Woodworking is a wonderful hobby! It's easy to learn and a lot less expensive to get started than what you might think. One look at YouTube and you will quickly see workshops filled with expensive and high-tech woodworking tools and machinery. Cutting a piece of wood in half? You might be thinking you need saws, table, miter, circular, jigsaw, bandsaw or perhaps a $150 Japanese pull saw. It’s enough to give you a ‘saw’ head!
A fully loaded woodworking studio is a worthy life goal and investment and watching talented woodworkers get after it may trigger a tiny bit of envy! The sometimes unseen challenge with this scene is that despite being inspirational, they can make it overwhelming to figure out where to start. It can also create the illusion that you need a large indoor space with lots of expensive woodworking tools. Learning how to master complicated wood joinery techniques can seem tricky, never mind the lengthy manuals and maintenance! The good news is most of this is not necessary to start your woodworking journey right away.
Dreaming is good but doing is better. Grab a chunk of wood and make something with your own hands! Keep reading to learn more about just how little you need to start woodworking.
Power Carving is the freehand shaping of wood with a power tool and wood sculpting attachments. It makes woodworking faster, easier and really enjoyable. Everything can be Power Carved from simple Wooden Spoons and Chopping Boards to complex artistic sculptures and furniture.
Do I need to take a Woodworking Course and learn Joinery?
There is nothing wrong with doing a course and learning joinery, it can be a rewarding pursuit but it's not for everyone. It can be time consuming, frustrating and hard to master. Freehand Power Carving doesn’t require textbooks, precise measurements or set squares. Power carving creates unique, beautiful woodworking projects with minimal time investment. Arbortech’s core range of woodworking angle grinder attachments are ideal for beginners.
Do I need a Woodworking Studio?
No Woodworking Studio required! Simply head outdoors. A patch of lawn, a portable workbench and away you go. Wood chips have always been more suited to outside areas, an old table for your work surface plus a G clamp is all you need to hold your wood steady.
One of These
Plus This
And This
Can Give Amazing Results
Not a bad place to Work
Freehand Wood Shaping and Wood Sculpting? Do I have to be creative?
We believe everyone has their own unique creative spirit and some of us are more makers than artists. Power Caving can produce anything from a simple Serving Tray or Wooden Spoons to high-end professional pieces of art. Furniture makers use our tools to add flair to their designs. You just may be surprised at how easy it is to create your very own wood carving.
Still not convinced? Check out what novice Power Carvers can do at our annual Staff Power Carving Competition or take a look at our Projects Page for tons of 'how to' videos. We even have profiles of the most Inspiring Makers to help get your ideas flowing.
Where do I find wood for my project?
Tree’s are a great source of wood, which seems obvious but when you really look around you will notice a lot of wood going to waste. Neighbours doing a bit of trimming in the garden, fallen branches in forest, tree loppers chipping perfectly good limbs, lumps of firewood, left over pallets and the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with purchasing sustainably sourced timber for your projects but it can be expensive and may not be necessary. Stockpile wood when you find it, store it properly and dry slowly. If the wood has exposed ends you can coat with a thick layer of paraffin wax or a latex paint to help slow the drying process, reducing cracking as the timber ages.
Scrap Wood Can Be Found Anywhere
Fire Wood to Serving Tray
Old Railway Sleeper to Wine Rack
Chunk of Wood to Serving Platter
Stump to Garden Frog
Tree Limbs to Side Table
Make sure you have the appropriate Respiratory, Eye and Ear Protection, and that your work position is good. Too high will be tiring on the arms, too low will be hard on the back.
Always use two hands when operating a power tool. This ensures that fingers are kept well away from moving parts and lessens any inherent risks involved.
Guards should always be used with blades. Always use the grinder’s original metal guard.
Keep a sharp edge on your tools. Keeping your tools sharp will result in finer finishes, better efficiency of your work time and longer blade life.
Use a light touch with a rotary tool, let the high speed do all the work. Using this approach will help to extend blade life.
For more tips, tecniques and how to set up your tool corectly visit our tool support page.
1. Safety Gear (Keep yourself safe - Respiratory, Eye and Ear Protection is a must)
2. Portable Workbench or an old sturdy table
3. G clamp to hold your wood steady (if using a Portable Workbench it may have a built in clamping feature)
4. Angle Grinder
5. Arbortech Power Carving attachment (TurboPlane or similar)
6. A piece of Scrap Wood
7. An idea of what project to make (Struggling for ideas? Check out our Power Carving Projects page)
Looks like you don’t even need 10 things... Happy Power Carving!
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