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The Beginner’s Hand Tool Kit

7 comments
7 years ago
Hand Tools     Videos

A Solid Tool Foundation You Can Build With and On

When you first get started woodworking the tools and acquiring them is a fun and exciting aspect of the experience. But it can also be very daunting as there seems to be so many tools we need just to build the first project. And tools are expensive making the task of acquiring a starting set even more difficult.

This doesn’t have to be true and you will find that a small set of tools can stretch a very long way and get you building quickly. Moreover it will light your path to future tool acquisitions by showing you clearly where a task could be made easier with a more specialized tool. For instance, a chisel can pretty much do anything in woodworking, but using just a chisel for some thing is just plain awful. But the chisel can do it so on that first project you may spend a bit more time with chisel and saw to cut that rabbet and when the next project comes around you invest in a rabbet plane. Slowly you start to build a comprehensive tool kit as the tools are needed.

Here’s the Important Bit

As you add on specialty tools, you also have built the fundamental skills that will allow you to work without those specialty tools and this will come back to reward you when weird situations comes up that only a chisel can tackle. Or strong understanding of the saw, plane, and chisel will shorten the learning curve on a new tool.

More Stuff Related to this Video

Here are some other old and unusual tools I’ve come to love and how I put them back to work, plus more sharpening stuff cause you guys can’t get enough of that:

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John Ficorilli

great tips for a starter set of tools. Thanks.

Brian Eve

I love this video. I think you are right on the money with this recommendation. I wish more people recommended to beginners a small set. For example, no one needs an 11 piece chisel set. Chances are you will just reach for whichever one is sharpest. Nearly all the time I can get away with a smaller chisel. Fewer chisels mean that a beginner will sharpen more and get better at it, along with getting to know those tools. If a beginner only buys three chisels, they can be more expensive and higher quality. 11 Lie-Nielsen chisels, for example, is a massive investment.

    Shannon

    Agree completely on not needing a whole set of chisels. I’ll go a step further and say that this is an area where premium brands definitely are not needed. I went into Lie Nielsen chisels early because that’s what I was told was the best and necessary for so many reasons. The more I use a chisel, the more I reach for vintage brands where the older, softer steel is easier to use and gives me a sweeter cut.

Mike

No drill?

    Shannon

    No I find that boring holes isn’t actually all that necessary. Certainly pre drilling for hardware screws is useful and any old drill and driver can do that. But we have to draw a line somewhere when talking about the initial set of tools. You can see how quickly a few tools balloons into 25 tools when we start adding clamps and drills and block planes, etc, etc. The idea here is to assemble a set that will allow you to build that first project and then add to the set as tasks come up that can’t easily be performed with the initial collection of tools.

The Lousy Woodworker

I’ve always appreciated your emphasis on getting just what you need to get started, and worrying about all the rest later. What’s the first thing you’d build with this too set?

    Shannon

    That’s just it, this tool set isn’t limited and I would build a project that I need and want to build. I always tell people to choose something they need and/or want and it is amazing how they can overcome obstacles based on that need. There are lots of shop related items that will make these tools work better. I mentioned in the video that a mallet could be a good project, or a bench hook. Both will allow you to work better with this tool set. But also as illustrated in the video I could build a small cabinet as you saw I walked through the steps to get half of the carcass put together.