Reply To: What 2 hand planes to start with.
about the necessity of a flat workbench,
look at the video of Paul Sellers’ post:
“newest piece for 2022” dated 21 January 2022.
Obviously, Paul doesn’t rely on a flat workbench (most of the time).
Although he found it necessary to make picture frames:
read “flattening one of my benches” dated 14 august 2014.As for advices, the best ones are in Paul’s blogs.
There are “essential tools”, “nice to have” and “not at all useful” ones.
Have a look at his site https://commonwoodworking.com/ (login with the same name and password as here).
I appreciate and thank you for you advise and reply. While a flat surface is not exactly needed 100% of the time it is a nice addition to have when building. I Have watched Paul plane projects all in his vise and not even on the table.
I do not want to start or kick a hornet’s nest with this comment, but I don’t think its a wise choice to just look at one builder as the only way to build a project. The way one does something may not exactly work well for you like the way another builder does the same thing. It is a good thing to keep a open mind and see how others approach it.
For example If I just went with Paul’s method of cutting with western style saws id have abandoned using hand tools quickly. I have tried out western style hand saws and they do not jive with me for some reason I never feel comfortable and relaxed using them. Japanese style saws, they just feel like a extension to my arm.
Now his how to make a dovetail cutting template for beginners, that worked so incredibly well I couldn’t believe it. That was the most valuable 2hr video I have ever watched. That was how I actually found out about Paul Sellers I wanted to learn to do dovetails. Also how I realized western saws aren’t so great for me personally.