Woodworking Secrets - Tips for Beginning Woodworkers

As much as you want..... don't go overboard in the beginning. Wade in slowly and get your feet wet first. Don't start spending a lot of $$$$ on all the newest and best equipment. Basic equipment and tools in the beginning wood shop could include:

Table Saw
Router Table
Work Table
Dust Collector
Cordless Drill
Jigsaw
Orbital Sander
Misc Hand Tools

With these tools you can start woodworking and not blow your whole budget.!!

Even for the most talented people a basic teaching guide is very important. No hobbyist is born with Woodworking Secrets. That comes with experience but you can give yourself an advantage by studying a good woodworking guide. This guide should supply you with the knowledge so you don't get started on a project without knowing the proper steps to follow.

Besides purchasing a study guide you can also attend classes at a local woodworking store; ask a friend with woodworking experience for his help and opinion; dig into the Internet for articles to read and of course there's the old standby "Trial and Error" method.

No matter how you do it .....get the information you need to have a great woodworking experience. Don't let lack of knowledge ruin your love of woodworking!

I want to take a minute to talk about types of wood that you can use to build your projects. Now obviously there are certain woods that have been traditionally used for certain projects. Furniture is often built with Oak, Maple, Pine or Cherry. Kitchen cabinets usually get Oak, Pine or Cherry for its selection.

I have worked with all of these woods and hands down the best wood to work with is Walnut. Walnut is a beautiful wood to cut, plan and sand.
Projects made with Walnut come out BEAUTIFUL. Walnut is also the easiest wood to finish because all you have to do is apply a generous coating of danish oil and then when dry ..... Just Wax It. There's literally no way to mess it up.

The only drawback with Walnut is the cost. When cost is the main concern then choose Poplar. Poplar is a hard wood that is close to the cost of Pine. Poplar is easy to work with but sometimes gives us a problem with finishing. I have always had problem when it come to finishing my projects. I used a lot of Poplar because I was selling my products in a local craft store and have to watch my costs. In fact I went so far as to buy 1/2 pallets of Poplar from a local wholesaler. It used to last me months but I keep the cost to $1.25 per board foot.

If you like wild colors and vibrate grains throughout your project then try the Exotic woods. There's Purple-heart, Canary-wood, Red-heart , Zebra-wood just to name a few. You'll have to purchase these woods at local woodworking stores and they are expensive. But they are finished the same way as Walnut.

Now most new woodworkers go to their local home center and buy Pine for their projects. Please-DON'T..... the Pine in home center is usually commercial grade and is hard to finish. OK if you want to make a small shelf and just paint it........ OK if that's your idea of woodworking but if you have to buy your wood at the home center then opt to get Poplar.

When it comes time to set up your own woodworking shop use common sense. You need to give yourself lots of room between your equipment. Make sure the shop is a safe place to work in and plan your tools in a work flow fashion. You'll find that you build things in a certain flow of tasks. Many of those tasks can be performed at your work table without the hassle of tearing down and setting up equipment. Set up work areas for certain jobs and put them in logical order. You don't want to have your table saw way off in a corner and cross cut saw in an opposite corner. Try to locate them so you can use your out table as an extension for your cross cut saw. You'll find this is where trial and error come into play. Rearrange your shop to fit your needs and make it a comfortable place to work.

Most important and above all else get yourself a good dust collector and air ventilation system to make your shop a healthy work area. You don't have to get all elaborate with duct-work and cyclones. A good 1 HP unit that's mobile and can be moved from tool to tool will be great.