Reply To: Brand new – decided to get into this after stumbling onto Paul's workbench vids
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Do not go cheap on tools.
That being said, eBay is the best resource for older tools. Older tools are often better and cheaper for the price.
For example, you can buy a really crappy Stanley plane (modern) and have a great paperweight, you can spend $300 on a modern well-built one, or you can spend $40 on eBay for a pre-WWII #4 on eBay if you are patient. Even if you end up buying two, and one does not work out, you’re still ahead. And, the probability you have one that is totally unworkable is very low.
Be patient. I have been looking into various things for 2 years and am still working about some basic technique and trying to build my workbench following Paul’s methods exactly. There is joy in researching the older tools, how they work, their internal parts, how to restore an old one to functional use (especially planes) and finally but ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, how to sharpen them. Note that sharpening them the first time if getting an older tool that hasn’t been used in forever will be time-consuming but regular sharpening after that will be quick, although more frequently required than one might like — just part of the trade honestly.
This comment is only for US users and only for the workbench build. In the US, the construction market has DESTROYED the market for finding decent pine to work with. You will either find the twisted-beyond-belief and 3-5 year old stuff used in construction that will frustrate you to no end or you will spend as much or more than you would on rough cut poplar from a mill. The stuff at the Big Box store, at least here in the Midwest, is NOT usable AT ALL. Their ‘craft’ aisle 1x stuff is fine for small projects. Otherwise you want to go to a lumber mill — and in the US, that means probably 100% hardwoods, 0% softwoods. If you really are lucky enough to have land with old pine / poplar on it, use it. Even our Southern Yellow Pine can be difficult for a newbie — American pines that are more available (SYP) tend to have grain that goes in both directions and can be hard to read.
Step 1 – Start with the workbench build RESEARCH to learn what tools you’d need JUST for that project. Watch all the videos and make a list.
Step 2 – Do it again but look at materials, dimensions, etc. Look into what you have available. Research local lumber mills and what they have for what cost.
Step 3 – Buy tools over time, each time watching Paul videos, other videos and researching the tool, how to sharpen it, and so on. Sharpen it. Find a safe place to store it away from air/moisture. One method of research is these very forums. You’re unlikely to be the first WW newbie to ask anything on these forums. If you do have a unique question a forums search doesn’t help, post specific question in a new topic for sure.
Step 4 – Begin your workbench build…
Tools I have determined would be useful to have to complete the workbench build only:
1. Engineer’s Combination Square — Old Stanley Rabone from eBay or Starrett from Amazon. Do not go cheap on this tool. It is going to tell you if your material is square or not. Cheap ones do NOT last. Starrett is the best if you are in the US (domestic shipping). UKers I suggest eBaying around for a Rabone due to the extra shipping to get it to you. You’re looking for cast iron stock, precisely straight rule, 32nd or 64th markings, and not too long (12″ is great). I have a Starrett, square head only, cost me about $70 if I remember right (Amazon).
2. Marking Knife — Hands down best marking knife ever is what Paul uses. It is a Stanley knife but not the typical Stanley knife. Probably due to Paul alone, an Amazon search for ‘Stanley knife’ now the first result is what you want. Stanley 10-049 knife.
3. Chisels — Don’t go cheap or you’ll be resharpening every other chop. I bought Ashley Isles bought that was about $160 for a set of 6. If you can find the set at Aldi’s, follow Paul’s videos for setting them up and sharpening them the first time, and you’ll be good to go and those are cheap. If not, and Aldi only puts them out once or twice a year at most if at all in the US (only seen them once in US myself), Narex is a good cheap option that works rather well I hear.
4. Chisel Hammer — The Thor hammers on Amazon are great, get the double-sided one where one is a plastic composite for strong percussive strikes (chisel hits) and the other rubber (for assembly hits / material hits). A basic larger rubber mallet from the big box store might be handy if you don’t have one.
5. Saws — Saws are much more hit and miss on eBay than anything else. I suggest putting a lot of research into it here. Plus, there are lots of kinds of saws. However, JUST for the workbench build to get you going, I suggest buying crappy cheap saws made by Stanley from the big box stores. They aren’t re-sharpenable but they work and should work well enough to just get you through the build. Restoring old saws is much easier with a bench I think and this is what I am doing for now. One saw I got on eBay was totally messed up and I had to file all the teeth ALL the way down, but I’m not going to try to redo the teeth as Paul’s video shows without a bench and vise. After that you’ll want a panel (rip cut 10-11 TPI/PPI and short 18-22″ long) saw and then a tenon saw (10-12″ rip cut 10-11 TPI/PPI). A cheap ZONA saw can work in a pinch for a dovetail saw before getting an actual nice dovetail saw, and the ZONA is still useful at times even if you have one.
6. Planes — Just a #4 for now. The #4-1/2 are expensive in the US on eBay as the demand is still there thanks to collectors but the supply is much lower than the #4. The #5 / #5-1/2 are nice in some cases but you only really need a good #4. Get one on eBay. Someone already mentioned the Hyper Kitten website that is the best resource on being able to date one. There’s also a good Disston page out there for dating Disston saws, useful to make sure you find something pre-1940’s and US made not Canada made. Anyway, you don’t want corrugated sole, post-1940’s, bedrock, sweetheart, handyman or anything else. You want a 1940’s Stanley #4. There’s a great but long video on cleaning them up, a few books I could recommend as well, and Paul’s videos of course. Let me know if you want more info on any of that, but the video is all over these forums; the books are on Amazon. I won’t lie, figuring out how the planes work and getting them set up just right and sharpened well is not easy for a first-timer, but persevere and ask questions here. Remain pateint and you’ll make it.
7. Clamps — You need a few of each size, 24″, 36″, 48″. I purchased 8 24″, 6 36″, 4 48″. That suits me for my bench laminating and such. The ones on Harbor Freight are want you can get for about $7 each. That’s as cheap as you’re going to find. Then you want to retrofit them with some 1x planed and cut to fit exactly (some Eclipse coping saws — cheap — work well for the cutting for now) and some wax (there’s a brand on Amazon I use if you want to know) and some thin plywood glued to the heads. Paul’s blog site has a how-to post on it somewhere on this.
8. Winding Sticks — Buy cheap as possible or create them with some 1x material cut to be exact same size and mark the top of one of them with sharpee.
9. Worktable — you’ll want some MDF or OSB or something to put on top of your picnic table or outdoors table or some such while you’re building the benchtops and whatnot. Jawhorse or B&D Workmate or similar can help too. I just use some leftover OSB on top of our picnic table.
10. Marking pencils — any will do, just make sure they are sharp and use the side, not the tip, when marking.
11. Marking gauges — these are cheap on eBay, and the old ones are better. Potentially retrofit them just by moving the steel pins from the face to the corner as Paul does, although can save this for something to do down the road. You can get standard, mortise and combination ones, but they are cheap on eBay.
12. Hand router — for the housing joints — perhaps not necessary, but a chissel and some scrap 2×4 can make the “poor man’s router” which Paul has a YouTube video about.
13. Mill / Bastard File — get a standard 8″ mill file and a set of saw files. I got all mine for Veritas / Lee Valley but an automotive store may also have them, or a big box. Avoid Nicholson.
14. Glue – PVA glue – in the states means usually Titebond, Elmer’s or such. The ‘no-nonsense PVA glue’ Paul uses is UK-only. I asked Paul and he said he used Titebond, Elmer’s and otheres when in the states and could not tell any difference. For a workbench living in a garage that is not temperature-controlled (like mine) I went with Titebond so I could get Titebond II or III for the moisture protection.
15. Drill/Driver – Battery-powered – I’m sure you have one already.
16. Brace & Bit – Great tool, and used in the workbench build briefly by Paul, but you can get away with bits for your regular battery drill to bore the holes needed I think. If you want, though, these can be had on eBay. Just do your research and make sure you get something workable. A bi-directional sort is not a given and should be sought. Ratcheting is nice if you want to also use it with certain bits for driving but not necessary for boring with auger bits, which can also be had on eBay for not too much. There is a video on sharpening the auger bits yourself. However probably not mandatory for the w/b build so save it for later?
17. Vise – One of the only areas besides the combination square I advise not going cheap. Lots of vise posts on here. People seem to like the Eclipse and Jorgensen. You’re looking for a woodworking quick release metal vise, as big as possible. Note that the spec’d length between the jaws where your material goes will be smaller once you add wood or plywood on either end to protect your materials. Dogged vise. You only need 1 affixed to the left side face of your bench (or right if you are left-handed). Eventually you may want 1-3 more which can usualyl be installed later on. Expect to spend $100-200 here. This is pretty much the last step of your workbench build though. Do plenty of research, read the forums posts you can find about it, research online but be careful with Amazon reviews and similar, ask here if unsure.
That should get you going for quite some time. Again if it takes you a while to master each tool’s care and maintenance all the batter, you’re really only buying something every month or so, and learning to take care of and sharpen your tools prior to using them is a good way to go. This is a fairly cheap route to get started. Again I’m still rather new and 2 years in, still working towards that workbench (granted, I don’t get a TON of time to hobbies and have a house to take care of etc, not a full timer nor retired). But I have done a lot of the research, restoral and sharpening work on all of the above and more tools.
Good luck!
-Ben