DIY around the house is so much fun. Over the years I've built picture frames, shelves, cabinet doors, even a bed frame.
If I could offer one piece of advice to those interested: Understand that for nearly every project you see on Youtube where some dude is using a whole workshop full of power tools, you can build a LOT with a few small tools and proper technique. Don't get sucked into the mindset of, I want to build a few projects, therefore I need $2000 worth of new power tools.
You can do quite a lot with just a couple of hand saws (one for cross-cutting, one for ripping), a square, and a drill. The next step up would be a table saw, miter saw, and circular saw for time savings and increased precision. Much more than that is leaning into the territory of fine woodworking. Learning how to build your own jigs for specific tasks will save you hundreds or thousands in lieu of specialized tools.
My specific power tool advice would be to skip the miter saw, circular saw and possibly table saw and get a decent track saw for $500 US. Its a circular saw, you can also use it for angles, maybe with proper planning doing compound ones with a couple cuts, I've never tried.
Also if you set aside a certain budget for hobbies, etc. don't feel guilty about spending on it, go with the philosophy that is guilt-free spending. If you have fun and then lose interest, as happens with hobbies, you can sell the tools. But also see what you can get done with a small set of tools and see what you like first. Taking classes helps narrow in on what you like doing. I learned I like the mystique of hand tools but don't have the patience to do that 100%.
bityard · · focus · HN ↗
If I could offer one piece of advice to those interested: Understand that for nearly every project you see on Youtube where some dude is using a whole workshop full of power tools, you can build a LOT with a few small tools and proper technique. Don't get sucked into the mindset of, I want to build a few projects, therefore I need $2000 worth of new power tools.
You can do quite a lot with just a couple of hand saws (one for cross-cutting, one for ripping), a square, and a drill. The next step up would be a table saw, miter saw, and circular saw for time savings and increased precision. Much more than that is leaning into the territory of fine woodworking. Learning how to build your own jigs for specific tasks will save you hundreds or thousands in lieu of specialized tools.
mattbrewsbytes · · focus · HN ↗
Also if you set aside a certain budget for hobbies, etc. don't feel guilty about spending on it, go with the philosophy that is guilt-free spending. If you have fun and then lose interest, as happens with hobbies, you can sell the tools. But also see what you can get done with a small set of tools and see what you like first. Taking classes helps narrow in on what you like doing. I learned I like the mystique of hand tools but don't have the patience to do that 100%.
mc3301 · · focus · HN ↗