popular Woodworking) are a better source. You get a variety of viewpoints (from various authors), rather than one author's approach. Blogs are also big help, both for specific information and for becoming part of the community. Find a few that speak to you. I need a certain pacing or I get bored readily. I also like detail, without getting bogged down. Nifty trick, but Marc Spagnuolo, speaks my language (woodwhisperer).

wishing you the best on the adventure.


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## Ted78 (Dec 3, 2012)

I love watching a Woodwright's Shop with Roy Underhill. A bunch of episoded you watch online at the PBS site, He used all hand tools. As far as power tools are concerned if you are building big things a table saw is a good start, but a band saw might be a good first power tool instead, It can rip though, not as fast or accurately as a table saw, it can crosscut, if the piece isn't too big, and it can cut curves, which is what people who have table saws do on their band saw. Big expensive band saws can also re-saw lumber. A router, especially paired with a router table is probably the most versatile power tool around. As far as hand tools, a panel saw, a set of chisels, a combination square, a rasp, a utility knife, and a smattering of clamps are very useful


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## tirebob (Aug 2, 2010)

Personally, I think if you want to learn how to work mainly with hand tools, the best way to start (after acquiring tools) is simply to waste as much wood as possible learning how to use tools. I went out and got a bunch of unfinished flooring and went to town. Spent the first 6 months or so simply taking those pieces and first learning how to plane by planing off the grooved bottoms, then learning how to square the pieces by planing off all the tongue and groove. Once I had a bunch of flat, grooveless pieces of flooring, I started practicing sawing straight and cutting dovetails and joining these pieces until I was comfortable enough to actually build my first box.

I am not saying that it is the most inspiring way to go about it, but I am a bit funny and wanted my first project to look decent as well as being a learning experience. There is a lot to be said for just finding a project and tackling it, but I personally got just as much enjoyment in the practice as much as the actual construction of a project. Nothing makes one as good as practice does, and repetitive action does just that…

Here is a pic of my first ever handtool exclusive project… It was extremely satisfying after all those months of practice! I haven't looked back since…


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