Are a simple woodworking bench and some basic tools (chisel, plane, hand saw,...) enough to start making small home decorations and simple furniture?
I'm so tired of my job. AI is going to replace me in a couple of years anyway. I want to learn a real trade.
Depends: Decorations like those "chabby-chic" live-love-laugh-signs and simple furniture like a small shelf made from rough untreated plywood next to your workbench to store additional tools? Yeah, definitely doable. Real stuff like a wooden cupboard with glassdoors for the kitchen or living room? Requires more time and experience (or learning) than you're probably willing to invest if you limit yourself to handtools. You'll be in for a lot of tedious super-precision fine work. because every wobbly cut, every bad sanded edge, every misaligned groove will be visible in the final piece.
If you're really into selfmade wooden furniture (NOT the "diy"-shit where they stack two dirty palettes and call it a "bench without rests" or similar crap) you'll probably need oder want electric tools at one point or another. Workbench and hand tools are a good start if you really have nothing else but you'll need a whole workshop later on.
I was thinking more like picrel and similarly low complexity stuff.
Yes, you can do this with simple hand tools and some experience and skill, this is a good starter project except for the dovetails. A lot of great classic furniture was built with simple tools and lots of practice. In addition to the basics pick up a Stanley #4 plane, a basic table saw is key also. The pic is a side table I made with simple tools, much can be done with chisels, saws and planes, start slow on simple projects.
Yes, but if you’re doing it as a source of income, stuff like probably won’t make you a living wage. The Minimalist Woodworker book by Vic Tesolin is a pretty good starting point imo. Tage Frid, Paul Sellers and Rex Krueger can teach you the basics (depending on the amount of cringe you can take), enough to make something like . You can take a class but you may want to spend some 100-200 hours on your own first to get more value out of it
> i would reccomend your pic to nobody
> Stay away from benches like that
Why? The sjobergs bench in OP pic is widely regarded a very good bench by woodworkers around the world
I'm not either of them
But it looks too light. I would recommend the cosman MDF bench. It's heavy as shit and cheap.
> But it looks too light.
The beech one is 200 pounds, the birch one 60
> cosman
The plans are $20, the video is $50 and the pre built bench is $2000 (in birch plywood with no vise), and an extra row of dog holes is $100, is he really that good?
That is unironically more than enough for 90% of woodworking as a hobbyist who wants to make simple furniture and uses simple joinery and hand tools. I would personally reinforce the bench with some lap jointed 2x6s so it doesn't rack when you go to sand or plane anything.
Rex and Paul are my favorite, Tage is good as well. And cringe? They're just normies talking as if the audience is normies.
>Why?
because a french vise as front and backvise is horrible for face planing. You will hate using it.
work direction is towards the movable dog, the piece your working on will jump out.
OPs picture suggest hes german, he can hop on ebay right now and buy a used Ulmia or steiner 400 pound hardwood bench for less than a Euro per pound, sturdy front / back vise and a drawer. With luck same guy sells him a jointer for 50 so he can rework the top. Ever since covid ended and most people abandoned the wood working hobby, prices went down a lot
And thats it, pro grade that will outlive him from the very start + cheaper than a diy solution if he needs to buy hardware and lumber
Yea those vises are sub optimal but thought you were hating on the design. I’ve used a similar one for years (a local store that does woodworking classes uses them) but never had the problem like you describe. Can’t remember ever planing towards the vise: either outward using a holdfast, or towards a plane stop (good first project btw). Hornbach sells an imitation that felt pretty stable to me, for like €270 or €280
> Ulmia or steiner 400 pound hardwood bench for less than a Euro per pound
Pretty good idea
>either outward using a holdfast, or towards a plane stop
see, you didnt use the benchvise, you've used a workaround because it obviously sucked.
>but never had the problem like you describe.
yea maybe because mine is made from pine, or my vise hardware is just terrible, dunno.
Its just not worth the pain if a much better solution can be had for the same money, workholding is done on any piece you touch, not something to compromise on
> see, you didnt use the benchvise, you've used a workaround because it obviously sucked.
I’m not really sure if I understand. In my experience the holdfast, bench hook and plane stop are the right workholding tools for surface planing. Planing against the vise just feels wrong imo
>Planing against the vise just feels wrong imo
On a true cabinetmaker bench your supposed to plane against the square benchdog, vise to your bacj
I wonder why these workbenches have a hollow leg structure. Wouldn't they be much stronger if this was boxed in, with plywood on all sides like a cabinet?
To disassemble and move, many are boxed in. I have a similar bench and filled the centre with drawers.
>simple woodworking ben h
The bench is the biggest tool commitment, either buy a used one with good workholding capabilities, or think really hard before you buy and build.
For example i would reccomend your pic to nobody
People have written an absolute boatload of books on what you're asking. There is reference material that goes back an entire century that is free and easily accessible to you not to mention the current industry market of such things.
Answer: Yes you can. You just need skills. Best way to get those skills is through classes, on the job training or reading books.
Best answer ever. Get in a program if you are serious, it's rapid progress.
Stay away from benches like that. Go with these DIY legs and make it as big as your space allows. Incredibly sturdy and the panels just lift up so you can drill holes and bolt down whatever. The only trouble is finding a place to cut the panels and getting them home.