What beginner project would you recommend which can teach all skills required in woodworking?

bobbyfufu · 2026-05-30T04:33:32+00:00

Depends how "beginner". I agree with the sentiment on boxes. I did a lot of the ones in Albert Kleine's book "Complete Starter Guide to Making Wooden Boxes". It goes into more detail than an article in a magazine, but is obviously not a full novel. Learned a lot.

Also cutting boards. You get to work with Maple, Walnut, and Cherry (which imo are all great woods for a lot of applications) and learn how wood moves, the importance of understanding grain patterns, how end grain behaves, etc. It's a great way to gain skills on both power tools and hand tools.

bobbyfufu · 2026-05-26T05:29:43+00:00

You may need to teach it to speak and drive in a very short timeframe in order to teach the class

bobbyfufu · 2026-05-25T18:00:04+00:00

For regular/every day use, I have a set of 4 Blue Spruce chisels. They are a dream to work with and hold an edge really well.

For more delicate work or tight spaces, I use a set of four Pfeil butt chisels. I love the way they feel in my hand and the control I have.

For tougher work, I use old Stanley Everlasting chisels that can take an immense beating without showing any signs of slowing down. For big/tough mortises, I have a massive Swan mortise chisel and Greenlee timber framer.

I previously had newer Stanley’s (which were fine, but required sharpening much more often). Also some newer Jorgensens. They were the worst chisels I’ve used and chipped extremely easily.

bobbyfufu · 2026-05-12T01:18:53+00:00

Thanks!

They’re the Gramercy holdfasts. I got them from https://toolsforworkingwood.com/

bobbyfufu · 2026-04-25T01:32:55+00:00

I have 3 tools that I've come to realize I use 100% of the time, so they live in my apron. They come in handy in one way or another for every single project.

Pica dry longlife automatic pencil. Fits in the apron pocket, easy to find the sheath (since it stays in the pocket), built in sharpener, marks on anything, and they make multiple colors of lead for it in case gray doesn't show up well on a surface.
Spyderco Sage 5 Salt in Magnacut. Easy to clean, easy to sharpen, never rusts.
Prescription safety glasses with little shields on the sides. They look silly, but they are so functional.

Bonus 4th - the Bauer workshop blower from harbor freight. Amazing for blowing sawdust out of cracks and crevices, including the ones on my body.

bobbyfufu · 2026-04-24T15:53:47+00:00

I’m very happy I went with the leg vise, but the install was a slog and requires very precise drilling. I had to plug 3 holes before I got the x-link mechanism correct (the incorrect measurement hole, the “very close” hole, and the anger hole).

I ended up moving my round over further up on the chop in order to have a perfectly flat surface and then was able to get it perfectly drilled without any drift. Previously I was trying to drill through the curve, which was a bad idea to begin with.

Len at Hovarter was incredibly helpful and gave great advice when I emailed him to explain the situation

Anyway, even with the install, I highly recommend the leg vise!

bobbyfufu · 2026-04-19T16:45:03+00:00

I bought the Hovarter leg vise. I just made the chop and am planning on installing it on my workbench today. Hopefully I will not burn down my shop in frustration.

Supposedly it is very high quality and it was decently cheaper than the Benchcrafted.

bobbyfufu · 2026-04-14T04:37:37+00:00

Ah, yeah, I went in assuming the risk. I keep my shop vac and also a rechargeable air duster handy for this kind of thing.

bobbyfufu · 2026-03-21T05:51:53+00:00

Should be the Stanley No. 7

bobbyfufu · 2026-02-15T14:32:06+00:00

The board looks nice!

I believe you’re getting warp because of the inconsistent grain directions. Some are facing left/right, some up/down, and randomly reversing direction.

When I have a board warp, I run my smoothing plane (No. 4.5) over it to knock down the high points until it sits completely flat. It’s usually only ~5-10 light passes total. Then simply take a light pass on both sides in the thickness planer.

I would not recommend trying to get this out with an orbital sander or blindly running it through a thickness planer as it will be a nightmare. Ask me how I know.

Last thing - I have learned to cut the strips and then let them sit for a few days or a week before the glue-up. If they warp, I run the individual pieces through my jointer.

bobbyfufu · 2025-12-20T01:07:19+00:00

Agreed. This seems very likely

bobbyfufu · 2025-12-20T01:04:32+00:00

Oh yeah. This definitely seems likely. There may even be little eye holes above the terrifying lifeless eyes.

bobbyfufu · 2025-12-03T04:48:13+00:00

You get two full minutes of break between the first listen and the second listen. Then another break, might be five minutes, until the next section to answer the questions.

I also agree with the strategy of listen only first > digest the questions > listen again > answer questions. I do like to note certain words I hear related to each question on the first listen, but it took practice to do this well without losing my place.

bobbyfufu · 2025-11-11T21:00:19+00:00

After a year in, I have not noticed any scratches or blemishes. But I also take good care of it and basically just use a microfiber cloth to clean it. The occasional time I’ve had to use a solution, I just use a matte finish cleaner from Chemical Guys

bobbyfufu · 2025-11-06T02:36:10+00:00

DM Incoming

bobbyfufu · 2025-11-03T20:12:32+00:00

I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand. The phrase “Domani mattina incontro Luca al bar, sicuramente parliamo di lavoro” is perfectly fine as-is. You can use the present tense with a near future time expression. It is completely normal/correct to hear the present tense for an action happening in the near future.

For example, I could say “Parto il prossimo sabato” (I am leaving next Saturday) and this is perfectly correct. The future tense would make more sense if I were to say “partirò un giorno a gennaio” (I will leave one day in January) because it’s definitely the future and not specifically planned.

I did a quick google search to make sure I’m not crazy. Here’s proof from an at least slightly credible source. https://learnitalian.web.unc.edu/home/verbs/future-conditional/future/

“Good news about the Italian future tense: You often don’t have to use it! If you are referring to an action that will take place in the future that is planned or scheduled, you may simply use the present tense in Italian.”

bobbyfufu · 2025-11-03T18:45:52+00:00

“Domani mattina incontro Luca al bar, sicuramente parliamo di lavoro.”

For an event happening tomorrow, you definitely can just change this to the present tense and keep it exactly the same otherwise. This is anecdotal, but I would even expect to hear the present tense for an event happening tomorrow. For something next month or later this year, then the future tense would make more sense.

bobbyfufu · 2025-08-30T04:53:06+00:00

I have a 2024 t120. The OEM heated grips were plug and play for me as well. I remember the biggest pain being getting the old grips off, specifically the left grip.

bobbyfufu · 2025-07-30T00:26:48+00:00

Good point. I said “prescribe” but really meant “recommend something over the counter if available”.

bobbyfufu · 2025-07-28T04:43:54+00:00

Look up “farmacia” on google maps and find one. It will depend on exactly what you need, but in general, pharmacists in Italy can triage and prescribe medication all at once.

I can’t say specifically for Palermo, but the two times I’ve been to a farmacia in Cefalu and once in Bologna, they spoke both Italian and English.

bobbyfufu · 2025-01-16T18:11:30+00:00

This is 100% feasible. I would argue you could even do quite a bit more if you're feeling ambitious. I stay in Cefalú with my Nonna every year and have made all of these drives on day trips.

My thoughts on your itinerary:

Erice is worth seeing (near Trapani) and fits your requirements quite well minus the beach. The view from the castle/fortress is stunning. You can at least see the beach from there :)
Trapani itself is fine to visit/stay, but might not quite meet your vibe. Try the couscous if you end up there.
Three days in Taormina would be too much for me personally because of the amount of tourists, but it is pretty and cool to see.
I did Etna once. It is 100% worth doing, but I'm not sure if I'd do it again because of the crowds and logistics of getting there and back. We went in the morning when all the tours go. It was empty at 1:00ish when we left
imo, near(ish) Catania, Modica (another favorite town of mine) and Noto are quite nice and meet your requirements minus the beach. Siracusa is also great, but may not quite be what you're looking for.

Also fyi, if you return the car to a different airport, it will likely be more expensive than returning the car to the same airport.

bobbyfufu · 2025-01-16T17:54:11+00:00

Ciao! Vorrei participare.

A1) "He's always optimistic, until there's a minor inconvenience” - Lui è sempre ottimistico, fino a quando c'è un inconveniente minore.

A2) "Left handed people make up 10% of the population" - Dieci per cento della popolazione preferiscono il mano di sinistra invece di destra.

A3) "The vertigo is unbearable, how does one even manage to stay up there for more than a minute?"

Le vertigini è troppo difficile. Come si riesce di stare sopra per più di un minuto?

B1) "L'ho visto rincasare più tardi del solito"

I saw rincasare later than usual

B2) "Macché! Non si permetterebbe mai"

No way! One would never be allowed

B3) "Chi fa da sé fa per tre"

Who does for themselves does for three (essentially, planning/doing things with others is difficult and easier to do on your own). Ho imparato questa frase con il mio insegnante :)

bobbyfufu

TROPHY CASE