# Essential hand tools, $100 dollar budget



## PoshJosh (Jan 4, 2016)

I am a beginner woodworker looking into getting some real tools for myself. However, I have a $100 USD budget. What hand tools should I absolutely get? (They can be electric if you want to suggest a cheap cordless drill or something.) I already have a decent tape measure, claw hammer, and nails. I also would like room in the budget for some wood that I can experiment, build with, and learn on.

Thanks in advance!


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## woodchux (Jul 6, 2014)

First, Welcome here to this friendly WW forum. IMO with a limited starting budget, it would be wise to get a few books, magazines with easy project ideas, and a listing of tools/material required for those projects. Wise to always buy the best tools/material (or a little better) that fits your budget/work area. Poor quality (lesser name brands) will cost more in the long run with breakdowns & replacements. Consider Craigslist, ebay, local yard sales for other sources of good used equipment. Buy items as your needs/knowledge change. Enjoy your stay, and be safe.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Welcome aboard. Always glad to see a newcomer into the woodworking arena.

There are a few basic things that you need. A decent hand saw is a must. I would recommend a  Japanese Pull Saw Type  like this. I believe you can find a decent one in the $20 range. Get one with find teeth on one side and medium teeth on the other.

 a small hand plane like this. 

A straight blade and a phillips screw driver.

A combination  square 

A small power drill [url="http://www.sears.com/craftsman-17586-nextec-12.0v-lithium-ion-drill-driver/p-00917586000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1"[ like this [/url] This is the small drill I have, but look around, you should be able to find something under $30.00. If not buy a corded drill.

This is just what I thought of on the top of my head. I am sure there will be more post with further suggestions.

You can get started for $100 with inexpensive tools. As your interest in the hobby increases and your budget increases you can expand your tools and the quality.

George


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## eschatz (Feb 12, 2014)

you can get the flush cut saw from Harbor Freight for next to nothing and it will work as a great Japanese style dovetail saw. Get their mortise gauge (use it as a standard marking gauge). Also dont be afraid to rip open the boxes at HF to inspect something before you buy it. Most of their stuff is actually great quality for a hobbyist but make sure you don't get home and find it is jammed or broken. Dont buy their hand planes. Put down $30 for a number 5 Stanley Bailey plane from a good source. Get an 8 inch sliding rule square from Menards/HomeDepo/Lowes. Make sure to check them against a machinist square (you'll find that in the same aisle) to insure it is actually 90. Get a set of Marples chisels in the three pack (you wont need more sizes for a while). Get some sand paper and a piece of 3/4 MDF and you can sharpen your chisels using the scary sharp method (google that). The MDF will work for now but you'll want to look around for some thick glass or a metal block that you can have ground flat at a machine shop. If you're doing dovetails you can also get a cheap coping saw from Harbor Freight or anywhere really, $5. Look at yard sales and antique stores for a rip tooth hand saw. (You'll find a million at antique stores, pick the best and dont pay over $5). Restore it and get to work. You may need to file the teeth. It's easy, just google it and buy yourself a cheap triangle file of the right size. (again, it will work great and you can get better later). I have a shop full of tools and I still use these on a daily basis. 

Keep in mind what you need is not something expensive but something that will work. If you have cheap chisels/plane blades/saw that's not a big deal at all. It just means you have to sharpen them more often, which for a beginner is really something you need more repetition with. Anyone that tells you that a cheap chisel can't take as well of an edge is full of it. The cheap chisel just wont hold the edge as long. 

Find a project that you want to do and acquire the tools you need. Go do it.


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## Wyo7200 (Apr 29, 2015)

This months wood magazine has an article about building your shop on $150 a month.... Could be of use for you


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

Nope. It's $150.00 per paycheck, based on an every two week pay schedule. 26 x $150/2 wks = $3900.00/yr. The OP has $100.00 now & is asking us to help him spend it effectively. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

PoshJosh said:


> I am a beginner woodworker looking into getting some real tools for myself. However, I have a $100 USD budget. What hand tools should I absolutely get? (They can be electric if you want to suggest a cheap cordless drill or something.) I already have a decent tape measure, claw hammer, and nails. I also would like room in the budget for some wood that I can experiment, build with, and learn on.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


What would your first project be? Buy the tools you need to do that project. Then when the next project comes along you probably will need a tool or two to do that project. Eventually you will be buying more wood than tools. Everyone has different ways of building a project and different means take different tools. I don't see how anyone here could tell you what tools you need.


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## jeremymcon (Oct 16, 2014)

PoshJosh said:


> I am a beginner woodworker looking into getting some real tools for myself. However, I have a $100 USD budget. What hand tools should I absolutely get? (They can be electric if you want to suggest a cheap cordless drill or something.) I already have a decent tape measure, claw hammer, and nails. I also would like room in the budget for some wood that I can experiment, build with, and learn on.
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I'm very new to woodworking as well, and have been slowly acquiring books and watching videos online while also slowly purchasing tools for my shop. 

I don't really see how you can make much of anything with less than $100 in tools. I would say this point that I have purchased around $500 in tools, without most of which I couldn't possibly make the things I've been hoping to make. 

I purchased:
Old stanley #5 - $35
Mujingfang rosewood smoother plane - $50
Old wooden jointer plane - $45
Vintage block plane - $20 

Materials for workbench, including pipe clamp vises (I have a face vise and a tail vise - you wouldn't need both) - $110

Drill and bits - $50-$100 depending on brand

Gyokucho ryoba pull saw - $20

Marking gauge - $20

Used Router - $40

Router bit set - $25

Combination square - $12

Mujingfang ebony rebate plane - $40

Sharpening stones - $90 (already owned these for kitchen knives) 

Nice narex chisel set (not the nicest chisels you can buy, but seem to be a good value) - $40

4 harbor freight c clamps - $16

Other various clamps (cheap eBay bar clamps, quick clamps, etc) - $70

That's as complete a list as I can come up with right now, and if you don't count things I already owned for other purposes (drill, sharpening stones), and things that maybe aren't essential to every project (router and bits, rebate plane, misc clamps), I believe it's right around $500. The total I came up with was around $700 for everything. 

Sounds like a lot to spend all at once, but keep in mind that I purchased these things over the last year or so while and learning as much as I could about woodworking. That's like $50 a month on average. Really not too bad. Taking your time purchasing things lets you wait for the good deals too - I was watching eBay and local flea markets forever before purchasing the Stanley jack plane, and I couldn't be happier with it! 

Also, look at craigslist for lumber. I found a guy in my area from whom I bought a small amount of rough sawn red oak lumber for $1.50 a board foot, which was extremely competitive compared to prices from local established lumber mills, and especially with the local Lowe's. 

Anyway, sorry if this seems a little overwhelming. I believe that my approach was about as cheap as I could possibly make it. I feel that I found the least expensive and best value tools I possibly could. Those mujingfang planes are great, by the way! I love my smoother and my rebate plane, and I could buy 3 or 4 of each for the price of a premium modern plane like veritas. 

Also keep in mind that quality tools aren't going to lose much value if you bought them used in the first place. If you get in a financial bind, or find you don't like woodworking as much as you thought you would, you should be able to resell tools you purchased used for about the same price you bought them for.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I'd begin with a handsaw, some sort of square for marking wood and a cord type electric drill. There's hundreds of different tips and drill bits that you can buy, one at a time from open stock.
I try to assemble everything with a single screw size = #8 Robertson, various lengths. Most days, that's best but I do use #6 and #12, depending on the project.
In the back of most lumber yards will be a junk bin = wood that was used in some way for packaging. I've found everything from cedar to mahogany in those. Ask but don't empty the bin.


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## Jig_saw (May 17, 2015)

Move to India! Here you can buy the essential hand tools you need (hand saw, chisels, planes, rasps, etc.) in less than $100!!


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Steve Neul said:


> What would your first project be? Buy the tools you need to do that project. Then when the next project comes along you probably will need a tool or two to do that project. ............


Great advice. 

As for books, the public library system is great for that.
You can also get the latest woodworking magazines there. It all depends on your particular library. If your local library doesn't have what you want, drive to the next one. Start out by looking in their catalog under woodworking and furniture making


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## OzoneBeastMode (Feb 13, 2016)

Hey Josh....I'm new to the wood world as well but already kinda established myself through house repairs over the years in building my tool collection. Something I never realized was the power of junk collectors. Just the other day I was driving with my fiance and we notice some antique/junk store that was new. I immediately pulled over and got excited. These type of stores usually have old saws, hand tools, power tools, etc for a pretty cheap price. I even saw a chop saw for 30 bucks that was in decent shape. Maybe do a google search in your area? I wouldn't even know what to type in though. The place I visited was called "the garage sale warehouse".


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## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

Hey PoshJosh,

Welcome to the forums! Great to have you here  

There has been some comments that you cannot start woodworking with a $100 budget. I call baloney on that. You can start with a $10 budget. 

If you only have $100 I would recommend the following tools that you can use on virtually any project you do: (these are prices i found at harbour freight tools)

- Pullsaw ($7): used to do finer cuts such as dovetails, mortise and tenons etc
- Cheap circular saw ($32): Is used for cutting wood to size. Not as great as a table saw but you can set up some jigs to help or you can make a little table saw that uses a circular saw attached to the bottom of the table. It is not the best option but hey it gets the job done  Alternatively, you can easily find a super cheap used table top tablesaw for $30 on Craigslist. I picked on up for my dad the other day and it even came with a stand. It only had 1/2 horsepower but as a beginner TS, it will do just fine. 
- Set of 4ish chisels ($10): These are used for cleaning up cuts 
- cheap drill ($30): used for screwing in screws. Great for construction jobs and woodworking as well. 
- Combination square ($8): Very useful for measuring square and mitered cuts. 
- Emery board sandpaper ($5ish): This is for sharpening your chisels. You do not need sanding stones to do this. You can do a fine job with varying grits of sandpaper. if you need more details on grits and how to do this, feel free to ask!
- Aluminum Oxide sandpaper ($5ish): This is your general purpose all around sandpaper. Get grits of 80, 120, 180 and 320 and you should be set for any project 

Do not let anyone say you cannot start off with a extremely basic tool set. Whats great is these tools are used on almost EVERY project. If you have a project that calls for nail punches lets say, you can buy additional tools on a per job bases. No need to stock your shop all at one time. 

Another way to get tools on the cheap is garage sales and auctions. I got a number of my tools dirt cheap that way. Some require a little maintenance but that is what we are here for! To give you advice 

Good luck and looking forward to seeing your projects!


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## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

One this I would add is keep an eye out for sales on clamps. Clamps are sooooo useful! You can get by without them but man do they make your life easier


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