7 Basic Woodworking Skills Every Man Should Know

woodworking basics
Photo by Photo-to-canvas.com

Apart from a lot of us using ready-made items from the market, learning some woodworking skills is essential just as learning any other profession. Any person can acquire knowledge of these useful skills. Acquiring any woodworking skills is no mystery as a lot of people find it. Even if you lacked the chance to take a class in high school that entailed this project, learning these skills is never too late.

Understand how wood works.

For you to acquire any woodworking skills, you must understand how the woods work, for example, you must know where to direct the plane. The nature of the wood always starts as the tree grows. The grain that we all see in the lumber is as a result of the growth ring layers that tend to build on each other.

Any person with these skills will understand that these grains can be challenging, mostly if you decide to ignore the direction to which they should be done.

Use a hand plane

Almost all tools do not have the instruction manual when you buy them. However, these tools need instructions and a little bit of practice so that you can get the results that you really desire. Using woodworking tools such as hand planes is not as self-explanatory as we think.

Learning the art of using a hand plane is a beneficial skill to learn.

Sharpen your woodworking tools

Many people, mostly men, have been forced to believe that you must be hardworking to perform these woodworking projects. However, the only reason people think this is because you have to use a lot of dull tools to do the work. You can solve this by first learning how to sharpen all your woodworking tools such as saw or planes.

By sharpening the tools and allowing them to do their work, you’ll realize that it is as easy as completing any other task. If you feel any device is dragging you behind, make sure you sharpen them to get your job done.

Photo by Dominik Scythe

Prepare lumber using hand tools.

Also, you must understand that the lumber won’t be as perfect as it would have been using the machines. However, that little imperfection makes it look very natural and also homemade. You can visit cozydownhome.com for the best tools if you need any help or detailed information about the hand tools.

Using your hand tools such as a table saw and planer is very easy in preparing lumber. Nevertheless, if you decide not to use the hand tools, making it can be very challenging. You also need to understand that you don’t have to buy all the expensive equipment to prepare the lumber.

Cut a mortise and tenon joint

For you to join the vertical and the horizontal part in the right way, you’ll need to interlock the pieces in the right direction. Achieving an excellent fit is very challenging, which may seem easy for a lot of people.

To create a mortise, you need to cut the tenon first and then create the four straight saw cuts. After a given period, you will be able to learn how to lay the tenon joints correctly and later see how you can make an elegant product.

Cut a dovetail joint.

If you are planning on making a box, dovetail joints will be of importance in that it will help you in joining the board corners. The dovetail joint consists of cutting the sides that then forms a wedge-shaped tail. After fitting the joints nicely, these wedge-shaped tails will avoid sliding apart in a particular direction.

In the olden days, these joints used to be hidden by paints or moulding, but with the new technology, a lot of ways have been discovered.

Finish your furniture

After investing a lot of time in the woodworking projects, you have finally completed the product. You can not fully finish the furniture work without applying a thick layer of protection to your wood. You can use the finishing of your choice as there is a variety.

Apart from the finishing acting as a protection to your wood, it also gives your product an aesthetic design. You can also choose some finishing that comes in different colours to add a flavour to your item.

Conclusion

Did you know that every modern individual will find some of these woodworking skills very beneficial? If you are planning on making these woodworking projects your hobby any time you are free, get to familiarise yourself with the above-listed items to achieve your goals.

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