Seeking assitance - new to woodworking

[Enzo]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the site, but have been seeking an outlet for some time that could lead me in the direction of learning more skills I find valuable.
Woodworking, timber framing, general carpentry are all incredible skills to have - which I have zero ability to do any.

That being said, I would greatly appreciate any insight as to classes or training any knows about for woodworking, timber framing, or carpentry.
I live in the Southwestern Illinois area, close to St. Louis.

Also, what are good ways to just jump in and learn some of these skills? It all seems so daunting.

Thanks everyone.

[Larry]

Welcome Enzo.

With little experience I would start by joining a woodworking guild and take classes at one of the woodworking schools.

I did a search and found the St Louis Woodworkers Guild
The guilds usually have classes and once you show proficiency open shop time.  Often you can team up with a mentor and receive training in there shop.

Next are the woodworking schools that offer classes.  One of the best in the nation is Marc Adams School of Woodworking.  Long waiting list to get into the classes.

Locally we have the Eureka Springs School of the Arts in Eureka Springs Arkansas.  I volunteer at the woodworking school frequently.  Great shop with good tools and excellent teachers.  Take a vacation and go to one of the classes.  If you have a companion, lots of things to do/see in Eureka Springs while your in class.

[doc henderson]

how old are you, what tools do you have, what work do you do and have done, and what hobbies do you have.  some things cross reference.  more info is helpful.  you can fill out more of your profile so we know from where you are beginning.  get books on subjects that interest you.  

[firefighter ontheside]

Hey @Enzo I live just south of St Louis in Jefferson County.  My wife is from O'Fallon IL and I have lots of family in the area of Waterloo, Hecker, Fults.  My dad was a carpenter when I grew up and I learned all that from him.  He did carpenter sort of woodworking if that makes sense.  My father in law did more fine woodworking when I met my wife.  He got me into watching The New Yankee Workshop and I learned a ton from just watching Norm.  From there its just trying things and getting better as you try new things.  

Where are you located?  

[doc henderson]

good points Firefighter.  I am a fan of the woodright shop. It used to be on pbs, and is occasionally.  I cannot get it on demand on TV, but you can you tube episodes.  Roy Underhill is funny and speaks to the history and science of woodworking back in the day.  I have made a few projects based on his presentations.  he has several books, that in addition to projects, has lessons to be learned that further your overall understanding.  He also has a school that does classes.

[WDH]

A must read for every budding woodworker is "Understanding Wood" by Bruce Hoadley.  Even those that have already flowered will benefit from it. 

[dougtrr2]

Woodworking (cabinet making), timber framing, and carpentry are three very different areas.  It would probably be best if you focused on one of the areas.  

I am in the cabinet making area as a fairly serious hobby. My shop, after years of upgrading could be classified as light industrial.  My advice in the area  of cabinetmaking is to "make sawdust".  Don't be intimidated by the finest work.  Pick a project, take your time, and "make sawdust".  My skills and techniques have evolved over the years. You learn from your mistakes. I look at some of my earliest projects and shake my head. 

Be aware that there is more than one "right" way to accomplish a task.  Be very leery of some of the Youtube videos.  I watch some of those self proclaimed experts and cringe.  

Doug in SW IA

[samandothers]

Woodcraft retail store here offers classes on the weekends, or did.  I have not taken those before but was tempted as an exposure to areas I had not tried before, such as turning.  The are usually 4 hours on a Saturday with one class in the morning then another in the afternoon.  Of course I feel they will feature their products, but may be an exposure.  The are about $40.  I like the idea of a local woodworkers guild or club.  They may even have tools you can use.

[Enzo]

Thank you everyone for your replies.
I was thinking I would have one of those posts that go unnoticed for years.
Very humbled.

Just to address some of the questions you all asked.
I am 32 and work in healthcare research. I spent several years working with epilepsy patients to find new medicine to control seizures. Now I work with active-duty and veterans on researching new ways to reduce their pain.

Sadly I have zero equipment but am going to start looking into buying some of the basic items.
I took a 3 day (24 hour long) woodworking class with my wife and I loved it. 
I admire the skill of woodworking and will probably just start focusing on this, rather than timber framing and carpentry.

Firefighter - I am actually living in O'Fallon, Illinois. Would you have any insights on places in the immediate area that do any woodworking classes?

I am certainly starting from square one, but I want to become proficient in woodworking.

Would anyone have recommendations on the best approach on where to start in this journey of learning woodworking? 

Thanks everyone!

[btulloh]

As long as you a have desire to learn woodworking the rest of it will come with time and practice. Just start with something simple and the path will unfold as you proceed. There's so many types of woodworking and your interests will develop and lead you in a direction. All directions are good and worthwhile and can change and shift along the way. Enjoy the journey and follow your interests as they evolve. 

You can probably find someone in your area or even a group of woodworkers that can help you. Woodworkers generally enjoy bringing someone along and helping them progress. Most of us learned a lot from others and like to pay it forward. 

Pick something simple but useful and figure out what's needed to get started and then get to the finish line. You don't need a lot of tools to get started. Start with some basic hand tools and expand your collection over time. Most of us enjoy adding tools and improving our workshop as much as making finished items. 

Plan to get or make some sort of workbench right away. Holding the work securely in a comfortable position is the basis for all woodworking operations. You may want to get a book on workbenches. Every single issue of every magazine has an article about benches or ways to secure your work. 

It's a great journey that has kept me interested my whole life. It's a journey that never ends, and that's a wonderful thing. 

[Brad_bb]

My first real wood working experience was a 5 day timberframe workshop in 2007.  I think that's one of the best ways to get started.  You learn to use hand tools like a chisel, which is very important.  Knowing how to use a chisel correctly informs you on many other tools.  It also shows you how easily you can shape and remove wood quickly and precisely.  Learning timberframe layout - how to layout joinery on timbers, will inform you for all of your wood working.  Laying out from reference surfaces will assure everything meets up correctly. That first workshop was at Foxmaple (Steve Chappell) and was a great initial course to get your feet wet and learn a lot.   The following year I took another one out west that was all hand tools and no power tools, where build upon what I had done and learned ever more.  In that one we did square rule layout versus mill rule that we did at Foxmaple.  Square rule is more useful in my opinion as it lets you work with timbers that are not uniform, but I would still say the Foxmaple was a good starter and would change what I did.

[samandothers]

There is:
St. Louis Woodworkers Guild
PO Box 411766
St. Louis, MO 63141-9998
Email: President@slwg.org
Website: www.slwg.org

There is a carvers club in Belleville Il and they may have some contacts.

There is a Woodcraft in St Louis.  They may know of other clubs.

[Texas Ranger]

My only recommendations is do it, and have a wood burning heater to burn your mistakes.  We all learn the hard way by diving in, making mistakes, and moving on.  I was asked to  make doors, and it took a couple of warming fires before I got the routine in place. 

With that note, doing set ups with cheaper material for a period of time will get the "feel" for the work.

[samandothers]

Have you started to plan you initial equipment?  Do you have an area to work that it may remain set up or will you need things that can be moved?  We'll be glad to help spend your money! ;D

[doc henderson]

any other interests?  any plans for a simple first project?.  then you will know what kind of equipment you will need.  I made all kinds of stuff with a circular saw, jig saw, router,  and an orbital sander, as I went through school.

[Don P]

My only recommendations is do it, and have a wood burning heater to burn your mistakes.

Which would be why I'm not a plumber, I'd be swimming in miscut pipe :D.

Start simple, hand tools are a good way to begin, they are safer and give a better understanding of what power tools actually do... my saws are just flying chisels for instance, and, I've yet to put a nail through my hand with a hammer. Be slow, safe and have fun. There is an arts school in our community that has a woodworking shop, they teach as well as just hang out and have fun.

[alan gage]

As a couple others said I think the best thing is to just dive in and start doing stuff. I've butchered a lot of wood in my time and my interest ebbed and flowed over the years until I finally really got seriously into it. But all along the way I improved as I learned what and how I did/did not like to do things.

It would be good to know what you're interested in doing and how you want to go about it and how much you want to invest in it. Do you want to do large projects (kitchen cabinets, trim for the whole house, etc) or are you more interested in smaller projects (small shelving unit, coat rack, decorative boxes, etc)? One can relatively easily be done with hand tools in a small space for relatively little cost and the other maybe not so much.

I like books. When I find myself getting into something new I always buy a few different books on the subject. These help me wrap my brain around different aspects of the new hobby. Some of the things I read about draw my interests and others don't. I'd recommend picking up some books about each facet of woodworking you think you might be interested (cabinets, storage, shelving, knick knacks, wood turning, trim, hand tools, setting up shop, etc)

If you're at all interested in using mainly hand tools I think this is a good book that will explain their intended uses and techniques and also has a lot of projects for building your own shop tools/jigs using these hand tools and techniques. The New Traditional Woodworker: From Tool Set to Skill Set to Mind Set (Popular Woodworking): Tolpin, Jim: 0035313649592: Amazon.com: Books

Any book by Krenov I find well worth reading (more than once) but the Impractical Cabinetmaker would be a good one to start with. Not really a how to do but rather a how to think type book. The Impractical Cabinetmaker: Krenov on Composing, Making, and Detailing: Krenov, James: 9780941936514: Amazon.com: Books

But above all just start making things with what you've got. Figure out how things fit together and how they don't. You'll screw up and forget to add or subtract for thickness and things won't come out exactly the size you'd planned or they won't quite be square and maybe they'll kind of fall apart or just be flat out ugly but you'll be learning a lot and will improve rapidly. And not all your early stuff will be junk. You'll find that you can very easily make some very functional items cheaply and easily that will give you much satisfaction and confidence.

Alan

[aigheadish]

This is a neat thread! I'm also very new to this forum, but it sounds like I'm a few steps ahead of you as far as experience goes (not many!) so I'll mention some of my story with the hope that its understood that you can do it.

I grew up with one of those dads that could build just about anything. Little did I know, as I was drug around to various work sites, helping with stuff like drywall hanging, scraping paint (or wallpaper, uhg!), or out watching him cut down trees, that I was actually learning a bit in the process. Those lessons gave me a bit of confidence to just try stuff. There are certainly intimidating projects or realms of woodworking and those are usually the ones that I invest time to learn more about, but there are other things that felt easy enough to "MacGuyver" my way into.

My first foray into solo woodworking, after shop class, was probably going and buying cheap Harbor Freight lathe a few years ago. I've watched a lot of videos and learned how to operate it mostly safely. I've been handed down some tools, mostly basic stuff like handsaws, cordless drills, circular saws, stuff like that, and you can get into a fair amount of projects just using them. I did it that way to expose myself to the hobby to gauge my interest.

From there I started getting interested in building random stuff. While I've not built an insane amount of stuff, I have done some stuff I'm pleased with. My first major (in my eyes) project was my dining room table. It was built with less than 200 bucks worth of tools, basic wood from Lowe's, and a lot of sandpaper. I'm very pleased with it, I used some artistic license and made it neat in weird ways. That project gave me confidence to try some other stuff and it started with just a basic drawing of a table and some dimensions that fit my room and life.

My next, much more major project, was taking a spot on the back of my house that had a roof over it but nothing but dirt floor, and turning that into my workshop. We hired in a concrete pour then, even though I've never done a lick of it previously, I proceeded to singlehandedly (mostly, I did have a helper here and there) frame in a room with 3 windows, 2 man doors and a garage door (that isn't quite finished yet). I had no real idea what I was doing but I'd watched This Old House enough to know that it seemed manageable, then I went and looked at a lot of pictures of correct framing and a few videos of how to do it. Talk about a confidence builder! My wife gave me a year to complete the project and the major parts are done after about 3 months.

My latest problem was I bought a new couch and I needed a side table. I started drawing a design. A week later I have a side table I'm very pleased with and I've been told I could sell it if I wanted, by a couple people! 

I'm of the mind that as long as you understand the basics of safety for the tools you are messing with and the needs for structural safety if you start framing buildings you aren't going to go wrong with trial and error. For what it's worth you can learn to frame with popsicle sticks, cut them in half, then cut the round sides off and you have 2x4s. You'll make mistakes and learn from them. Don't expect to be perfect and one thing I've learned from people with lots of experience is sawdust and glue fix a lot of mistakes!

Get on it and start posting stuff! Learn lessons from the folks that messed up for your knowledge! Take constructive criticism! Try new things!

I'll be excited to watch you progress, so post stuff!

[firefighter ontheside]

 @Enzo I don't know of any woodworking classes other than at woodcraft or rockler, both of which are in St Louis.  If you just want to go somewhere and look at tools or nice woodworking lumber, pop into Kunz Carpentry in Trenton IL not too far north of you off of Hwy 50 I think.  I bought my sawstop there along with my FIL.  You could ask the lady who owns it if she knows anything about classes.  He is a woodworker who now lives in between Ofallon and Troy.  Maybe later this year when it becomes safer to do so, you should meet me at his house.  He can show you his shop and tools and we can talk woodworking.  We haven't visited them in about 9 months so when we can finally do so, I imagine we will be there often.

[Tom King]

Woodworking is one item on a long list of things that I do for a living.

The book that inspired me to begin was  COUNTRY FURNITURE  by Aldren Watson.  I picked it up, and didn't put it down until I had finished it, spending lots of time looking at the illustrations.

It's just about doing things the old ways with hand tools, but gives a really good feel for working with wood.

I highly recommend it.  The original looks like this in the link to abebooks, but there are reprints available a lot cheaper.

I've made a pretty good living, working for myself, for 47 years now.  Still working because I can.  I enjoy it, and enjoy making money.  I never took any kind of class, or even shop in school.  See website link below.

Country furniture, by Watson, Aldren Auld: Good (1974) | GlassFrogBooks

edited to add:  I'm on a number of different forums for different things that I'm interested in, including being a mentor on a woodworking forum.  I can't keep up with all the different rules on different forums, and don't remember what I'm not supposed to post a link to on this one.  Send me an email, and I'll send you some good woodworking links back.

[wesdor]

Lots of good information.  I'll add one option that has not been mentioned. 

Marc Adams School of Woodworking, just south of Indianapolis is a first class operation. Marc and his staff offer full week and weekend classes from April - October. 

Not the cheapest place but you get what you pay for. They cater to the high end professional all the down to the rank amateur. Choose a class that interests you and you will learn more in a week than you could imagine. 

Here is their Web page

[firefighter ontheside]

I should also mention that there is normally a very good woodworking show in Collinsville in years when there's not a pandemic.  I doubt that will be this year, but likely next year.  I go often.  You can buy tools, research tools, see demonstrations and there are classes to sign up for.

[doc henderson]

the woodright school has adapted and has webinar versions of their classes, so you would not have to go to NC,

[Kindlinmaker]

There is so much information and "stuff" available today it will make your head spin.  Information overload and certainly not needed to enjoy some woodworking time.  

Most of us are so old we started long before there was You Tube or e-marketing. Some of our most prized tools were probably handed down from father or grandfathers but most tools were scavenged or bought cheap anyway we could get them.  Sometimes we saved a few bucks and would buy the occasional tool from lumber yards or department stores.  We took shop classes in school where we absorbed some information (but probably didn't kill ourselves trying) and we learned some from family, neighbors and friends because we had to learn to do for ourselves.  The bottom line is that most of us old amateurs didn't have much formal training, probably acquired a how to book or two along the way, started with very rudimentary tools and just "had at it".

Start with some basics.  Build some simple little pieces to learn basic skills about technique, materials, joinery and finishing.

I'm 61 but can remember clearly making my first furniture pieces at 16 with my shop I stored under my bed: hand saw, portable drill, jig saw, circular saw, router, orbital sander, (2) 1/2" x 5 bar clamps, framing square.  My shop was the patio or my mother's living room when she wasn't around.  Those pieces are still in my house today.  

My next generation shop was almost exclusively Sears stationary tools back when they ran weekly sales.  Seems like every machine cost $325 on the weekly sale.  Could afford maybe 2 tools a year.  Lots more projects out of this rendition of the shop.  Still have all those tools though most are stored away.

Fast forward 40 years and the shop is mostly high-end equipment from all over the world.  Fabulous machines with price tags to match.  The envy of most woodworkers.  But I'm not sure my woodworking is that much better or I have the same pride that I did when the coffee table was my workbench.

We get crushed with information overload, hype and marketing.  Its great to have the resources when you need them and asking questions will save you lots of time and effort.  But what you really need are some basic tools, wood and desire.  Just start making sawdust; the rest will come along as needed.

[Old Greenhorn]

I don't know how I missed this thread previously, sorry. I think the advice @Kindlinmaker gave in the previous post pretty much summarizes all the previous ones, although those previous posts have some pretty dang good points on specifics. Just do what you can to get started. My experience is pretty well represented here on the forum in threads I started. I began by getting a small sawmill and the next thing you know I am making benches, tables, and other stuff and asking questions about various finishes and how they work and glue techniques that I would have never guessed I would be working with just 3 years ago.
 My suggestion is to move at your own pace, work with what you have, add tools when you KNOW what you need to add and ask lots of questions here. Keep your conversation going. The folks here will help you out as long as they know you are engaged in the conversation. There are some mighty knowledgeable and very highly skilled folks here who have helped me out well beyond what I deserve. Many have become good friends even though we have never met. Best of luck. Pick a project, start a thread and tell everybody your challenges with it. Things will click right along, you watch. :D
 Welcome to the forum and the masochistic society of woodworkers. ;D

[Enzo]

Thank you all again for the words of encouragement and insight on how to approach this.
As someone who grew up in the age of internet, it is all too refreshing to encounter a community of people that are welcoming and provide an instant feeling of camaraderie.

The internet has become a septic tank these days. But this forum is a lighthouse in the dark.

All that being said, you've all invigorated me on this journey. To those that provided places to look into, I've started a list of places to try and take classes when time permits.

Moreover, I've also begun to get some woodworking tools. This weekend I got my first miter saw and jigsaw. 

After spending some time looking at projects, I think I'm going to attempt to make some kind of vegetable storage bin for potatoes and onions. 

Hoping to have some pictures to share after I clear some space in my garage.

Thank you again everyone!
Greatly appreciate all the digital foot traffic on this post and all your stories and recommendations.
 

[samandothers]

Enzo,
Great to hear you've started down the slippery slope of tool investment!  ;D  More importantly you have a project already in mind with a plan to start!  Look forward to your posts of projects.  

Be safe!

[lazyflee]

If I may, I'll throw a couple pennies in on buying tools....Try not to buy cheap stuff. I started this way and the cheap stuff sits in the corner unused. If you are on facebook, check the marketplace, you can get great stuff and save some cash. I bought a great big Delta jointer this summer for $300. The good thing about buying the used old stuff is that you will learn a lot about the machine when you refurbish it and set it up properly. The first tip I ever got from an old timer Master woodworker was "take your time and have a good pencil". Good luck and have fun!

[alan gage]

"take your time and have a good pencil".

And a big eraser.
Alan

[doc henderson]

with laser engraving, that is what my planer is for!     big eraser.

[terrifictimbersllc]

It pays to learn how to use a pencil properly too....

[doc henderson]

yes you can leave the line, take the line, or split it in the middle half and half.  I remember the first time Kenny asked me that.  did I mark it for which one?

[Don P]

I'll add a good router to your tool list, it is one of those universal tools that can do many different jobs.

I used a router with a 1/4" roundover bit on this canning jar box to ease all the edges.


 

For these tray parts I used a straight bit to plow the grooves in the end pieces that the bottom boards fit into and the roundover bit to ease the edges.





@Magicman and @WV Sawmiller have made some nice crates and boxes as well as others, maybe they will post some pics to help give you some ideas.

Remember to keep the taters and onions well seperated, they tend to spoil one another.  

[Magicman]

 

 
Cricket boxes are also a nice project.


 
As well as very rustic crates.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Make a router table freestanding or off one wing of your table saw so you can use the tablesaw fence with it. 

Get a set of bushings like porter cable bushings for your router base.  That's how I make the crate handle holes DonP showed.  Routs the inside of the template you make with a sabersaw and file. 

Also a long 3/4" carbide router bit with a top mounted bearing for pattern routing. 

Porter cable 690 routers you watch for them you can pick them up for $75. I have 3 of them and want more. 

[doc henderson]

you can find the porter cable routers in a set with a regular base, and a plunge base.  I have several porter cable routers, and a bosch palm router (colt) that I keep a 1/8th inch round over bit..  

[WV Sawmiller]

 

 My crates are nowhere near the workmanship the rest of the guys are doing They are handy. I make them sized to hold 12 quart or 12 pint canning jars. I use rough slats (mostly tulip poplar) about 3/8" thick X 2" wide I get by edging 2" framing lumber in half inch drops with 1/8" kerf.  I use a 1X8 board for quarts and 1X6 for pints. I predrill the nail holes and use ringed/drywall nails to hold better as I am nailing into/between the grain on the ends of the boards. I don't use an air or electric nailer or staples. I have not learned to use a router to make the fancy handles and such. 

    Good luck. Make something people can use and that is fun to make without being too complicated and move on to more complicated projects as your comfort level justifies.

[Ljohnsaw]

Great thread!  I'll try and get a post in before we loose power.  Winds blowing 50mph gusts and increasing, flashing the lights!

I took wood shop classes in Jr. High and High school.   Played around in my parents basement.  First wood working tools when I was on my own was a Sears circular saw, router and belt sander.  Then little tables to make them into a table saw and router table.  Made some cutting boards and stereo/book shelf out of some redwood T1-11 plywood scraps for our apartment.  Also some utilitarian (i.e. ugly) side tables covered with a tablecloth.

Moved into a rental house and first house and still didn't upgrade much.  Moved to a ranch and found my first real table saw (8" Craftsman) for $15 at a yard sale.  Used that for 30 years!  Upgraded to a 10" Craftsman that I got for free (CraigsList is your friend!) a few months back.  Picked up 4" and 6" jointers, wife bought me a 12" delta planer 25 years ago and I upgraded to some old iron 12" planer a couple years back.

Best advise I can give is keep your tools sharp.  That includes sandpaper.  Young and dumb I would use sandpaper well past its effective age.  Save yourself a LOT of time and swap it out often!  And just do it!  My dad's motto, by example, was to do it - worst you can do is fail but you will learn in the process.

Edit:  Daughter just called me to say she can't park in the driveway in front of my truck.  The top of an old, dying oak just snapped off and landed across the drive, 6' in front of my truck.

[doc henderson]

John, I still have my Montgomery ward circ. saw, router, and jig saw.  I have my dads old metal cased 2 wire tools as well.  Howard, I cannot believe your wife lets you work on her rug, let alone in the house.