Getting Started Building Furniture

What tools do you have?

I learned a lot of of stuff watching Norm Abram’s New Yankee Workshop and then other videos.

Youtube will get you started with basic case goods.

I would suggest spending some time on SawMillCreek.org. It is my favorite woodworking forum but there are several other good ones. SMC has a lot of focus on machines and tools without all the paid testimonials on YouTube. Getting the best tools and tooling for your budget will go along way to making the hobby more fun and trouble free.

I will give you a piece of advice I give to everyone interested in starting woodworking. If you have any interest in turning do that first. I don't know how many people I have known that set up a full shop then start turning and never do any more flat work again. From the outside it seems to work like crack. The rare times I need something turned for a piece I am working on I have a good friend that is happy to do it and lets my avoid getting my first taste. I am afraid a simple spindle would turn into ordering a Robust American Beauty lathe with all the trimmings.

Stuff made out of strictly 2x4 material usually looks gaudy and obnoxious for anything indoors

Take a trip up to Virginia and visit CLore Furniture in Madison Virginia.
They have been making classic designs out of hardwoods for over a century.
Go to be inspired and to get the feel of real wood.

I have a large number of pieces, some from my Grandparents, some from my parents made by Clore and I even added an additional corner cupboard to match my mother's and you can't tell which is fifty years older than the other. That's what classic furniture can be.

I started during covid, now have a garage full of tools. I've slowed down a lot since kids are older and take up all my time with activities, but love having the skill to build something. I've built beds, dining tables, humidors, shelves, built ins, etc. It gets addictive. Started with a jobsite saw and within a year and a half, had a Sawstop cabinet saw, 17" bandsaw, 8" Jointer, dust collection system, Lie Nielson hand planes, and a bad festool habit, haha.

Youtube is a good source. You can start with someone like Fix This, Build That who will have projects with a lot of pocket holes and such. Not the highest end stuff, but when getting started it can be cheaper and easier. Then I moved onto Wood Whisperer, Bourbon Moth, Keith Johnson, Andy Rawls etc.. Guys who will cut real joinery ranging from true classic joints like dovetails and mortise and tenon (Wood Whisperer, Andy Rawls), to guys using newer methods more often but still make interesting stuff (Keith Johnson, Bourbon Moth)

More YouTubers:
Wood Whisperer
Rob Cosman
Paul Sellers
Phillip Morely

Another tip is to invest in quality measuring and marking tools. It makes a huge difference.

A pencil mark is fine for most things, but when you get into finer work a pencil is just not accurate enough. That’s when you move to a marking knife, panel gauge, etc.

You don’t have to go super expensive like Starrett. PEC makes good stuff for a more reasonable prices. Aim for something less precise than a machinist would use, but more better than stuff you buy at Home Depot.

can you cook? then you can build furniture its all about following instructions (LINK ]
these guys make good plans you can go simple or complicated. Now start buying tools and you dont need to go expensive, shop market place pawn shops buy used and you can always unload it later and buy bigger better. I will offer this advice if you run across a big arse jointer buy it you can never have a jointer thats to big, plus if you have the room.

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One tip, if you are buying typical construction grade wood from a big box store, spend a little time sifting through too find the best pieces. Let the wood dry in your shop for about a month or so before you start to build with it.

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To add to this tip....absolutely do not buy wood from the big box store to build furniture. Their pine is not meant for furniture. It's going to be twisted to hell and if you do find a straight piece, there will be so much tension from the rapid drying process that it will twist and bow when you cut it. It's soft and won't accept a finish well. Just no reason to use it. Their hardwood is severely overpriced, especially for the quality. And you'll be limited to red oak (meh aesthetics) and poplar (paint grade). I would buy their premium plywood in the past if it was too much of a pain to drive to other lumber yards, but when lumber shot up, they are asking too much per sheet for me to do that. It's now worth the drive.

Find a hardwood dealer and do a little research on how to buy there. They sell in "board feet" (look it up) and everything is usually rough cut. However, they will mill flat and to size if needed for a small cost. And it will almost certainly be cheaper in the end than Home Depot with a better quality product.