Over this past weekend I happened to spend some time in the shop of another woodworker, and he and I got to talking about the problems that a new woodworker faces.  The more we talked, the more we became convinced that many new woodworker actually make it harder on themselves to become a successful woodworker than necessary. Now I know that you are not going to let me get away with making a statement like that without some explanation.

There are normally two ways that a person moves into woodworking.  The first group of people is those who grew up in an environment that included woodworking. These are the guys and gals whose father, grandfather, or other relative or neighbor was involved in woodworking.  And as time went on, they either inherited their woodworking tools from these folks, or because woodworkers are an opinionated group, had already learned the importance of having quality tools. My comments do not apply to this group.

They do however apply to a second group of new woodworkers. This is the group that includes those who one day decide for whatever reason that they want to become a woodworker.  Maybe it’s because they have just moved into a new home and see many projects that they could take on, if only they were into woodworking. Whatever the motivation, I feel that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that idea; in fact I think it’s great.  But what often happens next is the problem. The new woodworker is faced with a dilemma.  As we all know, to do woodworking he or she needs to invest some hard money into the tools that woodworking requires. But not being 100% sure that they will  really enjoy woodworking they hesitate to spend the money to purchase quality tools. And this I feel is where they set themselves up for failure.

When starting out, most novice woodworkers will normally opt for the smaller, lighter less expensive tool, be it a tablesaw, miter saw or whatever tool is needed to supplement their workshop. In their thinking, it doesn’t make sense to spend the money on an expensive tool when they are not sure that they will really like doing woodworking.  And I can understand that line of thinking. But when they try to make that precise cut with this tool, the results are often less than perfect.  Why? Well there could be a multitude of reasons, the woodworker didn’t set the tool up correctly, or the blade/bit was dull, the wood wasn’t secured correctly or maybe just maybe the tool was not capable of making the desired cut.  But since this occurred with a novice woodworker, there is a very strong possibility that the woodworker will blame their own skills rather than seeing that the problem maybe with the tool.

At this juncture, one of two things can happen, the woodworker can take the time to diagnose the problem and realize that the tool, not they are at fault.  Or they can simply give up woodworking, because they feel that they just can’t do it.  That they don’t possess the skills needed to be a good woodworker. And this is really too bad. Yes, I know about the old adage that a craftsman doesn’t blame his tools. But there are times that the tool is the real culprit.

Getting back to the guy who wants to get into woodworking, my advice would be to avoid the cheap tools. I am not advocating buying the most expensive tool. I am advocating buying the best tool. Take the time to research the tools completely.  Look at any one of the multitude of woodworking blogs for their reviews or comments on tools. I know for certainty that any woodworker who is unhappy with the performance of a tool will make sure that anyone who will listen knows their feeling about that tool.  Likewise, if they have had a good experience with a particular tool, they will let you know that as well.

Just to clarify, my comments about taking the time to find the best tool, based on all factors not just price, applies to all tools.   A cheaply built hand tool can cause just as many headaches for the woodworker an equally poor power tool.

If you try woodworking and find that it just isn’t your thing, that’s okay.  Woodworking isn’t for everyone. I just don’t want anyone to quit trying woodworking because they have bad tools.

Related posts:

1. Things No Woodworker Wants to See
2. The Forgotten Woodworker
3. What makes a good woodworker?

I recently read an article, “Tablesaws on Trial, in the new issue of Wood Magazine* relating the facts of a law suit filed in Boston Mass., where a 25 year old woodworker was injured while using a tablesaw.   According to papers filed in court one Carlos Osorio was working on repairing hardwood flooring for a small Boston company. He reportedly was using a Ryobi Bench top tablesaw and attempted to free hand rip a piece of flooring.  During the ripping action, the piece of flooring kicked and his left hand went into the blade.  Carlos suffered a near amputation of one finger and serious injury to two other fingers. The injury to the two fingers left Carlos with limited use of those two fingers. Being a woodworker who has also suffered a hand injury on a tablesaw I feel for Carlos.  No one wants to see anyone injured or maimed.  

But Carlos, who freely admits that his tablesaw did not have the blade guard or splitter installed, decided to file a lawsuit.  His lawsuit was not against his employer, nor was it against the home owner; his lawsuit was against the parent company of Ryobi.  The basis of the lawsuit was that Ryobi failed to incorporate the “Flesh Detecting “technology like that on the SawStop tablesaw which could have lessened the severity of his injuries. 

Carlos’s lawyer argued that the flesh detecting technology had been offered to Ryobi, and several other manufactures of tablesaws years ago, and these manufacturers, for a multitude of reasons, elected not to incorporate the technology.  According to court papers, Carlos’ lawyer stated that the saw was defectively designed because it did not include the technology.  Wow, a corporate business decision not to include an option, now equates to bad design. The shocking part of this story is that the court awarded Carlos a whopping $1.5 million dollars for his injury.

What bothers me is not the award, although the amount of money is staggering.  What bothers me is the entry of good old Willy Shakespeare’s lawyers into mine and your workshops.  Woodworkers are always welcome, but Lawyers…………..  

* “Tablesaws on Trial” Wood Magazine September 2010 pg 28-29

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All trees reproduce by creating seeds. Hardwood trees and softwood trees produce vastly different types of seeds. Those for hardwood are always produced with some sort of cover on the seed, while softwood tree seeds will have no covering. The hardwood seeds which are known as Angiosperms, can be found in things like apples, pears or acorns. While the seeds for softwoods, are released by the tree without any protection for the seed. The scientific name for softwood trees is Gymnosperms.

A more general way to think about the difference is that hardwood trees will lose all of their leaves during cold weather, while the softwood trees will retain there leaves. Trees like the maple or oak are all in the angiosperm or hardwood family, while trees like the pine, or fir trees are part of the softwood or Gymnosperm family.

It is also correct to say that Evergreens are in the softwood grouping while deciduous trees are from the hardwood side. No matter which set of terminology you choose to use, the distinction is really based on the reproduction habits of the tree and nothing else.

So here is a quiz for you. Which of the following woods are hardwoods and which is soft? Pine, Douglas Fir, Maple, Hickory, Chestnut, Apple, Balsa or Walnut. If you choose to put the Maple, Hickory, Chestnut, Apple, Walnut and Balsa in the hardwood category you would have been correct. Balsa trees are deciduous trees, therefore there wood falls into the hardwood classification.

Strange as it seems, that is the real difference. Gee, now I wished I had paid more attention back in junior high school science classes when they tried to teach me these things.

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Before you ask, who is William Robertson, let me tell you. William Robertson is a craftsman, no, let me make that an artisan, who creates woodworking pieces in miniature. An example of the artistry of William Robertson is displayed at the right. It is a replica of an 18th century Gentlemen’s chest, the part that is hard to comprehend is that it is only 2” long. If the size of the tool box were not enough to make your jaw drop, think about this, all of the tools actually work, the hinges are totally functional, the lock even works. The thing that amazes me is that all of these parts were crafted by William Robertson.

I don’t know what kind of a woodworker you are, but I would really have to think twice about even thinking of attempting to make the tool box, let alone the tools that are within the box. If the woodworking were not enough, Robertson’s tools are actual working pieces. The saw was hand crafted, and has 160 teeth per inch; the folding ruler shown in the picture has 5 leaf hinges that Robertson built. While looking at a catalog of Robertson’s work, I saw something that totally amazed me, hand cut dove tails. I have to work at cutting dovetails, and hand cutting them is someplace in the future, I hope. But I couldn’t imagine thinking about cutting them at the scale that Robertson works in. Robertson’s work stands alone.

Please take a couple of minutes and look at the entire scope of his work. I think you will also be in awe, I know I was. And if you can think of anyone else who should be considered for the Woodworkers Hall of Fame, let me know. Who knows someday it may just actually happen.

**Image from Fine Woodworking Tools and Shops  magazine Winter 2009 issue**

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On my way to dinner Friday night, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a new store, “Acme Tools”. My first thought was look out for the road runner, and where is Wyle Coyote,
I half expected to hear a “beep beep”.

Curiosity got the better of me, so Saturday morning I went back to the store. To tell the truth, I was expecting a store full of those “Look what $5.00 will buy” bins, full of cheap knock offs. Boy was I wrong. Acme Tools is a serious store. They stock most of the major brands of tools, no Knock offs in site.

Acme tools are a part of Acme Electric, out of Grand Forks, ND. And has stores in Minnesota and Iowa. They have products from Milwaukee, Dewalt, Bosch, Freud and Delta, plug an array of hand and safety tools. What a pleasant surprise. The store I visited also had a repair center, a nice added bonus. I am not sure of the affiliation, but the store I visited in Plymouth MN, has a nice selection of Rockler Hardware and finishes.

So I learned my lesson. Look beyond the cover of the book, or should I say look beyond a name, you may just be pleasantly surprised

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1. Your Woodworking Tool Box – The Uncool Tool List