Woodworking for Beginners: 4 Tips to Craft Like a Pro

Woodworking for beginners is just awesome.

Getting started may seem like a daunting task, but learning how to work with wood is not as challenging as you might think.

Anyone can do it.

Essentially, it’s “just” a matter of cutting, gluing, nailing, and screwing wood together; and topping it off with a finish.

Even an amateur woodworker is able to accomplish many practical things, such as building a simple bench or crafting a picture frame.

You don’t need all the fancy tools and expensive “toys”. You just need a willingness to learn and put it into practice. Like many others, Woodworking for beginners is a craft of constant learning.

And where is the best place to start? From the beginning!

If you master the woodworking basics, the rest will fall into place as you go along.

Check out our following Woodworking for beginners tips so you will be able to craft like as a professional, even as a newbie.

For the more experienced woodworkers, see this as a friendly reminder. Maybe going back to the basics can help you realize how much you’ve evolved.

Read on and became the 2.0 version of yourself.

Work Safely

This comes even before Woodworking: you have to be protected. You only have one pair of eyes and one set of hands, so take good care of them.

Even if you’re only using hand tools, wood shavings and splinters can fly around and end up in your eye.

Safety Glasses can protect your eyes from flying debris, dirt, dust, chemical splashes, or spills. Choose one that also is fog and scratch resistant, so they can keep up with you for a long time.

Nearly every woodworking tool has the potential of harming your hands. You only have 10 fingers and they don’t grow back. So, protect them!

Look for cut resistant gloves that offer a good grip, high level of cut resistance and don’t compromise your dexterity.

NB: Do not use cut resistant gloves when operating power tools. If a moving part of a power tool touches the glove it can pull the gloved hand towards the machine.

If you are already a little bit more advanced and are working with power tools, don’t forget about your ears. Ear plugs are a solid investment, so you don’t have to spend anything on hearing aids later on.

Loud noises, such as the ones produced by power tools, have been proven to cause hearing loss.

There are several types of ear protection you can get. Some people prefer the earmuff style while others like earplugs. Either one will do – as long as you use them.

Finally, besides offering protection, a work apron is definitely a handy piece of equipment.

The best models protect you against spills and flying debris, while also allowing you to safely organize all your tools in its pockets.

Use just a few basic hand tools to use with Woodworking for beginners

Most woodworking jobs can be done with just a few hand tools.

Power tools are only a “recent” solution, being invented in 1895. But even before that, many houses, barns, and pieces of furniture were built and made by using just hand tools.

Of course, you don’t have to build an entire house using minimal equipment, but you can create many things with only the most basic apparatus.

Before you go shopping for tools, check what kind of projects you would like to start with and buy the tools that are going to help you perform the required tasks excellently and efficiently.

Even if you would only like to check if woodworking is for you, avoid buying cheap tools of low quality. They will compromise the whole experience of creating your piece and also affect the end result.

A general rule of thumb: Buy high-quality tools, even if that means having fewer tools. It is better to choose a top-quality, versatile tool than a highly specialized gadget.

Start with the right projects

If you are just starting out, or about to start, you probably are still in the honeymoon phase: everything is full of excitement and hope.

Keep the momentum going by choosing the right projects that have a good chance of success.

The last thing you want now is to feel overwhelmed and frustrated.

Start with simple projects. You are going to be able to move faster with these and in the end, however modest, you’ll have lasting pieces to show for your efforts.

Even with a more humble item, a project involves many stages: design, research, acquiring wood, configuring tools, joinery, surfacing, edge treatments, gluing up and finishing.

As with any learning experience, simple skills should be mastered before moving on to more complicated ones.

Choose the proper wood

Unlike metal, glass or clay, wood presents an extreme variety of choices. Each species, each tree, and each board are different.

For the first projects, you might decide to use inexpensive wood. However, as you move along and start to better understand the materials you work with, you are going to realize that fine wood gives a more professional look.

With the right projects, you are going to be able to test different kinds of wood and this experience is going to be very useful in your bigger projects as you move on.

You will see how different types of wood respond to saws, nails, screws, sanding, painting, and staining.