Trading King

   What is the best first power jointer for woodworking? I first learned to use a power jointer in my grandfather’s shop more than 60 years ago. I bought my first new jointer in 1972. I have owned a number of them and operated them for decades. And, as an officer in a woodworking guild, I have helped woodworkers choose among the various models on the market and listened to the horror stories of those who bought a bad one. In buying one there are a number if things one must consider. What is the best first power jointer for woodworking? The first of these is WIDTH. For almost all woodworking needs a 6-inch jointer is more than adequate. An 8-inch jointer is nice. And, if you have the space for it and can afford it, there is no reason not to buy one. But you could go your entire lifetime without making use of the extra 2-inches of width it offers over a 6-inch model. In my entire 60-plus years doing fine woodworking I have needed an 8-inch jointer exactly once to flatten a wide cupped bo

   Can I start woodworking with very little money? Yes. But that is a qualified “yes”. You can, and should, start out by purposely limiting yourself to small and simple projects that you try to do perfectly. And by doing so you can, at first, limit yourself to hand tools and limit the number of tools you need. Can I start woodworking with very little money? But you cannot buy cheap tools. You need to initially buy the best woodworking tools you can find. Not the most complicated, but the best made, purchased from woodworking supply houses such as Highland Hardware or Garrett Wade or Woodworkers’ Supply, NOT big box stores and NOT for god’s sake Walmart! The reason for this is that you cannot learn anything while using cheap tools. You will spend your time fighting the tools rather than learning how to use them. And I must warn you that, although by starting with (and maybe staying with) small object hand tool woodworking you will not have to spend tens of thousands of dollars, the init

   Which woodworking project you completed are you most proud of? My wood work doesn't usually have much purpose: I carved a lot of pendants and “wall hangings” and probably a doorstop or ten. Unlike other wood workers, my creativity doesn't produce items that are generally useful. Which woodworking project you completed are you most proud of? I was commissioned to make a pair of stools for a community project lead by a “social regeneration team” by an organisation who provided “social housing” Anyway, I cannot fit two pieces of wood together well. So, I decided to carve each stool from individual pieces of timber. These are the only stools I've ever made and I'm happy that they were functional. Plus, another thing I like about it, is that I was forced to work with larch that had cracked while seasoning. I tried to make the cracks look as though they were purposefully designed ( they weren't). And they can fit a whole person on.   How To Launch Your Own Woodworking

   What is the first tool you should get when starting woodworking? Mathew Mehlenbacher provided an excellent answer. But allow me to add something to it. For perspective, I own well over $10K worth of professional grade woodworking machinery, and I build 18-th century museum quality reproduction furniture. I have had my furniture featured in architectural magazines. However, I consider my hand tools the more valuable woodworking tools and the necessary starting point for anyone who wants to learn fine woodworking. What is the first tool you should get when starting woodworking? Only through using hand tools well can one learn the nature of wood, i.e., its texture, its weaknesses, how cleanly it responds to a plane or chisel, how grain changes affect its behavior, and why it is necessary to choose each board for an intended use. If you do not learn this, you will never be able to build anything properly or anything fine. Many fine woodworking operations HAVE to be done by hand and by s

   Should I get one brand of woodworking tools? Oscar Wilde is credited with this gem of a saying: “I have simple tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” I would agree with the other answers given - that going with a ‘best in class’ approach will probably stretch your dollars, and expand your capability/skillset, more than brand-loyalty would. I’m a hand-tool woodworker — and the heyday of handtool manufacturing was… decades before I was born. Lucky for me, there were millions of these tools made before that manufacturing blaze of glory faded, but still, depending on one’s location, some of those tools can prove to be hard to find — and, for hand-tool guys like me… it’s only the collectors that are really interested in ‘brand-loyalty’ when they are in search of completing a collection of Stanley 750 chisels, or some such. Should I get one brand of woodworking tools? The guys who are trying to make stuff, not collect tools learn quick that it’s much less stressful, and much more p

   How do you tell what tree a piece of wood came from? It depends on what you mean by ‘a piece of wood’. If it’s a log, you have the bark and possibly some leaves on small branches to go by. A log is probably still near where it was cut, so you can also use geography to narrow down your possible choices. For example, where I live in eastern Massachusetts, we have a lot of red oak, maple, cherry, and ash trees. Not to say you won’t find other species in the area, but chances are that you aren’t going to find a cypress or mesquite tree here. If you aren’t sure what it is, you can look up common trees online and compare the bark to figure out what you have. In the picture below, the distinctive bark helped me identify this wood as sassafras. If it’s a piece of lumber, again, first question is whether you know where it was cut, to help you narrow it down. Otherwise, you have a number of different characteristics to look at: Color. Many common woods like cherry and walnut have distinctive