Beginner Woodworking Tools

If you’re wondering which should be the first set of woodworking tools
you should have at home to start your DIYer journey this is what we recommend:

Claw Hammer:
Used in woodworking projects for hammering or removing nails. You can find it indifferent sizes.

Tape Measure:
Basic for measuring wood and ensuring accuracy. An auto lock is a must, since it comes in handy.

Carpenter's Square:
For straight and accurate cuts. These have an L shape or triangle You can work using both together.

Chisels:
These are for carving and shaping wood. Depending on the details you need, use a wide or thin chisel.

Hand Saw:
For cutting wood, choose a crosscut saw for cutting across the grain or a rip saw for cutting with the grain.

Block Plane:
‍This is for smoothing and shaping wood.

Power Drill:
A great tool for drilling holes and driving screws.

Screwdrivers:
Make sure to have flathead and Phillips head screwdrivers which will be useful for woodworking projects.

Sandpaper and Sanding Block:
For smoothing rough edges and surfaces and to avoid hurting yourself while using it.

Safety Gear:
‍Include goggles, ear protection, and a dust mask for safety while working.

Workbench:
‍This is very necessary to make your work comfortable and enjoyable. You can even do this yourself with lumber.

Level:
This tool has a bubble in the middle and will help you to make sure your surface is horizontal (level) or vertical (plumb).

Once you feel more confident you can add to your first set of hand tools woodworking the following:

Circular Saw:
This is also called a buzz saw. A power saw is a tool that uses a toothed or abrasive disc or blade, rotating around an arbor cutting in a rotary motion.

Miter Saw:
Also known as a Mitre Saw, is a stationary saw mounted to a table. This is used to make precise crosscuts.

Jig Saw:
‍This type of saw employs a reciprocating blade to cut irregular curves, like wood, metal, or others.

Router:
‍This power tool features a flat base and a rotating blade that extends beyond the base. This tool helps you cut or trim wood.

Table Saw:
‍This table includes a circular saw blade mounted on an arbor and driven by an electric motor. This saw has a drive mechanism positioned below a supportive table, typically for wood, with the blade extending through the table to cut the material.

Clamps:
This fastening device will help you hold or secure objects tightly. This prevents movement through the application of inward pressure.

Orbital Sander:
This hand-held power tool sands the wood using a random-orbit action, moving in constant, irregular and overlapping circles.

Panel Saws:
A panel saw is designed to make only straight cuts, either vertically or horizontally, on large panels. These saws cannot make angular or beveled cuts, nor are they intended for cutting solid wood.

Mallet:
It is a preferred tool for woodworkers who use chisels with handles made of plastic, metal, or wood, as it provides a softer impact while ensuring a positive drive.

Planer:
This woodworking machine trims boards for a consistent thickness throughout the length. This is manual so you can control allthe details of a straight surface.

Combination square:
This is a versatile measuring tool primarily used for checking the accuracy of 90° angles, measuring 45° angles, finding the center of circular objects, measuring depth, and taking simple distance measurements.

Files:
This tool helps you remove mounts of material from a workpiece. Normally it's used for the edges of woodworking projects or spots that are difficult to reach with sandpaper.

Screw Gun:
‍This tool is designed specifically for driving screws faster.

Dovetail Jig:
This device holds timber in a vertical position so that each dovetail joint can be cut with a router.

Types of Wood for
Woodworking Projects

You can either work with natural wood or boards, we did some research to discover what are the
best recommendations according to your woodworking projects. Either it's framing or trim work, decking or fences, or furniture. Learn which wood is better for your first DIY woodworking project.
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Natural Wood for Woodworking

Lumber Dimensions

As woodworking beginners you might think that all lumber is ready to use, but depending on where you buy your wood you might discover that it's both nominal size and actual size. We will break things down for you based on the most common sizes DIY projects normally use. In this section we will discuss Lumber and Timber Woods. Timber wood refers to wood that has not been processed as lumber. 

Softwood Lumber

As we saw in our Type of Wood section, there is some lumber used for different projects. But depending on the size of the project, consider the resistance of the lumber you'll be using. When we talk about 1x lumber it is normally measured the following way:

‍1x Lumber
‍You can use this lumber for trim (Baseboards and casings), shelving, furniture (bookshelves, tables, and benches), outdoor ( decks, fences and pergolas), crafts and small projects.

2x Lumber
You can use this lumber for structural framing (framing walls, floors, and roofs), outdoor structures (Decks, porches, and sheds), furniture (beds, tables, and benches), shelving and storage ( building shelves, especially in areas where heavy items will be stored), garden beds and fences.

4x Lumber
This lumber isn’t very common due to its size and weight. But when additional strength and durability is needed, this is your lumber! You can use this lumber for support posts (decks, porches, and fences), beams and headers, outdoor structures (pergolas or pavilions),industrial and heavy-duty applications ( heavy-duty applications), specialized projects (custom furniture pieces).

 
Softwood Timber
This timber is commonly used for feature walls, ceilings, furniture, doors and windows.

6x Timber (4 sides)
This wood isn’t very common due to its size and weight. This is great wood when strength and durability is needed for specific projects! You can use this lumber for support beams (bridges, barns, or industrial buildings),timber framing (large structures, such as houses or commercial buildings), Heavy-Duty industrial applications, specialized projects.

8x timber (4 sides)

 
Glue Laminated Lumber
‍This is also called Glulam, it's a versatile engineered wood product made by bonding together individual layers of lumber with durable and moisture-resistant adhesives. You can see this material applied to beams and columns, roofing systems, bridge construction,architectural features, industrial applications and residential construction. Sometimes it’s a good cost-effective option to natural wood. This is how it’s normally measured:

Types of Joints
for Woodworking

When it comes to woodworking joints we will touch on at least 13 that might be great for your DIY projects. Make sure to start with the easiest joint, but until you try each one of them and practice, you'll see improvement. Once you feel comfortable on each one of them, consider yourself a great woodworker.

Basic Butt Joint:
This is when one lumber butts into another. It’s fastened using mechanical fasteners and it’s one of the simplelist.

Miter Butt Joint:
This is when two lumber butts are joined at an angle. This may be aesthetic but not that strong.

Half-Lap Joint:
Half of each of the two boards is removed so that they join together flush with one another. Even though each board gets weakened, it’s better than Butt joints.

Tongue and Groove Joint:
If you are thinking of using glue, this joint is perfect. Basically you affix two boards squared to one another. This is a strong joint.

Mortise and Tenon Joint:
‍This is a classic joint since early woodworking times. Basically one of the lumbers has a square and the other a hole shaped as a square. This is how they get affixed to one another.ards, this is the favorite wood for guitars, violins and pianos. Cabinets and furniture are also made from this wood.

Biscuit Joint:
‍Woodworkers insert small wooden pieces shaped like footballs, called biscuits, into slots in two pieces of wood to align them accurately for gluing.

Pocket Joint:
 An angled hole is drilled into one piece of wood, and a screw is inserted into another piece, forming a concealed joint.

Dado Joint:
A groove is cut across the grain of one piece of wood, and another piece fits into it. This joint is often used for shelves in cabinetry.

Rabbet:
‍Similar to a dado joint but with one side open. This joint is used for joining the edge of one piece to the surface of another.

Dovetail Joint:
‍An interlocking joint where fan-shaped tails on one piece fit into corresponding pins on another. This joint is known for its strength and aesthetics.

Half-Blind Dovetail Joint:
‍This joint connects two pieces of wood at a right angle. It features interlocking pins and tails, but the tails are hidden in the joint.

Sliding Dovetail:
A groove in the shape of a dovetail is cut into one piece, while a matching dovetail-shaped projection on another piece slides into it.

Box Jointer Finger Joint:
‍Rectangular cuts are made at the ends of two pieces that interlock like fingers. This joint is used for making boxes.

Spline Joint:
A slot is cut into each piece, and a thin wooden spline is inserted to connect them.

Bridle Joint:
This joint is similar to a mortise and tenon joint, but both pieces feature a tenon that interlocks with a shared mortise.

Finger Joint (or Comb Joint):
This joint is like a box joint but features numerous interlocking fingers, resulting in a robust bond.

Dowel Joint:
‍Holes are bored into two pieces of wood, and a dowel is placed in the holes to align and join them securely.

Lock Miter Joint:
The two pieces feature matching angled edges that interlock, often used for joining corners.

Fastening Materials
for Woodworking

We have learned the basics of woodworking, the tools we will use, and the existing joints that we will be using. But now we need to learn how to affix everything in a smooth and almost invisible way for our woodwork project to be resistant and seamless. Let’s take a look at the most popular fasteners.

Wood Screws:
These versatile screws come in different head types, including flathead, roundhead, and countersunk, and are used to fasten wood pieces together.

Nails:
These common fasteners come in different sizes and types, including finishing nails, framing nails, and brad nails.

Wood Glue
Adhesives used for joining wood pieces together and they come in different types, such as PVA, polyurethane, and epoxy glues.

Brad Nails:
‍Slender nails with a tiny head, perfect for delicate woodworking tasks and trim work.

Finish Nails:
‍Nails with a small head used for finishing work, often countersunk and covered with wood putty.

Staples:
‍Metal fasteners inserted into wood using a staple gun are often used for securing fabric, paper, or other thin materials.

Wood Dowels:
 Wooden cylindrical rods used for connecting two pieces of wood. They are usually glued into corresponding holes.

Biscuits:
Small wooden pieces shaped like footballs, utilized with a biscuit jointer to align and reinforce the connection between two pieces

Screws with Plugs:
‍Screws accompanied by corresponding wood plugs, utilized to conceal the screw heads for a polished appearance.e piece to the surface of another.

Pocket Holes with Screws:
‍These screws are specially designed for use with pocket hole joinery systems, creating sturdy joints that are hidden from view

Wooden Pegs:
Wooden pegs employed in traditional joinery techniques, like those found in mortise and tenon joints.

Clamps:
Tools utilized to secure wood pieces together while glue sets or during assembly. These include bar clamps, pipe clamps, and C-clamps.

Wooden Latches and Catches:
‍Hardware employed to fasten doors, gates, or lids in woodworking endeavors.

Threaded Inserts:
Metal inserts installed by screwing or pressing into wood to establish threaded holes for machine screws or bolts.

T-Nuts and Bolts:
Nuts shaped like a T, inserted into pre-drilled holes and fastened with bolts. Frequently utilized for securing furniture legs.

Wood Dowel Pins:
Wooden pins in a cylindrical shape used to align and reinforce joints in woodworking.

Design Your Woodworking Project
with Our DIYer App

Many woodworking design software options are tailored for CAD and geared towards engineers familiar with costly, complex 3D software. In contrast, Crafty Amigo is designed to be user-friendly for everyone, particularly for those planning their first DIY smart home projects.

Regardless of your age, Crafty Amigo makes it easy to assemble your wooden design. The software uses standard parts available at your local hardware store. You can place these parts and easily snap other compatible parts onto them. The process is straightforward: Click - Select - Snap!

Our goal is to enhance the design and construction experience for DIY enthusiasts who love creating wooden furniture, planters, decking, and more. Once you've completed your design, you can share it with friends, allowing them to clone, edit, or simply build from your shared creation.

Once your design is complete, you'll be able to download as a PDF the parts list with the exact measurements for each component, ensuring you can build it without making multiple trips to Home Depot. Plus, it's entirely free and web-based.
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You can also transition your designs from wood to aluminum 8020, PVC tubes or even design your HVAC system!
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Beginner Woodworking Free Projects

Are you feeling more confident and wish to give it a try with free 3D designs? Here are a few interesting woodworking projects that include a step-by-step guide to building from furniture to a wooden greenhouse for your home. Enjoy your DIYer journey and if you want to see any other designs, drop us a line! We'll be happy to add more DIY projects to our library.