What are the basic tools for woodworking?
The Wood Guide · Do it yourself
TechniqueBasic tools for woodworking
You can spend a fortune on tools before you have cut a single board. This is what you really need, and in what order.
- Measuring · sawing · planing
- Joining · finishing
- You can start with ten items
The order that saves money
The biggest mistake when starting out is buying everything at once. The second is skimping on the tools you use most often.
There is a simple rule: buy cheap what you rarely use, and buy well what you hold every day. A chisel set you touch twice a year can be budget; your tape measure, your pencil and your main saw cannot.
And almost everything can wait. If you start with ten items and only buy more when a project calls for it, you save money and by then you know exactly which version you need.
By far most mistakes in beginners' woodwork are measuring errors, not sawing errors. Always use the same tape measure for one project (two tapes can easily differ by a millimetre), mark with a sharp pencil or a marking knife rather than a thick marker, and always saw on the same side of your line.
- Measuring
- tape measure, try square, pencil or marking knife
- Sawing
- handsaw or circular saw, mitre box
- Flattening
- plane or sander
- Joining
- drill, screws, clamps
- Chopping out
- chisels and a wooden mallet
- Protection
- safety glasses, hearing protection, dust mask
To be fair: tools don't buy skill. An expensive plane in untrained hands gives a worse result than a cheap one that is properly sharpened and set up. Invest first in learning to sharpen — that is the skill that makes every cutting tool you will ever buy better.
Good for what you hold, budget for what waits
The biggest mistake when starting out is buying everything at once; the second is skimping on what you use most. Buy your tape measure, your pencil and your main saw well. A chisel set you touch twice a year can be budget.
Click a chapter or use the arrows · tools drawn schematically, the crooked cabinet exaggerated.
The tools for day one
| Category | Tool | What for |
|---|---|---|
| Measuring | Tape measure | Lengths and distances; flexible and retractable |
| Measuring | Try square | Marking and checking right angles — indispensable |
| Measuring | Pencil or marking knife | A knife gives a finer line than any pencil |
| Sawing | Handsaw | All-purpose; a good fine saw lasts for years |
| Sawing | Mitre box | 45 and 90 degree angles without a machine |
| Drilling | Drill with wood bits | Pre-drilling and screwing |
| Joining | Clamps | More than you think — start with four |
| Chopping out | Chisel set | Joints and recesses |
| Flattening | Sander or block plane | Preparing the surface |
| Protection | Glasses, hearing protection, dust mask | Not optional |
Anything that is not square adds its error to every following step. A cabinet whose sides are two degrees out will not close anywhere. Buy one good try square, never drop it, and check every marking with it.
What can happily wait
Circular saw or table saw
As soon as you often cut sheet material to size. Until then a handsaw with a guide rail will do.
Router
For profiles, rebates and template work. Very versatile, but only useful once you know what you want to do with it.
Planer-thicknesser or jointer
Only worthwhile if you buy rough-sawn timber. If you buy planed timber, you don't need one.
Lathe
A craft of its own. See the lathe.
Dust extraction
As soon as you work with machines indoors. Wood dust is a real health risk with prolonged exposure.
A blunt chisel or plane scrapes instead of cutting: the surface tears, you have to push, and pushing is exactly when tools slip. A simple sharpening stone and a honing guide cost little and immediately make every cutting tool you own better.
Frequently asked questions about basic tools
What tools do I need at a minimum?
Tape measure, try square, pencil or marking knife, handsaw, drill, four clamps, a chisel set, something to flatten with, and protective gear. With those ten you can do a surprising amount.
Do I need to buy expensive tools?
Buy well what you hold every day — tape measure, try square, your main saw — and go budget on what you rarely use. Skimping on measuring tools takes its revenge in every project.
What is the most common beginner's mistake?
Measuring errors, not sawing errors. Use one tape measure per project, mark with a fine line, and always saw on the same side of it.
Do I need a table saw?
Not to start with. A handsaw with a guide rail gets you further than most people think. Only buy machines when a specific project calls for them.
Tools in perspective
Ten items used well beat fifty gathering dust.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Chisel, two try squares and a carpenter's pencil — CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metal smoothing plane on a freshly planed board — Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0
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