One thing, that every aspiring woodworker should know, is that working with wood is not everyone’s cup of tea. You need a certain level of understanding and dedication, to know what you want to achieve by gaining this skill. If you want to work with wood as a hobby, it could most certainly turn out to be a very useful skill. It is mostly taken up by men, but there are many female woodworkers as well. Even though, cutting up large chunks or wood and similar task can prove to be physically strenuous, it does not mean you should give up. All it takes is a certain creativity and patience to learn.
How to start working with wood:
When you have started off with woodworking, you need to plan in a step by step manner. Working with wood needs a proper process. First of all, you need to figure out where you can set up your woodshop. It doesn’t have to be big, virtually any space that is big enough to fit a drill press per say, should be sufficient to act as your wood shop. Many amateur woodworkers have converted garages, patios and even bathrooms into their woodshop.
Beautiful table made with wood.
The second thing you need to think about, when working with wood, is what kind of tools will you need. If you plan on making small projects, you may just need a basic tool box. If you plan on tackling bigger projects, you should go for proper professional tools. Now, just because you have started off and are excited about all the things you want to try out, does not mean you have to make your pocket suffer. Go for the tools that you need and not that ones that look pretty (brand new drills can be very enticing). If possible, buy used tools. This will help you stay within a reasonable budget and you will be able to get a good hang of the tools, without having to worry about damaging them much.
Project plans:
If you are not skilled at making wood project plans or do not have any made by other woodworkers, you can always turn to the internet. There are currently many websites which are offering free project plans for different things such as bird houses, knife holders, boxes, etc. These come with detailed instructions, allowing you to make any modifications that you see fit as well. Other good option include subscribing to magazines such as Fine woodworking, they will help you get an idea of the basics of woodworking.
Even then, if things seem a bit complicated to understand, you can join different classes. There are a number of organizations that offer classes and workshops, where one can learn the basics as well as interact with more experienced woodworkers. Through these meetings, one can brainstorm about new ideas as well as polish old skills. It can be helpful when you are working on a project and are stuck at some point. There are a number of resources available, if one just looks for them.
