Woodworking | Fatherhood Factor

Whether you are making custom sculptures, charcuterie boards, or hand-made furniture, creating a piece from scratch is an immensely rewarding activity. While woodworking is a gratifying hobby, it can be dangerous if you don’t take the proper precautions to ensure that you stay safe and out of harm’s way. Below are some safety tips for beginner woodworkers.

Wear Safety Gear

Because woodworking involves the use of power tools and saws, it is crucial to wear safety gear while you’re working on a project to avoid injury. Wearing safety goggles will protect your eyes from sawdust and flying splinters. Always wear latex gloves when applying finishes or stains to your projects to protect your skin from chemical burns. Lastly, wear earplugs to avoid ear damage from noisy saws and power tools.

Dress Appropriately

One of the simplest ways to stay safe while woodworking is to dress appropriately. Although this may seem like common sense, if you are working from a place that is particularly comfortable for you, like your home garage, it can be easy to forget what is appropriate. Long-sleeved t-shirts, denim, and closed-toed shoes work best as woodworking attire. The thick fabrics and extra coverage will protect your skin from being hit with debris or chunks of wood.

Do Not Reach Over Running Blades

Even more crucial than the clothing and gear that you wear is knowing what precautions to take when using tools and powering them on and off. When working with power saws, it is essential that you never reach over a running blade, ever. If you absolutely must reach over your blade, unplug it, and wait until it comes to a complete stop before proceeding. Being patient in this situation is quite literally a lifesaver.

Power Down Your Tools

Most woodworking tools have removable parts that need to be cleaned, replaced, or otherwise maintained. So, it’s important to always power down your tools before modifying them in any way. Even if the tool itself is only plugged into a power source and not actively running, it still needs to be powered down completely and switched off before you perform any maintenance. It’s also wise to double-check that no residual electricity runs through the tool, as switches can easily malfunction, and the remaining electricity might cause the tool to turn on unexpectedly.

Woodworking is one of the most rewarding hobbies out there. That said, it can be potentially hazardous, so it requires that you follow certain guidelines to keep yourself safe. With these safety tips for beginner woodworkers, you can enjoy your new hobby with a little more peace of mind.

Precise measurement is the most important part of any woodworking project. A little mistake in any measurement will make you spend extra time to correct that mistake; otherwise, you will not be able to accomplish that project.

For proper measurement, you must have defect-free measuring tools with good knowledge about the usage of these tools.

There are so many woodworking tools available in the market for measurement but buying all of those measuring tools will not be a wise decision. Rather it is better to find out some such measuring tools that are frequently needed and you can use these tools for multiple measuring purposes.

For your help, we have done thorough research about the measuring tools used by woodworker and figure out the 5 top most frequently used tools.

What is a Measuring Tool?

Before going to them through a discussion about measuring tool let me give you a short brief about measuring tool.

In woodworking, you have to do make frequent measuring such as measuring the distance between two points, measuring the angular distance, checking the flatness of a surface etc. To accomplish these tasks you need to take help of some special tools that are called measuring tools.

Types of Measuring Tools

There are so many types of measuring tools used in the woodshop. Generally, these measuring tools can be divided into 3 categories:

1. Linear Distance Measurement Tools

Depending on the distance there are many tools available for measuring length. Some tools are convenient to measure small to large lengths and some are to measure little and crucial lengths.

For example, you can use a tape measure, steel ruler, folding ruler, laser measure etc. for measuring small to large length. But, to measure little and crucial lengths you have to use a Vernier Calipers.

2. Angular or Circular Distance Measurement Tools

You cannot use the linear distance measuring tools for measuring angular or circular distance. You have to use screw gauge, compass, protractor, angle gauge, framing square, sliding bevel gauge, try square etc. for measuring angular or circular distance.

3. Flatness Checking Tool

Making finely flat surface is a common requirement of many wooden projects. It is not possible to check the accuracy of flatness with an open eye. So you have to take help of flatness checking measuring tools like level.

Top 5 Measuring Tools for a Wood Shop

1. Tape Measure

The tape measure is the basic measuring tool. Although there are different types of rulers that can be used for woodworking we have prioritized tape measure as it gives you the advantage of measuring the length of small to big range. You can measure generally 10ft-25 ft. length using a tape measure.

2. Vernier Calipers

Vernier Calipers is another measuring tool that every woodworker must keep in the collection of tools because you can small to large distance using any kind of measuring tool but to measure little distance you need the help of Vernier calipers.

For example, you cannot measure the gauge of drill bits, router bits, screws sizes and blade widths using a tape measure, steel ruler or folding ruler. In these cases, you must need the help of Vernier Calipers.

3. Framing Square

Many woodworking projects require making a right angle and a framing square is the best measuring tool to check the right angle.

You can also check square edges using a framing square. To check the accuracy of wood pieces during nailing, screwing or stapling no woodworking tool is as best as framing square.

4. Marking Equipment

To cut the object according to the measurement you have to mark the measuring line on the object, otherwise, your measurement will be fruitless.

For marking on the object you can use a mechanical pencil or marking knife. Though a traditional pencil can also be used for this purpose it requires continuous sharpening, on the other hand, you do not have to go through the trouble of sharpening a mechanical pencil.

5. Protractor

Cutting objects at a specific angle is a common requirement of many woodworking projects. The protractor is used to measure the angle.

Though you can use a compass for making angle protractor is advancer than a traditional compass and it helps to make the angle more easily. So, as a modern woodworker, it is wise to choose a protractor rather than a traditional compass.

Conclusion

No woodworking shop can be completed without the above mentioned most important woodworking tools. So, if you have a woodshop you must have these measuring tools. When you buy any measuring tool you buy it to use for a long time. But tools may get damaged by continuous using if you do not maintain these tools properly. So you must have to learn the rules of taking care of measuring tools besides keeping them in your collection.

Safety Tips for Beginner Woodworkers