Reply To: Brand new – decided to get into this after stumbling onto Paul's workbench vids
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Blake- I’ve only skimmed all the replies, so sorry if this duplicates them. In the US, I’ve found many of my planes and other tools at antique stores. Just have an idea of what a reasonable price is and make sure the blade isn’t pitted. Be patient. Actually, that’s my biggest advice- be patient and go at this slowly. I’m glad you bought new chisels, either the Aldi’s or the Narex from Lee Valley. Then, you can just sharpen and go and not deal with old pitted chisels that can be very hard to restore. Similarly, I’d buy a new saw and would probably get a Lee Valley saw, either the Veritas 14 tpi dovetail or the 12 tpi rip saw. I’d suggest the 12 tpi rip because 12 tpi is fine enough to do crosscuts if you use knife walls, it is fine enough to do dovetails, yet the teeth are bigger so you’ll have a fighting chance when it comes time to sharpen. With the 14 tpi, you’ll go insane using it to learn to sharpen. The reason for buying a new saw is that it will let you know what a properly sharpened saw feels like. I’ve tried a couple custom made new saws that were shiny fancy and looked great, but they were *not* correctly sharpened and did not cut well. The Veritas should be okay out of the box for awhile. Also, Lee Valley support is good, so when you order, ask which files should be used to sharpen the saw (one mill plus saw file(s)), and have them add that too the order. Also, find one coarser saw that you already own, or buy one cheaply, used. Something around 5 to 8 teeth, order a saw file for it, and do your first sharpening attempts on those big teeth. Once you have the feel for a proper saw, you can then buy used ones and restore them, but you need to have that feeling first, I think. Using a saw sharpened by Paul changed my expectations for what a saw should be, so I’m hoping you can achieve some of that by getting the saw new. Harbor Freight is in the US. You can use the clamps that Paul suggests even without putting the reinforcing fillers in. Just be sensitive to not over tightening them. The trick to clamps is to buy a couple at a time and collect them over the year(s).
I really, really, *really,* encourage you to forgo making the bench right now. Instead, make a dovetail box. This will teach you about cutting square, planing, layout, etc. The box will teach you about getting your tools sharp. It won’t take so much room and will only need a couple small clamps. The video is in the video section. Next, make the small bookshelf. I don’t mean the one here on Masterclasses (which is big), but the small one that is in Paul’s book, “Woorking wood.” It will teach you how to cut housings and to tune joints that meet with crossed grain. Actually, the carrying tote in the video library would be just as good, although without the cross-grain. Doing the bench first I’m afraid will lead you to terrible frustration.
I’m guessing that your experience with the saw leaving a ragged edge is normal because you were probably cutting across the grain and you needed to have a knife line to keep the breakout from happening. There is a lot to learn, but it is all enjoyable. You know, maybe the tote is the thing to do first. It will teach you cross-cuts and will only require one chisel (maybe two) and a plane, saw, knife, and square. The advantage of only needing one chisel is that many of us have the experience of ruining our chisels on the first attempt of learning to sharpen by turning the corners or otherwise spoiling the backs. Most things can be fixed, but a few things will affect the tool. So, why not learn on just a tool or two at a time?
Oh yeah- just go buy a set of three EZE laps or DMT plates. You do not need to make a fancy holder for them like pauls. Get a scrap of ply and a couple of paint stirring sticks (say, “Please” at the paint counter). Screw a batton on one side to be caught in a vice (when you eventually get one), flip it over and tack a paint strip down. Put your stones on the ply butted against the paint stick arranged just like Paul does, and then tack a second paint stick to hold them. So, you have the stones now trapped between the two paint sticks by their short sides. I can make a sketch. It will take you an hour to make this, probably less. I actually prefer this to Paul’s mortised stone holder because I can move the stones around and put whichever stone I want at the edge when I have tools that need to hang over the edge when working them.
Last thing- Since you won’t have a bench, get a couple of quick release bar clamps to hold your work to whatever table you use, or to hold scraps to push against. Something like this, but you can find cheaper options: http://www.homedepot.com/p/BESSEY-TGJ-Series-18-in-Bar-Clamp-with-Composite-Plastic-Handle-and-2-1-2-in-Throat-Depth-TGJ2-518-2K/205402773?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cG%7cBase%7cPLA%7cD25T%7cTools&gclid=CI_ngKiA-cYCFUyPHwodBMYABQ&gclsrc=aw.ds