Building Furniture

I am interested in getting into wood working, specifically making furniture. I do NOT want to do this for a living, just as a fun side hobby. For those of you that are into it, how did you get started? How many specialty tools are needed to start up? What's a good place to start?

I am pretty handy with regular building stuff, I've built a couple decks, etc.

Halp!

Depends on how fancy you want to get. I build log furniture, or at least used to, and I got into while helping clear some property in the forest. The owners were just going to burn a bunch of really nice Cedar logs so I said give them to me and let me make something from them. Then I started buying tools as needed. Check my Gallery, I've got some pictures there. It's quite easy for the basic stuff but you can improve from there.

The third bay of my garage (big bay) is my woodshop, and I am a craftsman style/Stickly furniture fan. I have built blanket chests, bedroom sets, dining room chairs and table, among other things... I love it.

Basically, I grew up around a tool shop, so woodworking was a natural extension. Pick up some woodworking mag's (I like WOOD mag.), and some books on Shaker furniture. Read a bunch of articles and pick some easy, high-chance of success projects to try.

Do you have any tools?

I started with a good table saw, router, sanders, hand saws,various clamps and good chisels. You may need a vise and a good work table or work surface. I made one out an old solid door that I bought at the recycled store.

Don't buy cheap ass saw blades if you are cutting fine hardwood unless you have a joiner. You can build a lot of accessory jigs to help out with each project. It's another one of those hobbies that suck up money for tools and gadets.

I'll second what others have said, namely, read alot, and build something simple. Get yourself some magazines, read online, and build a simple side table. Doing a simple project gives the umpff needed to keep going, and will help you decide how detailed you want to get, and by extension, how many tools you will need.

I tried for a while but quickly learned that I'm no good.
Based on my 4+ years of f---ing around I've got two nuggets of wisdom:
1.) Learn how to use a planer and chisel; no matter how many tools you buy/have these are used always, mostly because your fancy tools are a PITA to tune, true, learn their foibles and worry about their blades.
2.) if you suck at classic joinery, get a pocket jig (I have a Kreg), it will save your ass.

Woodworking kicks ass, so does brewing.

There are several good woodworking forums.

There are only a couple good brewing forums.

You found one of the best brewing forums.

Seek and you shall find the cool assed woodworking forums.

(my experience on a table saw is limited. I don't feel that i can recommend one ww site over another.)

arturo7 said:

Woodworking kicks ass, so does brewing.

There are several good woodworking forums.

There are only a couple good brewing forums.

You found one of the best brewing forums.

Seek and you shall find the cool assed woodworking forums.

(my experience on a table saw is limited. I don't feel that i can recommend one ww site over another.)

Click to expand...

There is woodworkingtalk.com

I have done a lot of wood working,from building all the shelves over all the windows to building my own oak entertainment center. A good table saw is the first piece of equipment you need. I seem to change hobbys every couple of years but I made a few neat adirondack chairs that I love to sit and drink my homebrews in the summertime, almost impossible to fall out of.

I used to do a lot of woodworking but haven't had the time recently. I started off with a good table saw and the best blade made. After that, I picked up a benchtop planer, router, miter saw, random orbit sander, circular saw, dust collector and air filter, and other bits and pieces.

Be careful. Woodworking takes massive amounts of time, space and money- the big three.

Thanks for all the information so far!

I have a pretty decent table saw, all of the other standard hand tools... the only things I seem to be really lacking would be a router and a random orbital sander. I know which sander I have my eye on, but I've never worked with a router before... any advice on where to start with that? I'm trying to get into this somewhat cheap, but be able to make interesting things at the same time...

IMHO, do not consider anything but a Porter Cable router. I've used DeWalt and Ryobi and they don't even come close to the precision and power of a PC. In an ideal world, I'd have a 1.5 hp with both fixed and plunge bases for handwork, and a 3 hp to mount in a router table. In reality, I just have the 1.5 with a fixed base, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Make sure to buy high quality bits too- the cheap sets you see that give you 30 bits for $100 are junk, and potentially dangerous. I think the name to go for is Whiteside, or something like that.

The router, router table and knives are what will really set you back. Especially if you want to make your own cabinet doors etc. Those panel blades are expensive! Don't go less than 3HP for your table router either or you'll probably not even be able to spin the larger knives.

Not every shop feels the need for them, but I find a drill press (at least a 10") is a really handy machine to have for a number of reasons. One of which being you can often avoid having to buy a dedicated mortising machine if you want.

mattmcl said:

IMHO, do not consider anything but a Porter Cable router. I've used DeWalt and Ryobi and they don't even come close to the precision and power of a PC. In an ideal world, I'd have a 1.5 hp with both fixed and plunge bases for handwork, and a 3 hp to mount in a router table. In reality, I just have the 1.5 with a fixed base, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Make sure to buy high quality bits too- the cheap sets you see that give you 30 bits for $100 are junk, and potentially dangerous. I think the name to go for is Whiteside, or something like that.

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+1 on the Porter Cable. Also Bosch is good. Check out their web sites for refurbished models. I try to buy refurbished and have not been disappointed and it saves quite a bit of money.

Porter Cable 1-3/4 hp Router - Model 9690LR at Sears.com Something like this?

I am not really looking to get into cabinet making, more furniture like chairs, tables, etc.

Neunelfer said:

Porter Cable 1-3/4 hp Router - Model 9690LR at Sears.com Something like this?

I am not really looking to get into cabinet making, more furniture like chairs, tables, etc.

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Routers are very versatile especially with a router table. Sites like this have plans for router tables:
Woodworkers Journal : Table Saw Techniques : Making Spline-miter Box Joints
You can use it for joinery, shaping, inlaying lots of uses. I built this with a Joiner and a router

Neunelfer said:

Porter Cable 1-3/4 hp Router - Model 9690LR at Sears.com Something like this?

I am not really looking to get into cabinet making, more furniture like chairs, tables, etc.

Click to expand...

Try this site. Amazon.com: porter cable router: Home Improvement

That's a good router you picked.

Neunelfer said:

Porter Cable 1-3/4 hp Router - Model 9690LR at Sears.com Something like this?

I am not really looking to get into cabinet making, more furniture like chairs, tables, etc.

Click to expand...

Another very versatile tool is a band saw. I've got a 14" Delta that I've had for 20 years. It's nice because it's very popular so it's easy to find accessories for.

You can do a great deal with just a table saw, sander, and drill. You might consider making a few projects with what you have, and seeing what direction you want to go.

You will want a good table saw though. If you do not have a quality table saw that should be your first acquisition.

In re. to a router, I would not consider one unless you can get a table also. It increases the usefulness of a router ten x.

Post more pics.

Yup, that's exactly the router I was talking about. (I meant 1.75 hp in my earlier post). When I first started, I built a lot of shop stuff first, to cut my teeth (pardon the pun). A good workbench is a great first project, and a router table is another good one.

+1 that a table saw should be the first thing to buy. I have a Delta 10" Contractor saw, but it's the one that can be switched to 220V. I put a Forrest Woodworker II blade on it, converted to 220 and it does just as well as a cabinet saw for less than half the price, plus it's easier to move around.