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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Was also my first set of chisels and i still use them
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.
7:59 that gesture
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.
Clamps, you will only have enough clamps in death
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.
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
Your first hand plane was a Union Tools #4..crazy that i remember that
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.
Auger bits are actually really hard to come by in the West and sets are REALLY expensive. Suggestions? No MWTCA even close to me!
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.
Great video, thankyou for sharing.
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
Don’t you use power machine?
Thank you. I like your philosophy of Just do it, don’t worry, and have fun
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.
I’m not certain whether or not you get notifications from old videos but I’ll try here first. For the Stanley No. 4, I see one at Home Depot at $25 ish. Is that actually the No. 4 you’ve been talking about or did it become cheap and not what we want to get?
Wobbly table 😅 am on that stage now 😭
I rescued my dad’s no. 4 1/2 from the bin when he died. Somebody had to throw it away for some reason. It was all rusty and broken when I found it. About 20 years later I got around to completely restoring it. Guess what? Totally hooked on woodworking now… Whenever I find a good quality tool at a second hand store I fix it up and use it. Along those lines I got interested in sharpening as well. I never felt more relaxed about picking up a new hobby… Very therapeutic to find peace in all of this. And the journey still goes on every day… By the way, I still use my dad’s old Stanley, the one he cared about the most…
Some marking out tools would be useful too
Wish I saw this before I went crazy 😕 buying tools 🔧 😩
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"
Hello sir I’m leaving in Pakistan I. I want wooden tolls
My first hand tool was a Stanley Defiance No 5 size hand plane. It helped me get started in how to use a hand plane. The type 19 No 5 i restored for my dad back in 2018 is what got me diving headfirst into collecting/restoring/using antique woodworking tools. I haven’t looked back. I have hundreds of tools in my arsenal now.
Excellent video! Thanks! Best advice: Don’t buy anything till you need it!
I am call BS on cheap steel. Never buy an edge tool that is not hard.
Hang on James, quote: "Your bench is not going to be something that is in your living room for everyone to see" (or something like that). Wrong – my bench is in my living room for everyone to see, along with all my tools…! 🙂
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.
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
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 also have a red beard.
Thanks, man for showing me it’s okay to be myself.
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 👌
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.
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
Great video bud. I think I have went completely out of order but that’s okay…lol.
I suggest a flat granite tile from the big box store instead of glass for your first sharpening setup. Cheaper and safer.
Beautiful tool my brother 👌💖👌💖🙏 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
Add card scrapers to the list. Cheap and useful as final steep..
subscribed, hit the bell and ready to go
really appreciate this video. I’m newly retired a 64yo newbie so don’t laugh when I ask ‘what’s a dovetail?’
"It’s easier to rip with a cross cut saw" you absolute evil bastart
First thing you build is a crafting bench… sounds like a certain popular videogame…
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. 🙂
I have everything except the plainers. Now I need to build a work bench. At 77 I figured I could try wood working.
Combi square and knife. Knife especially for marking and cutting open everything else.
“You only buy a tool if you need it on your project”. That is enough of that nonsense 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 🙂
Building a workbench is a lot like voting. For best results, it should be done early and often.
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….?