I’ve see a lot of people ask, which tools are the best to have to get started in wood working. I wanted to share my 6 essential woodworking tools for a beginner wood shop that I absolutely need when working my projects. And I’ll share a few that are a bonus to have when you are ready to expand. **Disclaimer** This article contains affiliate links. Check our Privacy Policy for more info.
I’m lucky that I have a large garage for storage, and I have been doing home improvement projects for many years, so I have built my tool collection slowly overtime. I have a full toolbox at this point (maybe several), with hammers, mallets, screwdrivers, wrenches, ratchets, drill bits, putty knives, pry bars and on and on. You don’t need all these tools for woodworking, but a complete tool set with the basics is needed in addition to these 6 tools below.
- Miter Saw
- Power Drill
- Circular Saw
- Kreg or Pocket Hole Jig
- Clamps
- Palm Sander
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Miter Saw
This tool is my go to for cutting any wood. I have other saws, but the miter saw is so versatile. It’s very simple to use, it can make straight cuts, angled or diagonal cuts for all type of applications. Building any piece of furnoitre will be so much faster and more professional with a miter saw. Its by far my favorite tool for wood working.
I have a very simple miter saw, and I’ve had it at least 10 years. I have a similar model to this new Ryobi 10″ saw from Home Depot and it has served me well completing tasks from trim work, hardwood flooring, woodworking projects, crafts and more.
Today, I would probably opt for the next step up and get a sliding miter saw like this one instead of the one I have. These were not even an option when I bought mine. The 12″ blade will cut thicker materials, which I have run into with my wood slice ornaments. And the sliding portion allows you to cut wider planks like when I made the desk top on my Farmhouse X desk. Both of these features would be a real upgrade to the basic saw I currently own. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t actually opt for a full size sliding miter saw with stand 🙂
Power Drill
A power drill is really an essential tool to have for almost any DIY project around the home. It makes screwing a breeze but is essential for drilling any kind of holes including pocket holes. Your drill doesn’t need to be fancy, but I do recommend cordless. The last thing you want to be worried about is keeping our drill plugged in and all kids of extension cords to use it.
My drill is also 10+ years old, but have had the pleasure of using this Dewalt drill also from Home Depot. This is a really nice kit, with 2 batteries so you never have to wait for the one to charge.
Circular Saw
A circular saw a flexible tool that in many cases can be used in place of a table saw with a few other inexpensive tools to help. This tool also isn’t really an essential for a beginner or for one or two projects as in most cases your local hardware store can cut the large sheets of plywood for you, you just have to bring the measurements.
This is my low end corded circular saw from Ryobi that I purchased last year, and for the little bit that I use it, it has worked well. I prefer a corded saw, I just don’t want the loss of power or worrying about a charged battery especially since I don’t use it regularly. The benefits of cordless saw are obvious, as the cord does tend to get in the way and that would be very dangerous to cut the live cord. Ryobi offers a few cordless circular saw options that won’t break the bank!
Kreg Jig (Pocket Hole Jig)
I just love, love love my pocket hole jig. I never would have been able to build any furniture like I have without it. Now don’t get me wrong, I would also love to learn some more advanced woodworking skills, but the pocket hole jig was a great beginner tool. If you haven’t seen my Farmhouse X Desk free plans or the DIY Picture Ledge you should check them out, I made them will a Kreg Jig.
I bought the Kreg Jig K4 system and the screws in varying lengths to get started about a year ago. This system lets you easily construct strong furniture without being a master craftsman.
Clamps
Clamps are a must have to for so many DIY projects. From setting wood glue firmly, to becoming an extra set of hands during construction, they are always useful. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but a nice variety of C-clamps, trigger and spring clamps to fit the usual size project you are working on. I have a couple large bar clamps and smaller hand clamps available. Recently I was thinking that I would like to expand my collection as I’m ever needed a different size and shape.
I used these large C-clamps for the desk top after gluing and screwing. And I have some small trigger clamps I use often for my smaller projects.
Palm Sander
I’ve blown a couple palm sanders at this point, I really use these for a lot of DIY projects. Everything is better with a little sanding; I sand all my pieces of wood before connecting them to really give a professional look.
I prefer these sheet sanders to orbital sanders, solely because I don’t want to have to track down round sanding sheets. The huge contractor packs of sandpaper are economical and I can just fold and tear to the right size. Even if I bust a sander I know the paper will still fit the replacement. I think I would really like the results of a orbital sander but can’t be bothered with the replacement sheets.
This is my current sheet sander, a Ryobi corded sheet sander, and has been reliable even at this low price point. I usually buy the cheapest on the market since they tend to burn out over time.
I hope this list of 6 essential woodworking tools for the beginner workshop will help you build your first wood shop. Let me know your favorite wood shop tools in the comments below!
