Different people understand woodworking differently. Most woodworkers build long-lasting pieces of furniture to exercise their muscles and relieve stress. However, some also do woodworking because it’s a hobby, while others do it to make money to finance their lifestyle.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafts person, you need vital woodworking tools. Some, such as planes, power saws, and handsaws, are basic, while others, like the CNC machine, is advanced. As a novice woodworker, you don’t stalk your woodworking shop with expensive tools. Instead, you can begin with some basic tools and create simple woodworking projects before buying the advanced tools.
This article highlights some woodworking tools that you need for simple projects.
- Saws
Every woodworking project will require cutting. The most elegant pieces of furniture often begin with rough wood lengths. Every wood, including softwood like pine, and hardwood like oak, requires reaping and cross-cutting to take shape. Saws are the best tools for cutting, and they come in different sizes and shapes. You can also use them for a variety of cutting tasks. Some common saws include the circular saw, jigsaw, compound miter saw, and table saw.
- Planes
Once you cut your wood into different pieces, you’ll need to shave off the rough fibers and make them smoother. Planes can help you to give shape to your wood through its blades. The smoothness achieved depends on the depth and size of the blade.
Some types of planes that you should look out for as a beginner include:
- Jack Plane
They get their name from the saying “Jack-of-all-trades” because they eliminate a large mass of material in one pass. They come in two types, namely straight edge and curved edge.
- Block Planes
They’re stout and smaller than other planes and are best used in tight work that requires smooth joints.
- Joining Planes
They have extended frames and resemble jack planes. However, they’re used to join pieces together and smooth edges.
- Rabbet Planes
You can use these planes to cut right angles on an edge grain.
- Scraper Planes
They’re sometimes referred to as cabinet scrapers and are best used where super smooth finishes are required.
- Spokeshaves
These are hand planes developed to smoothen curved surfaces. They were initially used to create wagon wheel spokes before finding their way in other projects.
- Orbital Sander
An orbital sander is an electrical wood finishing tool that performs sanding. They use revolving sandpaper pads to sand woods quickly, reducing the strain on the hand. Although they work quickly to eliminate material, they can leave swirl marks that are difficult to remove. To combat this problem, you can use a random orbital sander because it doesn’t circulate but oscillates randomly to give the wood a mark-free and silky smooth surface.
- Hammer
Though some woodworkers think that a hammer is a universal tool, they come in different types. There’s no doubt that you can use a particular kind of hammer to pound everything in your workshop. However, if you intend to develop more complicated furniture, you may require other types of hammers. The type of hammer you’re supposed to use should depend on the claw design, head design, handle composition, and overall weight.
Bottom Line
There are several woodworking tools that you can use to perform various projects. However, these are the main ones that you need for simple projects.