• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Beginner still reading & YouTubing my way into it.

WoodyTheCatLover

WoodyTheCatLover

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Name
BoonHill
LOCATION
Staffordshire
I’ve been given a lot of new equipment by my brother who no longer wants it. A lucky start. Still reading and watching videos to educate myself but it’s time I got stuck in. Would like to start with some trellis work for my garden and then some decorative elements for a garden building I’m going to put up next spring.

I’m in North Staffordshire. If anyone knows of a woodworking tool shop I can visit in this part of the country I would be grateful. I’m finding it difficult to find anywhere selling old style bench dogs/clamps.

I look forward to interacting with you.

Oh, yes, I also love cats. 🐈‍⬛
 
Welcome from Gloucestershire.

I don°t know any tool shops in Staffordshire, but Church Stretton isn't a million miles away from you and has one of the best tool-equipped junk shops I've been to (search for "Church Stretton Antiques Market") - great if you're interested in acquiring any second-hand planes, chisels, etc

Oh; and an additional welcome just for you from my sprightly 20-year old lady:

7500.png
 
Welcome from NW France,
My woodworking journey my well have been different had youtube and the internet been around when I started out. It was books from the local library IIRC.
 
I would say watch Paul Sellers video on basic tools. He is an old school time served Joiner of 50 plus years with a traditional hand tool approach with a very measured style of presentation.
He isn't everyone's cup of tea but everything he says is genuine and free of BS
 
Hi and welcome from Northumberland.

Too far away to know of any places near you but ask on here and you'll get plenty of help and advice

I'm not over fond of cats but a little more tolerant than our 11 year old Labrador who has a definite dislike. :ROFLMAO:
 
I would add to the above comment by saying The vast majority of machining vids on youtube are wrong particularly tablesaw use.... if you see the guard and/or the riving knife has been removed which seems incredibly common, switch it off!
 
Steve Maskery said:
Welcome from a Stokie.
Just remember that not everything you see on YouTube is good practice, especially in the Machinery department.
S
Click to expand...
Welcome and I would echo Steve's comment. There's a lot of good stuff on UToob, but also a lot of clips that are 'iffy' if not bloody dangerous! Regarding tools and the like, there are three or four good ones worth perusing, namely Classic Hand Tools, Workshop Heaven, Woodworker's Workshop and Axminster Tools & Machinery (not now as good as it once was) There are others of course, but the four mentioned ought to cover most of your requirements. This is a mog:

IMG_0936.jpeg

...belonging to a delightful Ukranian girl who lives next door, so I get to give Moussa a big fuss now and again when she sees fit to visit - Rob
 
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Woodbloke said:
Welcome and I would echo Steve's comment. There's a lot of good stuff on UToob, but also a lot of clips that are 'iffy' if not bloody dangerous! Regarding tools and the like, there are three or four good ones worth perusing, namely Classic Hand Tools, Workshop Heaven, Woodworker's Workshop and Axminster Tools & Machinery (not now as good as it once was) There are others of course, but the four mentioned ought to cover most of your requirements. This is a mog:

View attachment 35784

...belonging to a delightful Ukranian girl who lives next door, so I get to give Moussa a big fuss now and again when she sees fit to visit - Rob
Click to expand...
Thanks for the web site suggestions. I shall have a look on those. It’s always nice to see things in shops before you buy but I suppose the days of woodworking tool shops have gone the way of many other high street retailers.

Beautiful cat. Hope she visits again soon.
 
Steve Maskery said:
Welcome from a Stokie.
Just remember that not everything you see on YouTube is good practice, especially in the Machinery department.
S
Click to expand...
Thanks, Stokie.

I intend to be more of a hand tool woodworker. I like what I’ve seen so far of Graham Blackburn on YouTube. He and Paul Sellers are my best finds so far, though I’m sure there are others I’ll come accross soon.
 
Raymedullary said:
I would say watch Paul Sellers video on basic tools. He is an old school time served Joiner of 50 plus years with a traditional hand tool approach with a very measured style of presentation.
He isn't everyone's cup of tea but everything he says is genuine and free of BS
Click to expand...
I like him. Straight forward and no nonsense or product waffle.
 
Dr.Al said:
Welcome from Gloucestershire.

I don°t know any tool shops in Staffordshire, but Church Stretton isn't a million miles away from you and has one of the best tool-equipped junk shops I've been to (search for "Church Stretton Antiques Market") - great if you're interested in acquiring any second-hand planes, chisels, etc

Oh; and an additional welcome just for you from my sprightly 20-year old lady:

View attachment 35783
Click to expand...
Thanks for the Church Stretton information. Sounds perfect. I love to drive out that way, through Shropshire. It’s so scenic.

Beautiful cat!
 
Welcome aboard WTC

You'll find plenty of enjoyable content out there, and everyone's style's and approaches differ and are enjoyable to some but not others. My advice would be consume as much as you can, of different types, have safety at the forefront of your mind, and remember that there's very often multiple ways to skin a...sorry, wrong turn of phrase for this audience... there's very often multiple different ways to approach every challenge, and not necessarily one right/wrong way. Find the way that's efficient and works best for you, and if the end result is right then the approach is right.
 
TrimTheKing said:
Welcome aboard WTC

You'll find plenty of enjoyable content out there, and everyone's style's and approaches differ and are enjoyable to some but not others. My advice would be consume as much as you can, of different types, have safety at the forefront of your mind, and remember that there's very often multiple ways to skin a...sorry, wrong turn of phrase for this audience... there's very often multiple different ways to approach every challenge, and not necessarily one right/wrong way. Find the way that's efficient and works best for you, and if the end result is right then the approach is right.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

This is an excellent site. I’m glad I found it.
 
Cabinetman said:
Hi, just to say that a chisel used wrongly is pretty dangerous too, (damhik) so very easy to not think about where it’s going to end up if it slips when pushed against the piece of wood —that you’re holding!
Click to expand...
I'd also add that that a Stanley knife with a new blade used against a thin steel rule is as dangerous, 'specially to one's thumbs. Don't ask me how I know! - Rob
 
Wotcher, from Mid-Devon. Ever thought of making musical instruments?
 
Windows said:
Hello. I’m also very much a beginner. If you’re looking for F clamps, Lidl has got some good ones currently.

What kind of equipment did your brother give you?
Click to expand...
I bought a couple of the Lidl clamps but that’s not what I was after.

I think I’ve found what I was looking for on ebay. They are called ‘hold fasts’. Graham Blackburn gives a good explanation of their use on his YT channel.

My brother gave me loads of chisels, Japanese and other saws, a workbench and some machines I haven’t touched yet (still in boxes). I’ve converted my garage into a workshop.

Glad to meet another beginner. Look forward to seeing and showing work as I progress.

IMG_5888.png
 
Holdfasts are brilliantly useful. I wanted some since I first saw Roy Underhill using them. They used to be entirely unavailable commercially. Then, on another forum that some of us used to frequent, an amateur blacksmith popped up saying he would make them again. I have three, which I cherish. I was also very pleased to meet and make friends with the blacksmith, Richard Tomes. Sadly, he died very young.

Meanwhile, the excellent tool supplier in Brooklyn, Tools for Working Wood revived them - https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/MS-HOLDFAST.01?searchterm=holdfast

It was worthwhile for some UK woodworkers to import a pair.

But now, Workshop Heaven has them, made in the UK by Simon James https://workshopheaven.com/simon-james-holdfasts-pair/
as do Classic Hand Tools

www.classichandtools.com

Simon James 19mm (3/4'') Holdfast

Handmade, using traditional methods and a small forge by experienced craftsmen as a cottage industry. They are not mass produced so every one has very slight differences, which is what you expect with handmade workmanship. They are all hand stamped with...
www.classichandtools.com www.classichandtools.com

So why do I bother mentioning these - one 4000 miles away and the others out of stock at present?

It's really just to say that you should look at the dimensions carefully, especially if your bench has a thick top. The eBay ones are noticeably smaller than mine, and those are a bit smaller than the ones I listed.

I hope this helps, and welcome from me too.
 
Yes I’m really happy with mine too, mine are made by Gramercy, not sure if they’re available in the uk yet, the only way to get them in the uk was by buying them in Germany the last time I looked.
They go way back and some were made from a naturally bent tree bough, and others from antlers
The ones Andy mentioned are the Gramercy ones btw
 
Woodbloke said:
I'd also add that that a Stanley knife with a new blade used against a thin steel rule is as dangerous, 'specially to one's thumbs. Don't ask me how I know! - Rob
Click to expand...

Well I'm very careful around my wife if I've been silly enough to rub her the wrong way. In situations like that a rolling pin, blunt table knife or even a spoon :oops: has the potential to inflict damage.
 
Another youtube I rate very highly is Matt Estlea. His video titles can be a bit irritating (e.g. "the right way to..."), but in practice he's far less dogmatic than some (e.g. Sellers) and shows several different ways to achieve the same thing, which helps you work out what works for you.

I've also got two of the Gramercy holdfasts & they are indeed very good. However, the ones I reach for far, far more often are these ones from Axminster. They need 20 mm holes in the bench (which also work with the Gramercy ones); they might do 19 mm ones too, I'm not sure. The advantages of them over the traditional holdfasts are:

  1. They don't need any space under the bench (I have a drawer unit under most of my bench so can only use the Gramercy holdfasts in places that don't overlap with that drawer unit).
  2. They're quicker to use. One of the things traditional holdfasts are celebrated for is their speed, but you need to find a pad to put between workpiece & clamp (or the clamp will damage the surface) and of course you need to reach for your mallet. With the Axminster ones, you just drop them in the hole, push down on the back (so it slides down the bar), then crank the lever. The pad is soft enough not to mar the workpiece & the whole process takes seconds. They come with a locking nut, but I never use it: I think it's only really needed on thin (20 mm ish) benches. Oh, and ignore the max bench top thickness in the spec: that's for the locking nut. My bench is 54 mm thick.
 
AndyT said:
Holdfasts are brilliantly useful. I wanted some since I first saw Roy Underhill using them. They used to be entirely unavailable commercially. Then, on another forum that some of us used to frequent, an amateur blacksmith popped up saying he would make them again. I have three, which I cherish. I was also very pleased to meet and make friends with the blacksmith, Richard Tomes. Sadly, he died very young.

Meanwhile, the excellent tool supplier in Brooklyn, Tools for Working Wood revived them - https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/MS-HOLDFAST.01?searchterm=holdfast

It was worthwhile for some UK woodworkers to import a pair.

But now, Workshop Heaven has them, made in the UK by Simon James https://workshopheaven.com/simon-james-holdfasts-pair/
as do Classic Hand Tools

www.classichandtools.com

Simon James 19mm (3/4'') Holdfast

Handmade, using traditional methods and a small forge by experienced craftsmen as a cottage industry. They are not mass produced so every one has very slight differences, which is what you expect with handmade workmanship. They are all hand stamped with...
www.classichandtools.com www.classichandtools.com

So why do I bother mentioning these - one 4000 miles away and the others out of stock at present?

It's really just to say that you should look at the dimensions carefully, especially if your bench has a thick top. The eBay ones are noticeably smaller than mine, and those are a bit smaller than the ones I listed.

I hope this helps, and welcome from me too.
Click to expand...
I got a couple of sets from Richard when he did them and they're excellent. Big, heavy, the right amount of spring, he put a lot of research into recreating the old classic style, such a shame.
 
Dr.Al said:
Another youtube I rate very highly is Matt Estlea. His video titles can be a bit irritating (e.g. "the right way to..."), but in practice he's far less dogmatic than some (e.g. Sellers) and shows several different ways to achieve the same thing, which helps you work out what works for you.

I've also got two of the Gramercy holdfasts & they are indeed very good. However, the ones I reach for far, far more often are these ones from Axminster. They need 20 mm holes in the bench (which also work with the Gramercy ones); they might do 19 mm ones too, I'm not sure. The advantages of them over the traditional holdfasts are:

  1. They don't need any space under the bench (I have a drawer unit under most of my bench so can only use the Gramercy holdfasts in places that don't overlap with that drawer unit).
  2. They're quicker to use. One of the things traditional holdfasts are celebrated for is their speed, but you need to find a pad to put between workpiece & clamp (or the clamp will damage the surface) and of course you need to reach for your mallet. With the Axminster ones, you just drop them in the hole, push down on the back (so it slides down the bar), then crank the lever. The pad is soft enough not to mar the workpiece & the whole process takes seconds. They come with a locking nut, but I never use it: I think it's only really needed on thin (20 mm ish) benches. Oh, and ignore the max bench top thickness in the spec: that's for the locking nut. My bench is 54 mm thick.
Click to expand...
Thanks. That looks like a very well made piece.

I was looking at some second hand, old fashioned holds fasts on ebay yesterday and most of them did seem to have a brutal finish to the clamping end that would have marked the wood.

Still making my mind up.
 
Dr.Al said:
Another youtube I rate very highly is Matt Estlea. His video titles can be a bit irritating (e.g. "the right way to..."), but in practice he's far less dogmatic than some (e.g. Sellers) and shows several different ways to achieve the same thing, which helps you work out what works for you.
Click to expand...
I have no time for Sellers and much prefer the Peter variety; Mat Estela is good but intensely irritating and far too much 'in yer face'. Sir David of Charlesworth is excellent but there's a real danger of falling asleep watching him. Lots of folk don't like him, but Rob Cosman is growing on me; not too 'pushy' and quite happy to admit mistakes and cock ups in front of the camera; his UToob sessions on making his party piece boxes with secret hinges are particularly good as is the series on making and fitting so called 'piston' fit drawers. 'Stumpy Nubbs' is also quite good as it the 'murrican guy (name forgotten) who had a recent clip on making 'shop made versions of Osmo PolyX etc - Rob
 
If we're listing good video content for a beginner, let's start with the daddy of them all, Roy Underhill. He was on cable TV way before anyone had heard of the web, showing how simple old hand tools weren't obsolete junk but the key to a simple, sustainable way of making things you need and enjoying doing so.

There are lots of unofficial copies of his programmes on YouTube but I recommend that you watch them here instead:

video.pbsnc.org

The Woodwright's Shop

For more than 37 years, Roy Underhill has shared his love of American woodcraft.
video.pbsnc.org video.pbsnc.org

where you can watch the last ten seasons of his long running, legendary show.

For clear, practical content from someone with a background as a teacher, I would also recommend Rex Krueger. He doesn't push you into buying lots of stuff (except a few plans and oddments) and often shows how woodworking can be more about technique than tools.

youtube.com

Rex Krueger

Welcome! My name is Rex Krueger and like many of you, I am human. This, alongside my love for hand tool woodwork and filmmaking inspired me to start the YouTube series "Woodwork for Humans". It has been over 5 years since that journey began and I have somehow managed to amass a collection of...
youtube.com youtube.com

When you get onto how to cut joints (plus a load of other interesting content) I also like Mitch Peacock, whose channel deserves more subscribers than it has. He's always brief and to the point and knows what he's doing.

youtube.com

Mitch Peacock • Designer Woodworker

Anyone with an interest in creating things, especially in wood, should find something they enjoy here Some of the techniques I will share with you are established, others I have developed myself and these may be unique. Whether they are the best ways to do things - that's up to you to decide...
youtube.com youtube.com
 
AndyT said:
If we're listing good video content for a beginner, let's start with the daddy of them all, Roy Underhill. He was on cable TV way before anyone had heard of the web, showing how simple old hand tools weren't obsolete junk but the key to a simple, sustainable way of making things you need and enjoying doing so.

There are lots of unofficial copies of his programmes on YouTube but I recommend that you watch them here instead:

video.pbsnc.org

The Woodwright's Shop

For more than 37 years, Roy Underhill has shared his love of American woodcraft.
video.pbsnc.org video.pbsnc.org

where you can watch the last ten seasons of his long running, legendary show.

For clear, practical content from someone with a background as a teacher, I would also recommend Rex Krueger. He doesn't push you into buying lots of stuff (except a few plans and oddments) and often shows how woodworking can be more about technique than tools.

youtube.com

Rex Krueger

Welcome! My name is Rex Krueger and like many of you, I am human. This, alongside my love for hand tool woodwork and filmmaking inspired me to start the YouTube series "Woodwork for Humans". It has been over 5 years since that journey began and I have somehow managed to amass a collection of...
youtube.com youtube.com

When you get onto how to cut joints (plus a load of other interesting content) I also like Mitch Peacock, whose channel deserves more subscribers than it has. He's always brief and to the point and knows what he's doing.

youtube.com

Mitch Peacock • Designer Woodworker

Anyone with an interest in creating things, especially in wood, should find something they enjoy here Some of the techniques I will share with you are established, others I have developed myself and these may be unique. Whether they are the best ways to do things - that's up to you to decide...
youtube.com youtube.com
Click to expand...
Superb recommendations. Thanks.
 
AndyT said:
When you get onto how to cut joints (plus a load of other interesting content) I also like Mitch Peacock, whose channel deserves more subscribers than it has. He's always brief and to the point and knows what he's doing.

youtube.com

Mitch Peacock • Designer Woodworker

Anyone with an interest in creating things, especially in wood, should find something they enjoy here Some of the techniques I will share with you are established, others I have developed myself and these may be unique. Whether they are the best ways to do things - that's up to you to decide...
youtube.com youtube.com
Click to expand...

Mitch is OK as well; he did a UToob video on making a mitre shooting board which I also made to his design, with the addition of a modification to aid accuracy which wasn't on the original clip - Rob
 
There’s so much good stuff on YouTube. Here’s another 9 that I don’t think anyone’s mentioned yet:

@MrChickadee
@TheEnglishWoodworker
@DorianBracht

@BradshawJoinery
@NewYorkshireWorkshop
@ScottBrownCarpentry

@twcdesign
@jisakukobu
@YasuhiroTV
 
Woodbloke said:
I have no time for Sellers and much prefer the Peter variety; Mat Estela is good but intensely irritating and far too much 'in yer face'. Sir David of Charlesworth is excellent but there's a real danger of falling asleep watching him. Lots of folk don't like him, but Rob Cosman is growing on me; not too 'pushy' and quite happy to admit mistakes and cock ups in front of the camera; his UToob sessions on making his party piece boxes with secret hinges are particularly good as is the series on making and fitting so called 'piston' fit drawers. 'Stumpy Nubbs' is also quite good as it the 'murrican guy (name forgotten) who had a recent clip on making 'shop made versions of Osmo PolyX etc - Rob
Click to expand...
I really like David Charlesworth, but I agree that his pace is fairly slow. I know where you're coming from with Matt Estlea being a bit "in your face", but that's usually only in the first few seconds of the video and then he settles down to a really informative (and not at all dogmatic) pace.

When I was trying to learn, I watched loads of videos from lots of youtubers (including Rob Cosman, Paul Sellers, Stumpy Nubbs, Rex Krueger, Roy Underhill etc etc) and I was getting to the point that I didn't think I could learn anything more from youtube (obviously there's only so much you can learn from watching). Then I watched some Matt Estlea videos and had several "aha!" moments where things really clicked. The fact he showed several different ways of doing things really helped me. The same happened with David Charlesworth, although only with the videos I bought from his website rather than the stuff on youtube.

If I were starting again, I'd start with the Matt Estlea back-catalogue and then watch some David Charlesworth, Mitch Peacock and Rex Krueger videos.

Rob Cosman irritates me, especially all the many, many videos he's done that suggest woodwork is only possible if you buy lots of obscenely expensive stuff that he just happens to sell.

I guess it's inevitable that I'd have a different perspective from someone who learnt woodworking via "proper" tuition and then watched youtube later; videos like the Matt Estlea ones were my only tuition (apart from this forum of course!).

Stumpy Nubs is probably second-to-none if you're a power work woodworker, but I've mostly move away from such noisy stuff!

Oh, and I don't think anyone has mentioned GR Woodworking yet. He won't teach you anything, but there can't be many more serene and satisfying woodwork videos out there.
 
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