The Woodworking Beginner Definitely Needs Good Plans In Order To Create Great Projects
I was fourteen when I first encountered woodshop as a woodworking beginner. It was part of the school’s curriculum and there was no way to be exempted if you want to go to the next year level. At first, I felt awkward. I am a girl. And, girls rarely list carpentry as one of their interests. But, I was challenged. I thought little women can do what little men can. So, I’d be there in class and did what the other students did. I measured wood, cut them and nailed them together.
My first project was a picture frame. The second was a wooden box. I think I never had any solo woodwork project after that. But. I like wood. Wood, they say, was one of the first materials worked by early humans other than stone, mud and animal parts. Today, working on wood has become a popular hobby and an important industry. No wonder there are always beginners.
Woodworking beginners are starters in woodworking — the craft of making things out of wood. Some consider it as an art. Indeed, some have made artworks from wood. But, I like wood because of its utility. Wood can be done and re-done to be used as something else. In our house a single piece of wood have a story to tell. Its author is my brother. He has always been a woodworking beginner. He has not mastered the craft. But, he can’t let go of it too. He is now a mechanical engineer yet; he continues to work on wood and always sees something to do when he is home. So, a divider will become a shelf and a shelf becomes a box. He had his fair amount of completed projects around the house.
When my brother started his affair with wood in high school, he only had what he says as a beginner’s basic tools: a claw hammer, 6″ layout square, 25″ retractable tape measure, utility knife, nail sets and a coping saw. As his home projects increased, so did his toolbox and his confidence in the craft. He had additional stuff like chisels, level, screwdrivers, sliding bevel and a block plane. His collection of tools increased even more when he went to work in several countries abroad. He went on to buy a circular saw. He says it’s the most essential power tool. Then he got a power drill, a random orbital sander and a router. He is eyeing on a compound miter which is used to cut compound angles. To this day, he hopes to buy a table saw – one of the expensive pieces a woodworking beginner should have. However, like the miter, it’s not necessary to acquire it until one is more experienced in using power tools. The woodworking shop, they say, is not complete without the table saw. So, he figured out he has to have a shop first. He uses the garage when he does his projects.
My books need more shelves this time. But, my brother isn’t home. I have wood and his toolbox though. Guess I have to decide and become a woodworking beginner again.
Check out these videos. If you’re a woodworking beginner and would like your projects to turn out like a professional you need to start with great woodworking plans.
April 27, 2011 | Posted by Billy Jones
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