You have an INCREDIBLE dream home built on Pinterest. You have renovation ideas saved for every room in your house. When you look at a vision board, you are INSPIRED. But then you look around your actual house… you see a couple Hobby Lobby pictures and plants from Target. The walls aren’t a color you love, hardly any of the furniture matches, and everything feels a little bit off because you were just doing your best with what the store had at the time.

Can anyone relate?

I felt this way for years. I still am somewhat in this position because I am at the beginning of my DIY journey.

However, if you transition from Pinterest into the detailed blogs with step-by-step tutorials.. if you find yourself getting lost on YouTube for hours watching people re-do a room.. DIY life is calling you. At this point, you just need to answer. 

If you don’t know my story about how I got into woodworking, please do check out that post. The short version is: I was clueless. I literally bought everything the Shanty 2 Chic sisters recommend for any newbie and it was all well worth it. They are right on target. 

Sincerely, you do not need much of anything to get started. Everything someone tells you to purchase is not necessarily NEEDED. But let me explain, the difference between difficult and easy is having the right tool for the job. Sure, you don’t need a miter saw.. you could make all of your cuts with a circular saw. You don’t need a brad nailer, you could use a good ol’ hammer and nails. It just depends on how much you want to cuss during your project and your tolerance level before giving up. 

Start with the basics. There is zero need to go overboard here. Definitely start with what fits your budget too! Ryobi is such an amazing brand to start with, because they make everything affordable and the quality is great. For a novice DIY’er, no bad things can be said about Ryobi. Fine woodworkers might have a different opinion but we’re all pretty aware this is not a fine woodworking blog – right? None of us know what we’re doing. 🙂  

However, if buying new isn’t in your budget right now – definitely search Craigslist or OfferUp in your area! I mean, you could probably even ask your friends and neighbors because chances are they have some tools sitting around in their garage that rarely get used. The overall point is you do not need to wait on anything to get started. Get started, and that will lead you to the items you will want to acquire first.

Ok, so what am I talking about? I’ve broken down the essentials, the above and beyond, and the extra luxuries. I’m only speaking on what I started with and what went well for me. I’ll break down my reasoning for each recommendation. 

Essentials

• Drill 
• Miter Saw 
• Kreg Jig 
• Safety Gear

Above and Beyond

• Impact Driver 
• Brad Nailer
• Random Orbital Sander 
• Table Saw 

Luxuries

• Level 
• Squares
• Clamps 
• Drill and Drive set

 

The Essentials

A Drill

Unless you want carpal tunnel, just buy a drill. The best discovery I found in the beginning was that there are more screw types than just flat head or phillips head LOL There is a magical thing out there called STAR HEAD screws and they were a game changer for me. I had my drills and a few different bits but yet kept stripping every screw I came into contact with. I tried adjusting my drill settings, but it still took 87 prayers to not strip at-least one of the screws in my project. Then came along these star head screws that come with a star head bit inside the package and I haven’t stripped a single screw since. 

A Miter Saw

You could make do with a circular saw or even a hand saw, but again – what kind of anger tolerance do you have? A miter saw will be a game changer. It is also one of the less intimidating power tools to get started with. It’s stationary. The blade is fairly well hidden by the guard. For the most part you’re just going up & down, nothing too crazy in the beginning. They even have clamps that hold the boards for you so you technically don’t need to have your hands anywhere near the blade if you don’t want.  

A Kreg Jig

I honestly do feel like this is essential for a home DIY enthusiast. There are joints that you just won’t be able to do with nails or screws alone. The kreg jig is very affordable and so easy to use. It will have you feeling like a pro once you complete your first project. Hardly any home project is off-limits once you’ve got one of these in your shop. 

Safety Gear 

These are essential: gloves, safety glasses, ear protection, and a particle mask. Splinters are annoying. We need our eyes. Hearing is nice. & nobody has time for asthma. In all seriousness though, we have no control over random mishaps so please do not get caught slipping that one time things go awry and you aren’t wearing safety gear. 

 

Above and Beyond

An Impact Driver 

Nearly every project you will have to pre-drill holes before drilling in your screw. This means using a drill bit to make a small hole first, then screwing in your screw, which helps prevent the wood from splitting. It is a luxury, but I would recommend treating yo’self on this one: have both a drill and an impact driver. You’ll pre-drill holes with your drill then grab your impact driver to screw in the screw, instead of having to change out bits every single time. This is also fanstastic with your kreg jig: you’ll keep the kreg drill bit in your drill and the driver bit in your impact driver. We’re here to work smarter, not harder. 

Brad Nailer

Who has the hand-eye coordination to use the old fashioned hammer & nails on every project? I need my fingers. I really do use a brad nailer for nearly all of my projects. Although a luxury, you will not regret this purchase. 

Random Orbital Sander 

You can absolutely hand sand with a sanding block or just a regular piece of sandpaper. For most projects, it is best to start with a coarse grit and work your way up to the fine grit (note: the smaller the number, example 80 grit, the more coarse the sand paper will be where the higher the number, example 320 grit, the more fine it will be). Using a random orbital sander for this process will save you time and spare you hand cramps. Learning the art of sanding is also something that will help your projects go from beginner to pro (even if it’s just for your toddler judges). Next time you paint something, try to give it a light sanding after each coat and note the extreme difference in smoothness! 

Table Saw

This is definitely not a necessity. I know plenty of fantastic female builders who have gone years without a table saw. You can use a circular saw for most of these situations. Also, anywhere you purchase lumber will be able to cut down sheet goods for you. If you pre-plan your build, take in the measurements you need, you’ll be set. But what if you want to cut it to fit? What if you would prefer to rip the edges off your lumber so everything you build doesn’t look homemade? What if the store is completely out of 2×2’s but you’ve got some prime 2×4’s on hand? I’m just saying… as you grow, you will want this addition. Yes, you can get by without it, but there will come a point when you’ll want to make this purchase and not be held back by unnecessary limitations. 

 

Luxuries

I label these items as luxuries because they’re not necessities, but they will make your life much easier. If they are not in the budget or if purchasing so many things at once overwhelms you, you can wait and trickle these things in over time.

Checking that things are level and square throughout your build will come with time. My first few projects were ALL wonky and totally lopsided. It felt very frustrating to put so much time and focus into a project, only for it to wobble if you look at it wrong. Eventually, you’ll want to start checking level and square at every turn because you will want your time to pay off, and it will – I promise. The first time you build something and set that level on top for the bubble to go right to its home *queue applause*. 

Clamps can be very versatile for many different projects, but my primary use as a newbie is to utilize clamps as an extra set of hands. Whether you’re sanding, drilling, or nailing – having your work piece clamped down helps so much. Also, if you’re trying to attach a long board to something you can set a clamp on the opposite side to prop up your piece while you attach one end. Clamps just come through right in the clutch, like good friends should. 

When I was very first starting out, I would get livid that I couldn’t use a wall anchor to save my life. The wall anchor would either smush because the hole I drilled was too small or fall right through because the hole was too big. I never understood why something so simple was always so hard for me. Eventually I learned there are different size drill bits in the world. & I NEED THEM. So I purchased a mega set of drill and drive bits and it has came through for me more times than I can count. At first, it definitely seemed like over kill but as my work has been progressing, it really does have all the basics you will ever need (and more). 

There we have it. 

Some very basic tools that could completely change your life. 

If you are anything like me, you just want a link. “Show me what to buy because I have no idea what I’m looking for.” The Shanty sisters did that for me and I could not be more grateful. So I want to do that same thing for you.

I have created a detailed list of everything I’ve described above, linking the exact model/product I purchased myself and can stand behind in the ease of use. Get connected by subscribing to my email list, and I’ll send you my list of tools for free! Let’s get started!