The First 5 Hand Tools Every Beginner Woodworker Should Buy

these are the first five hand tools every beginner woodworker should buy and I think in this order you let me know if you agree number one on the list the tape measure the mighty tape measure every woodworker on Earth well every woodworker in America anyway America has to have a tape measure and it really doesn’t matter which one you pick in most cases a lot of people just pick up the old standby Stanley 25 foot tape measure that’s what I started out with in 1995 in construction those work okay there are better options I’ll give you my opinion on those the reason there’s a better option this is the fast cap old standby this is my favorite I have like four of these in the shop the reason I like these is it’s durable it’s a 16 foot tape doesn’t take up a lot of belt space it’s not heavy it’s not bulky and in most wood shops you don’t need a tape measure over 16 feet 99 of the time so these are just handy to half and they’re also very inexpensive the number two reason I like these is the blade is protected so if you do drop this it’s less likely to damage that it has a nice rubber coating so these are a little more durable than the metal house tape measures that you see like this old stainless nice for instance this Lufkin here you can see that the blade sticks way down underneath the tape measure so if you drop this which you will drop your tape measures it’s going to land on that blade it’ll bend that and throw it out of whack you don’t want that fast Gap also makes this Lefty righty tape measure that’s pretty neat especially if you’re a beginner and you kind of get confused on the what’s an eighth or three quarter or 5 8 this has it pre-marked on there so you can easily read that and you get to read the measurements from both sides of the tape whereas other tape measures basically have it upside down you know or right side up whichever way you’re looking at it so the Lefty righty will have it printed on both sides same overall design as the old standby that I like so much same form factor everything it just has a different tape measure inside one main thing to keep in mind on a tape measure it doesn’t matter what tape measure you go with if you have more than one in the shop only use one for the project because even similar tape measures or same name brand tape measures can be off from each other as you can see in this clip here I’ve got three different tape measures and they all three read different so you just keep that in mind because of the difference in the slack and the blade as well as if that’s bent or not just pick one use it for the project the number two hand tool you should absolutely buy as a beginner is a square now if you look online or in store you’re going to see so many options of squares it can get confusing but we’re going to clear that up for you right now buy a Swanson speed square as your first Square this will do most everything you’re going to need this aluminum version It’s a seven inch square seven inches on one side you can Mark angles with it and you can draw 90 degree angles with it or 90 degree marks with it so you can cut those 90 degree Cuts this is in my opinion the best Square for most projects for most beginners now you may need a bigger Square from time to time and a framing square is what you’re going to want to get these are very inexpensive and it’s just a good starting point these two squares will accomplish a lot and you can usually pick up both of them for less than twenty dollars together couple of features of the speed squares it has that shoulder so you’re gonna be able to lay it on top of a 2×4 2×6 or any other stock in make that Mark super easy it also has graduated marks up the edge so that you can just use this where it says pivot and you can turn it down to whatever angle you’re needing to cut make that Mark and then you’re good to go when you’re looking at framing squares don’t go cheap here just pick a name brand Stanley or one of the other Empire or any of that stuff when you get the frame and square in the shot the first thing you do is you find a square Edge like a piece of plywood or your table top butt that up against it and make sure it’s tight along this short Edge this long Edge you’re going to scribe a mark with your pencil now just simply flip the square over do the same thing line that Mark up scribe a mark that should be the same if it’s not your square is not Square you need a different one take it back get another one that’s a power tip for you you can check any Square in your shop to see if it’s Square just like that so long as that Leading Edge is straight now here’s a bonus for you if you have a carpenter square or if you’re going to get one pick out one of these fences I’ll link to this slides right onto your Carpenter Square you just thumb screw tighten it down because it’s setting up against the edge of your Square this is going to give you a ledge or a basically a large speed square I’ve used this with a carpenter Square as an edge guide from a router you can also just use it as a big speed square things like that this is Handy to have for a square if you have a speed square and a framing square or a big Square doesn’t necessarily have to be a framing square I highly recommend getting a combination Square these are extremely handy for a bunch of different reasons you’re going to be able to set depths and just be able to adjust that square so you can get the exact spot you need to get up into tight spaces and a whole bunch of other uses my favorite is the woodpecker’s indexable Square it has a couple the features that are not found on a lot of other squares but it is very pricey if you’re on a budget this Swanson one is really good and doesn’t cost a lot it does basically the same thing as the woodpeckers brand the Woodpecker is just a tiny bit nicer and has a few more features a lot of woodworking shops like to have small triangle squares or small Carpenter squares like this dfm or this trig jig one or even the Woodpecker stealth Square these are really nice to have and honestly I use these tiny squares a lot more than I use the bigger squares especially on smaller projects Furniture things like that these are handy to have and I’ll put links in the description to all of these if you’re interested it lasts but certainly not least are small 6 to 12 inch squares again another woodpeckers brand very expensive or you can pick up machinist squares like these that are very inexpensive but also extremely accurate these are probably some of the better unknown type squares to use in woodworking that a lot of people look over but if you have the other squares these aren’t necessarily needed they’re just nice to have number three on the list are clamps every woodworker on earth needs clamps but when you start looking at the different clamps out there if you don’t know what to buy it can be very confusing you’ve got squeeze clamps you’ve got F clamps parallel clamps pipe clamps just the list goes on and on and you just kind of get confused I’m gonna help you clear that up first and foremost you need a few F clamps in your shop these are probably some of the most handy clamps and they can do the job of a lot of other type clamps I give you a good better best the the Harbor Freight are pretty good starting out there the metal on this bar is a little bit too soft it will bend on you if you put too much pressure on there Irwin makes a good one for about 10 or 15 dollars per and then Jorgensen probably makes the best f-clamp in my opinion they’re very well made heavy duty they’ll last you a lifetime these are by far my favorite f-clamps those are just great General clamps for holding things together while you attach them with screws glue whatever now if you’re doing panels and things like that one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to add to your plant collection are pipe clamps these are extremely affordable and they just use standard pipe I’ll link to the clamp as well as the pipes you can buy on Amazon you can really stock up on these and they get you several clamps to be able to start making your panels your cutting boards anything like that these are probably the most underrated clamps as far as value to what you’re getting goes on the market then there’s parallel clamps I did a whole video on Parallel clamps but for the most part Bessie is probably my pick for the best parallel clamp for the pound for pound what you’re getting for your money Harbor Freight the Bremen parallel clamp also is a very good clamp if you have a Harbor Freight nearby I want to save a little money and of course there’s all sorts of other clamps you can pick up along the way but to start out I would really just get a few F clamps and maybe some pipe clamps you’ll be good to go number four on the list every woodworker needs chisels for a hand tool this is one of those that you really don’t understand how much you’ll use it until you get them especially if you’re building certain projects now here’s a little cautionary tail don’t make the mistake I made and go out and buy a cheap set of chisels and expect them to work very long the metal on them is too soft they don’t hold an edge and they just don’t cut cleanly and you need clean cuts with your chisel so there’s nothing wrong with having a cheap set to do some rough work with but pick up a good chisel I would recommend actually getting a three-quarter inch chisel if you only have the budget for one chisel narex makes some of the best in the business you don’t have to take my word for it check out wood by right I’ll put a link to his video in the description where he tested multiple different brands of chisels and the nerix come out on top as far as pound for pound the best bang for the buck I have a full set of Derek’s chisels here this is probably my pick if you’re going to buy a set of chisels buy once cry once type thing you get like five chisels in here of various sizes but if you’re not going to do that pick up a three quarter inch chisel possibly a 3 8 and a quarter inch wide chisel if you’re just going to pick up two or three that way you’ll have enough chisels to get you by until you can afford a better bigger set but a five piece set will get you going in the right direction now stick around after five I got a Bonus pick for you number five on the list are mallets every woodworker needs a mallet you’re going to use this to bump pieces of wood into the position you’re going to use these with your chisels different things like that actually start out with this Mallet here this is just a rubber mallet this will work just fine it’s very inexpensive this one is kind of a two-headed Mallet it’s got a softer side and a more firm side for different projects or you can do what a lot of Woodworkers are going to do and build your own Mallet we actually have a template for these mallets to help you build them faster and easier especially if you’ve never built a mallet before just check those out Link in the description but a wooden Mallet is really my pick is one I use the most rubber mallets are good to get started with but a wooden Mallet is going to not Mar the wood not cause any dents and things like that in your wood just a good solid option to have in the shop if you are going to build your own Mallet use Hardwoods that you don’t want to use pine or anything like that because the hardwood is going to hold up better it’s not going to dent and deform or anything like that in normal use Walnut Maple Oak Hickory whatever you want to use but just make sure it’s a hardwood not Pine or Spruce and the bonus pick a flush trim saw if you don’t have one of these especially like this little small one this is great for cutting small parts dials all sorts of little things this little saw is handy as a shirt pocket or you can pick up a bigger one like this sumizan basically a dovetail saw it’s got a fine tooth and a coarse tooth on each side it folds up to protect those teeth and it stores nicely either one of these would be a great addition to your shop if you like this video check out the first five power tools you should buy as a beginner clicking that box get you the big old virtual fist pump or I got a video showing you how to make your own Mallet right there take that out …

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