subject: You Can Do Simple Woodwork Projects And Save Money [print this page] If you glance around your home it is really hard to ignore the fact that a very large number of the things are made from wood. There are chairs, tables, cabinets, storage boxes and a whole host of other items. The majority of them will have been purchased by you and will have no doubt cost you a huge amount of cash. You have come to accept that you must purchase these items and accept it as a fact of life.
There there are however other options open to you. You could very easily make many of these items yourself!
Woodworking is a fascinating and absorbing hobby and it is astonishing how cheaply you can make many of the items you would normally go out and buy. It is not necessarily a problem if you have never done woodwork before. Some of the smaller projects require only very basic skills to be able to complete themcan be undertaken by someone with only rudimentary woodworking skills.
It is important that you have at least some carpentry tools but initially you should only purchase the basics such as screw driver, hammer, measuring tape, tri square, saw, spitit level and perhaps a smoothing plane. It is also recommended that you purchase some kind of clamp to hold the timber securely when you are screwing or gluing them together. The size and style of the clamps you need will be determined by the type of project you are undertaking.
You will almost certainly want to acquire additional tools as time progresses and your skill level increases. Remember that the tools you purchase can be utilised on forthcoming projects and ought to give you many years of faithful service if you look after them properly.
The very first thing you need to do is familiarise yourself with the tools and how they should be used. Perhaps the most difficult hand tool to use is the hand saw. A number of individuals find it difficult to get an accurate straight vertical cut to begin with. It is however merely a matter of practice and you will find that you will gradually improve.
It is recommended that you practice on waste timber before you begin cutting up the wood you have been out to buy.
Do not be too adventurous to begin with. If you start out by building simple items (shelving unit for example) you will find that, in the majority of instances, it is just a matter of cutting your pieces of wood to the proper size and then simply joining them together. As a rule simple woodworking projects will be screwed or glued together. On no account attempt intricate joints (eg dovetails) until you have perfected the basics as they do take some time to master.
