I’m very new to woodworking and I’m focusing on learning how to use hand tools. I’m slowly acquiring more tools and setting up my workshop, but I just know that there will be something super useful that I haven’t thought about, and won’t realise that I need it until I actually need it.
What items can you just not live without in your shop?
I find myself using a chunk of beeswax way more than I expected. It’s handy for little spots where you need some quick lubrication, in addition to its usefulness as a finish.
That is something I’d not heard of, thank you!
- there’s no such thing as too many clamps
- a good rasp will pay for itself in sandpaper
- make or buy a marking gauge, and keep a sharp marking knife handy
- do you have enough clamps yet? no you don’t
I definitely need more clamps! I think just work holding in general (and a decent bench to hold the work to) is something that I need to invest in.
A rasp is definitely on my list. Are there any particular types you recommend? I’ve got a shinto rasp on my wishlist, but I suspect that’s not quite what you’re talking about.
A sturdy bench is a good call. Hard to do much without a good bench.
For rasps the Shinto comes highly recommended. Otherwise hand stitched rasps are supposedly the best but also cost the most.
I’m on a budget so I got a 4 in hand rasp/file combo and I use it all the time. Something like this. As another commenter said, the hand stitched ones are better because they don’t leave grooves like a machine made one, supposedly, but it’s not a big deal in my opinion.
Bench should be your #1 priority for sure. You can make a decent one with 2x4s using nothing but basic hand tools, but you will need lots of clamps!
A decent bench with a decent vice. Work holding is key.
Diamond stones for me. I tried the sandpaper on glass method for quite a while and had no idea what I was missing until I got a set of quality diamond stones. Along with it I strop using a strip of denim with green compound.
A denim strop is a new one on me. How does it compare to leather?
To be honest I’ve never used a leather strop. I discovered this site when I was learning to sharpen knives. The guy behind the site had access to an electron microscope and used it to test different methods. He found that a loose strip of denim (fixed on one end and held in the hand with the other) with stropping compound worked better than a leather strop. I think for straight razors he added a step after with either dry denim or diamond spray. I figured if it was good enough for this guy it’s good enough for me.
I can say the denim works better than stropping compound on a flat wood board.
I use denim to keep disposable razors sharper longer based on some random thing I read… never even thought to bring some out to the shop for stropping. Good tip.
Do you use it dry or with compound for razor blades? I’ve wanted to try it with razor blades but haven’t tried it yet.
If you are focusing on hand tools then I would say the following items are not always thought about, but indispensable once you use them.
- Shooting board
- Plane stop for your bench
- Cheap white candles (for your plane soles)
- Binding tape (better than masking tape for taping joints)
- Accu-Burr burnishing rod
Good list. The top two are on my list to make.
This is a reassuring list as I’ve already got the first three. First thing I made was a shooting board, and for a plane stop, well, I just screwed a thin strip of wood into my worktop. It’s not great, but it does the job for now. Thanks for the input!
Yes, a bag of tea candles are super cheap and great for making sticky plane soles run smoothly. Good advice!
@Sausage good marking and layout tools. Not hand tool specific, but knowing that square is square (etc) is a prerequisite for a lot of precision work.
I like having a Japanese pull saw handy for small, quick cuts.
