Beginner furniture building

[FIPurpose]

So I recently closed on my first place, a condo, and I'll also be buying a TV soon. I don't really want to go about buying a silly thing like a TV stand. So why not just build my own? I'm thinking that it will be completely made of wood.

My question is: What do I need as my basic tool needs? I have the basic hammer, power drill. My current list for what I'll need is:

Screws
Drill bits
Miter Saw
Wood Stain
brush
Sander
Wood. of course

Anything I have missing from the list? I'm in the Portland area if anyone has a suggestion on where to get my gear. I'm thinking of heading down to Harbor Freight for it.

All advice welcome!

[Jack]

TV stands are incredibly cheap at garage sales, Goodwill, Habitat For Humanity ReStores, etc. Buying one at those sorts of places would be cheaper than just the materials to build your own, let alone the tool and labor costs.

Otherwise, TV wall-mount brackets are reasonably-priced as long as you buy them online (e.g. from monoprice.com) instead of somewhere stupid like Best Buy. I would expect a non-articulated wall mount to be cheaper than materials for a DIY TV stand too.

That said, if you still want to build your own for personal gratification or to build woodworking skills, I'd suggest the following:

• safety goggles
• earmuffs
• dust mask
• framing square, 4' level, or other straight edge marked with measurements
• corded circular saw *
• drill bits
• sawhorses
• random-orbit sander
• clamps (I like the Irwin Quick-Grip style, but YMMV)
• more clamps
• If using traditional joinery:
  
  • wood glue
  • chisels (to square mortises)
• If using screws:
  
  • pocket screw jig
  • screws
  • wood glue anyway
• wood stain
• polyurethane, shellac or varnish
• rags, bristle brushes and/or foam brushes (depending on which finish you pick)
• wood

Note that the first three items on the list are not optional!

(* a miter saw is easier to use and gives better results, but is more expensive and you can't use it to make rip cuts. You could get a miter saw and a table saw, but that's an even larger investment)

[FIPurpose]

I do live near a ReStore. I haven't checked it out yet though. I may do that instead. I was looking forward to grabing some tools, but maybe I'll start with smaller projects and build my tool set slower. Photos will come if I decide to build it myself.

[ChrisLansing]

I would stay away from Harbor Freight, their goods are often of very poor quality.    How many times can you replace a cheap tool before it ceases to be a bargain? 

[Kenoryn]

Jack is right that it's almost certainly cheaper to buy used than build your own, but this sounds like a good beginner project (depending on the design). Even if you don't get power tools, all the little things like levels, measuring tape, framing square etc. add up in a hurry so there's a fair initial investment, but you'll want those things anyway now that you own a place.

Since it's probably a fairly small piece, you might be able to get wood for it from someone's leftovers/cutoffs from a bigger project for cheap. E.g., 2x6 decking, or pine tongue and groove panelling, could work for parts of it.  Or you could build it from scrap, weathered wood for a rustic look.

You could design the project in such a way as to skip some of the tools. E.g., you could just use screws to fasten it together from the inside, and not need pocket screws or joinery, or if you do the weathered/rustic look then nails through the top would fit right in.

I think the really essential things would be:
Framing square
Drill + bits  - set of drill bits, and a red Robertson driver bit (a countersink bit if you would be fastening any screws on the outside)
Some kind of saw - circular saw probably has greatest utility, or even a jigsaw, which would allow you to make curved cuts. Theoretically you could even use a handsaw, but it takes some skill.
Screws (no. 8 Robertson to match your driver)
And, as Jack said, your PPU - safety glasses, ear protection if you are using power cutting tools, and a good respirator (don't get the disposable dust masks, those are just silly.) If you are not sanding and you can do all your cutting outside the respirator isn't so critical but you'll probably find there are lots of tasks you want it for anyway.

Clamps are really handy but you can get by without them if using screws. You may not need a sander depending on the wood/style/design. If you won't have food or anything on it you also may not need to finish it (or you can just use an oil-based finish, like walnut oil, rubbed in with a rag.) A measuring tape is a pretty all-around useful tool you'll want to have anyway (but you still need a framing square for the edge and for the 90 degrees).

Check out ana-white.com for great simple project plans.

[Cromacster]

Check out Ana White for great simple project plans.

^^^^^^^^^^^This if you are interested in buiding some furniture.  Plans for everything, including a TV stand.

[greaper007]

Check out Ana White for great simple project plans.

^^^^^^^^^^^This if you are interested in buiding some furniture.  Plans for everything, including a TV stand.

Seconded, I think her stuff is much cheaper than buying used.     I've made several pieces from her site and they're generally made with 2x lumber and plywood which is way more durable than what you would find on the used market for the same price.    My kids break everything, but the table I made them (2x4s, 10s and a piece of half inch ply) is almost indestructible for about $60.

Here's a good tip, before you go crazy with power tools invest in decent hand tools.    For quality stuff they're way cheaper than power tools and they're harder to make mistakes with when you're new.     You'll also keep using them even after you upgrade to expensive power tools.

I would probably just stick with a corded drill and circular saw for your initial power tool buy.     I have a corded ryobi drill that I bought for $35 12 years ago in college, I keep waiting for it to break so I can buy a cool cordless drill, but it just keeps going.    Even after I used it to bore lots of holes through some studs for an electrical project, it started to smell like burning electronics and stopped working for a good 20 mins.     That was 6 years ago and it still works great now.

[Jack]

Seconded, I think her stuff is much cheaper than buying used.     I've made several pieces from her site and they're generally made with 2x lumber and plywood which is way more durable than what you would find on the used market for the same price.    My kids break everything, but the table I made them (2x4s, 10s and a piece of half inch ply) is almost indestructible for about $60.

$60 is competitive with furniture being sold by the individual piece on Craigslist, but it's still 3-10 times more expensive than furniture found at a garage sale. At the last garage sale I went to, I got a decent chair, a glass coffee table, and a cro-moly fixie bike for $70 total, for example.

I would probably just stick with a corded drill and circular saw for your initial power tool buy.     I have a corded ryobi drill that I bought for $35 12 years ago in college, I keep waiting for it to break so I can buy a cool cordless drill, but it just keeps going.    Even after I used it to bore lots of holes through some studs for an electrical project, it started to smell like burning electronics and stopped working for a good 20 mins.     That was 6 years ago and it still works great now.

I use a 14.4V "Companion" brand cordless drill I got from Sears Outlet for $10. I'm not sure you can get even a new corded drill that cheap! Of course, a corded drill would be much more powerful...

[monarda]

I agree that a drill and circular saw are great starting points. If you get some good clamps and a straightedge, you can do quite a bit with the circular saw. In fact, we have a table saw and a miter saw, but find we use our circular saw all the time when we have a choice.  We do a lot of building and remodeling, as well as making shelves and our computer desk and stereo cabinet.  We recently made a bathroom vanity based on Ana White plans. so +1 on that. We made the case and bought the doors.

Don't necessarily diss Harbor Freight. For tools that you use rarely, they are fine. We just bought an electric hand planer there, and it works quite well. It came with junky blades, but we just bought some new, better ones, and it should work well. A planer is required if you plan on using recycled lumber in your projects.   We made a butcher block top from leftover maple flooring. needed to plane the bottoms smooth to make a good glue surface.

For our frequently used tools, we tend to get brand names (Makita, Bosch, Delta, Porter Cable), but used or refurbished versions of them.

Get some good saw horses. Or make them.  And clamps, of various lengths.

The one tool that we just bought recently that I wish we would have bought earlier is a pneumatic finish nailer. For furniture, 18g is fine. You'll need an air compressor to go with that. You don't need it for your first projects, but if you find you like this hobby, I'd recommend having that on the list.   We recently bought a Kreg jig for screws, too. That's also mighty nice.