I bought or used these tools, so I only recommend based on my experience. This list covers pretty much all the tools you need to have when setting your own workshop for DIY projects.

 

1. Recommended Tools
2. Recommended Materials  ←

 

Why doing DIY projects?

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Woodworking is one of those activities that stimulates your creativity and gives you self confidence. As any other hobby, you should start with basic projects so you get accustomed with the skills and then move to more challenging projects. If you have a stressful life or you are just looking for an activity to help you bond with your family or friends, doing DIY projects is the ideal choice.

Not to mention that you can add value to your house while keeping the costs down. You really can save a lot of money by choosing to build your own furniture or outdoor structures.  There are so many success projects on my blog shared by DIY-ers like you and me. They chose to take up the plunge and start building.

 

NEW – Premium Plans

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Premium Plans starting at only $1.99, but there are also special bundles of several plans with HUGE Discounts. These Plans come with a Cut Diagram Plan, 3D diagrams, step by step instructions and they are PDF Download and AdFree. The highlight of the Premium Plans is the Layout Diagrams for all material cuts and dimensions. See full list at My Shop.

 

Tools for Starting Woodworking

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I will show you the tools you need to have in your shop for building my projects or any other DIY project. Therefore, you need a good drill to make pilot holes and an impact driver for inserting the screws accurately and without damaging the wood. In addition, you need a miter saw for making regular cuts, as well as angle cuts. A circular saw will help you have more mobility when making the straight cuts, while a jigsaw is ideal for making curved cuts.

Next, you will need nail guns for speeding up inserting the nails. The nails are ideal for large outdoor projects (sheds, benches, fences) or for finishing nails. If you buy the nail guns you also need the compressor. You will also need a sander to even out surfaces and to smooth the edges. The router will help you make rabbets and mortises, as well as rounding the edges.

If you have these tools in your shop, you will be able to build almost anything. As you can see you don’t need expensive tools or investing thousands of dollars in your hobby. With under 500 dollars you will be able to have the basic tools and be ready for any woodworking challenge. All in all, the minimum tools you need to start building wood projects are: a circular saw, a drill and a sander. The rest of the tools will help you build with more precision and get nice finishing touches.

1. Pocket Hole System

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Most of my plans use pocket hole joinery, as it is a quick and strong method to join two pieces of wood together. The following pocket hole jigs are durable, quick to adjust and very easy to use, starting with the Mini jig up to the Foreman, you can select the product that best suits your needs and budget. I personally consider the K5 offers the best cost benefit ratio.

 

Pocket Jigs

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Armor Auto-Jig Pocket Hole System (NEW)

• Fully automated system self-adjusts your drill guide setting and drill bit collar based off of the thickness of the piece you’re clamping (see video for demonstration)
• No more manual setting, measuring, or adjusting
• The Auto-Adjust clamp allows you to clamp varying thicknesses without readjusting.

 

Kreg Mini Kreg Jig Kit

• Requires clamp
• For very small projects only

 

Kreg R3 Jr. Pocket Hole Jig System

• Requires clamp
• For small projects

 

Kreg Jig K4 Pocket Hole System

• Built-in clamp
• For medium projects

 

Kreg K5 Pocket-Hole Jig

• Built-in clamp
• For medium and large projects
• The pocket hole jig I have myself and I recommend for an average DIY-er

 

Kreg Foreman Pocket-Hole Machine, Blue

• Built-in clamp
• For extra-large projects with lots of pocket holes

 

 

2. Basic Tools

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Accuracy is a key aspect when building projects, as well as safety. Therefore, I recommend you to get yourself a good ruler, pencils as well as ear protection and safety glasses. Even if you are not serious about woodworking, any homeowner should have a kit with the basic hand tools, for small repairs.

Bon 7-Inch Carpenter Pencil, Black Hard Lead with Red Casing, 12-Pack

• Making marks with a pencil will help you get accurate cuts

 

Stanley Premium Quick Square Layout Tool, 7″

• Ideal for checking corners for squareness
• Can be used to mark lines and to make straight cuts with a saw

 

Stanley 25-Feet FatMax Tape Measure

• You know how they say: Measure twice and cut once

 

DEWALT Folding Retractable Utility Knife

• This is one of the most versatile tools
• Ideal for cutting all types of materials

 

Stanley 65-Piece Homeowner’s Tool Kit

• Ideal tool kit for an average woodworker
• Contains pretty much all the hand tools you need to build projects

 

Dewalt TRIGGER CLAMP 4 PACK

• Clamps are needed when joining components together
• You need clamps of different sizes for most projects

 

3M Tekk Virtua Anti-Fog Safety Glasses, Clear Frame, Clear Lens

• Use safety glasses when cutting the wooden boards

 

Bosch Drill and Drive Set, 91 Piece

• A wide variety of general purpose accessories
• 91 piece drilling and driving Set

 

Black & Decker Workmate 125: 350-Pound Capacity Portable Work Bench

• Jaws resist warping and can be angled to accommodate uniquely-shaped materials
• Non-skid feet prevent sliding

 

Wolfcraft Right Angle Clamp

• Durable right angle aluminum clamp for making cabinets or box-frames
• 3-inch clamp face with V-groove design to hold round materials

 

 

 

 

 

3. Tools for Woodworking I use and recommend

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Now that we have cleared the easiest way to make strong joints, I will show you the other tools you need to have in your shop for building my projects. If you have these tools in your shop, you will be able to build almost anything. As you can see you don’t need expensive tools or investing thousands of dollars in your hobby. With under 500 dollars you will be able to have the basic tools and be ready for any woodworking challenge.

 

Drill & Nail gun

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You need a good drill to make pilot holes and an impact driver for inserting the screws accurately and without damaging the wood. These tools are a must have, as they save you time and they help you joint wood properly.

If you will build larger structures, such as sheds or tiny houses, you should consider buying a nail gun. In addition, the finish nailer is ideal for inserting brad nails, when installing trims. If you buy the nail guns you also need the compressor.

 

DEWALT 20V MAX Lithium-Ion Compact Drill/Driver Kit

• Compact, lightweight design fits into tight areas
  • High performance motor

 

Makita 18V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit, 2-Piece

• For drilling pilot holes and inserting screws
• You need a drill for almost any woodworking project

 

DEWALT Pneumatic 18-Gauge 2-Inch Brad Nailer Kit

• For driving in brad nails

 

DEWALT 1-Inch to 2-1/2-Inch 16 Gauge Finish Nailer

• For finishing nails (trims, decorative elements)

 

DEWALT 6-Gallon 165 PSI Pancake Compressor

• For the nail guns

 

WEN 4208 8-Inch 5 Speed Drill Press

• Includes a 1/2-inch keyed chuck and onboard key storage
• Operates at 5 different speeds: 740, 1100, 1530, 2100, 3140 RPM

 

Saws

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You also need to adjust the size of the boards to suit you needs when building woodworking projects. There are several types of saw you can buy and each one excels in some areas. The miter saw is the most versatile, as it makes regular cuts, as well as angle cuts.

A circular saw will help you have more mobility when making the straight cuts, while a jigsaw is ideal for making curved cuts. If you are serious about woodworking, then a table saw will give you the most freedom and help you cut saw in all directions. For example you could dimensions 2x4s to 1x4s and so on. The table saw is also ideal for cutting large sheets of plywood and for making dados.

If you are a beginner and you have to buy just one saw, I would personally go for the miter saw.

 

Hitachi 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Miter Saw with Laser

• For cutting accurately wood planks or for making miter cuts
• A must have tool for any DIY-er, as it saves you time
• For beginner DIY-ers

 

DEWALT 12″ Sliding Compound Miter Saw

• Exclusive Back Fence Design cuts up to 2×16 dimensional lumber at 90° and 2×12 at 45°
• Super efficient dust collection system captures over 75% of dust generated.
• Dewalt’s 3 year limited warranty
• For heavy duty DIY-ers

 

DEWALT 20-Volt MAX Li-Ion Circular Saw, Tool Only

• Battery included
• For making long straight cuts

 

DEWALT 20-Volt MAX Li-Ion Jig Saw

• For making curved cuts or for cutting out holes

 

DEWALT 10-Inch Compact Job Site Table Saw with Guarding System and Stand

• For complex cuts (dados)
• For small cutting plywood sheets
• It’s a portable table saw

 

SawStop 1.75-HP Professional Cabinet Saw Assembly

• If you are serious about woodworking, this table saw will help you make accurate cuts
• Accurate fence system

 

 

Sander & Router

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You will also need a sander to even out surfaces and to smooth the edges. The router will help you make rabbets and mortises, as well as rounding the edges. The benchtop planer mills rough stock lumber to size in a matter of seconds (it basically speeds up the sanding part). Once again, if you have to buy just one tool go for the sander.

 

DEWALT Amp 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander Kit with Cloth Dust Bag

• For smoothing wooden edges
• For evening out a surface

 

WEN 4×36-Inch Belt and 6-Inch Disc Sander with Cast Iron Base

• Belt tilts anywhere from 0 to 90 degrees
• 4.3 Amp motor provides up to 3600 RPM

 

WEN Oscillating Spindle Sander

• Includes 6 sanding sleeve sizes for a variety of curvatures: 1/2 in., 3/4, in., 1 in., 1-1/2 in., 2 in., 3 in.
• Attach the dust collector of your choice to the onboard dust port to minimize clean-up

 

DEWALT 1.25 HP Max Torque Variable Speed Compact Router Combo Kit with LED’s

• For making rabbets and mortises
• For rounding edges

 

Bosch Benchtop Router Table

• Includes mounting hardware for a variety of routers
• Easy to use and durable materials

 

DEWALT 15 Amp 12-1/2-Inch Benchtop Planer

• Mills rough stock lumber to size in a matter of seconds
• Ideal if you use recycled or pallet wood for your projects

 

TruePower  Biscuit Plate Joiner with Carbide Tipped Blade, 4″

• Max cutting depth: 0.55″, Cutting Angle: 0 – 45 degree
• Biscuit Spec: #0, #10, #20

 

Bosch StarlockMax Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit

• Delivers best-in-class blade grip providing more torque transfer
• Extreme power – driven by a 5.5 amp motor with reinforced metal gearing

 

 

 

Other tools

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There are other tools you should have in your shop, if you will build project regularly. Therefore, a great investment will be to buy a dust collector. Inhaling dust has bad effects on your health on the long run, so if you afford a collector you shouldn’t have second thoughts.

 

1.2 HP 5 Micron Dust Collector

• Dust Collector
• Health should be you priority, so buying a dust collector is a wise investment

 

 

4. Concrete tools

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If you want to experiment with concrete projects or you just need to pour footings, these tools would help you. The concrete mixer saves you from a lot of work and is ideal for pouring slats, footings and even countertops. The polisher helps you bring the natural beauty of concrete to surface.

 

Pro-Series Electric Cement Mixer, 3.5 Cubic Feet

• A solid concrete mixer for small projects

 

Variable Speed Polisher 5 Inch Concrete and Stone Wet Polishing Kit with Diamond Pads

• For polishing concrete, such as countertops or other surfaces

 

Diamond Hand Polishing Pads STADEA for Stone Concrete Granite Marble – Set of 7 Pcs

• Works great for Granite, Concrete, Marble, Terrazzo, Travertine, artificial stone, Tile, Glass, and natual stone polishing

 

 

 

5. Books

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If you are new to woodworking or you are just on a continuous quest for self improvement when it comes to woodworking, these books will teach you new techniques to be a better woodworker.

 

The Complete Manual of Woodworking

• With more than 1,800 drawings, diagrams and photos, this authoritative guide encompasses the whole art and craft of woodworking.
• Designed to instruct and inspire every woodworker from the beginner to the most exacting expert, it has become a classic.

 

The Complete Guide to Wood Joinery

• Diagrams and color drawings illustrating every joint that’s used in American woodworking

 

WoodWorking Tips

• World’s biggest collection of reader-written, shop-tested, photo-illustrated woodworking tips and techniques

 

 

 

6. Photography Gear

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64″ Travel Tripod

• 2.64 lbs Net weight; 8.8 lbs Load Capacity; 3-Section Tripod Legs; 22”-64” Tripod Height Range
• Quick-Release Plate with Standard 1/4”-20 Screw Mount Compatible for all Digital Cameras, Lenses, most Camcorders, GoPro devices, Binocular, Telescopes

 

 

Go Pro Hero 7 Black Action Camera + Extra Battery + 32GB Sandisk 32GB MicroSDHC U3 + Polaroid 16GB MicroSD Memory Card

• Video File Format MP4 (H.264/AVC), MP4 (H.265/HEVC)
• SuperPhoto | HyperSmooth Video Stabilization
• Wi-Fi + Bluetooth® | GPS Enabled | Connects to GoPro App
• 3.5mm Audio Mic Input With Pro 3.5 Mic Adapter (sold separately) | Stereo Audio

 

7. Garden

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• Spray Gun – 

• Gardena 50-Foot 5/8-Inch Garden Hose – 

• GARDENA Electronic Water Timer with Calendar Function – 

• Large Size Auger Drill Bit – 

• Braided Nylon String – 

• Fiskars Pruner Bypass – 

• Fiskars Square Garden Spade Shovel – 

• Worx 20V 12″ Cordless String Trimmer & Edger – 

• WORX 20V Turbine Cordless Leaf Blower Power – 

• Makita 36V (18V X2) Brushless 18″ Lawn Mower Kit – 

• Gardena Oscillating Sprinkler – 

 

 

1. Recommended Tools
2. Recommended Materials  ←

 

 

 

If you are here, you should also check out some of my best plans and projects. Learn how to build an outdoor pizza oven and take a look over my deer stand plans, my carport plans or my screened gazebo plans. Furthermore, if you are a homeowner, you should find my more recent projects appealing. Don’t miss my large dog house plans, my free shed plans, my firewood shed plans and my greenhouse plans.