New to the world of wood working

[grantoboy]

Hi all,

Thought I better post a welcome thread since I have been a member since December 2012.

I have only recently began playing with wood and have taken a liking to reclaimed timber and pallets. I guess what got me into it was the fact that I told the boss that I would build her a 10 person outdoor table (took me 2-3 years to start it but I finished it in about a week)

As most people I work full time and play in the shed on my days off or when ever I get a chance.

I have built a number of items ranging from the outdoor table, a coffee table, chairs and even some tools being a drum sander similar to a Sand-flee.

The better half has started making candles and in turn she has created a website to show case her wares, this gave me an idea so I did the same and every now and again I upload what I have built onto the site. My plan was to make items from recycled timber and sell at local markets and to friends with my site being a spot other people could view my items. I am yet to sell anything as all I have made is items for myself or the boss.

The site can be seen at www.upcycled.net.au It is in its young days but I like it. Feel free to comment either on the site it self or here.

I have started buying some tools and have found the importance of a sharp chisel/tool (something I never grasped in my younger days) With the tax man owing me some dollars I am looking to upgrade my Makita MLT100 contractors saw to something more like the Laguna Fusion or something in that price range with the same features.

I started of with a Ryobi drop saw that I used to make the outdoor table (learnt a lot of what not to do here) and upgraded to a cheap table saw from Bunnings, which I in turned upgraded to the Makita I currently have. All this in under 12 months.

I also purchased a second hand lathe that I mainly play on but have used it help make a mallet with from an old piece of fire wood I had. I bought a Makita thickness planner but should have bought a jointer or jointer/planner combo as I paid over $800 for it. It is a good machine but now I am seeing the importance of having straight boards etc. Plus I am in the process of building myself a wooden 16 inch bandsaw that I saw on youtube.

I am the proud owner of about 30 Irwin clamps and seem to have caught the clamp bug and buy a set when ever I can. I have a small drill press (really need to upgrade this) the usually corded and cordless Makita drills, a Triton router and router table, a Bosch router, Bosch planner, Bosch belt sander and Bosch saw (they are German so they must be good) plus some other tools. I have just bought a set of Irwin maples chisels and am in the process of honing these.

I would like to build a work bench but will be moving in the near future so plan on building it in my new shed once I move.
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As I said I am still very new at this wood working (did do wood work at school but liked metal work better then) and need to remind myself often of a simple rule my metal work teacher taught me, that being "measure twice, cut once"

Grant

[tdrumnut]

Welcome aboard Grant, I hope your journey is a pleasant one.

[grantoboy]

Welcome aboard Grant, I hope your journey is a pleasant one.

Thankyou. Glad there is a site like this that is Oz based as there seems to be very little stuff for Australia out there and we seem to get the tools the rest of the world does not want.

[Christos]

Welcome to the forum.

Wow 3 upgrades in 12 months, it is not unheard of. I might suggest posting a question next time and I am sure with the diverse answers you will get you would be able to have 5 or 6 upgrades in 12 months.

[JJF]

Welcome to the forum

[grantoboy]

Thanks for the welcome guys/gals.

I will head over to the table saw page and see how much money I can be convinced into spending.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Grant".
There are a heap of members in and around NSW, big state to cover..
You'll find a heap of helpful & knowledgeable blokes & ladies on the forum and for most very willing to assist.
Make sure you show off your handiwork as everyone loves a photo, especially WIP photos with build notes.
Enjoy the forum.
Enjoy your woodwork; sounds like you already have a good setup.
Cheers crowie


PS - If you're not too far from Homebush in Sydney, why not come to the Sydney Wood Show on the 26th, 27th & 28th of this month; the forum has a stand and you can met up with a few members......

[grantoboy]

crowie, thanks for the welcome.

Would love to make it to the show but I live a bit of a distance from Sydney (about 100km from the QLD boarder) so it would need to be a weekend effort for me. I am planning on trying to make it as long as I can get some stars and moons to align.

In regards to my setup, I have no idea how it rates to the norm but have learnt from previous jobs (mechanic and IT background) that you get what you pay for and never to skimp on good quality tools (food also for that matter)

As I said I am still very new to working with wood and plan on getting the main tools that most use (a jointer will be my next purchase) but I do love the feeling of building something from scratch that actually works and has a purpose.

As stated I am now looking to upgrade my table saw, what would be the best place to ask what saw would suit me, would it be the Table Saw forum or is there a more specific forum to ask such a noob question?

Grant