Before we start and start thinking this is going to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to be splashing out your hard-earned money on buying tools on a hobby you may or may not get into. Personally look for woodworking clubs or a community shed in your area, that way you are learning what you want to make and what tools you are going to need for the things you are building  or even if you are going to enjoy woodworking.

So you wanting to start woodworking, awesome! But now you want to know what tools do you need… here are what tools I recommend you get first. However before I give my recommendations, you have to decide what is it, you want to make? Where are you going to do this ie; space available to you? What is your budget?

What is it you want to make?

Scroll saw work, wood turning, furniture, just general making stuff as in a bit of everything…

I ask this because If you are wanting to turn pens, then you don’t need a scroll saw, or if you are wanting to work with the scroll saw only then a lathe isn’t really needed. The rabbit hole starts when you say “I want to make or try a bit of everything”

Where are you going to set up shop?

Do you have a dedicated shop space? If so how much space do you have? Are going to have set up a mobile work area on your back deck of yard and only work on sunny days?  (There are many many people that do this) There are woodworkers that setup small shops in apartments others in single garages, basements (Like me) and then others with dedicated mega shops.

What is your budget?

How much are you willing spend on this hobby, because it can become a rabbit hole if you are not careful.

Tools to get you started.

• Drill and impact driver set.
  • various drill and driver bits.
• Circular saw
  • If the budget can afford it, I recommend also getting the ACCU Cut and Rip Cut from Kreg.
• Jigsaw.
• Router.
  • Flush cut, round over, straight cut and maybe a couple of others.
• Sander.
  • Various sandpaper grits
• Clamps.
  • start the the quick grip and a couple of F-Clamps
• Steel ruler & tape measure.
• Speed square.
• Chisels.

As for the power tools especially when you are starting out pick a tool brand and battery system and stick with it. I don’t care if you pick Festool, DeWalt, Milwaukee, AEG or you pick a home brand like Ryobi, Worx or Ozito etc If you start swapping and changing and have multiple battery tools you need multiple different chargers and batteries taking up space and power points and can start getting real expensive real quick. Be honest how many drills do you really need?

So lets quickly go through my list.

Drill and impact driver set.

Personally I believe every home should have at least a drill even if it is a cheap on. They are the most useful tools you will own and help you out on a variety of jobs and projects from home maintenance to large building projects. h However We want a Drill and Impact driver combo set. The amount of ties you will need to drill holes will surprise you, and you should pre-drill when you use tex-screws (and while it is not necessary pre-drill will help eliminate splitting and keep things looking tidy). You will need to drill holes for dowel, and if you are wanting to do any scroll saw work. Maybe you end up buying a pocket hole jig, even certain furniture etc…

Impact driver is mainly used for driving in screws using an impact action, and is good for really driving them home  and the more screws you have to drive in the more you will want one of these. For a long time I didn’t have one, but once I got one I said how did I survive and why did it take me so long to get one…. But these as a combo set and get an extra battery.

Now you will need some drill bits and different driver bits. Start of getting a standard drill bit set.

Circular saw.

Now we need to cut things, and the circular saw is a very diverse tool, you can cut various thickness of timber or ply, MDF, your can cross cut, rip and bevel. You can also use the circular saw to make grooves and dado’s rabbets etc…

Again you can either get a powered one or battery operated one, if you are on a real tight budget the powered or corded versions are cheaper. However the battery version is more mobile and portable you don’t have to worry about running power cord and there is no cord to get in the way or trip over etc. If you have a battery drill most tool brands today will now have a circular saw using the same battery system.

Now here is where I am a little different to other people and there recommendations. If your budget can afford it I also the recommend getting the Kreg Accu-Cut and Rip-Cut systems. It will give you straight accurate cuts, while they will not replace a table saw they come pretty close and a lot cheaper. However if you do not have the space or budget for a nice table saw or even a true track saw, then the Kreg Accu-Cut and your circular saw is an awesome replacement.

The Kreg Accu-Cut and Kreg Rip-Cut while pricey they are worth it for the budding woodworker. I only recommend this if the budget allows because realistically you do not NEED them but they give straight accurate cuts.

If your budget can not stretch to get these then most definitely a straight edge cutting guide and make your own cutting track jigs. These jigs are very very simple to make but can speed up your cutting as well as making them more accurate.

Jigsaw.

So you can cut your material but you need to cut a circle or a hole for a light fitting etc then this is where you need to have a jigsaw, and you for that last part your drill as well.

You will need various types of blades to get your cut you are after. The Jigs is a vary versatile tool and can be used to cut out shapes and in do internal cuts. You do have to take your time and learn your tool, but the Jigsaw is a must have in any work shop.

Router.

The router is another tool that is a must have and a a very versatile, making a chamfer or rounding over the edges of your project.  Just to give that finished look and feel to your projects. You can also to grooves, dado’s and rabbets with a flush cut bit you can trim edging or trace cut an object. You can make jigs to even help flatten stock, the router if used correctly is a very versatile tool.

You can get a bigger plunge routers with more power or a smaller trim router. Both have their advantages and dis-advantages. When starting out, it doesn’t really matter whether you get a trim router or a larger as long as you have a usable router. You can expand on this later. You will just need a router even if it is to flush trim or round over edges of your projects. You find new ways that it will help with your projects and enhance the final product.

Sander.

All woodworkers hate sanding, and years gone by we use to do this all by hand, however we invented power tools for various and many things, and one of those things is sanders.

I recommend a random orbital sander it will make sanding barrable, you will still not like doing it 😐 but having a powered sander makes the job that needs to be done easier.

Come of the tool brands now start having the 18v Sanders on their battery system. While this is good, I do recommend get a corded powered version as well and probably get it first as well as you will be doing a lot of sanding and I mean a lot. Powered versions of the various tools are usually cheaper..

Clamps.

You will start gluing things together and clamps are a great way to apply a little pressure till the glue dries. I would probably start with the quick grip clamps and a couple of F-Clamps but you will soon realise you will always need one more clamp.

Clamps are an essential for glue up’s but also handy for holding things, or clamping material to be stable while you are cutting it.

Steel ruler. 

I am going to assume you already have a tape measure, if you don’t you will need one, but you will also need a steel ruler, to give a more accurate measurement. They are less likely to break like a tape measure, but they are better for making those smaller measurements. Builders usually have both tape measures and a folding ruler, because certain times it is easier to take the measure measurement with a ruler. The same can be said here. The steel ruler will make measuring certain things easier and more accurately.

TIP #1

Use the same measuring device, ie; tape measure/ruler to mark out that you used to measure.
Example; If you measure an item with a ruler, use the same ruler to make out any cuts.

Speed square/Combination square.

A square is vital for wood working checking for 90 degrees,  but I would go one step further and say when starting out a speed square is essential. Not only is the speed square use to marking and checking 90 degrees, also 45. Not only that it can help you make more accurate cross cuts of timber with the circular saw as you can use it as a guide.

The speed square is a vital tool when you are starting out with limited tools, not only for checking and marking 90 and 45’s but can be used in combination with your circular saw to make accurate straight cross cuts on lumber.

A combination square can also take measurements and the transfers, can be used as a marking guide, has a 45 degree as well as a 90. However be aware that a combination square can go off square through wear and tear or if you drop it etc.

Chisels 

A set of good Chisels is handy for cleaning out various cuts like dados or rabbet cuts cut with circular saw etc also for squaring out rounded corners and many other things… And it goes with out saying that you will also need a mallet or hammer.

Done and dusted

With these basic tools you can build many projects with out spending a huge amount of money. It also gives you time to see if you will actually enjoy woodworking, as you may hate it and you haven’t wasted a lot of money. Finally gives you time to save and get your specialised tools, like a mitre saw, lathe or scroll saw, drill press and table saw.

Expanding your tool range and skill set.

So you have decided you do want to expand… even cooler.

Don’t be surprised if your interests in woodworking change, as you try a new side of woodworking and you do enjoy scroll saw work when you thought you wouldn’t but don’t enjoy turning on the lathe as much as thought you would…

MitreSaw is the first major power tool I would consider is a compound mitre saw. Having one opens up various other options in your woodworking for making accurate mitres and compound mitres and angle cuts..

The next major purchase is getting a tablesaw. Once you get one of these this will be a game changer in your workshop, you will find that it will quickly become the heart of your shop and be used more and more.

Tablesaws are not cheap. there are different types of saws from a worksite saw, to a contractors saw up to a full cabinet saw. This is where I am going to say don’t buy the really cheap saws, however you can still buy a pretty decent saw if you look and a jobsite saw from DeWalt or Makita, Bosch or Hikoki. You can also look at second hand, if you look hard enough you can find some gems.