If you want to open a woodworking shop, this list of woodworking materials will help you discover what materials you need to create all kinds of furniture.
On the other hand, if you are just starting out in this field, keeping in mind what materials are used in woodworking is essential to discover what new skills you need to acquire. Although not an easy task, once you know how to use each of these woodworking tools, you’ll be a pro!
At the end, you’ll find a little step-by-step on the easiest woodworking jobs. As our expert says: “woodworking is not just for experts”.
let’s get started!
1. Carpenter’s table
Our list of woodworking supplies starts with an essential one so you won’t have any mishaps when making your furniture. In this case, you should ideally be able to get a special woodworking table, which is also known as a workbench or a carpenter’s table.
Carpenter’s tables are usually made of more resistant materials, have drawers or shelves to facilitate the storage of other carpentry supplies and include a front press to hold our materials while we work on them.
In addition, you should keep in mind that this will be a space that you must have free and available to perform your cutting, assembly and sanding work, among others.
Image: Aquazon
2. Aluminum ruler or tape measure
Ruler and tape measure are perhaps the easiest woodworking materials to get, if you don’t have them at home right now. As you may know, any woodworking project requires a great deal of precision and detail. Therefore, you need to have these materials on hand.
In addition, you can complement the functions of these woodworking materials with these mobile apps:
iHandy Carpenter: surface leveler, angle measurer and ruler in inches and centimeters.
My Measures: allows you to take photos and dimension measurements, as well as write them manually on photos.
ConvertPad – Unit Converter: as its name suggests, it allows you to make equivalences between different units of measurement.
Image: Aquazon
3. Carpenter’s hammer
You probably have a few hammers stashed away at home to help you with household chores, but which is the best hammer for carpentry?
To make the right choice among the various types of these woodworking materials, you should consider that rubber-handled ones offer good grip and control, although they may have limited durability. On the other hand, wooden hammers are very useful for driving nails, however, they can cause excessive hand sweating.
Ideally, choose a carpenter’s hammer that is both powerful and light enough to exert sufficient force without exhausting your hand.
Image: Pexels
4. Carpentry saw
Of vital importance to a carpenter, the carpentry saw is a type of saw that has a serrated blade, which is attached to a handle. It can be made of plastic or wood. the most important thing? Obviously, checking the cutting edge.
According to the page Of machines and tools, a site specialized in the world of carpentry and other manual works, you can find the following types of saws:
Universal: they are characterized by thick blades and are usually the ideal choice for working on boards and wood panels.
Rib saw: it is smaller than the universal saw and has thinner blades, which will allow you to make thin cuts.
For plywood: this is the right type for laminated materials, plastics and plywood, it has a wide and rigid blade with fine teeth.
Needle-nose: this type of woodworking material will allow you to make precise cuts when handling thin and delicate materials.
Image: Aquazon
5. Bubble level
Continuing with our list of woodworking supplies, it is of utmost importance to have a spirit level handy to control the horizontal and verticality of your woodwork.
Best of all, you can use its digital version on your cell phone to get you out of trouble when you need to make a quick measurement. We’ll give you some options later.
Image: Aquazon
6. Carpenter’s square
A carpenter’s square is essential for accurately measuring the angles of your carpentry work. These carpentry materials are usually made of bronze or steel, and come in different sizes. To get started with your first jobs, it is ideal to have a medium-sized one .
Image: Opitec
7. Carpenter’s plane
The carpenter’s plane is also known as Garlopa, Guillame or Guimbard. It is one of the carpentry materials used to plane the wood and its edges, in order to achieve a surface with a smooth finish.
Carpenter’s planes come in different types, sizes and can even be found in an electric version. However, we recommend you to buy a basic, manual version that will serve you for all types of woodworking projects.
Image: Pexels
8. Wood sealer
Surely your woodworking projects, no matter how basic they are, are going to include painting the different pieces of wood and, to enhance the effect of it, a wood sealer is a must.
For example, if you want to make floating shelves to decorate your house and you want the wood to look good, even with the passing of time, you should use this woodworking material, as it will help protect the wood from external agents, as well as to improve the adhesion and fixation of the paint or varnish .
Usually, it is recommended to apply 2 coats of sealer, which can be applied with a brush or roller and with an intermediate sanding. your products will be impeccable!
9. Sandpaper for wood
This carpentry material is essential to offer a wood with an impeccable finish, without splinters or sharp parts. It is used before using sealer, varnish or paint and when we want to clean the roughness after making a cut.
The sandpaper comes in different sizes or numbers, and also has an electric version, although to start with basic carpentry work, water-based sandpaper, that is, the common ones, will be fine. this is one of the everyday woodworking supplies, so we recommend having several on hand.
Image: Pexels
10. Saws
When it comes to this woodworking material, three main variations can be highlighted: hand saw, circular saw and jigsaw. Each one fulfills certain functions, so all three are important in the day-to-day life of a carpenter.
Hand saw: the most practical version and will allow you to have better control over your cuts to achieve greater precision in your carpentry work.
Circular saw: an electric tool that has a cutting disc and allows you to make straight cuts, quickly and with a clean edge finish.
Jig saw: has a sharp blade that makes up-and-down movements and allows other types of cuts, although without much precision.
Image: Pexels
11. Drill
are you one of those who always has to borrow a drill to perform various household tasks, such as hanging pictures or putting up a shelf? Then it’s time to get one of your own to add to your set of carpentry supplies.
You can also find different versions of this woodworking material:
Screwdriver drill: as its name suggests, it has the dual function of drilling surfaces as well as being used to drive screws.
Hammer drill: it is used to drill holes in harder surfaces, such as brick, concrete, stone, among others.
Cordless drill: to avoid having to deal with cables, this is the drill that should be on your list of woodworking supplies.
Bench drill: unlike the hand drill, the bench drill provides greater precision, since it will be fixed to the workbench.
Image: Pexels
12. Formers
Continuing with our list of materials for carpentry, we must mention chisels or wood chisels. These tools are used to make impact cuts, therefore, you should use them together with a hammer .
The use of the chisel in carpentry is to perform grooved work and even to carve. Finally, you should sharpen them often, as their edge tends to wear out easily.
Image: Amazon
13. Wood drill bits
On the other hand, you should also include these materials for carpentry, as they will help you to have a better finished wood, and they will be very useful to create circles, threads, moldings, make grooves, among other applications.
Taking into account the different types of wood bits that exist, you will be able to work with a wide variety of woods to create the best woodworking jobs.
Image: Amazon
14. Screwdrivers
Likewise, you need to have a set of screwdrivers, which, according to Cadena88 Hardware, are essential for joining or attaching pieces of wood to each other without getting too complicated.
These woodworking supplies will save you a lot of trouble when you’re building a woodworking project that can’t be easily joined with glue or other adhesives.
Image: Fix Hardware
15. Clamps or clamps for carpentry
These carpentry materials are necessary for working wooden benches or tables. Their function is to fix and hold firmly two or more pieces that will be joined together, to achieve a precise and error-free work.
Since they are not usually cheap carpentry materials, some experts recommend purchasing them according to your needs and not to buy them without a definite purpose.
Image: Segufer
16. Nails
Nails are also very common woodworking materials that you can easily have at home. They will be useful to fix two or more pieces of wood to consolidate any of your carpentry projects.
For best results with these carpentry materials, the experts at Sodimac, a store that sells construction materials, recommend that when working with wood, before inserting the nail, you should make an indentation with a chisel to prevent the wood from splitting.
Image: Pexels
17. Screws
Unlike nails, screws are used to fix pieces temporarily and permanently. In other words, if you use this carpentry material to assemble your next piece of furniture, in the future or when required, you will be able to change its pieces for maintenance or to repair any damage.
It is also important to mention that the most commonly used screws for carpentry work are lag screws, self-tapping screws and self-drilling screws.
Image: Pexels
18. Carpenter’s pencil
This carpentry element is essential for marking all the lines and reference points on your wood pieces when you have to make a cut or drill to assemble your next piece of furniture as accurately as possible.
19. Safety glasses
Since you will be handling wood and it can release residues while you work on it, it is necessary to protect your eyes to avoid discomfort later on. Therefore, we advise you to have this carpentry material so that you can work without problems throughout your project.
Image: Pexels
20. Gloves for carpentry
To finish our list of woodworking supplies, we recommend you to have some carpenter gloves, as they will help you to hold the wood pieces correctly without slipping due to sweat.
Image: Pexels
let’s get to work! The easiest woodworking jobs to get you started
Now that your workshop is ready with all the woodworking supplies we previously mentioned, you can start some easy and simple woodworking projects. shall we take a look at some examples?
1. Easy wooden tool box
This step-by-step is ideal for practicing your woodworking skills.
Materials:
8×14 inch wood, 1 inch thick for the bottom of the box.
2 pieces of 8″ x 8 ½” x 1″ lumber for the front and back
2 pieces of 4″ x 14″ x 1″ lumber for the side walls
1 piece of 14″ round lumber, 14″ long, for the handle.
Square
Saw
Drill
Hammer and nails or screws
Glue
Sandpaper
Measuring tape
Procedure:
Drill with 3 holes on the bottom and 2 on the front face of the pieces that will be front and back of the box.
join them to the bottom of the box, using the glue. You have to wait at least 30 minutes to move on to the next step.
Reinforce the union of the bottom board with the rest by placing nails.
Put the handle in place, glue it, and then fix it in the drill hole.
Sand the box so that the surface is smooth. As an additional task and if you wish, you can also paint the box to give it a better finish.
Image: Pexels
2. Basic furniture in MDF
In this video, the carpentry teacher at space, Alejandro Morales, also known as Carpintero del Desierto, shows us how to make a 40×25 MDF organizer, or trupan, using only a circular saw and a drill.
If this is your first approach to woodworking, this piece of furniture is just what you were looking for to get started without complications. go ahead and build it!
congratulations! Now that you know what are the 20 essential woodworking materials you should have in your workshop, the amount of furniture and wood items you can make will only depend on your desire and your ideas .
On the other hand, if you are here because you want to start a carpentry business, you can’t miss our Facebook covers to promote modern furniture with which your company profile will look professional.
Nor can you miss the trends in interior design, as they will help you to know the pieces that can not miss in your catalog.