Buying your furniture is nice and all, if you have money to spare. However, there will always be something telling the man in the house that he could have done a better job – with the right tools.
It’s often true: building your own furniture is a superior option, so long as you have the equipment and the knowledge. You’ll be able to use better materials and shape them to your exact needs, not to mention that the whole thing can cost a lot less(if we don’t count the price of the tools, that is).
Still, constructing furniture in your garage is no joke, and it will take some practice and a lot of dedication before you end up with satisfactory results. To make your home improvement effort easier on you, we’ve assembled a list of tools that will help you mold your home to your liking.
Tools You’ll Need To Build Furniture
- Table saw: Since you’ll be handling wood for a good portion of your furniture-building endeavor, a decent table saw will be the cornerstone of your garage-turned-factory. You’ll use it for a majority of large cuts, and there’s really no replacement in terms of efficiency and precision. Keep in mind that a table saw can take up a lot of space, depending on its type – some models are semi-foldable, though, so you can just park your car outside while you’re grinding away. Depending on how serious you are, your table saw can cost from around $200 all the way to thousands of dollars.
- Workbench: This will probably end up taking more space than your table saw, but one could argue that it’s even more important. The plus side is that you probably already have some sort of workbench in your garage if you engage in occasional repairs, which is a start. To fine-tune stunning pieces of furniture, however, you might have to invest into a larger and more feature-rich one.
- Power drill, hand saw, quality file: These are the tools that will add finesse and help shape the final product. If you’re a handyman at home, you probably already have a power drill and hand saw. Getting a quality file won’t be too expensive; the trick is learning how to use it to perfection, as it’s an invaluable tool for use on wood as well as metal.
- Welder: Can’t be getting off too easy – to construct a versatile and long-lasting piece of furniture, carpenting wizardry just won’t cut it. In many cases, you’ll need to manipulate metal to reinforce the furniture or add new features to it. Many DIY handymen steer clear of welding. as they find it to be a difficult and dangerous process. While a table saw is every bit as scary as it looks, a welder can really do some damage if you drop your guard – if you’re unsure in your ability to wield these powerful devices, there’s no shame in sticking to bolts and screws for the time being.
- Safety equipment: We’ll keep this one simple: whenever you’re building at home, imagine a safety supervisor is patrolling the area, looking to hit you with a hefty fine if you’re not following every safety regulation to the letter.