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My woodworking journey started when I was quoted $2500 to fix my porch railings. $1000 in materials, $1000 in tools mix in youtube tutorials and patience and n

• alasano 6y ago
  Like probably many people here I had my first computer (running DOS) at an early age. I've never shied away from DIY projects but didn't truly feel comfortable that I'd do them well until I started building up my tool collection. Equipped with the right tools and youtube as you mentioned, there's usually nothing complicated about it and it's a lot of fun to go from virtual to physical creation.
• blhack 6y ago
  YES! This is why it's SO important to keep this sort of stuff in schools. Sliding compound miter saw is a magic tool. Now just wait until you get a MIG welder and a bandsaw, you'll be UNSTOPPABLE and the world will suddenly look a whole lot different! Sidenote: I'm the program director at a nonprofit where I teach/create curriculum. One of the workshops that I love teaching is a week long where we teach the following skills to a group of 12 kids: Welding: learn to run a mig welder well enough to make art, furniture etc. Welding is easier than you think! Woodworking: learn how to use a miter saw, and make 2x4s into smaller pieces and then reassemble them into larger pieces of different shapes! Arduino programming: make lights blink on and off in exactly the way you want them to, and learn some C++ and core programming concepts in the process. Laser cutting: learn how to take things out of your imagination and create beautiful things on the laser. Lasers always blow peoples' minds at how cool the the things they can make are, and how easy it is to use them. These specific skills mean that these teenagers leave with a totally shifted perspective on the world around them. The experience you had realizing that the railing you wanted to fix was actually something that you can interact with and modify is what we're doing for these kids, but doing it with: things made of bits (computing), things made of wood, things made of metal, and things made on a computer (CNC). I'm really passionate about it. If you know of a group of kids that would enjoy this type of workshop, please email me!
  • malwrar 6y ago
    This is a really honorable and amazing occupation you've found for yourself and I'm glad folks like you are out there changing people's perspectives and lives. Do you have any resources you'd recommend for learning welding? That's been a skillset that I've wanted to pick up for awhile.
    • blhack 6y ago
      Just buy a welder. Seriously. The machine I learned to weld on was a lincoln 140, and the machines we have at our space are miller 210s (which are LUXURY imo). There are probably thousands of videos on youtube that will show you how to use it, but here's the thing: if you use it wrong, who cares? You really can trial and error your way to it.
      • j2bax 6y ago
        Just don't trial your way into a situation like this https://youtu.be/6RSRou0D-MM https://youtu.be/6RSRou0D-MM :P
      • Stronico 6y ago
        Essential Craftsman has some great videos on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40qxyX6HpvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40qxyX6HpvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy5wRgNOIkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy5wRgNOIkE
      • mcguire 6y ago
        A $99 Harbor Freight stick welder, a cheap grinder, plus mask, gloves, long-sleeve shirt and what-not. Then go to a local metal supply place and ask if you can buy some scraps to practice welding---I ended up with a box of pieces of 1/4" steel plate for free. Technically, I should take them back to recycle when I am done, but I'm too ashamed of the horrible welds I did on them. I still can't scratch-start worth a damn. Just be sure to watch some videos or read up on on how to do it safely.
      • kls 6y ago
        I learned to weld when I was a kid, I was raised on a citrus farm by my grandparents and when you grow up on a farm you are by virtue a farm hand. My grandfather was past the age of "I want to learn new stuff" and a lot of modern parts for machinery where starting to be produced in aluminum, so my grandfather bought a TIG machine and I was told figure it out (I also learned how to rebuild automatic transmissions due to him not wanting to learn them). Anyways back then they did not really have spool guns for MIG machines so pretty much if you wanted to repair aluminum you needed a AC TIG machine or a DC TIG and had to run pure helium. We got an AC machine because helium is a lot more expensive than argon. Anyways I ended up becoming proficient at TIG welding really quick and honestly there is more involved (rods, gas, torches, etc) but after doing TIG/MIG/Stick I think TIG is the easiest process to actually learn the manual process of welding. To me it is far more natural than using a MIG torch or holding a stick clamp and using your finger to try to guide the stick due to the fact that stick requires some serious gloves to keep the heat at bay whereas TIG you can use very light kidskin gloves. The torch to me is the big part of where TIG shines as it is the most similar to using a pencil to draw. Learning to feed the rod takes some time, but it's not critical, with a TIG peddle you can slow down the weld to allow you time to synchronize feeding the rod. Finally TIG produces the superior weld in both strength and aesthetics the problem with it, is it is the slowest form of welding so it is frowned upon for production welding unless it is absolutely necessary such as welding exotic metals. That being said, I think it is a great process for hobbyist as it allows the most control over the process and provides the person welding with the ability to weld the greatest amount of different metals. I would not discount learning TIG if a person is interested in learning welding, especially if their interest lies in doing metal art or jewelry. I would also recommend people look at China Mart welders for hobbyist use and possibly a multi-function machine, you get a lot of bang for your buck and there are some decent ones I personally have an Avortec AV6X, the welder is designed in the US, manufactured in China, quality controlled in the US and warrantied by the US company. It is a multi-function welder that does, TIG/MIG/Stick/Plasma and runs a 100% duty cycle. A similar offering from Lincoln on Miller would be upwards of 8k, I paid 2K for my welder. That being said, it is overkill for a hobbyist, one can get a decent AC TIG for under $600 and a combo AC TIG/Stick/Plasma for about $750. DC TIG machines can be had for a little over $200 but you have to run helium to do aluminum and they will not do stainless steel, titanium or any other exotic alloys which pretty much relegates them to common mild steel, but that is pretty much the same as MIG unless you spring for a spool gun to do aluminum on a MIG. Stick can do a variety of metals but it is really only good for industrial in the field welding as weld quality is the poorest out of the three and aesthetics are certainly the worst. One is not going to show off their stick welds, that is for sure. Also for those looking into it, Miller has an app and website: https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculato... It takes all the guess work out of the welding process, you put in the process, the metal, the thickness and the type of weld (butt, lap joint, etc) and it spits out: rod, gas flow, power settings, electrode, Torch Cup Orifice Diameter for TIG. Wire size, gas flow, power settings, spool rate for MIG rod, power settings for Stick. Honestly this is 80% of learning to weld and nowadays you don't even have to go look it up in a book, you just put in the parameters and it spits out the variables you need. Basically all you have to do is learn manual process of welding.
• Jeremy1026 6y ago
  Just bought myself a new 12" dual bevel sliding miter saw. Such an amazing upgrade from my cheap 7.5" single bevel sliding miter saw I had. I didn't want to spend $450 on it, but damn I'm glad I did.
• dekhn 6y ago
  Miter saw (even without sliding) was transformative for me as well. A cheap table saw complements it nicely (I then splurged and got a CNC router, too, which opens up a wide range of techniques). AFter that I ended up playing with chisels, which I always thought were very primitive, but you can do a surprising amount of nice work with just a chisel and a hand saw. I'm a computer programmer but I expect that more and more of my hobby time is going to be making things by hand. It's really a job, after struggling with some stupid code, to just go design something on paper, make a few cuts, and see it work in reality.
  • elboru 6y ago
    That’s the exact reason I (as a programmer) want to start doing some wood work, there’s something about creating tangible stuff that web programming just doesn’t fulfill. You talk about the table saw as a complement. I thought it was a must have, legit question, how do you make precise long cuts without a table saw?
    • takk309 6y ago
      A track saw is a great option for long straight cuts. As with any tool you can find inexpensive to very expensive options. The cheapest option is to use a straight edge with a normal handheld circular saw. Next up are jigs that attach to a circular saw. Finally there are the true track saws. For the budget friendly end, look at the options from Kreg, on the high end, Festool.
    • dekhn 6y ago
      I clamp both ends of straightedge to the work, and use that to guide a handheld circular saw's edge.
    • lemonberry 6y ago
      If you're interested in making furniture you should check out Lost Art Press' Anarchist's Design Book. It describes making "vernacular" furniture, i.e., not fancy but sturdy and durable furniture.
    • greedo 6y ago
• Arainach 6y ago
  I enjoy woodworking quite a bit, but before anyone gets any misconceptions, cost savings is NOT a reason to get into it. Unless you need very specific custom dimensions, IKEA can sell a piece of furniture significantly cheaper than I can get raw materials (even if my time is valued at zero).
  • balac 6y ago
    Not for the same quality though. Ikea is convenient, but most items won't last.
  • dwighttk 6y ago
    And in a year when it needs to be replaced they’ll sell you another.
    • refurb 6y ago
      Depends on the item. IKEA is known for it’s cheap and flimsy particle board furniture, but it also sells solid hardwood furniture that is quite solid and well built.
      • zdragnar 6y ago
        I have a $99 table and 4 chairs that i bought from them something like 8 or 9 years ago. Still holding up very well, though I can see how some of their other stuff wouldn't do so well.
      • Aeolun 6y ago
        That’s very noticeable in the price though.
        • ska 6y ago
          It's still cheap compared to comparable alternatives though.
  • globular-toast 6y ago
• khazhoux 6y ago
  It's only in last few years that I've learned the key thing about tools: if I'm doing any work and struggling, I'm probably using the wrong tool.
• ticmasta 6y ago
  I used this justification to buy a really good router. I would love to have a drill press and a spindle sander; there's some things you just need one to accomplish well.
• lsllc 6y ago
  Always get the best tool you can afford! During the lockdown, I got a new DeWalt table saw with a proper rack-and-pinion fence. It can make the most accurate cuts and is an absolute joy to use! Worth every penny and then some! I've already used it for a number of projects.
• etothet 6y ago
  I had the exact same experience. I'm in my early 40s now and had never done any woodworking a single day in my life and never even had really used any type power tool other than maybe a drill. Early in the lockdown, my wife and I decided to completely redo our backyard, We were initially going to hire someone to do it, but after receiving bids for $20k+, we chose to tackle it on our own. My first project for the new backyard were two simple cedar planter boxes. Fast forward five months and I've made more planter boxes, a deck, some steps, acoustic panels to hang in my studio, and a custom desk for my daughter. I've found that while the end results are far from perfect, they're still pretty great. Even after figuring in purchasing a few power tools (including a sliding compound mitre saw like you mentioned) we still have spent way less money than had we hired someone to do the same work. I'm really looking forward to my future projects. My only regret is not taking this up sooner!
  • randycupertino 6y ago
    So, this is a stupid question, but do you mind explaining what are the benefits of using planter boxes vs just planting directly in the ground? We're getting into gardening a bit during the pandemic as well and I'm trying to understand why planter boxes have become so popular. Thank you!
    • eindiran 6y ago
      There are probably other reasons people use them, but a few reasons why planter boxes can be the right choice: (1) If you live in an area with very poor soil conditions, it may take years and lots of hard work to get your soil usable for the things you want to plant. Or you can grab planting soil that meets your requirements upfront and dump it into some planter boxes. (2) They look nice, and some people are going for that look in their garden. (3) Not needing to kneel so much, which can be a game changer for people with eg knee problems.
      • etothet 6y ago
        I'll add to this: 4) Not having to actually dig to plant. The work involved in buying soil and dumping in a planter box usually pales in comparison to digging a hole a couple-to-few feet deep, wide, and long.