basic hand tool kit for building furniture by hand?
#21
Great answers so far. 

Bare Minimum:

You need a saw, A Plane, A Chisel, Square, Pencil, and someway to keep all these sharp.

Anything else makes the job either easier, faster, or with better results. 

But don't you dare show this thread to my wife.....
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#22
Here are the tools I use all the time:

Two 25" levels (which double as straigtedges, winding sticks and marking templates)

A Western handsaw with the blade as long as my forearm.
I prefer 10-15 tpi, progressive rip filed.

Cordless jigsaw with Bosch T101B blades for crosscutting.

#4 size handplane of your choice

3/4" chisel without hoops on the handle
(I like the Marples wooden handle)

Sharpening method of choice ( I like oilstones)

Paring knife for marking out

Bright shop lighting

Flat spot that you can hold things still while working.

See: Andrew Hunter for sone getting started tips with a Japanese approach or Jim Tolpin's excellent 'The new Traditional woodworker'.

One last note: the joinery is the fun part - I prefer to buy lumber near my finished thickness and pkane to the finished dimension.

Most lumberyards will help you joint and plane boards for a small fee. This adds up to savings in time and cash.
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#23
I am a beginner myself, but here is my opinion.  

 The first real problem with getting started is that you don't know what a properly tuned saw/plane feels like.  If you buy used tools on ebay, they are never tuned so you waste a lot of time tuning them and don't know if you have them tuned correctly.  Properly sharpened and tuned tools make all the difference.  My suggestion is to either buy new tools from Lee Valley or LN if you can afford them or to buy used tools on the Swap and Sell forum here.  That way you get tools that are either ready to go or pretty close to it.  

The second problem is that you need a way to hold the wood while you work it, which means a good bench.   I have built two benches, one I put together for my son in a day and a half from dimensional lumber from HD and it worked tolerably well.  You may want to make a quick bench like that to get you started.  That way you will know that you enjoy it and are serious before investing all the time building a good bench.  The real key is that it needs to be sturdy enough so it doesn't wiggle when you try to plane something.

Another suggestion would be to start off using pre-demensioned lumber (s4s).  I just started with pine from Home Depot and made a few things.  I would also learn how to use SketchUp as it helps a lot in planning your project.  Also, you can sometimes find SketchUp models of projects.

As far as which tools, I haven't thought it through completely, but off the top of my head, I would suggest these

1. cross cut saw.  I think a Disston D-23 is a good choice as they are readily available and are not collectible so the price is reasonable.  Try to get one that is sharp as sharpening a hand saw is not something you want to do when you are first starting.  I have a cross cut saw (not a D-23) with 12 tpi and I use it a lot. 

2. back saw.  I would buy this from Lee Valley.  They have a dovetail saw for $69 that I have heard good things about.  I have never used it myself.  Another option is a Japanese pull saw.  You can do accurate work with these and they are inexpensive, but can't be sharpened.

3. plane - I would start with a Stanley #4 - Try to get one on Swap and Sell that is ready to go.  There are several people who post refurbished planes occasionally.  They go pretty fast and I have never been quick enough to get one.  Alternatively, the WoodRiver planes at Woodcraft look pretty good but I have never used one.  Paul Sellers says you can do almost anything with the #4, but when you watch his videos, he uses a #5 a lot.  I would get both.

4. plow plane - I mainly use this to plow grooves in drawer sides, so I don't need a lot of blades.  The ones at LV are quite expensive.  I have a Stanley 45 that works for a plow plane but the price on those is going up also.  

5. Chisels -  I have more than I actually use.  I have some mortise chisels that I use but Paul Sellers uses beveled chisels for mortises so they may not be necessary.  Think about what you are going to build and buy the ones you need.  It is getting hard to find good vintage chisels on ebay, so you may want to buy new.  All of mine are vintage so I don't know what to suggest.  Only that I would rather have a few really good ones that a whole set of lesser quality.

While not really needed to get started, I would add these before too long

6.  Router plane - These are really handy for a lot of things.  Not sure what the best option for buying one is.  I got one on ebay several years ago but the price may have gone up since then.

7. rabbit plane - Stanley 78 can usually be found for not much money.  Make sure to get the fence and depth stop.  I don't use it a lot but it comes in really handy.  

6.  Scrub plane - Once you start buying rough lumber, a scrub plane is really handy.  Actual scrub planes are quite expensive but there are a lot of articles on how to tune regular plane for use as a scrub plane.


Oh, and lots of clamps.  Once you get into it, the number of tools you have will start to grow exponentially but you can get started with with a lot less.
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#24
(12-12-2016, 07:40 PM)CJIII Wrote: Sent I don't have a shop, I am looking at doing woodworking with hand tools only. What would be a basic kit to get started?

Is this a bad joke?
Phydeaux said "Loving your enemy and doing good for those that hurt you does not preclude killing them if they make that necessary."


Phil Thien

women have trouble understanding Trump's MAGA theme because they had so little involvement in making America great the first time around.

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#25
CJ, you still have the hand plane and other items I sent you some years back?
Steve

Missouri






 
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020








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#26
I would concur with wmickley's list and add two things:

1.  a 'fine' sharpening stone that is finer than the medium india he notes.  Many good ones out there and others will comment.
2. The TIME in your schedule to learn how to sharpen.

You may want to really consider buying A (one) chisel or A (one) plane, a piece of wood, and then sharpening stones.  Spend an hour or two across a few weekends sharpening until you can cleanly shave the end grain of pine or slice clean through an 8" wide piece of paper by just pushing the blade through rather than 'sawing' or 'slicing'.  Once you really know how to get a sharp edge (even if it takes a while at first--it becomes quick).  Then you will with your time have bought the skill needed to enjoy the hobby and the other tools.

The downside of knowing what a sharp edge and how to get it is that you find yourself compulsively sharpening everything. Then you'll find that every metal object in your house that has two sides meeting at an edge will be a scalpel.  Then your children, seeing your example, will start sharpening their legos.  And let me tell you....that's not a good place.  Especially if your teenage daughter gets upset with you and leaves those sharpened legos on the stairs in the night.....
MAKE: Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out...  www.makezine.com

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#27
(12-15-2016, 06:59 PM)Stwood_ Wrote: CJ, you still have the hand plane and other items I sent you some years back?

Hey CJ; good to see you back in here again! Hard to believe that you still need a list from us tho.... what gives???
Skip


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#28
CJ

It is so nice to see you here again.  It seems like almost 2 years since I've seen you post.

Are you still working for the City?

What happened to the shop you and your dad built?

Come around more often OK
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification.  Thank You Everyone.

It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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#29
You'll need a bench with a vise to do anything with hand tools. That must be your first tool.
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#30
For more to chew on, here is a compiled and well formated comparison of essential tools from various woodworking celebs:

http://handtoollist.com (scroll past first graphic to get to the meat).
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