Woodworking for Beginners Handbook E-Book

Stephen Fleming

• Herausgeber: Stephen Fleming
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Once an experienced Woodworker said to me, "There is no scrap wood, just pieces which have not met the right hand".
Back in the days when I was starting with Wood Craft, I was desperately looking for the go-to guide about the processes and the tools involved.
Woodworking is a vast subject with many branches or sub-genres of this craft like Cabinet Making, Wood Carving, Joinery, Carpentry, and Woodturning.
The online content was information overload and not presented in a sequential manner. The books I referred were either focused on a few processes or assumed that I had the necessary information. Also, I found that most of the books were a little aged.
There are two ways of learning; one is learning from subject matter experts who have years of experience, and then there are people who are just a few steps ahead of you in their journey.
I am the second one, five years into this hobby, and still learning from the experts.
I still remember the initial doubts I had and the tips which helped me.
This book is for people who are in their first lap (0-3 years) of the wood-crafting journey and want to have a holistic idea of processes, tools, and need help in their initial projects.
I have included ample photographs of realistic projects of beginners explaining the process and standard operating procedure while starting.
In the last chapter, Appendix: I have provided a glossary of woodworking terms, the list of online resources available for free patterns, tips, and techniques.
Below is the flow of the information provided in the book:

• Introduction: The history and details of various branches of woodworking
• All about the wood: How to choose them; Hardwood, Softwood, Plywood, MDF all explained
• Woodworking tools: Hand and Power tool explained with best practices
• Processes and Techniques: The complete workflow of the woodworking process along with a detailed explanation of the usage of each tool
• Safety and Best Practices: This topic is highlighted throughout the book, and best practices with   regards to hand and power tools explained in detail
• Gluing and Finishing
• 10 starter projects with step by step instructions
• Glossary of woodworking tools, souces for downloading the free plan
• Also, you can download my additional   bonus booklet with additional plans for more projects

So, what are you waiting for? As said  in the woodworking community:
Measure Twice and Cut Once and let's start the journey.


 

Leseprobe

Woodworking for Beginners Handbook

The Step-by-Step Guide with Tools,

Techniques, Tips and Starter Projects

Stephen Fleming

Bonus Booklet

Thanks for purchasing the book. In addition to the content, we are also providing an additional booklet consisting of Monthly planner and Project Schedule template for your first project.

It contains valuable information about woodworking and leathercraft.

Download the booklet by typing the below link.

http://bit.ly/leatherbonus

Cheers!

Copyright © 2020 Stephen Fleming

All rights reserved.

.

Table of Contents

Sl. No.

Chapter Name

#

Preface

1

Introduction to Woodworking

2

About Wood

3

Woodworking Tools

4

Woodworking Process & Techniques

5

Safety: Best Practices

6

Wood Glue

7

Wood Finishing

8

Woodworking Projects for Beginners

9

Final Tips and conclusion

10

Appendix

PREFACE

When I first started woodcraft, I was desperately looking for a go-to guide about the processes and tools I would need.

The content I found online was total information overload and wasn’t presented sequentially. The books I looked at were either focused on just a few processes or assumed that I already had the necessary information. A lot of the books were also very dated.

There are two ways of learning; one is learning from SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) with years of experience, and the other is people who are just a few steps ahead of you in their journey.

I fall into the latter group. I’m five years into this hobby and still learning from the experts.

I still remember the initial doubts I had and the tips that helped me.

This book is for those who are still running their first lap (0-3 years) in the wood-crafting and want to have a holistic idea of the processes and tools they need.

I have included photographs of realistic beginner projects, and I will explain the process and standard operating procedures associated with them.

In the last chapter, Appendix, I have provided a glossary of woodworking terms, as well as a list of online resources available for free patterns, tips, and techniques.

Cheers, and let’s start the journey.

Stephen Fleming

1. Introduction to Woodworking

Tips for Beginners

Tips for Getting Started

Create a simple woodworking setup to begin with

Make sure you understand how to take tape measurements

Make sure you understand basic lumber measurements and types

Only use straight wood boards to begin with

Start with just the essential tools

Sand, sand and sand your wood some more!

Find out the wood’s moisture content before starting work

Keep your workshop clean and well-lit

Keep your tools sharp

Safety Tips

Always remember that the safe way is the right way

Find out how to safely operate tools before using them

Make sure all safety equipment is working before starting

Ensure that the tool's exhaust system is working correctly

Do not reach through any moving machine components

Don’t talk to others while operating tools

Do not force anything into the machine

Turn the tool off before removing blockages

After switching off the power, do not attempt to stop blades or edges from moving with a stick or your hand

Know where all emergency switches are

Do not play with tools or equipment, they are not toys

Use approved eye protection

Get first aid for any cut or scratch, no matter how minor

What Is Woodworking? Definitions

So, let’s look into various definitions of Woodworking and try to figure out the scope of the craft and the differences between similar sounding terminology.

Wood Working

As per Wikipedia:

Woodworking is the activity or skill of making items from wood and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.

So, from the above definition, we can see that woodworking consists of :

- Cabinet Making

- Wood Carving

- Joinery

- Carpentry

- Woodturning

Let’s discuss each of these terms in detail to understand the various subgenres of woodworking.

1. Cabinet Making: This is the art of making wooden cabinets through woodworking skills and tools.

Who is a cabinetmaker?

Someone who builds cabinets for various purposes, as per their customer's specifications, is a cabinetmaker.

Before becoming industrialized, cabinetmakers were accountable for the entire production process of a piece of furniture, from its preliminary conception to its final shape and color.

Carpenter vs. Cabinetmaker

While both professions involve wood, it is the cabinetmaker who goes one step further by concentrating on the finer details of the wood.

It is this attention to detail that distinguishes them from carpenters. Carpenters concentrate on more substantial tasks, such as building large frames, constructing a deck, etc. Cabinetmakers focus on more specific jobs, which are more complicated, like the construction of furniture pieces and cabinets.

Cabinetmakers use a wide range of tools, including a saw table, drum sander, and dust extraction system.

They also carry with them a selection of hand tools like laminate leaners, cordless drills, surface staplers, and jigsaws. They also deal with timber adhesive, nails, screws, dowels, and various other bolts.

2. Wood Carving: This is a form of woodworking that involves sculpting figurines or decorative wooden pieces by carving the wood with a chisel and a mallet.

There are various ways to do wood carving. A few of them are :

- Whittling: This is possibly the oldest style of woodcarving, and is done with just a carving knife and a piece of wood. When the sculpting is finished, you can see each ‘knife stroke’ rather than a smooth or sanded surface. Some carvers, although they primarily use a blade for whittling, will also use a V-tool. A whittling knife may have a “fixed handle” or be a “folding swiss army knife” style. You can refer to my book: Whittling for Beginners Handbook: Starter Guide with Easy Projects, Step by Step Instructions, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for a detailed discussion on this art.

- Carving-In-The Round: This is a form of carving that typically produces pieces with a much more ‘life-like’ surface and appearance. A Carving-In-The-Round can take any form. It might be huge or tiny; it could be to scale or have life-like dimensions and also may be repainted, tarnished, or left natural. Carving-In-The-Round and relief carving use a knife, chisels, gouges, etc.

- Relief Carving: Relief carvings have a flat back, and are also carved in three dimensions. This design is typically used in displays. However, carvings can be of any subject and are often placed on walls.

- Chip Carving: With this type of carving, chip knives are used to chip off the wood. This chipping is done at two levels -the surface and the point beneath where the cut meets. Patterns can be very loose and free or based on geometric shapes such as triangles, circles, lines, etc.

This skill particularly requires a lot of practice.

Whittling In-The-Round-Carving

Relief Carving Chip Carving

3. Joinery: Joinery is the technique through which two or more pieces of timber are attached. Joinery can entail the simple gluing, nailing, or screwing of two or more pieces of wood, or it can be far more complex, involving elaborate joints. The primary purpose of joinery is to hold timber firmly together. Joinery is a vital part of the majority of Woodworking and is found in furnishings, cabinets, windows and doors, floor coverings, and many more.

Examples of Joinery

Carpenter at Work

4. Carpentry: If you look into the definitions of carpentry mentioned at various sources like Wikipedia, you will read that carpentry is related to cutting, shaping, and installing wood frames/structures in building, bridges, ships, etc. So, it is associated with the wooden frames used in the construction industry today. Webster’s Dictionary describes it as the art of shaping and assembling structural woodwork.

5. Woodturning: In woodturning, an item of wood is placed onto a lathe, which rotates the wood quickly. As it spins, the woodworker uses tools such as cuts and blades to delicately cut away at the turning wood to shape it as well as form a pattern of grooves. It’s reasonably easy for newbie to get going and produce easy products, while advanced woodworkers can create more detailed pieces.

Woodturning is typically utilized for items like chair and table legs. These long, thin pieces of wood are suitable for turning, and also make outstanding tasks for beginners. However, woodturning can be used for a lot more tasks, including bowls, vases, candleholders, birdhouses, and more.