Reader Brady Fretland writes:
Im tired of drooling over the designs in your employers publications and want to get to work. Here’s what I have: A framing hammer and a ball-peen hammer head, a Delta compound saw with a broken handle and a Black and Decker multipurpose drill-screwdriver are my tools.
There are no chisels, clamps or spokeshaves. 17 wooden mallets and pi-angle truffle planes were created by the Elves of Middle Earth. My experience consists of several month-long forays into and out of frame and finish carpentry, before seasonal layoffs and thus, reality, intervened.
Some of my completed projects include restored floors and mouldings in a large Victorian in South Minneapolis. I also made a letter holder out of a clothespin that was attached to a 1×2 piece and stained with Linseed Oil for a 4-H project.
Ive read Woodworking Magazine for almost two years now, and have taken note of the required reading lists from your blog and from the Autumn 2006 issue, though I havent made any purchases. I have not purchased any of the recommended tools either, as I would love to have and use a Lie Nielsen jointer plane. However, I hesitate to buy one until I am certain that I will need it and have a good use for it.
So, from the recommendations in your reading materials and the projects they suggest, can you name for me: Two books to start with, four must-have tools, and a good couple projects to keep me busy this summer? Although I know you are busy and that I have just given you a broad overview, just remember where you started and aim for something. Any advice you can give is much appreciated.
Editor Chris Schwarz responds:
Ive been woodworking a long time, but I can still taste the frustration at getting started that you are experiencing. After college, I felt compelled to make furniture. However, I had very few tools. There was no shop. No money. And I wasnt smart enough to have any good books (and Im a writer – how dumb is that).
But I sat down at the kitchen table one night and sketched out a bench we needed for our kitchen. I bought pine from the lumberyard. The entire project was built using a 1960s-vintage circular saw, a cheap drill and a block plane. The piece is kept around as a reminder (see the picture above).
I built four or five more projects this way, and then the path became clearer. It was easier to see the tools and next steps I needed.
Here’s my advice: There is a section on our website called I Can Do That that shows how to build a low-cost toolkit to make furniture. You can also download a digital eBook that teaches you how to use these tools. We also have some basic projects that were built with these tools. (We feature one of these projects in every issue of ).
Heres where you can get started:
Then I would go out and buy a book about handwork. Either Aldren A Watsons Hand Tools or Robert Wearings The Essential Woodworker.
And readers: If you have further advice for Brady, please post it in the Comments section. Any tips on getting started are appreciated. The hardest part of starting in woodworking is starting.
