Recipe for contentment

A small shop, a few tools, the fragrance of wood in the air.

Appreciation

I posted these pages because I've spent a lot of time looking for tool reviews and wish there were more personal reviews by amateur woodworkers around. These aren't reviews in the sense of comparing several of the same tool; rather, I'm just happily sharing some thoughts about the tools I really enjoy using: Woodworking tools.

An amateur, but a passionate one

I'm an amateur, weekend woodworker. I love wood above all other materials, and I love simplicity and quality. I've had allergic reactions the few times I've wandered into furniture stores, so in most cases I've opted to make my own simple stuff. I also love books, so much of what I've made has been bookshelves. I also love shoji lamps and polyhedron shapes, so that has been another focus. And I've made a variety of other things: desks, end tables, book stands, a bed frame, a large cabinet for my sweetheart's business, and so on.

I've tried a lot of different tools over the years. One lesson I learned (unfortunately the hard way) is to always buy high-quality tools, even if they cost far more than cheaper knockoffs. Sometimes I've really had to stretch to buy some of my tools, but I've never regretted it. High-quality tools give you two things that cheap tools don't: accuracy and longevity. In many cases, they're also safer to use. And they're simply a pleasure to use.

I carefully research all of my tool purchases, and I've used all of the tools listed below long enough to know they are truly good tools. I'm think most of these tools can be considered among the best in their class. For the most part, even if money were no object I would buy these same tools.

An unusual mix of tools

My collection of tools is a bit unusual. My hobby for many years has been making shoji lamps. This requires a lot of small hand tools—micro clamps, small hand saws, hand miter saw, mini sanders, and so on—as well as some power tools like a good band saw and a planer.

Here's an older series of photos showing a lamp making project using these tools.

Ten years ago, we purchased an older house that needed a lot of remodeling. Having grown up in a house that my father remodeled as we lived in it, I know a lot of the necessary skills, but needed to get an additional set of tools to work on the house and build some of the furniture for it, for example: circular, table, and electric miter saws, bigger sanders, routers, and so on.

Here's a newer series of photos showing a furniture making project using these tools.

Finding tools

Finding tools is a challenge, especially living in a somewhat rural area as I do. We have a wonderful local hardware store, but I often have to reach beyond it to find exactly what I'm looking for. Over the years I've stumbled across some great tool sources, some brick and mortar with an online component, some purely online. I selfishly want these sources to continue to thrive, so am happy to share them: Tool sources.

Learning woodworking

Being an avid reader and having what is probably an incurable stubborn streak that manifests in a determination to teach myself everything, I often turn to books to glean clues about how to proceed. In my quest to learn woodworking I've come across some wonderful books that contain a wealth of knowledge, and I'm happy to be able to share these treasures, too: Woodworking books.

Look forward to the weekends

I'm just about finished with the remodeling and am working on the second to last piece of furniture I want to make, so I'm beginning to contemplate returning to my hobby in a year or so. In the meantime, I take a step back and think about where my journey has brought me: Is it worth it?

Tool reviews - Power saws »