Every woodworker starts somewhere. Some woodworkers are hobbyists, creating things they want, trying out different styles, and crafting other pieces. There are also professional woodworkers, creating masterful designs and beautiful pieces of furniture.
Whether it’s a professional or an amateur, a woodworker needs their tools to get the job done. The woodworking industry is continuously changing, developing new tools to make their jobs easier or to add more details to their art.
Various woodworking tools can get the job done, from traditional hand tools to modern power saws. Here’s a list of essential woodworking tools that everyone should have.
1. Workbench
A woodworker can’t make anything without their trusted workbench. True, anyone can do what they need to do on the floor or with some 2x4s and plywood.
However, a quality workbench can work wonders for all of your projects. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive because there are suitable, sturdy beginner workbenches available.
2. Tape Measure
You should always keep a tape measure on you or your belt at all times. You could even place it on your workbench.
The tape measure is one of the most critical tools a woodworker should have. You can use it for, well, measuring the materials you’ll need for your projects.
There are a couple of tape measures to consider. There are the retractable steel tape measures that are the most common ones out there. They come in lengths of 12 to 30 feet, and you can carry them around on your belt or in your pocket.
There are also flexible reel tapes that you can get in fabric or steel in lengths of 100 feet. You can also consider folding rules, yardsticks, or straight edges that are accurate and handy for quick take-offs.
3. Square
Woodworking is creating fantastic art out of accurate measurements. It’s almost impossible to do a standard woodworking project without the correct angles.
You can use squares to verify the accuracy of the angles you’re making. These squares also have measured markings on them, doubling them as measurement tools.
It would be best if you always had a wide assortment of squares when doing woodworking projects. Framing Squares and Try Squares are the basic ones you should have with you, but you can also have combination squares, speed squares, miter squares, and bevel squares.
4. Hammer
A hammer is one of the many things that you should have in your house, woodworker or not. It’s a must-have tool for your home to use for DIY projects or nailing picture frames to a wall.
There are different kinds of hammers for woodworking, and the most common one might be a carpenter’s claw hammer. There is no universal one-hammer-for-everything for woodworkers, but the carpenter’s claw hammer might be the closest one to being called that.
You probably have a standard claw hammer somewhere in your house, and you might be tempted to use it instead of a more suitable woodworking mallet. Please don’t do this if you have any love for your tools and want them to last.
Keep your claw hammer for hammering nails and pick up a nice nylon head mallet for everything else in the woodshop.
Whether tapping joinery into its final position during assembly or smashing chisels into hardwood, a good mallet is immensely satisfying to use. Both the tactile feedback and sound will leave you addicted after first use.
Woodworking hammers need to do two things: pounding and prying. You consider the hammer parts before getting one to know if it’s suited to the project you’re making.
5. Mallet
It would help if you didn’t confuse mallets with hammers. Although both of them are tools intended for striking, mallets are entirely different from hammers.
Mallets have large wooden heads and detachable handles to accommodate various head sizes. Mallets are softer, and they absorb the shock of the impact rather than deliver it.
If you’re a beginner woodworker, please take note that you should never use a hammer on chisels. Hammers will leave too much shock and cause the chisel to leave rugged and jagged marks on the wood.
It would be best to use the mallet instead of the hammer when working with chisels to control the shock. Tapping chisels with mallets will leave smoother and even marks due to the consistent soft pressure.
6. Chisels
Chisels are the most versatile hand tools available for a woodworker. As a necessity for making fine furniture, every woodworker needs a quality set of wood chisels at their disposal.
Like most tools, there are different kinds of chisels available to the average woodworker. The best ones rely heavily on what project you’re doing.
Bench chisels are the most commonly used out of all the different types of chisels. They’re known for their multi-purpose function.
If there’s one beginner’s woodworking tool that’s worth putting some thought into before buying, it’s chisels. There are just so many junk chisels on the market (even from reputable brands!) that can make your early woodworking experience an absolute nightmare.
Buying a good set of six chisels and learning how to use and sharpen them will dramatically improve the quality of your work. They can be used for joinery, shaping, paring, carving, and more.
For this list of must-have woodworking tools for beginners, I’m recommending a set of bevel edge chisels, which are versatile and affordable. Other varieties, like mortise chisels or bench chisels, are too specialized to start with and don’t offer many advantages.
However, woodworkers also use Mortise chisels for more intricate designs. Mortise chisels can withstand the pounding and prying required that bench chisels will easily break.
Woodworkers use Paring chisels for more accurate cuts and finishing touches. It would help if you only used your hands to produce the cutting power to ensure that there isn’t too much pressure to remove more material than intended.
7. Power saws
Every step for your woodworking projects is bound to start with cutting materials. Saws are the answer to cutting off pieces of wood.
They come in various types, and each one is for different cutting tasks. Here are five power saws that we recommend for beginning woodworkers.
- Circular Saw– Circular saws are the most common saws found in a woodworker’s tool kit. These are round blades with jagged teeth that cut through wood.
- Jigsaw– Every woodworker should invest in a decent Jigsaw. These blades’ designs make straight, serpentine, and curved cuts like the ones on jigsaw pieces.
- Compound Miter Saw- The compound miter saws are incredibly versatile tools and make far more accurate cuts.
- Table Saw- Woodworkers tend to invest early in a table saw. Table saws can make cuts that other saws can’t typically make. Make sure to obtain a high-quality blade for your table saw.
- Bandsaw– You can make the best detailed curved cuts with a bandsaw. The bandsaw is a combination of both circular and saber saws.
8. Handsaws
If there’s one tool every woodworker needs, it’s a handsaw. It has no weight, electrical cords, or batteries, it’s always ready to use, and it’s not even expensive.
There are plenty of handsaw types to choose from, such as ripping handsaws, crosscut handsaws, or combination handsaws. Every beginner should invest in a high-quality handsaw. Most problems from handsaws come from dull and cheap blades.
9. Planes
Planes are cutting tools that shave off wood fibers, letting them take shape and become progressively smoother. There are terms about planes that may feel alien to you, such as jointers, blocks, and spokeshaves.
They’re all terms and names for planes, and you might even hear them being referred to by numbers. Jack planes, Block Planes, Joining Planes, and Rabbet Planes are types of Planes that you’re going to have to remember.
10. Sharpening Stones
A quality plane and chisel will work well out of the box, but you’ll need something to keep them sharp as you use them over the years.
All cutting tools, no matter how well you treat them, will lose their edge over time. Fortunately, quality tools like the ones recommended so far are simple to sharpen with the right sharpening stones.
There are two main types to consider for woodworking: water stones (or whetstones) and diamond plates.
Water stones come in a variety of grits and require only water to sharpen your tools. However, as you use them they will naturally develop a concave in the center of the stone, so you’ll need to flatten them.
The best tool for flattening water stones is a diamond plate. These are more expensive but they can also be used on your tools themselves and last for decades without any maintenance.
11. Circular Saw
Now we’re starting to get into the power tool section of our list of must-have woodworking tools, and it kicks off with one of the most useful items in the entire guide.
Many other buying guides for beginner woodworkers will recommend a table saw as one of your first purchases, but a circular saw is a much better choice. Here’s why:
First of all, circular saws are much cheaper. A good circular saw will cost you a few hundred dollars vs a thousand dollars or more for a decent table saw.
Table saws also tend to be either too small to be used for large projects or too big to fit in small workshops. A good table saw can be great for repeatable cuts and speedy manufacturing, but if you’re just starting off these shouldn’t be your focus.
The best investment you can make as a beginner woodworker is a nice circular saw with a track. The track ensures perfect crosscuts and rip cuts — no matter how long the workpiece is.
Trust me, you won’t miss the table saw. Buy one when you’re ready to commit more money and space to woodworking, but not before.
12. Router
Our second essential woodworking power tool for beginners is a router. It’s a bit more difficult to master than a circular saw, but it will quickly become your go-to tool for many tasks.
A power router is one of the most versatile woodworking tools you’ll ever own. Forget about rabbet planes, forget about dado blades, forget about cutting circles and other regular shapes by hand. A router can do all of that and more with ease.
As your skills improve, a router can do even more with the help of jigs. Jig making is an art in its own right though, so don’t worry too much about this as a beginner.
Some routers come with a few basic bits, but you’ll probably want to expand your collection with a router bit set eventually. A router table is another great addition, and you can even build one if you have the time.
13. Power Drill
This is one of the few must-have woodworking tools on the list that you may already have. If not, it’s past time you picked up a power drill. A power drill is a must-have tool for not just woodworkers, but for anyone who does the occasional DIY work or home repairs.
Assembling IKEA furniture, drilling holes to hang picture frames, mixing paint, and even sanding round surfaces is a breeze with a simple power drill.
The main thing to consider is whether to pick up a corded or cordless model. Corded models tend to be cheaper and more powerful, but cordless models are just so much more convenient.
If you want to go the hand tool route, you can make do with a gimlet tool set, screwdriver set, and a hand drill. Still, you won’t be able to accomplish the same tasks as you can with a simple power drill.
14. Random Orbital Sander
The final must-have woodworking tool for beginners might seem like a luxury, but you’ll be kicking yourself for not buying one as you finish up your first project.
Sanding is one of the most tedious parts of woodworking, and no matter how clean your work is you’ll need to do some sanding before applying a finish.
A good random orbital sander will make the penultimate step of each build much faster and enjoyable. Plus, with great dust filters and a mask, your lungs will thank you as you grow older.
Random orbital sanders are slightly more expensive than belt sanders or other sanders, but it’s worth the extra expense. They offer a better finished product without the swirling patterns that other types leave behind.
