Woodwork Basics: Setting Up Your Woodworking Tools

Any one who enjoys woodwork or carpentry will benefit greatly from a special area set aside for them to work in.  Ideally a specially set up woodwork shop is the best idea, but it is not always a feasible solution. Basements, garages, sheds in the garden beside the gardening tools like the hedge trimmers, mower and bicycles are home to many who do woodwork as a hobby, or profession.

So, it is very important to do your best with whatever space you have.

Your number one consideration when creating a special woodwork area to work in should be safety. Place the tools that you use most frequently in a place where they are very easy to pick up and put back in place. If you enjoy turning wood your lathe may well be your most used woodwork tool, so it needs to be set up where you can use it easily and you have lots of ventilation all around you.  Other woodworking tools can be organized around the lathe.

Always ensure that you have a safe area in which to store woodwork chemicals that you might use for cleaning and finishing wood.

A really firm and solid woodwork bench is essential as it is the area of the woodwork shop that you will use the most often.  A folding woodwork bench is a possibility but it is a bit restricted. Having a place for each of your woodworking tools and putting them back in the correct place is vital. That way you will always have your woodworking tools to hand without having to search for them.

Wherever you woodwork area is set up, you will need good lighting to ensure that you get the precision in your work.  Fluorescent tubes fixed on the ceiling are an excellent way of doing this and they give lots of light and the running costs are low.

Keep the area you work in free of clutter and dispose of anything that is in your woodwork area that does not belong. It is often difficult to stop other people leaving things in your area if you utilize the garage, or garden shed.  If the area is shared all the time, putting your woodworking tools in their own boxes will keep them together for when you need them.

Always make sure that wherever you set up your workspace, there is ventilation as woodwork makes lots of dust and chemical fumes. There should be a door, or window close by. If you keep your woodworking tools neatly stored in boxes, even the smallest space can be used for woodwork, as long as it is kept tidy, clean and has good air flow through it.