Woodworking tools

Soldato
OP
Joined
27 Mar 2013
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Nottingham
Been keeping an eye out for mitre saws and circular saws.

Tempted to grab this but is it any good or is there anything substaintly better for the money?

https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dws774-gb-1400w-216mm-sliding-mitre-saw/p29987

As for circular saws I've got ryobi batteries already but there seems to be like 4 different saws and I'm unsure which to go for. This seems to be the best bang for buck one that I can tell.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VEUAB9U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AUHhEb7CGZNQA
 
Soldato
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Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
That Ryobi saw should be fine. You’d be better with brushless but realistically you won’t be using it all day every day so you’ll be fine without. Just make sure you have a few 4/5ah batteries.

As for the mitre saw. My only advice would be get a 254mm one. You’ll be sorry you didn’t otherwise.
 
Soldato
OP
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Nottingham
That Ryobi saw should be fine. You’d be better with brushless but realistically you won’t be using it all day every day so you’ll be fine without. Just make sure you have a few 4/5ah batteries.

As for the mitre saw. My only advice would be get a 254mm one. You’ll be sorry you didn’t otherwise.

How come? Just for the depth of cuts?
 
Associate
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13 Nov 2012
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Not sure about near you but a few Homebase branches near me in Herts have closing down sales, might be worth checking out if there's one near you. I got a large 1m Stanley spirit level (£35 everywhere else) and a few other little tools for £6!
 
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Soldato
OP
Joined
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Nottingham
Not sure about near you but a few Homebase branches near me in Herts have closing down sales, might be worth checking out if there's one near you. I got a large 1m Stanley spirit level (£35 everywhere else) and a few other little tools for £6!

Sadly the one near me closed down sometime last year and I don't know of any others closing soon.

Yeah. It really helps.

In that case how does this look?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/evolutio...0v/1062x#product_additional_details_container

Seems incredibly well reviewed for the price as well.
 
Soldato
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Lancashire
I've just found a Makers Club in Newcastle where you can go and use their lathes, pillar drills, laser cutter, CNC machine, 3D printer etc for £10 a month. Seems like a decent option for those specialist bits of work.

Wow, thats crazy good value! I'll have to have a look for something similar near me.
 
Soldato
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Ordered the last few tools I need to start building this morning.

Now it's timber for the workbench. Took advise and going for 2x4s for the top. In total I need 28 2.4m long 2x4s, I don't fancy digging through a bin in b and q to get straight good quality boards, anyone now any decent merchants in Notts area or any online ones that will deliver decent boards?
 
Soldato
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6 Mar 2008
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10,078
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Stoke area
Ordered the last few tools I need to start building this morning.

Now it's timber for the workbench. Took advise and going for 2x4s for the top. In total I need 28 2.4m long 2x4s, I don't fancy digging through a bin in b and q to get straight good quality boards, anyone now any decent merchants in Notts area or any online ones that will deliver decent boards?

Most should be straight enough but any local wood merchant/mill should be able to help. You can usually order planed wood to a set dimension so they should be completely square.

One of the old-timers near me from the local Men's Shed (see if there is one local to you) made himself a workbench out of some pine sleepers for the table edges and legs and then use 1inch mdf sheet inside the sleepers with braces underneath. Massive thing and I could have jumped up and down on it without damage.

make sure you get to local car boots too, great places for second-hand tools especially clamps etc.

It's on my list to make, got some decent power tools but it's the hand tools I really like, some nice Japanese saws and decent planers.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 May 2005
Posts
18,049
Location
Lancashire
Ordered the last few tools I need to start building this morning.

Now it's timber for the workbench. Took advise and going for 2x4s for the top. In total I need 28 2.4m long 2x4s, I don't fancy digging through a bin in b and q to get straight good quality boards, anyone now any decent merchants in Notts area or any online ones that will deliver decent boards?

I think going to a DIY shed or timber merchant like Travis Perkins is your best bet if you want straight timber. Most timber merchants will just grab a bunch of timber and throw it in the truck, they won't eye up each length to make sure it's straight and timber like this is designed for rough construction work, so most wont be dead straight.

Make sure you get square edged timber as well, as a lot of it has rounded edges for easy handling, which won't be ideal.
 
Soldato
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Most should be straight enough but any local wood merchant/mill should be able to help. You can usually order planed wood to a set dimension so they should be completely square.

The bench will cost a fortune if you want them to machine up the timber for you. Probably cheaper to just buy a hardwood bench. Paul Sellers just used construction grade spruce 3x2, but he went and picked the timber himself to find straight boards, with fewer knots. Ordering for delivery is a bit of a lottery.
 
Soldato
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11 Sep 2013
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The bench will cost a fortune if you want them to machine up the timber for you. Probably cheaper to just buy a hardwood bench. Paul Sellers just used construction grade spruce 3x2, but he went and picked the timber himself to find straight boards, with fewer knots. Ordering for delivery is a bit of a lottery.
If you do happen to get some dud bits, he also covers how to plane out any bowing and twist in the first bench build series, sufficient to joint the boards for a worktop.
I used Creffield for my timber, though I doubt they'd deliver as far as Nottingham... at least not for any sensible fee.
 
Soldato
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6 Mar 2008
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Stoke area
The bench will cost a fortune if you want them to machine up the timber for you. Probably cheaper to just buy a hardwood bench. Paul Sellers just used construction grade spruce 3x2, but he went and picked the timber himself to find straight boards, with fewer knots. Ordering for delivery is a bit of a lottery.

My local merchant barely charges anything for milling, think it works out between 5-10% of the wood total. And you only need it for the top, and you can still go and pick the timber yourself.
 
Soldato
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11 Sep 2013
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12,300
True, but ideally you need a decent workbench to plane effectively.
Catch 22 right there!
Ideally, but with timber this size you can just rest it across two sawhorses, butt it up against a solid object (wall, tree, etc) and sit on it while planing.
Once you've planed it down and edge-jointed it, you have a very heavy, solid worktop to smooth down and then work off while doing the legs, frame and aprons needed to finish the bench.

That is exactly how I did mine, and I rolled pretty low Dexterity when I was born, so it's clearly not that difficult!
 
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