Introduction to Woodworking

Woodworking comes in a wide variety of flavors ranging from using a hand saw to cut a 2x4 to creating intricate inlays in a nice piece of Mahogany and beyond. No matter what your taste, there are a few things to keep in mind while working in the woodshop to make it a safe and pleasant environment.

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Safety

Personal Protective Equipment

While woodworking, be cognizant of your attire. It should not be loose, cover your hands, or otherwise have the potential to get snagged and pulled into a piece of equipment. Also, safety glasses, hearing protection, and dust masks (especially while sanding) are important.

Know how to use the tools

Learn about the safety considerations that you need to account for with each specific tool. Some of the considerations will be common to each tool, and some will be unique. It is strongly advised that you learn the specifics about the table saw before you use it, as its safety considerations revolve more around kickback which is not as 'common sense' of a concern as keeping your fingers out of the blade.

Focus while using woodworking equipment

Think about what you are doing while using the equipment. Plan out your cut before you turn the equipment on. Know where your hands are going to land and ensure that any aids that you'll need (push stick) are within arms reach.

Courtesy

Wood allergies

Some woods, such as Mansonia, can cause serious allergic reactions. Do yourself and others that might be walking through the woodshop a favor and do a little bit of research on the wood and take the appropriate precautions.

Keep it clean

Cleaning up the area before you leave is a good general rule for any shared work environment. With the woodshop in particular, a mess can be made very quickly with just a quick cut or two.

Terminology

There are some common terms on our woodworking terminology page that you might find helpful..

Tools

There are a plethora of different tools in woodworking and each has a specialty. Some of the more common tools include:

Band Saw

The band saw has a thin kerf which makes it an excellent choice for resawing a board. Smaller blades can also be installed in the band saw for curved pieces.

Depth Planer

The depth planer's job is to make the non-jointed face parallel to the jointed face. It also allows you to make boards a uniform thickness.

Drill Press

The drill press allows you to drill holes into the wood at a consistent angle and to an adjustable depth.

Jointer

The jointer is used in conjunction with the depth planer to mill wood. The jointer's job is to first make one face of the board straight and flat. Once the face is flat, that face is run against the fence to make an adjoining edge straight and 90 degrees.

Lathe

A lathe spins the work piece around and allows cuts to be made by resting the cutting tool on the tool rest and easing it into the work piece. A lathe is commonly used to make bowls, pens, table legs, and handles.

Miter Saw

A miter saw consists of a powered circular saw that can be positioned at a variety of angles and lowered onto a board positioned against a backstop called the fence. It is used to make a quick, accurate crosscut in a workpiece at a selected angle.

Router

A router is a multifunction rotary tool. It has specialized bits for a wide variety of applications, and is most commonly used for joinery and edge embellishment.

Sanders

There are many different types of sanders and each has their specialty however they all function to smooth the surface of the wood.

Scroll Saw

The scroll saw is used for delicate work to produce very fine curves and cuts.

Table Saw

The table saw functions as the main workhorse of the woodshop. It offers a fair bit of versatility with the use of jigs.

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Pikes Peak Makerspace (PPM) is dedicated to supporting our maker community in their creative processes by providing shared space, shared tools, materials, software, and a knowledge base to turn their ideas into reality.