Following a lengthy study-journey on wood-framing as a basis for hemp-lime construction I have recently begun looking into carpentry as a preparation for outfitting our future home with custom made furniture.
At this point I am approaching woodworking with a practical outlook – we’re going to need kitchen cabinets to place our sink so that we can have running water and we are going to need a simple raised-platform to place our sleeping mat. Practical means we’re going to need some things during the construction process itself – they have to be simple for us to build on site.
This is an important point because woodworking also has an artistic and meditative side to it and though we may eventually have a space for this kind of woodworking – this will only come at a later time. Right now I am focusing on extracting the most practical, feasible, accessible, efficient and affordable information I can find. This includes design, materials, tools and techniques. I believe this is important because I have found that if I lose sight of this objective I can get pulled in different directions that dissipate my energy and focus.
This is a list of some of the online resources I have been spending time with:
- The Wood Whisperer is where I am now spending a large chunk of my days – a must visit – you can also find their videos on their Youtube channel.
- New To Woodworking is, as it’s name implies an excellent point of departure for beginners – and it too seems to be something that is getting started.
- Woodworkers Guild of America have some great videos which got me started in a good direction.
- Fine Wood Working looks like an abundant resource though I haven’t spent much time with it yet.
- Matts Basement Workshop is another promising resource which I haven’t yet spent much with.
Though I try to avoid anything Google wherever possible, Sketchup keeps coming back as a useful tool so:
- To install Sketchup on Ubuntu you will need to install WINE
- You can download Google Sketchup here (I really can’t believe I am linking/recommending a Google product)
- Google has some very useful videos on how to use Sketchup which is much easier then trying to figure it out on your own.
- There is a Sketchup plugin called Cutlist which I haven’t yet tried but sounds like potentially useful so maybe worth checking out.
One of the most basic tools in wood-working is a workbench – and as many seem to have done, I too plan to design and build my own. There are tons of designs and ideas out there – but again I am finding myself having to filter them out through my needs, abilities and priorities. Following are a few resources I have set aside (I have rejected many more!) to use when I get around to building my workbench:
- Building a workbench from plywood which I found at FineWoodWorking
- Kyle’s LVL workbench
- Clean and simple workbench from Holzblogger
- More workbenches at TheWoodWhisperer
- A website which seems to be dedicated to workbenches (warning: too much information!)