Following are 5 resources that can help turn a complete newcomer into a beginner woodworker.

1. Buy a Woodworking Magazine

This is usually a quick way to expose yourself to a new hobby or activity. There are plenty of woodworking magazines, with each focusing a variety of topics. Reading through new tool and product previews, woodworking plans and projects, tips and even the advertisements can help bring you up to speed.

There are also many numerous books available, but they usually have a very narrow focus. Which can be a good thing, but pre-beginners need wider exposure before they’re ready to tackle texts on say, dovetail joinery and hand plane techniques.

2. Join an Online Woodworking Forum

Like magazines, forums can help you develop a broader view of woodworking. Forums are great places to ask questions and contribute, but there’s also benefit to just lurking around at first. New and popular archived threads offer insight and experienced perspectives that are more varied than in single-author articles. Plus there are usually oodles of projects just waiting to inspire.

Recommended forums: Lumber Jocks, SawMillCreek

3. Sign Up for Free Catalogs

When first getting started, you’re going to be thinking about what types of tools to buy. Catalogs can help you develop a better sense of what tools and supplies are available, and what you can expect to pay.

Catalogs can also help you visually distinguish between different products you may be hearing about, such as bar clamps and parallel clamps. Certain other tools and supplies are also best learned about through visualization, such as cross-dowels.

The next step is to visit a woodworking store, or even a regular home improvement center, and look around. Make a note (or take a photo) of interesting or unfamiliar products for later Googling.

Favorite woodworking catalogs: Rockler, Woodcraft, Lee Valley, McFeelys

4. Jump Right in With a Starter Project

Plan out a small project, or follow one that you found in print or online, and get to it. There are tons of simple projects that you can make with few tools. You can get boards and sheet goods cut down to rough size at a lumber yard or home improvement center for minor working at home. Nothing is more encouraging than experience and a sense of accomplishment.

There’s a lot one can do with just a saw, drill/driver and $40 pocket hole jig.

5. Join a Club or Partner With a Friend

This can be an effective way to correct misconceptions and rapidly gain understanding and knowledge. These days there’s no reason to make common and perhaps even costly mistakes if you can help it.

Clubs and friends can also offer access to tools you cannot afford, don’t want to invest in or don’t know about as a beginner. Early on, about 8 years ago, I used a Dremel with a sanding drum accessory to round the edge of a project – a DVD player stand and TV riser. If I had joined a club or consulted with a woodworking friend, I would have learned about routers much sooner. That project also taught me about saw kerf thickness and how tight-clearance dimensions should account for it.

Additional Resources

The web can be an excellent resource for beginners as well as intermediate and advanced woodworkers, but such sources are most effective if you know what you’re looking for.

If there’s a Woodworking Show in your area, consider going. Admission is usually $10 or so, with many vendors and expert exhibitors willing and ready to share their knowledge and experience with you. There are some opportunities for hands-on training, and usually reasonable discounts as well.

Sears’ 2011 holiday tool catalog arrived by mail last week, so you may have already seen it. If not, don’t fret, you can view the entire catalog online as well.

There are quite a few new tools featured in the catalog, including a few Craftsman hand and power tools.

If you did not receive the catalog in the mail, you can sign up for Sears’ tool catalogs here. The same link will take you to a list of tool catalogs you can browse digitally.

2011 Holiday Tool Catalog (direct digital link)

Don’t laugh, but I look forward to this catalog every year, ever since they first came out a few (3?) years ago.

The write-up is choc-full of clear images, thorough explanations, and useful information, and it moves along quickly and smoothly.

Hand-Cut Mortise and Tenon Primer by In The Woodshop

Photo by Derek/In the Workshop, used with permission.

And if you have a little more free time, check out some of Derek’s reviews, projects, and other furniture how-tos.

While Google’s Sketchup remains king of the free quick-and-easy 3D modeling programs, there is a severe lack of free or open source 2D CAD programs available. I recently found out about DraftSight, which is being developed by Dassault Systems, which is best known for SolidWorks.

DraftSight is free 2D CAD software that allows users to create, edit, and view DWG files. The only requirement is that users activate each installation with an email address the first time a file is saved or printed. After that, the program must be reactivated in the same manner after 6-months and then at 12-month intervals.

With DIY CNC machines becoming easier and more affordable to build, free or low-cost 2D CAD programs are in increasingly high demand. Even more surprising than the program being free is that it is being developed for Windows, MAC, and Linux operating system platforms.

I have just begun learning to use DraftSight, but thus far I like what I see, especially given its $0 cost.

DraftSight Free 2D CAD Software via Dassault Systems
Download Link

Luckily for corded tool lovers, some manufacturers are taking advantage of loopholes and are marketing their tools as cordless, despite requiring the use of aftermarket extension cords.

This was a fun opportunity that I really enjoyed. Somehow in the past few years I went from a 6-tool toolbox to 6 filled tool cabinets. This of course did not happen overnight – most of my tools were purchased with specific projects and tasks in mind, although I also developed a habit of finding tool deals too good to pass up.

Although only a fraction of my “shop” area is featured in the article, I’m working to make it presentable enough to show everyone a full 360° view.

Charles & Hudson are looking for more “winning workshops” to feature in the series, so if you’ve got an interesting work space, unique tools or both, give them a holler.

My Winning Workshop via Charles & Hudson

Do you guys have any favorite tool or DIY-related blogs that you think we should check out?

You can watch the video here, on YouTube, or the Mod Men Show website. Even if you’re not into computer case modding, the Mod Men Show is quick and entertaining, with techniques that can be applied to other crafts.

I came across another tool blog recently that I thought was worth sharing with you. Tools in Action, formerly known as the Professional Power Tool Guide, covers a variety of tool-related topics with an emphasis on power tools, and their articles are both interesting and well written.

There are quite a few other tool blogs worth mentioning as well, some of which are featured in our brief tool blog roundup.

So check ‘em out, and let us know what you think. If you follow any other tool blogs that you’d love to recommend, let us know about them in a comment!

Note: The Tools in Action link currently redirects to the Professional Power Tool Guide. This is normal, and nothing to worry about.

After we mention a new Sears or Craftsman tool catalog, emails typically pour in asking about how to sign up for direct home mailings. I figure that for every person that asks there are 5 that don’t.

So for future reference, here is the link where you can sign up to receive Sears Tool Catalogs via mail.

Mod Men is a new web show that features Mnpctech’s incredible case modding projects and DIY-tips. Mnpctech and Bill Owen, the shop’s owner and host of the new show, are well known in the modding community for their awesome work and for the unique CNC-machined and DIY modding supplies sold in their webstore.

Here’s the trailer for the upcoming show:

Mnpctech Blog
Mnpctech Mod Flickr Photo Gallery

Mnpctech Web Store

Have you tried asking a big-box hardware store employee about tools and accessories? It’s not pretty – I often find that if I want information or clarification about something, I have to find it myself.

Sometimes I’ll make note of an item for future research, but more and more these days I’ll be at a local store looking for a particular item and will whip out my phone to search for more info.

Dremel has just launched a new mobile website to make it much easier for on-the-go shopping assistance. Are you looking for the difference between silicon carbide and aluminum oxide grinding stones? Diamond cutting wheel vs. cut-off wheels? How about sanding bands vs abrasive buffs? The mobile site answers questions like this extremely quickly with just a few short links.

Dremel also incorporated application videos and social media links into the mobile site, but they don’t intrude into the layout at all. They also plan to use mobile tags (QR codes) to help give consumers immediate access to more detailed product information. [Sounds good to us!]

Taking a quick look at the mobile website version, I do wish that the navigation was a little deeper. For example, if I’m at the store and see two versions of the Dremel 8200, I’d like to be able to quickly find out the differences between the two versions. Overall, the mobile site is very quick to access, and quick to use. Hopefully other brands follow their example!

Dremel’s homepage will now detect when you try to access it with a smartphone and send you to the mobile page at http://m.dremel.com/. The mobile page is currently accessible from regular computers, so go ahead and check it out!

Toolstop is a well established UK-based online tool retailer, and they’ve got a really nice blog with very frequent podcasts, tool tips, and product demo videos.

They recently interviewed me for one of their podcasts, and it was quite an enjoyable experience. The audio quality of the podcast is superb, except for when I was answering their questions due to my phone quality and too many signal relays between us.

I was actually under the impression that the podcast would be about a few power tools I am currently reviewing, but they wanted to know more about me and ToolGuyd. Flattering, but I was totally unprepared for that! At least you can be sure that my answers are straight up and honest.

If you listen to the podcast, you’ll also find out about which power tool brand is my personal favorite!

Check out the Podcast interview here.

It was a fun experience, and you can be sure that we’ll be collaborating more with Toolstop bloggers Mark and Neil in the future.

My article on hammer drills just went live on Popular Mechanics’ website. Titled Who Needs a Hammer Drill, the article discusses the benefits of a hammer drill, the differences between various tool styles, and talks a little about the appropriate drill bits. If you’re at all curious about hammer drills, check it out!

Who Needs a Hammer Drill? via PopMech

Check out Top 11 Tool Gifts for Dads, my recent article over at PopMech. It was a tough one to write, mostly because I know what my own father wants, needs and likes, and the list encompasses dozens of tools. So I focused mostly on newer offerings, and tools that many Dads may want but not know about yet.

The tools in the gift guide are in no particular order. If I had to guess, I would say that the most wished-for and gifted tool this holiday season will be an oscillating multi-tool.

Top Tool Gifts for Dads via Popular Mechanics