Question:
George, you made a pair of Kitchen Tongs, where do you purchase maple or cherry wood 1 1/8″ thick?
Submitted by Terry
Answer:
In my area, Wisconsin, it’s pretty easy for me to get hardwoods that are 5/4” (1-1/4”) and 8/4” (2”) thick from my hardwood supplier.
I did a Google search for “wood turning blanks” and there were lots of matches. Turning blanks will be thick so, if you can’t find a hardwood supplier in your area, you can order turning blanks to get thick stock.
George
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George,I am brand new to woodworking. What basic tools (power and stationary) would you suggest to get started? I have none. Also, which would be ok to buy used vs new? I have a limited budget. Thank you for your great videos!
Great question. The answer is “it depends”, and will be based upon the types of projects that you want to tackle. I’ll make an assumption that you want to set up a small shop and build furniture and miscellaneous crafts. If that is the case, here would be my short list for first tool purchases:
– Work bench. You’ll need some good solid work surface.- Table saw. Portable is ok, stationary would be better. Ideally something with a cast iron table. You can rip and cross-cut on a table saw with great accuracy.- Hand-held jig saw. This is a very versatile tool and can provide most of the curved cutting that you might need for your projects. – Clamps. You’ll want a good arsenal of bar clamps for project assembly, and some pipe clamps if you are doing edge gluing or other heavy duty clamping.- Miter saw. This is great for cross-cutting. You can get by without one for smaller cross-cuts that can be done on the table saw, but for cross-cutting longer pieces a miter saw is great.- Sander. I’d suggest starting with either a palm sander or Random Orbital Sander. I use both of these a lot. If I could only have one it would be a ROS.- Router. Routers are extremely versatile, and if you want to provide edge treatments such as roundovers to your projects this is a great way to do it.
It’s fine to buy used tools as long as you know how to evaluate their quality and value. If you are uneasy about it, look for good deals on new tools by comparing prices on line and watching for sales.