10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Woodworking
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
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I started my woodworking career in 2004. Over that time I've had the good fortune of learning from some great woodworkers who were quite generous with their information. In spite of that, there were some things I just had to learn the hard way. With that in mind, here's a list of 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Woodworking that will hopefully save you some headaches, time, and money.
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Perfection is overrated; the ability to remain calm while resolving a problem is priceless.
Woodworking has helped me a lot in that department. Since it's a project for myself, I can eyeball it and figure out how to fix the problem. It's connected neurons that allow me to approach other problems more calmly. I will admit sneakily sanding away that blowout from the router is a little tougher in other parts of life, however.
I wish the cabinet shops I've worked for understood this concept.
Yep. In my most recent project, I tried dados and rabbets for the first time. Naturally, I made a dado too big. Instead of scrapping everything and trying again, I moved forward and patched it with wood filler after the glue-up. I thought it would look terrible but nobody would ever notice it if I didn't point it out.
OMG, that shirt!!!
And now that I've watched... Excellent video! All 1000% true in my short experience.
Thanks David! 🤛🏻
I had to find it--turns out it's from another YT: th-cam.com/users/OnceUponAWorkbenchstore
Yes! Love Joe's!
DoveTails...woo-hoo
An old construction foreman said to me once, "it ain't a mistake till you can't fix it."
I would add or hide it.
"Caulk, putty, and paint makes a woodworker what he ain't" - or so I've been told.
Great tips. My favorite as a beginner is buy the tools you need. I spent a LOT of money early on buying up tools I 'might' need someday because I got a discount. The result was I have a lot of money tied up in tools I don't use, and even bought some things I realized I don't want or need as I learned more. As a result, I spent and wasted more than I saved.
Now I just buy what I need even if I can't get it on sale, or I have to be patient for a sale. No more buying sprees when Rockler or Woodcraft have a general 15%/20% off sale just to save literally a few dollars on something I don't even need and may never need.
I love the "wish I'd known" style videos. I'm just getting into woodworking this year and am amazed at how much can be done with the barest amount of tools. Sure, making my shop cabinets I wish my little tablesaw had a rip capacity greater than 14", but with my circular saw and an mdf guide I can make those cuts on the floor. Don't have the fancy domino tool, but with a jig and drill I can get by. So much can be done with so little. It just takes longer.
LOVED "Start Building". the deep end of the pool is where you learn to swim.
7:59 If the project doesn't come out perfect......blame the wood. 😁 Got it!
I love "stop practicing start doing". Thank you for all the great tips!
Thanks for the comment on perfection. It’s my bane. I made my first finger jointed box recently. It was for the ashes of my daughter-in-laws beloved dog. Of course I wanted it to be perfect. Man, we’re there a crap load of flaws in it and I learned a ton from the project. I sent it to her. She thought it was perfect and loved it. I’ve got to learn to not obsess over perfection.
This is honestly the *BEST* list I have come across for beginners and I agree with 100% of it. I especially like the one about searching for typos!
As Steve Ramsay says: "put the crappy side against the wall" 🤣
Only problem is I have to pull my dresser off the wall every time I need to get into it because the drawers are the crappy part 🤣
This piece is going in a deep, dark nook!
And fetch me the lamb sauce
I agree with your last sentiment. A good woodworker doesn’t make mistakes, but a great woodworker knows how to hide them.
4:34 Stop practicing, start doing. Please remember to forward this message to the NY Giants. 😁
Wish I could give multiple thumbs up for this
I really appreciated your thoughts on perfection in woodworking. When I worked as a new cabinetmaker, I worked alongside the owner of the shop for a while. He gave me some of the best advice that I’ve used well beyond cabinets and is a variation of your ideas. He asked me, “ do you know what the difference is between a journeyman and an apprentice?” His answer: “a journeyman recovers from their mistakes quicker.” They of course make fewer mistakes, but I have used that advice so often throughout my various careers. Thank you for continuing to do what you do!
The mark of a craftsman is that (s)he doesn't make the same mistake more than two or three times.
Maybe the Marc of a true craftsmen :)
I have to admit, this is one of your all time best videos. I found this more helpful and eye opening than getting a perfect dovetail.
Your last point is what made me smile. Cheers.
Please don’t BAN Powermatic, Mayor Goldie Wilson, honesty, decency or integrity! They are all wonderful! 😁 Great video!
Another great WEEKLY video!! Thank you for doing these shorts. I find tremendous value in them and I hope you continue to produce them for months/years to come!!
My dad told me 50 years ago the Flaws that you know about others dont see is how to determine its hand made and not somthing out of a factory.
It shows your craftsmanship.
A one off David Marks bench is worth more then anything you could buy at IKEA Flaws and all.
First we had Norm, then David J Marks
Then a few others, now the American woodshop.
Id love to see you get a TV show.
You deserve it. Sevral youtube people do.
Like Stumpy nubs but I cant say I've seen him build to much.
The point is keeping the Craft going.
I love the mention of the best angle part. I have definitely been guilty of taking a picture from just the right angle so you can't see a gap in the joinery. It's unlikely anyone outside the woodworking community would even notice, but I have still done it anyway.
Great info, Marc~! I have a few friends starting out in woodworking and these are some of the things that I tell them, especially to let your work dictate the tools purchases. A while back, a friend built a massive "To Buy" tool list before ever making a splinter or any sawdust and he's now selling off the things that collect dust instead of making it. I've learned to buy "quality tools" (my Grandma always said, "cheap is expensive") and one of my (other) favorite quotes is from Ashley Harwood who said, "buy nice tools and you'll only cry once."
Thanks much~!!
I love your scientific look back on everything you do. Very educational and inspiring!
Great tips! I've learned to live with my mistakes, er design changes, with my fiber crafting. I'll have to keep that in mind as I start woodworking.
Great video as always! Everything you said is true and I've been through most of those learnings. I took inspiration from your headset and controller rack to make my own because the space I had did not allow for the same design, so thanks for the inspiration.
Great video! Thanks for sharing your experience. Always learning a ton.
”Buy from a hardwood dealer”. I just want to send you Americans a reminder that you are a bunch of lucky guys when it comes to woodworking. I live near the second biggest town in Sweden and I know of one store within hours of driving where I can browse exotic wood. And with exotic wood I mean anything other than pine and oak, and they don’t even have much of it. Not to mention how everything is expensive as hell, even before the recent price surge.
There is another store that has a lot of wood but their inventory is spread out over several locations and you can’t just go there and browse without putting down an order days in advance.
Same with veneered plywood, special tools and so on.
There, I just wanted to rant a bit :)
It depends on where you live in the US. I live in the midwestern US in a city with a population of 250K and I would have to drive 2 hours to find a hardwood dealer. I can get some decent hardwood boards like oak, maple, and walnut, from the big box store, but nothing more exotic than that. It is also expensive.
@@jakes4680 I see. I would however love to be able to buy maple and walnut from big box stores. All that they have over here are pre-planed (or whatever it's called) oak and pine.
I lived in Poland and Germany and there is a lot of hardwood stores there. Maybe you're just searching wrong?
@@Diamekod I dare say I do not. I’ve even asked in Swedish forums with both weekend and professional woodworkers and they said the same thing, near the biggest cities there *might* be a store or two that allows you to browse lumber other than pine and oak.
If you own a company there might be one or two more stores you can browse, but as a weekend woodworker, it’s not worth the hassle and cost to create a company just for that.
(If anyone reads this and knows of stores near Gothenburg that’s not Calexico or Abi, then please let me know.)
@@toydoll89 wow that's sad, although Germany also limits building market a lot, wood you can get pretty easily tho (I have a building company anyway so I don't care). Maybe you should check Norway or finland?
Another great video sharing the wisdom of the awesome, all-knowing, whisperer of wood!
I am glad to have been a woodworker for over a decade & continued to resist the tools that I really don't use. Every tool list online that claims to be the basics everyone needs starting out are skewed by their use. I have never had a circular saw or miter saw/chopsaw. With the work I do, I never needed one.
Love this video, as always, learned a bunch. My favorite is the stop block it may not be perfect, but it is the same!
AT the intro John was giving me "Chum Lee" vibes LOL
i was thinking he looked exactly like him too
Fantastic channel, I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you
Those Harbor Freight clamps are great and you can get them dirt cheap.
Seconded
At least those small F-style clamps. But check each one carefully, QC is nonexistent.
Anything longer than 12” is not worth it in my opinion. The bar flexes way too much.
The 4” and 6” are a really great value.
The black and gray ratcheting bar clamps don’t work, had to throw all mine away. Also the aluminum bar clamps just bend open and warp.
The black and red ratcheting ones work well though
I disagree, and I’ve gotten good enough deals on Jorgensen and bessey small F-clamps that the cost difference is negligible, while the quality is pretty apparent.
Right now I’m trying to add a shop to my shop lol. Making space to start with can be an ambitious project in itself.
That intro was MAGICAL!!!!
After watching hundreds of woodworking videos to try and learn to do something myself, I expected to hear things I heard before. But I really learned here with things other people rarely (or never) mention! Great tips
Extremely useful video! Always great to hear from someone experienced that even the best makers make pieces that aren't perfect
I really enjoyed the honesty in this video about tools. I tell people all the when starting out, buy tools for function, and not always because it's a brand name.
I love the "search for misspellings" tip! I'm definitely going to try that!
4:00, my sister's house is a shrine of my earlier work hahahaha no matter what i made she loved it and wanted it, which as you said, made me learn even faster. A plus I was, i able to look in on it every so often to see what was the wood movement and the do's and don't.
I have burned most of my early
work. literally. And funny thing I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t need my house to be a museum of mistakes😂
@@mikevalentinas6766HAHAHAHA good one
The misspelling tip is da real gem
Excellent point about not cutting all the parts at once.
So many good points here but I agree with you Steve that this one may be the most important one. Have a good one :D
Tip #1, recently experienced.
I bought a 10 ft, 1x4 piece of cedar to make a couple of trellises out of. When I got it home, I ripped them into 5/8" strips. My plan was to make the trellises right away but life got in the way, so the strips sat in the garage for a week. Good thing I waited. Looking at the strips later, some of them looked like hockey sticks. Had I used them right away, the bending and twisting would have probably broke what I had put together.
Great job, thanks for your videos
Great info! Sometimes learning woodworking feels overwhelming and can get intimidating. I took a small break from the hobby because I felt that my projects weren't coming out as good as I'd like. Again I'm extremely new to woodworking so thank you for the motivation!
The tool I need for the job is definitely how I purchase new tools. If I don't need it for a project it stays on the wish list 🙂.
Very well done Marc! All of this info was spot on in my experience.
Thank you for this🙏 some of these are good reminders for me during my 2nd year of woodworking
Short simple and to the point love it
I had been using a beat up old sheet metal Sears bench top router table for years. I modified it with a plywood top and some other extras. Bit changing and set-up was painful. One day I decided I had enough and wanted to upgrade. I went to the hardware store, yes a real hardware store, and I laid out the money for a Jessem router table. It was expensive but one of the best investments in woodworking I ever made. I should have pulled the trigger years ago! Sometimes it is worth upgrading, not only if the tool you are using is dangerous, but whether the tool you are using is a piece of junk!
Another one of your videos with great advice. Thanks again
Love watching one of the best! Thank you!
Thanks Marc!
This was actually a much better video than the thumbnail might suggest. I thought I was the only one who knew to search for a 15 inch “planner” 🤣
Great information and insight.
Great tips man. Needed to hear all this
Thank you, I needed that.
Great video and good shop tips
I buy used....pre-1970's, heavy cast iron stuff with little to no plastic. A little bit of elbow grease and they're back in action. So well built they'll still be functional long after I am not.
I agree. I’d rather have the older American made stuff that is better than the new Chinese junk.
Good advice. Thanks!
Really great information thanks!
Good tip on the misspelling! Never heard that before, but it works.
Yes! I used to call my shop my craigslist shop. The best part about buying used entry level tools is when you are ready to upgrade, you can almost always resell for the same price that you paid (or possibly more). So you basically learned and used them for free for a year or 2! I bought a dewalt biscuit joiner that was listed as a "wood cutter thing" for next to nothing 🤣. My sawstop I picked up for $1000.... it was powering off with thicker stock. I talked to the fix it guy at my timber yard. He suggested I start by switching out the reset button. It cost $3.50 and now cuts 12/4 purpleheart like butter. Being resourceful and willing to search Craigslist, Facebook marketplace and offer up allowed me to start my shop on a very limited budget.
Man, I completely agree with that list!
Yeah, I half expected it to be one of the usual but a table saw and jointer lists, but this was very good! Also very applicable to a hand tool only shop (no power outlet, basement of a rental apartment, so I cannot fix that).
10/10, would read again ;)
Too bad it's a bit late for me..... Though I did most of these things. Currently building a small cabinet to hold (forged) nails and other bits and pieces. 24 small dovetailed drawers. After that my dovetails will no longer suck (as much).
Great points.
Excellent advice!
I loved your last item. You can ruin your joy of making thing if you feel you have to make them perfect.
What a GREAT point Patrick; if we stick to the root of it all, I think we are all trying to ENJOY a hobby/passion therefore perfection is not the target. The joy comes at the end when we hold something tangible that reminds us of the process, maybe that is the target. Have a good one :D
A very very honest video 🙂
#1 for me was "some woods have sensitizing sawdust/oils. You may not start out with an allergy but by the end of the project 30 minutes in the shop will have you covered in awful rashes". Now I have to be super careful what woods I work with or I have a rotten time.
Love the poster and bobble heads. Shirt is pretty awesome also. Great tips
Really fantastic tips, dude! Thanks a lot! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Great!
Nice vid. Realtalk. Inspirational. Thank you sir.
Man that “dive in” tip is so great. The pain of my first botched dowel holes not lining up is unforgettable lol. Never made that mistake again.
I’ve been watching your channel for a bit. I’m ashamed to say I’ve just subscribed. You are exactly right I’ve managed to get some awesome deals on used tools. I’ve been a video game collector for years and recently when I got into woodworking I applied the same principles to tools while looking for video games and have gotten some amazing deals and example would be I got a bench top Jointer for $10 replaces the blades and it works like new. I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from your videos so keep making them and hopefully one day I’ll figure out how to work wood working into my TH-cam channel Casual Gamer 84. Thanks again for the great content.
Great Video, a lot can be learned here, please make more like this
One of the best purchases I ever made was a 14" Delta bandsaw for $200.00. The guy had it set up beautifully and it soon became my go-to saw.
Man you turning gray from day to day and the only thing this means, you're getting wiser.
I really like your channel and advices, just keep educating us!
Omg… I found hits for “Festoon” “Dewald” and “Grizly” tools. Lol.
I absolutely love old tools, like 1960s jointers, or bow saws, box saws, old antique block planes, I have my great grandfather's 6 inch square, with brass and steel, it's still just as square as a new one. You're right tho, you definitely don't need bling tools to enjoy what you do or make.
Loved the guild pitch at the beginning, almost made me want to rush out and buy a sham wow.
I'm entering woodworking from auto body. A lot of your tips really run true across both mediums. I've heard similar quotes like you said at the end. I'd change it slightly to say a good craftsman or journeyman is one who knows perfection isn't possible but is always learning and trying to be better.
Great advice..
A few years back I bought a Ryobi 10 inch, bench top (style) table saw. I got it used for $50! The saw never came with a miter slide, and the rip fence was with it but seemed "straight enough"! Further the saw DID need a new blade and I replaced that and built a number of projects with that saw, even though every time I used it, it required I either set it up on a table or on the ground (which was dangerous as anything) to make cuts on it!! I struggled with that old saw for about five years, but the cuts were not too bad even though before I got rid of it THAT is when I notice the rip fence had a large dent in it, which had always thrown off a lot of my cuts!!
My point here is this!! I don't have a lot of space to start with for tools, and that old saw was PERFECT for storing in my small shed workshop! BUT I upgraded to a 10 inch Ryobi contractors say with a stand about three years ago and I am so glad I did!! Some times upgrading a "bad tool" isn't such a bad thing!! My cuts now are far better and the quality of work I get off the new saw is literally light years ahead of anything I did with that beat up $50 used saw!! So sometimes the upgrade tool makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE is where I am going with that!!
A little addendum about flaws: Remember that, while pictures are usually taken from the best angle and what not, when you make something yourself, even the tiniest flaw will stick out like a sore thumb to _you_ , because _you_ are aware of it. So even what you think is a rather flawed piece may look absolutely great to pretty much everybody else, and would probably look downright perfect if you set it up for a publicity photo.
I'm a newbie again. I started a few years ago and had to take a break, now I'm back. I thought I would comment along the way. I heard your first two tips and backed up so here goes...
First tip: Don't mill everything at once. I see your point and recognize it as good.
My projects have so far been simple and small. A stand to put my table saw on and a make-shift workbench to get by until I make one of the millions of "ultimate" benches.
I'm working on a cat bunk bed now. I designed it and haven't decided on the bottom yet. So, I cut and sanded all the legs and the bed frames.
I guess I obeyed this one by accident. When I finish the frame, I'll decide on the bottom I like and cut and add them.
Tip 2: Relative dimensions. I kinda practice that one but differently. My cat bunk bed is simple, it has four 29 inch legs that would have been 30 inches, but I already had four 29 inch legs, LOL. The boxes are 15 by 18 inside, so I calculated the needed lengths based on where they overlap. I carefully measured and cut the first board, then used it to cut the rest. (My miter saw doesn't have a reliable stand with stop block yet. I'm still building my shop.) When I was done, I put the boards on the miter saw in pairs and shaved them off so they are all equal, at least in pairs. As you said, any difference will disappear in the build.
The bottom of the bed, or the bed rails, which ever I choose will be cut to fit.
Tip 3: Hardwood Dealer: I live just a few miles from what might be the largest hardwood dealer in the world, and certainly in the US. Since I'm working with construction lumber right now, well, It's Lowes sence WestPenn doesn't have pine. But, I'm on small personal projects and learning right now. I bought some hardwoods for a cutting board, but haven't gotten to the point to build it yet.
Tip 4: Don't practice joinery. I think you mean just joining scrap wood pieces. I'm with you. I'm practicing by using it on my small learning projects. I doubt my cats will complain. :)
Tip 5: Design inspiration: OOOOPS! I have a personality where I cannot stick to someone else's plan, LOL. I don't know why, but I always see something else I want. I'm designing my workbench based on three completely different designs. Like you suggested, I searched hundreds of images for cat bunk beds and then designed my own a couple of days later. It is unique, but made up of things I learned from dozens of pictures. There are fifty ways to build a dresser drawer, but it's still a dresser drawer, LOL.
Tip 6: Avoid the Bling Tools: (I never heard of that brand.) LOL, ok, I see what you mean. I did just that. I am shifting to better quality tools as I go. My HF sander died today and I bought a Craftsman cordless to go with my other cordless. I buy clamps and things from HF that have lifetime guarantee. It's literally 1.5 miles from my door and I get instant replacements! I mostly quit buying power tools from them. By the time you pay for the warranty to get past 60 days, you may be able to buy a brand name.
Tip 7: Don't buy tools till you need them. I started out collecting tools. That was a disaster. I still have some new in the box years later. But, I'm on a "diet". I don't buy tools unless I know I'll use them within 3 days with rare exception (Like the DeWalt planer I'm watching goes on sale for 1/2 price...) I do that for lumber, too. I'm trying to use up most of what I have and only buy what I need for a project. My shop is only 9x9, so I have to be careful with it.
Tip 8: Satisfy before upgrading. I upgraded my miter saw from HF to Metabo. It was smaller and fit my need better than the HF miter saw. I'm happy I did and a friend is blessed with a gift of the tool he most often borrowed. But I agree. Use what you have as best you can until it makes you unhappy.
Tip 9: Buy used when possible. I don't do well with that one, LOL. It takes a lot of time researching and looking for the good ones. My friend does that, but I spend my time designing new projects I'll never build. But, I'm not opposed to used pending cost and warranty.
Tip 10: Never perfect projects: I cringe when I watch my friend build something with abnormal corners, etc. But, if it works, it works. Ted Baldwin, one of my favorites, says, "I never make a mistake, I change the design." He does a good job telling about and showing how to work around mistakes. I've seen other experienced YT WWs share their mistakes and how to fix them or that they left them, and then say, "Never point out your mistakes."
You triggered another thought. When you buy a new car, you see a new car and it's probably perfect. But having built one, I see all the flaws. As a wood worker trying to get it all right, I see flaws now I never saw in the past from other people's work. Like my friend, his wife doesn't know better, but I see the trapezoid glass, LOL. His work stands as a reminder not to waste too much time or material trying to reach perfection. Get the project done and make it look good.
Thanks for the great video.
Great advice!
Great video! The misspelling one is spot on. Carbatec tools are popular and ubiquitous here in Australia but it’s amazing how often I see it spelt wrong on our equivalent of Craig’s List.
Great tips
An eye opener man. Especially that perfect project part. Those gray hairs are coming along with quite some wisdom
Harbor freight also has an awesome dust collector for the money.
I almost didn’t watch this I looked and seen 11mo ago but so glad I did that was great content.I always gain a bit of knowledge from you so thanks.
Golden tips. Build for yourself. And measure & cut as you go.
Such good advice !
Great ideas.
I love that shirt. Thankfully, one of the guys in The Hand Tool School tracked it down after Vic made an IG post about it.
I'm waiting for someone to comment on it, or my Wood Talk shirt, when I'm out and about
Great woodworking meets brilliant spoken word. Thank you!
perfection is in the imperfection.
Last time I was this early I made an end grain cutting board.
Great feedback!