Woodworking has been around for thousands of years. And it has evolved in many ways, especially when it comes to the tools used for it. These tools are designed to make woodworking a lot easier—saving you time, effort, and patience.
Nowadays, tons of modern tools are available to help you carry out your woodworking and other carpentry projects. However, choosing what’s essential among the numerous options can be confusing, especially for a novice woodworker. If that’s the case, this post may be of some help.
In this article, you’ll discover all the essential tools you’ll need in woodworking. With these tools, your tasks will be easier to accomplish as well as fun and enjoyable. Additionally, these tools can help you make good-quality woodwork like a professional because of the good results these tools can produce.
That said, here are the tools you’ll need for your woodworking home projects:
Contents
1. Woodturning Lathe
A woodturning lathe is a tool commonly used by professional wood crafters to add circular elements to wooden materials quickly and perfectly. Some objects shaped by this tool include furniture legs, baseball bats, bowls, lamp posts, and other circular ornaments. Also, working on a woodturning lathe is highly addictive and extremely satisfying.
When buying a woodturning lathe, you want to make sure that it has all the essential components included, such as:
- A cast-iron stand to minimize vibrations
- Concave-shaped legs
- Sealed bearings on the headstock
- Large spindle diameter (as much as possible)
- A hollow headstock
- Enough distance between centers
- Easily-clamped banjo
These are all the essential components for a good-quality and functional woodturning lathe. It’s okay to receive other features not mentioned on this list, but not when a part is missing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to produce expertly-crafted woodwork.
2. Circular Saw
Most people consider circular saws to be more of a tool used in carpentry than woodworking. However, some people would absolutely disagree. There might be no handheld power tool that can be more versatile and efficient than a circular saw.
When it’s clamped on the edge of the table, a circular saw may perform as accurately and finely as a table saw. Also, it may be capable of handling some of the same tasks, including cutting plywood and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). On top of that, a circular saw is a must-have tool when woodworking on a tight budget.
3. Workbench
Working on the floor is not an option when it comes to efficient and productive woodworking. Otherwise, you won’t be able to carry out your tasks effectively, such as working with a circular saw and power drills. This is why having a tough workbench is essential.
A workbench is a table commonly used in woodworking. Most of its kind are rigid and heavy enough to ensure they won’t wobble while essential tasks are being carried out. These tasks include sanding, clamping, gluing, sawing, drilling, chiseling, and others that are better executed with a workbench.
4. Random Orbital Sander
A random orbital sander is one of the primary woodworking power tools you should have in your arsenal. It’s used to polish woodcrafts and ensure a perfectly smooth surface. Also, it’s more efficient and produces even and professional-looking results than any other type of sander, especially a palm sander.
When purchasing an orbital sander, be sure your local woodworking shops have sanding disks with different grits readily available. Of course, you have to ensure that they’re compatible with the model of your sander. This way, you don’t have to waste time searching other shops with the correct sanding disks for your sander.
Here are the different grit levels you can use for your random orbital sander.
- Grit 60 To 80: This coarse sandpaper is best used when polishing coarse surfaces.
- Grit 120 To 150: This is medium-coarse sandpaper and is best used when removing stains from the surface.
- Grit 180 To 220: This fine sandpaper is used when you need to apply paint after orbital sanding.
- Grit 320 To 400: This extra-fine sandpaper is used when applying multiple layers of finishing coat.
5. Jack Plane
A jack plane is a multi-purpose woodworking bench plane used for trimming and surfacing wood by swiping it across. Its size may vary between 12-15 inches in length, and it’s only for rough shaping boards. Fine shaping is achieved by smaller planes that have low chances of tearing wood apart.
In addition, its name refers to the saying ‘jack of all trades,’ meaning it can perform a wide range of tasks, such as:
- Removing rough stock (for jack planes with a second blade shaped with a camber)
- Joining board edges (only if the board is shorter than the length of three jack planes)
- Smoothing wood boards
6. Power Drill
Power drills are one of the most indispensable woodworking tools that helps you accomplish many tasks. When it comes to basic woodworking, most people would expect to use a cordless one. However, a corded one is more powerful and versatile.
Unlike its cordless counterparts, a corded drill allows you to work consistently without charging any battery and with a consistent power supply. Also, it’s way less expensive and can perform more than cordless drills. These include boring holes of different sizes and driving screws efficiently.
7. Table Saw
A table saw is a circular saw mounted under the surface of a table. A portion of its blade is exposed above the table to cut any wood slid onto it. Because its blade is fixed on the table, you’ll be able to cut wood in a more measured, controlled, and accurate way.
Although the principle behind it is simple, a table saw provides tons of benefits for woodworking. Not to mention the undeniable consistency and convenience it offers. Hence, it’s the exact opposite of any handheld saw you may have used, such as jigsaws and bandsaws.
Woodworking is one of the activities worth exploring. Aside from continuous learning and practice, you need the help of essential woodworking tools to carry out each task perfectly. Without these tools, it’ll be difficult for you to produce expertly-crafted woodcraft. You may refer to the list above for the vital tools you might need for your future woodworking home projects.