Anyone picked up woodworking as a hobby out of the blue?
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
C'mon man...be like this guy...no power tools allowed.
It is, and can be, but you can build up as you go. I've only got one full retail price item, a Dewalt table saw with stand that cost $300. Everything else I've bought either second hand or el cheapo versions from Harbor Freight or Amazon. Just yesterday I picked up a 10" miter saw in great shape with a Black and Decker Workmate bench for $60. The bench alone is $100 new.
Still, it adds up. Really, all the little stuff kind of add up more quickly than the big equipment, and that's where Harbor Freight is a lifesaver, with bits and blades and things that are a fraction of big box costs. In 2.5 years I'm probably approaching $1000 into it on tools, but that would be more like $3000 worth of stuff if I just walked into Home Depot and bought everything I have. Still, I could easily and happily spend $1000 more today on stuff I want really badly if I didn't restrain myself. If you you are impulsive and impatient about waiting on deals, it can get away from you very quickly.
Oh, and the wood is expensive as hell. Crappy pine from Home Depot isn't that expensive, but anything nicer is crazy expensive from Woodcraft or Rockler. Because I don't have $2000 of jointers and planers, I can really only buy finished dimensioned hardwoods at the those places and it's expensive as shit. People who are much more serious and invested than I am can do better by sourcing big slabs of rough walnut or whatever, but I can't really do anything with that even if I could get my hands on it.
As they say, a woodworker looks at an item in a store and says "Why would I buy that, when I could make a worse version for three times the cost?"
Plus
1. Pin nailer
2,Brad nailer
3, Finish nailer
4. Stapler
5. Framing nailer
Equals 800 or so...
I've grown attached to my Grex pin nailer for durability.. How's the Senco pin nailer hold up??
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I was a carpenter in a former life. We had a Senco in our shop that never gave us any trouble.
It's crazy, the woodworking stuff you can find on Nextdoor or CL for $.10 to $.50 on the dollar.
NIIIICE.....
Plus
1. Pin nailer
2,Brad nailer
3, Finish nailer
4. Stapler
5. Framing nailer
Equals 800 or so...
Is that one of the quiet compressors?
I've got a similar 10G one from CA Air Tools; it's so quiet you can actually have a conversation with that thing running in the garage.
Those tiny pancake sized ones blow your eardrums out.
He has a decent size gut protector with all the overhang on the chainsaw jig tho. The loose shirt did make me a bit uncomfortable. Second set of hands to run that jig would definitely be safer.
That dude has so many bad ass homemade jigs. Def not his first rodeo. The pusher board missing fingers is classic tho.
Imagine doing all of that without powertools, our forefathers were bad ass.
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Cool to see this pop up. I'm still at this today. It's been a good thing for me and my mental health, I wasn't expecting to get divorced when I posted this, I'm glad I got this hobby. Two days ago I finally bought a planer, the most expensive single addition to my tool collection ever.
I got it because my neighborhood is under construction, and the contractor said I could have any of the cast off wood and pallets that I wanted. But that stuff is pretty useless without being able to joint it and plane it. It's not fine wood or anything, but I think all that free would will pay for the cost of the planer this year.
I've made some cool stuff, and some crappy stuff, over the years but it's been a great hobby, and ultimately not that unreasonably priced given the enjoyment. I've only had one serious accident with a trip to the emergency room, and the follow up to fix my finger probably cost more than all my tools combined LOL. Fun fact, a surprising amount of your fingertip can actually grow back.
I got it because my neighborhood is under construction, and the contractor said I could have any of the cast off wood and pallets that I wanted. But that stuff is pretty useless without being able to joint it and plane it. It's not fine wood or anything, but I think all that free would will pay for the cost of the planer this year.
I've made some cool stuff, and some crappy stuff, over the years but it's been a great hobby, and ultimately not that unreasonably priced given the enjoyment. I've only had one serious accident with a trip to the emergency room, and the follow up to fix my finger probably cost more than all my tools combined LOL. Fun fact, a surprising amount of your fingertip can actually grow back.
I make wood bows. Cut tree down, split into staves, air dry for 5-10 years, then remove all the wood that isn't part of the bow with hands tools. Had one in Primitive Archer magazine a few years ago. Really addictive hobby.
That dude must have way to many trees laying around if he thought that was cheaper than going and buying some wood somewhere.
I skipped through the video a bunch, did he even bother letting wood dry before making his bench? I have to think that bench is going to be shit in no time if he didn’t.
I skipped through the video a bunch, did he even bother letting wood dry before making his bench? I have to think that bench is going to be shit in no time if he didn’t.
Nope! Router table actually. And I hardly ever use it, which probably contributed to it.
Very weird thing, but I learned a valuable lesson I think. I was routing some stuff on the router table, and as I was running pieces through, dust was starting to build up on the table, including in the line of where I was running the pieces through. And with the router still running, I just reflexively, without even a conscious thought, brushed the dust off the table with my hand. And I brushed the tip of my pinky finger right into the router bit.
I knew I had hit it, but it barely even hurt, probably like a combination of shock and smashing the nerves, but it was like I couldn't even feeli it. But I knew I'd done serious damage. I didn't know if I'd cut it off.
I was home alone, and I knew if I looked at it, there was a very good chance I would pass out on the garage floor. So I grabbed a filthy rag and wrapped it up without looking at it, and taped it up with blue masking tape. Then I opened the shop vac and sifted through the sawdust to see if there was a finger in there. There wasn't. I wasn't sure if that was even good or bad at that point. Then I drove myself to the hospital.
Finally at the hospital they looked at it and I saw it. The fingertip from the last knuckle up was obliterated and splayed out. The doc kind of pushed it back together and sewed it up with all these zig zag stitches and sent me home. It looked like a disaster. A couple days later I went to a hand specialist that took a look at it. He removed the stitches and re-sewed it to something that more closely approximated the shape of a fingertip, but only barely. He said there was like a 25% chance I would keep the nail, and if I did, there was a chance the fingertip would mostly regrow out and fill in all the missing chunks. I went to him once a week for like a month for him to monitor it, and luckily enough, it did.
I probably have only about 30% feeling in my fingertip, which doesn't bother me much as you don't use your pinky that much. And it grew back about 90%. If you look at it side by side, I kind of lost a corner, instead of being round on one side it sort of cuts the corner on an angle, but it's nothing you'd ever notice unless pointed out.
It wasn't like I miscalculated, or was being lazily careless - I literally just saw dust, brushed dust without even processing a thought. It really raised my attention level that you just can't let your subconscious brain have any control in those few minutes while you're working with that kind of machinery. I mean, if a spider landed on my arm while I was cutting, I wouldn't react now, without calmly thinking through how I was moving. It made me really think about how many movements you make automatically without really thinking about it...reaching out to catch something falling, scratching an itch, swatting away a bug, covering a sneeze...dangerous stuff around running power equipment.
Jesus, that sucks. My router has my full attention, the noise it makes is just very..... attention grabbing.
I'd disagree, it sounds like a bit of a miscalculation...
The bit was there, hiding behind dust looking for blood.
Jesus, that sucks. My router has my full attention, the noise it makes is just very..... attention grabbing.
I'd disagree, it sounds like a bit of a miscalculation...
Honestly, I'm sure the fact that when it's spinning the bit is mostly invisible probably short circuited my brain.
Apologize if I missed it, what table did you get? My solution since I really like my Bosch handheld was just to buy a cheap portable tabletop table that I bolt my Bosch into when Im not doing freehand.
So, second hand I picked up a sort of crappy router and table combination.
It's not really good, but I don't really use my router that much. I consider it a much more confusing tool than any other power tool I've picked up. What I've got there should be good enough to get the hang of the basics, but I've never really put much time into doing it.
So I've been in kind of a chicken/egg situation. I don't know if I would use my router more if I had a better router and table, or if I don't need a better setup because I don't use it enough.
I'm making a conscious effort going forward to do some projects with it, learn how it is supposed to go, and either realize I can do more with this thing, or that I would get good use out of a better setup.
Shredding my finger on it probably contributed to not being super into using it too.
So, second hand I picked up a sort of crappy router and table combination.
It's not really good, but I don't really use my router that much. I consider it a much more confusing tool than any other power tool I've picked up. What I've got there should be good enough to get the hang of the basics, but I've never really put much time into doing it.
So I've been in kind of a chicken/egg situation. I don't know if I would use my router more if I had a better router and table, or if I don't need a better setup because I don't use it enough.
I'm making a conscious effort going forward to do some projects with it, learn how it is supposed to go, and either realize I can do more with this thing, or that I would get good use out of a better setup.
Shredding my finger on it probably contributed to not being super into using it too.
IMO, as a non-pro, thats sufficient. Different tools, but I have the same. I haven't gone back to "fine woodworking" in a while, but have "built stuff". My project over the summer was a pergola, but since I wanted it "my way" I DIY. The profiles were marked with a jig cut with a jigsaw, but the used the router to round the edge on the posts, the overhangs, knee braces, etc. All by hand. Didn't post about it this summer, but it was my project this year to get it up. Excuse the chairs, the wind blew everything over.
I have that exact same pergola and plan on building a bar around it this spring. Mine is a little smaller but almost same design. Pretty excited, I'd post a picture but not sure how to do that with out my address being in thread.IMO, as a non-pro, thats sufficient. Different tools, but I have the same. I haven't gone back to "fine woodworking" in a while, but have "built stuff". My project over the summer was a pergola, but since I wanted it "my way" I DIY. The profiles were marked with a jig cut with a jigsaw, but the used the router to round the edge on the posts, the overhangs, knee braces, etc. All by hand. Didn't post about it this summer, but it was my project this year to get it up. Excuse the chairs, the wind blew everything over.
