A strong influence on the choice will be the possibility of placing it all somewhere, that is, will it be possible to allocate a separate room, an inhabited balcony, maybe there is some separate room for domestic purposes (basement, barn, garage), whatever. Of course, if you set yourself such a goal, you can plan some kind of craft from ordinary driftwood, from some branch with a simple kitchen knife. Today we are not talking about some kind of minimalism, that you can do something practically without tools at all.
Minimum set of tools
We will talk about a reasonable choice of a small number of tools that will allow you to carry out small, simple carpentry with pleasure and convenience. crafts. One of the best options to start with. is the production of simple boxes, boxes and similar things. To complete such a project, you do not need a lot of material and a lot of tools. Using an example of which tool is convenient to make them, I will try to create the same list for a beginner. What should appear first, what should appear second, what should appear third, and so on. Of course, everyone will adapt to their capabilities and desires. Since we live in the 21st century and power tools have become a part of our lives, let’s start with them.
Screwdriver
Obviously, the first tool on our list should be a drill or screwdriver. It doesn’t matter whether it’s battery-powered or network-powered... This network-based model is quite popular: “Soyuz” “DUS 2142”. With this tool you can drill holes, screw in screws, you can’t go anywhere without it.
Circular Saw
The next tool, in my opinion, should be a “saw-cutting saw”: a hand-held circular saw, not necessarily battery-powered, maybe corded. This could be a tile cutter converted into a small “circular saw”. It could also be a jigsaw or a band saw, which will probably be more specific for a beginner. In principle, cutting the material manually is possible, however, for example, a circular saw allows you not only to make longitudinal and transverse cuts, but also allows you to make grooves, as a result of which you can make simple but reliable carpentry joints.
Manual frezer
The next tool in our popularity rating for use in the workshop is a hand router.
It allows you to perform a number of operations; very easily and quickly you can use it to create some decorative outlines (shooting edges, selecting some grooves of some decorative elements). With budget models starting at $35, the tool has become very popular. Many beginning carpenters have a router. I believe that even any home craftsman who sometimes deals with wood products should have a router.
Grinding machines
The next type of power tool that significantly helps make the work of a home craftsman easier is the grinder. cars. According to their principle, they come in different types - eccentric or orbital, straight grinding or vibratory grinding, sometimes they are also called belt grinding. cars. Belt sanders cars are the most powerful.
Vibratory grinding or straight grinding are the most affordable.
Eccentric models are more popular among people who have been involved in this whole business for a longer time. It has a different shape and is difficult to get into corners, but the quality of the surface being processed is good. Each is good for its own subtype of work, but in principle it is not necessary to buy three at once; it is best to start with a straight grinder or vibratory grinder; they are available in a very inexpensive price range. There are square ones, and there are more powerful ones: rectangular in shape. Overall, if you can afford it, it's worth buying one. Perhaps not a single carpentry product, with the exception of some crafts made from branches or vines, can do without sanding. Of course, you can grind it by hand, but again, if we are talking about a hobby.
Bottom line
Let's summarize: a screwdriver or drill first, a saw and saw - second, a router - third. Small, inexpensive grinder. car in fourth. This is the minimum set of power tools that will allow you to carry out some small carpentry projects at home with pleasure.
Hand tool
You can't do it without hand tools. First of all, this concerns the measuring instrument: tape measure, square, ruler. It is advisable to have a couple of tape measures: one small and one larger, and at least two different squares.
One of the most popular and widely used tools in carpentry is the chisel.
Not so long ago, choosing chisels seemed to be a somewhat difficult question for me. Decent chisels from modern manufacturers don’t cost that little money, but I didn’t want to buy something really cheap. I tried to settle on some average (as it seemed to me then) on chisels from the Encor company. I chose this brand because of the molded handles with a through steel shaft that can be tightened, and the thickness of the main blade seemed quite good to me. But at the same time, I didn’t think that such a significant amount of metal at an affordable price would definitely affect the quality of this very metal. They don't hold an edge very well and get dull pretty quickly even on pine. I like to work much more with old Soviet chisels. The first two types of chisel sizes that a beginning carpenter should have are a small chisel of 10 and 12 millimeters in width, and a wider chisel, approximately 20-25 millimeters. After that, it is advisable to buy something in between 14 or 16 millimeters.It is better to buy chisels not in some new stores, some new Chinese chisels, but it is better to go to the market, where the junk dealers sell, to the so-called flea market. In Belarus, for example, as far as I understand, such places are called fields of miracles. Well, that is, where people stand and sell old things made during the union. It would seem like such an old thing, but in terms of the quality of the metal itself it is much better than modern manufacturers in the middle price range.
To work with chisels, you will need a mallet.
It can be rubber, wood, brass, whatever, but something else is important - usually there are at least two of them in the workshop. One light 250 grams, and one larger, weighing 450 grams. It’s also not necessary to buy a modern remake of some kind from China; at the same flea markets you can buy a wooden Soviet mallet for pennies, which in terms of its characteristics and ease of use will be no worse than the Chinese ones. Another type of hand tool directly associated with carpentry is the hand plane. The tool is unique in its capabilities; no other power tool can replace it. It would be highly desirable to have one plane of standard, medium size number four, let’s say. It is not necessary to buy something expensive branded or just inexpensive made in China, for example, from Stanley. Their quality, due to the decline in popularity of this type of tool, at least among the majority of people involved in more or less serious carpentry, is declining precisely because of power tools. Therefore, such planes are of mediocre quality; of course, you can work, but it takes a long time to get them into working condition; in general, I don’t recommend them. It's better to turn your attention to something used.For example, for Soviet-made planes. In principle, they will require the same amount of preparation for work as the new plane mentioned above, but the Soviet one will cost much less.
Next, a few words about the most common and simple tool: the pliers tool. Pliers, wire cutters or side cutters can be called differently (or pliers would be more correct), as well as screwdrivers.
The quality of modern China in the budget sector leaves, to put it mildly, much to be desired, so it is better to definitely buy Soviet-made pliers. But among screwdrivers, in principle, everything is not so bad, if the screwdriver has a tip made of hard metal. It is very easy to distinguish such a screwdriver - it has a tip of a darker color. These screwdrivers are more or less suitable for use, but if the screwdriver is completely one color (metal), then it is practically unusable and will fail very quickly. Thus, the first hand tools you will need are: squares, rulers, tape measures.
From a percussion instrument, so to speak: a pair of mallets of different weights, it is highly desirable to have a small plane, number three or number four (number four is considered the most popular size). A couple of chisels: one narrow, one wider. Screwdrivers, pliers, as needed.
