I bought a new Japanese saw and posted about it on r/tools, and somebody suggested I repost here. So I am! Hope the topic hasn't been beaten to death.

Okay, so I'll start from the beginning.

Japanese-style pull saws (and the one I got is actually Japanese). They've been around for decades, and they're almost mainstream now. They cut on the pull stroke instead of the push stroke the way Western saws do. This lets the blade be thinner, because it doesn't have to resist buckling when pushed. This lets the saw cut faster, with less effort. You can just draw your arm back and forth, and let the weight of the saw do the work. Once you learn the stroke, it also lets you saw straighter lines.

Like Western saws, they can have different tooth patterns for cross-cutting and ripping. The teeth specifically for cross-cutting are unusually long, and sharpened on three edges at really acute angles. This makes them difficult or impossible to sharpen yourself, which is one of their disadvantages. But with the right-sized teeth, they can cut amazingly smoothly and fast.

The first saw I would recommend is a double-sided saw, one side for ripping and the other for cross-cutting, called a "ryoba". Here's an example. It will leave fine, smooth cut faces. (Taylor Toolworks is a mom-and-pop shop that I like. They often have great prices. Z-saw or Zed-saw is the saw's brand name, and I recommend it.)

The one I got is an unbacked single-edge saw, called a "kataba." My particular one is designed for both ripping and cross-cutting, I actually wouldn't recommend it for a first saw. It's rougher but faster than most ryobas, and it might do well for firewood, limbing trees, etc.

Then there's a backed singled-edge saw, called a "dozuki." They have a stiff metal spine so the blade itself can be thinner. They usually have very fine teeth, and are analogous to Western back saws or gent's saws. They come in various tooth configurations, for ripping (as in cutting dovetails), cutting bamboo (which is fibrous and splinters easily), hardwoods, softwoods, etc.

There are many variations, including saws that will start a cut in the middle of a board, saws with a slightly bulging, convex profie so they can cut flat dadoes more easily, etc. One is flexible and has no set to the teeth, so they can saw flush to a surface. Etc.

The handle is traditionally a longish rattan-wrapped stick, oval in cross section. It's very comfortable, especially given that you don't have to grip the saw tightly. It also lets you hold the handle at wherever point suits your arm length, height of the work surface, etc.

These do take getting used to, especially if you're very used to Western-style saws. Starting a cut, especially, takes a little finesse. And it's important to start out with the blade 90 deg vertical (assuming that's what you want.) You look at the reflection of the wood in the blade to see that it's aligned, though I usually have my head right over the blade so that doesn't work for me. I just hold a little square of plywood against the blade to make sure it's square. :-)

Would yall trust an 18 gauge brad nailer for pinewood furniture framing? I need to get one and unfortunately don't have the room for an air compressor so it has to be cordless. 18 is way more in my price range but i'm worried it won't have the same hold as 16. I will be going over these connections with both wood glue and actually screws so i feel like the nails wouldn't even matter in the long run? idk help me out please.

I installed my new ones today after I sent a screw through in a piece of wood. Can the old ones be sharpened?

Just bought a house. Handrail a bit sticky. Realized the stain is coming up on this handrail. Should I sand down, re-stain and put a finish on or can I just put finish on it?

Hi there

I have a small boat which is starting to fall apart a bit after a few years. It's only got a few more years left, but I want to give it a small facelift. I'm looking for advice on how to treat the wood. I've sanded it by hand and added a stain a few years ago. At the time, I wasn't able to get the previous layer completely off.

What's the best way to treat this? Sand it down with a machine and then treat it again with a stain? The wood is exposed to the elements all year

Hello helpful wood warriors. Can anyone recommend a good dado stack that creates flat cuts? Or at least as flat as can be for that price?

I could go a bit above $100 if it’s worth it.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I would like to build a platform bed with front drawers under it. (the bed will sit between two walls, like in a nook). I plan to use birch plywood BB/BB because I used it for my other furnitures and I was very happy with the look.

However, birch ply 3/4" is a bit expensive for the whole frame, the drawers + the slats. (In europe at least). I thought to use something different for the slats and the structural elements between the plywood panel sides, but I have no idea what kind of wood/keywords I should look at.

Thank you for your help :)

My son is trying to install some solid oak worktops in his kitchen, and has asked me for a bit of help with a couple of things; He needs to cut out an opening for a regular size steel sink in one piece, and cut a 6"radius corner on the leading edge of another. At the moment the tools we have are...

1. An 18v Dewalt cordless circular saw with a fairly fine blade.

2. An unknown make plunge circular saw fitted with a rather brutal blade, which I'm told is interchangeable with the DeWalt.

3. A 110v DeWalt jigsaw.

4. A Makita 3" belt sander and a 6" Matabo 6" Random Orbital Sander.

5. A Ryobi 2000w router.

Can anyone please offer some advice on the best tool/tools to cut out the recess for the sink and cut/finish a decent looking radius on that corner piece with what we have at the moment?

Much obliged, thanks for reading.

Hello all, beginner here. I am trying to build a box from this. It is spruce layered with hardwood. I want to cut across the grain at a 45° angle. I have a jigsaw and a circular saw. The jigsaw is really finicky to get the angle right. The circular saw has an extreme angle at 45° so that's easy but I worry that it will rip the layers apart. What would you do to make it fit squarely? Any tips would be appreciated.

What jointing method should I use to attach the crossbars to the legs and each other? I'll use z-clips to attach the top and lower shelf.

The legs will be tapered so through-dowels could be tricky (and I don't have a drill press). I'm a bit intimidated by mortise and tennon for the lower bars but I don't think they'd be too bad for the top.

Posts are cedar 4x4's Headboard frame is cedar 2x4's Headboard slats are ripped out of 1x12 pine boards

Thanks so much for the advice yesterday on circular saw. I got a brushless one for fairly cheap and used it to cut a few boards today on the floor/edge.

I would like to get a table/bench of some sort so I can stand and use clamps to hold materials. For a circular saw, what would you recommend to go with it? And does such combo replace miter saw plus stand for most of the dimensional wood cutting (I hope not to buy a miter saw if the circular saw can do most of the jobs). Thank you!

I have been lurking around here a while and thought I'd bring the average level down a little bit as well, as I have seen other posters do from time to time to keep this sub on theme... But also as a message to any aspiring person reading this that satisfying results can be achieved with almost nothing but persistence.

I have no training or experience, my job has *nothing* to do with handwork of any kind and all I have heard my entire life is how clumsy I am and would stab myself with a bowl if I tried working with it. In short, I was starting from absolute zero.

I have started getting interested in woodworking a few months ago after receiving a wood carving kit for christmas. I made a few carvings following YT tutorials and had an absolute blast making these

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Quickly then I graduated to looking up other things I could do with wood and got interested in restoring old hand tools from ebay to get started (please let me out of that rabbit hole I haven't seen the sun in months).

I restored a few chisels and even a rusted stanley No.5 hand plane, bought the cheapest ryoba saw on amazon and went to town with my hand tools. I was working on a foldable table in my ~12m2 cluttered veranda.

I first made myself a mallet out of a plank of oak I bought for half a fortune at a big box store.

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https://preview.redd.it/715gtdb8tpxc1.png?width=297&format=png&auto=webp&s=761383a0f6357ecda5016237c005ed053041fb64

It was so difficult and took so long I was about to drop the hobby then and there but I pushed somehow through. I then made a few small objects, adding tools to the mix as I went:

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an acoustic speaker

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a baby toy

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a screen stand with dado joints

And my latest creations are this hair comb and hair pin for my spouse.

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mostly copied from an incredible video from GR Woodworking on YT

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why not combine woodworking and the carving I had started with?

Along the way I made an ungodly amount of mistakes. I have cut and bruised myself several times, most recently planed off a 1cm circle of skin on my index finger trying out a just-restored block plane. I have dropped things on the floor and on my feet, wasted a bit of money, a lot of time, and enjoyed every second of it.

I have no deep insight or expert wisdom for true beginners such as myself other than that there is no roadblock if one is motivated and persistent. I have truly enjoyed discovering the woodworking hobby and community full of lovely, helpful people.

I hope I can someday post on here things that will make actual beginners tell me that I should graduate out of the sub. Until then... I will keep making mistakes.

Looking to get into refinishing this dresser for my girlfriend's birthday but I'm pretty new to this. Any tutorials youd recommend for refinishing spots on this dresser or advice?

I'm in the process of turning my shed into a workshop, my primary focus is guitar repair and custom builds, BUT I'm a handy man and would like to take a step further into small level contracting work, as well as projects for home, and resale.

Currently at home I have a Ryobi 18+ Drill, And 1/2 inch Impact driver (I frequently work on cars so this comes in handy), a Amazon "Wen" Dremel, and a fair assortment of bits for the drill and Dremel. Hand tool wise, I'm running at the bare basics.

Where should I focus my $1900 budget? ($900 now, $1000 after a couple weeks when I get some return on the initial investment.

I have a few ideas but I'd like to see what y'all think, how would you deck out a small shed with a basic toolset to a functional, multi role workshop?

A couple notes,

1. I have woodworking as well as other trader related experience, I've just always worked for someone or had borrowed tools.
2. I mainly plan on building guitars, as well as small to medium crafts and furniture. Eventually I would like to expand into general contracting.
3. I understand you get what you pay for, I already plan on upgrading as things wear out or prove too unreliable
4. I plan on going Ryobi for cordless power tools because I already have the batteries and they seem to be working alright for me, but for some of the bigger tools, I think my money would be spent better elsewhere, like WEN who has excellent reviews
5. The second hand market around me is HOT with tools
6. I want to do this as efficiently as possible.
7. I already have a shop vac and a plan for dust control

I bought this workbench from HD.

h https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-62-in-W-x-24-in-D-Adjustable-Height-Solid-Wood-Top-Workbench-Table-in-Black-HOLT62XDB12/301810799

And was curious, how do I get this smooth finish, no splinters or anything? I’m looking to create some shelves and this finish would be awesome.

I found the plans on mycaprentry.com

Made with "premium" 2*6s

Painted with rustoleum "deep blue gloss" and "black gloss".

Price including paint roughly $310.

I think this project made me get an itch as now I'd like to make some patio chairs.

We got this bed frame last year, then recently moved to a new house and it doesn't match our new decor but we love the bed. We wanted to lighten up the stain on the wood a bit and are considering refinishing the walnut veneer to do so. Do you think this will be feasible? Would you recommend chemical stripping first or go straight to sanding? Any tips on finishing for a natural wood look without much gloss? I added a picture of some scratches to show the tone of the wood under the finish. Any general advice is much appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/f8ur677cooxc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f169715d5f06b0af55ec77e3d1cd3beb70c0e8f9

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