Help on workshop skills

Hi, i am currently doing a project on furniture . and the size of wood is about 8’ x 4’ .If you dont mind, i need advice to cut and join the wood into pieces, what tool should i use, and what care should be taken note, of safety, and the wood type i am using is chipboard.And its just for the structure. THANKS :slight_smile:

A saw?..mind you don’t chop your fingers off

Definitely, definitely definitely look into the EurekaZone system. It’s an inexpensive way to get perfect, superior cuts in a very safe manner. It uses a regular circular saw–if you don’t have one, google “refurbished circular saw” and you should be able to find a good one on the cheap.

We have an article explaining the EurekaZone Smart Guide System here:

Or you can check out their website directly at www.EurekaZone.com

Good luck with it!

Not to make too big assumption about your woodworking skills here but I would hope at this stage of tool use you first seek some instruction from a real person standing next to you. Virtual instruction is ok but not the the same as real life instruction.

Motorized tools can change your life in an instant. Fingers can be cut off faster than you can imagine and this can happen to the most experienced woodworker.

In order of my use.

Tablesaw. Very precise and very quick to use.

Circular saw. Takes longer to set up each cut. If preciseness is not needed then you can always guide by hand although it takes time to acquire this skill.

Jigsaw. If your project calls for curved cuts.

Be safe

Find someone experienced to help and teach you. This is definitely not something to take on by yourself if you have no experience with power tools.

Your question is roughly akin to asking, “I’m thinking about taking up veterinary dentistry, what tools do I need, and do you have any tips?”

I would look into a woodworking 101 class at a local community college and go from there. 4x8 sheets are very unwieldy to work with even in a pretty well equipped home shop. If it’s a one-off project and you don’t really plan to do regular wood projects yourself, you should find someone locally to do this for you. It will be far cheaper than buying the tools to try to do it yourself.

And “don’t chop your fingers off” is the best piece of advice given so far. Never take your eyes off a moving blade.

If you buy the sheet at home despot or lowes, they’ll usually cut it for you for free.

Alternatively, you can sometimes find lumber/hardwood stores who will work off a cut sheet for you, but its more expensive. They will probably give you some good tips about joinery too.

And there’s always Craig’s list- you might find someone experienced who will do it in their garage for you for cheap.

you will need a saw a glue for jointing it nail hammer. what else. it depends on you if your going to use laminates for it or varnish…

use a panel saw… stay away from everything else until you learn what blades and belts can do to skin and hair

A good jigsaw…

With a clamped straight edge… it makes great straight cuts.

Free handed… it can make curves and radius cuts.

And if it has an angle adjustment… It can make bevel cuts and angles.

As for joinery give Pocket joints a try. They’re quick, cheap and strong. I use them to start all of my prototypes.

But PLEASE, be very careful and read and learn about the tools before using them. Good Luck.