I want to add a few things I've learned in my path along beginning woodworking. A very random list, not the most important things, just things others didn't cover that have made a difference to me as a beginner... I'm a fellow beginner on a very tight budget.
Oh, before I start, my focus so far is on having fun making things and learning. I've made a number of smaller projects and tools. I'm only now feel ready to spend money on enough good wood for some furniture and feel confident enough I won't waste it through mistakes. There are some here who would go crazy with this approach - they're just as right if not more - but it works for me.
---People are your best resource. It may not be simple to meet people locally, but it is so worthwhile. Online is great too. The folk here are amazingly helpful.
---Used, old tools can be a fantastic deal or complete junk. Best find someone who you can trust and pay a little extra for the knowledge you are getting your money's worth, IMO. Others can give better advise on used tool dealers and sources.
---A card scraper (and burnisher) is a wonderful tool that gets me out of a lot of jams - not so often fine finishing tasks as removing wood when I lack the right tool for the job. Used sharp and aggressively it can do a fair amount. It is also cheap.
---Do somehow come up with a flat, stable surface. If, like me, you start working on an old broken desk as a stand in for a real bench, don't hesitate to use some eyebolts, wire cable and turnbuckles to add diagonal rigidity. My crappy cheap junk bench is now VERY solid. Ugly, but it was anyhow. I've been able to plain my real benchtop on it when before it would have been easier to get a waterbed off craigslist and plain on that! On another desk I simply nailed some scrap plywood across the back and a scrap side of a cheap bookshelf across the front. Almost as effective. That weight set that wasn't getting any use? it now weighs down the wannabe bench.
---Workholding is an issue at first. I finally got some wooden hand screws. I so wish I had a few years back instead of dealing with the hand me down bar clamps for everything. I got three from HF because they are cheap, then a few more of CL. The fact you can clamp things in the clamp, then clamp the clamp to your bench... well, makes not having a proper vise more tolerable.
---Sharpening has been an important part of my path. It was one of the major roadblocks when I try a project. I would have to set up my sharpening stuff and then sharpen everything since it was a pain to set up. It took way too long, and then I'd put it off too long since it was a pain. Spending the effort and time to make some simple jigs for sharpening chisels and plane blades helped a lot. Recently remaking them so they are quicker to set up and use, and having a few for different types of blades, has helped even more. Finally, following all the details suggested for my way of sharpening instead of taking shortcuts has made it the quick, painless pause with consistent results instead of a painful, long, likely somewhat unsuccessful interruption of half my woodworking time for that day. In my case I'm using scary sharp, based on the details listed on http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/
One note: I also have the ubiquitous cheap side clamping jig. I strongly suggest you file it down a bit as suggested here: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...e-honing-guide
It makes it actually work.
Probably the most useful thing was when I got around to making a board with dowels sticking up to help me set the blade projection for different angles for different jigs. (note that you have to measure from the TOP of the blade as it is sharpened - really the back of the blade, not the beveled side, to find the actual angle. http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wo...ol-setting-jig shows one and has some good links, including the one I gave above. I used dowels, they use blocks. Blocks are more robust but I was lazy.
My favorite jig for sharpening:
IMG_20140409_000838.jpg
It straddles the paper, can hold blades of different lengths by putting them between different slats, can hold tapered blades using an insert as seen, holds blades tightly, was made from scrap and cheap hardware, and since it clamps from the top you can ignore blade thickness when determining angle. I need to remake it more strongly, this was another test piece I just ended up using. Of course the super simple ones like most seen on Brent's Sharpening Pages work well too and can be made with very few tools.
---I've found making my own tools is a great way to learn. I'm on a very tight budget as well, so making tools is also *sometimes* cheaper than *some* options, but most of all it is fun and greatly satisfying. If I can only afford a bit of wood OR the tool to work that wood, I might as well just get the wood and make a tool I'll use later. This keeps me busy as I slowly build up the tools and skills. IF that side of things appeals to you, get the fantastic book by John Wilson, "Making Wood Tools". It depends on the tool, of course. Planes can be made rather easily and cheaply. My most recent was a drawknife. Of course, it took me a few days to make when a lady on CL I was buying some wooden hand screws from had a decent one for just $5.
Making tools seemed hard until I realized I could actually make the blades quite easily. A search for detailed heat treating and steel type instructions led me over to knifemaking forums. There I found basically all the experts suggest getting 1084 steel for beginners since it is easier to heat treat correctly (mostly because you only have to get it to temp, no "soak" time at temp necessary). Lots of folk have great success with other steels but I liked the results. It isn't common but is available from a few. PM me and I'll send you a piece you can use to make a marking knife. A normal propane or mapp torch and a couple soft fire bricks from a pottery supply place and you'll have your forge for heat treating and even small forging.
I got by with a cheap set of three orange plastic handled chisels for a long time. They are ugly as can be and they needed some work to ready for use but they have held up OK. Now that I have a few better chisels I grab them when I am worried about nails (rarely) or, most recently, chiseling out some unbelievably hard knots in my workbench top. Petrified wood-hard! I kinda think I got lucky with this set - seems they were heat treated properly, by chance no doubt.
Do NOT buy your planes or drills/braces etc from ACE HW or one of the BORG type stores if they are anything like what we have here! The planes are essentially useless and the hand drills have plastic gears. I bought a small black fiskars brand drill in the beginning and have had them replace it 5 times so far - they now say it isn't THEIR lifetime warranty listed on the package. Even with the many replacements it was not worth the money or the hassle. The gears strip so fast! I bought a block plane that was trash. In fact, my first plane was a modern Stanley No5 that someone was throwing out. Brand new! Not even sharpened yet! Mouth jammed with a big splinter of paint and pine. I thought I was the clever one for knowing it needed sharpening before use so I took it home and sharpened it. It still sucked. I read up online and discovered the world of hand tools via posts and blogs on fettling old planes. Turns out this new plane was so poorly cast it was unlikely to ever be a fine tool. It is a good scrub plane, though. Still have to trade out the plastic happy meal totes for some wood ones. So, cheap new tools with moving parts are bad in my experience.
I could go on even more but I think I've used up all the letters in my computer's tank. Sorry for the length, I hope this helps.
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