what are Woodworking Tips For the Beginner ?

[TomasG]

Hello Dasunfrd
It would be helpful if you stated what kind of woodwork YOU wish to get tips about .
For me I am a cabinetmaker internet scholar with more time than money ,
and I am going to give some tips for someone whose interested in the same .... BTW
( Cabinetmaker is a general a term for accurate woodworking , fine dovetails and such ).
For an example watch on youtube .... Rob Cosman , David Charlesworth , Mitch Peacock , renaissance woodworker ,
Christopher Tribe , David Barron , David Weaver , Brit01425 , Frank Klausz , wood and shop , The English woodworker ,

I could name out more people but my philosophy is to make something perfect in a foolproof way before getting
obsessed with the need to make things quickly ,time is money get'r'done attitude .

Hand planes are on page 1 of this craft ... go on treat yourself to a nice ebay Stanley Bailey 5 1/2 made before the 60s
with plenty of meat left on the sole .
A flat bench is absolutely necessary ...you think you know what flat is ,but thats not flat ,,
can't plane much trying to work on a banana bench ,
Id be lookin for a rigid fire door to rest/sit on a solid bench for handplaning .

You need a reference if your trying to flatten timber because the plane wont cut into a hollow .
It only takes off high spots .
The high spots are only obvious when you put the surface to be planed on against your FLAT bench.
Then you can see the light from your angle poise light shining in the low spots ..
in other words ...
The timber is only sitting on the high spots and the light is shining through where the hollow is .

When its nearly flat .. light shining through a slight hollow in the MIDDLE only
then it needs only 1 pass the full length with backed off iron otherwise the plane will make a banana again .in other words..
Make a mark 3 or 4mm (the width of your piece) each end of the piece your working on .THESE SHOULD BE THE HIGH SPOTS NOW.
Dont try to plane these marks off until the very last blue rizzla paper shaving .

Now you have a flat surface that dosen't rock on the bench and you can reference everything else off this .
If your iron doesn't shave hair ...it wont shave wood ..therefore its not sharp.
BUY a cheap honing guide eclipse style and look scary sharp up ..or just buy a diamond stone that stays flat
Good luck
Tomas
Frugal internet scholar wannabee cabinetmaker

[tusses]

cut once , measure twice
err ? or the other way round !

don't point or move sharp bits towards you !

[Roger-M]

cut once , measure twice
err ? or the other way round !

don't point or move sharp bits towards you !

+ Keep your wood as long as you can for as long as you can!

[7sheds]

Wherever possible, spend a bit of time making jigs for repeated operations e.g. drilling. It may take 1/2 hour but mostly you'll recoup that time later and be far more accurate.