# Must have hand tools for beginners



## Redneck chan (Jan 22, 2011)

Hey I am new to woodworking and trying to get started.so if u could include the prices and a tip that would help

Thanks


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

You may want to specify beginner in what particular area of woodworking. Prices may be subject to your local resources. Other than craigslist but still need to refer to local prices to see how good of a deal you are getting. Good Luck :icon_smile:


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## Redneck chan (Jan 22, 2011)

JMC'sLT30 said:


> You may want to specify beginner in what particular area of woodworking. Prices may be subject to your local resources. Other than craigslist but still need to refer to local prices to see how good of a deal you are getting. Good Luck :icon_smile:


When I meant beginner I mean like never done it befor and i I plan to build chicken coops


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Think about the "golden age of chicken coops".......really.Once upon a time chickens ran free,life was good.As towns became city's,all that livestock needed to be put up.So probably around the civil war or so(research)chicken coops began showing up.At that time you'd be a well armed chicken coop expert with little more than a handsaw,a hammer and a handful of nails and maybe a plane.They even had hand driven staples.And in NO way am I trying to deminish the craft.You can build ALOT w/above tools.Just sayin,BW


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Red, the process of building is always the same: Either you make it up yourself, or you try to copy what someone else already did. Sometimes you do a little of both, when you modify someone else's design. So here's an idea:

Get your hands on a camera and a pencil, and go take pictures of a chicken coop you like and want to replicate. Photograph all the details how the boards were cut and how things were put together. Take a tape measure, and write down good notes so you can build an identical one in your shop. Not just how tall it is, but where they put nails. Were any boards notched where they come together? That sort of thing.

Then go to some lumber yard or Home Depot or something and look at the wood. 

Now you can scratch your head and try to figure out how you will turn that type of wood into the parts you saw in your model. If you can't figure it out from reading, you can ask some specific questions here and I bet you'll get a ton of advice - the more specific the question the better the answers. Once you know HOW you will turn the store bought wood into the parts in your model, then should be pretty clear what tools you will need to actually do it.

If you decide to build a stool or bird feeder instead, the process is pretty much the same.


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## DavidM (Jan 24, 2011)

The chicken coop we had when I was a kid was pretty simple.. 2x4 frame with the main part up off the ground about 3 feet and a little ramp for them to get to it. A door was on there with a few old hinges.

The back side was a single 4x8 sheet of plywood. The sides and front were just screened in and the top was a single piece of tin slanted at an angle toward the back. 

Closed in sides weren't necessary since the weather never got too cold.

Tools needed: Dad, Me, My Brother... hand saw, hammer and nails. We used an old tree stump as a makeshift sawhorse. Not the prettiest, but cheap and simple. Chickens never complained as far as I know (well.. maybe the ones that went in the pot later but I don't think that was due to the housing situation).

DavidM


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## msbeal (Oct 3, 2010)

*Chickens*

I used to have a flock when I lived out in the woods. In the mornings you open up the door and they foraged in the woods and then came home every night all on their own just as sweet as you pleased. 

I still remember waking up to that god awful squeal when a fox got into the coop. Horror movies only wished they had that kind of scream. 

If you're anywhere near the woods, make sure you have it so nothing can get in. And, religiously remember to close their door.


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

For neat door ideas try googling 

"chicken coop electromagnet"

farm I once lived at was still using the system the oldtime farmer had put in about the time of WWII


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## Redneck chan (Jan 22, 2011)

msbeal said:


> I used to have a flock when I lived out in the woods. In the mornings you open up the door and they foraged in the woods and then came home every night all on their own just as sweet as you pleased.
> 
> I still remember waking up to that god awful squeal when a fox got into the coop. Horror movies only wished they had that kind of scream.
> 
> If you're anywhere near the woods, make sure you have it so nothing can get in. And, religiously remember to close their door.


I live in Nc tons of foxes and dense forests


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