Tools for the Woodworking Workshop

Furnishing tools for a workshop centers on two general areas. The first is to determine the type of work to be accomplished with the tools. The second is to check the budget to help decide on the quality and extent of tool buying that can be done. Most of the time when a person decides to furnish a workshop, it is more of a carpentry or woodworking shop. While this article will focus on that aspect, if a small engine repair or metal machine shop is the goal, the tools will vary quite dramatically.

Beginning with hand tools, the workshop needs at least three good hammers. One should be a carpenter-style hammer with a head that includes a claw for pulling nails and light prying. Spend a little money on this hammer because the quality of the head and handle will vary a lot. Even for amateur work, a better hammer will be easier to use.

The second hammer needs to be a lighter weight hammer for tapping pins and small nails or brads into place. This one does not have to be high quality, but you may want to get one with a ball on one end instead of claw. The ball can come in handy for some limited uses.

Make the third hammer a rubber mallet. This will be needed when you need to tap something into place that can be easily dented or damaged. You may still want to use a block of something to protect the surface, but a rubber hammer will keep a lot of mistakes from happening.

The next items will be a nice selection of screwdrivers and nut drivers. No matter how you slice it, hand powered drivers still have a relevant place in the workshop. Usually in woodworking, almost any quality of drive will do. However, as you need to replace them, it might be wise to buy better quality at that time.

Almost any clamp that you buy will be used eventually. It is hard to overstate the value of many types of clamps in various sizes to the workshop. The really large clamps probably only need to be purchased on an as-needed basis. If the work does not include large furniture or table tops, these large clamps may not be necessary.

A good flashlight is important. In fact, a larger and a smaller one may be even better. With the newer brighter flashlights, two should be enough. A flashlight that works without batteries may be a good option because if the power goes out, a working flashlight is handy. If it has dead batteries, it is useless. The kind of flashlight that you shake to charge a capacitor will give light for up to 30 minutes or so at a time.