There’s something about working with wood that is both incredibly rewarding and serenely calming. It’s a medium that has been used by humans for centuries, and it has the power to make us feel connected with our past while also allowing us to create something entirely new.
Woodworking is a fun and rewarding hobby—and it’s one that anyone can get into. Whether you’re looking for a new way to relax, or you’re hoping to pick up a new skill, woodworking can be the perfect fit for you. Here are 10 reasons why you should get into woodworking right now—and some tips on how to do it!
Table of Contents
- 1. It’s a perfect hobby for beginners: 10 Reasons to Get Into Woodworking
- 2. Can be learned at home on a budget
- 3. Easy to start with simple projects
- 4. Woodworking is good for your physical health
- 5. Saves money in the long run
- 6. Helps keep our environment clean
- 7. Makes you feel more creative and productive
- 8. Improves your mental health
- 9. An excellent way to spend time with friends and family.
- 10. You can make some extra cash from it.
- Final words: 10 Reasons to Get Into Woodworking
1. It’s a perfect hobby for beginners: 10 Reasons to Get Into Woodworking
If you’re brand new to woodworking and don’t know where to start, there are a few things you will want to consider. Many beginners find themselves asking the same questions:
Can I do it?
Yes, anyone can learn woodworking. It’s a great hobby for all ages and levels of experience. If you have the desire and motivation (which I’m sure you do or you wouldn’t be reading this) then yes, anyone can learn it!
Where do I start?
The good news is that it’s more than possible for you to get started in woodworking from your home or garage workshop, even with just a few tools and some basic skills. In fact, there are many projects that are perfect for beginners.
As far as skills go, the most important thing is to start slowly and not take on projects that are too complicated. For example, if you’re interested in making a piece of furniture out of wood, start with something small like a birdhouse or wooden sign before attempting something larger like a dining room table or dresser. It’s also helpful to have someone with experience who can help guide you through the process and answer questions as they arise.
What are some projects that beginners can do?
Once you have the basics down, it’s time to start making things! It can be intimidating at first to go from reading about something to actually doing it, but you’ll soon find that there’s no better way to learn how to do something than by doing it.
Here are some project ideas:
1. A simple stool
2. A cutting board
3. A solid-wood side table
4. A wooden boat that really floats!
5. A simple shelf for your garage or shed
6. An elegant coat rack for your entryway
7. A wooden lawn chair with a built-in drink holder
8. A birdhouse for your backyard birds
9. A small wooden box perfect for storing jewelry or other small treasures
10. A beautiful wooden planter box to display your gorgeous flowers
What Do I Need?
To get started woodworking, all you need are some basic tools that are affordable enough even on a tight budget:
- Chisels
- Clamps
- Screwdrivers
- Wood Glue
- Electric Drill
- Orbital Sander (and Sandpaper)
- Jigsaw
I wrote another article about tools needed for a workbench.
2. Can be learned at home on a budget
Anyone can learn woodworking. It’s true! You can learn at home, with very little investment in tools and materials. If you’re just starting out, you might want to consider a kit.
Woodworking kits are great because they can provide everything you need to complete the project at hand. They also make great gifts for aspiring woodworkers. When it comes to choosing which kind of kit is best for your needs, here are some things to keep in mind:
- How much wood do you want?
- what wood is the best for your project?
- What are your goals with this hobby?
Whether it’s a small toolbox or an elaborate piece of furniture, building something from scratch helps us feel accomplished and creative. Woodworking is satisfying because it lets us flex our creative muscles without creating a huge mess—or spending hours on end glued to the couch watching Netflix (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Plus, doing it ourselves means we don’t have to pay someone else for labor or materials.
3. Easy to start with simple projects
Don’t be afraid to start with something simple. You’ll feel more accomplished than if you’d picked a complicated project, and the instant gratification that comes from creating something tangible and functional with your own two hands will keep you motivated.
Here are a few reasons why simple projects are ideal for beginners:
- They require basic tools only: Most simple projects don’t require a wide variety of power tools; in fact, many can be completed with just a jigsaw and some sandpaper. This means you don’t have to invest in a full set of pricey equipment all at once.
- They take just a few hours (or less!) from start to finish: Simple woodworking projects are meant to be completed in a day—or even just part of one! If you’re looking for ways to spend your bonus hour on summer evenings when the days last longer, this is for you!
- They can cost very little money if done right: You’ll save money by not splurging on fancy tools or materials until you’re more experienced in the craft, while still having something useful to show off once it’s done!
I wrote another article about making wood projects look good.
4. Woodworking is good for your physical health
When you’re doing woodwork, you’re working with your body in ways that are very different from other types of exercise. From using your upper body to do the actual work of whittling, chopping, and finishing the wood, to using your lower body and core to maintain balance while you stand at the table saw, there are many ways that woodworking can strengthen your whole body. Here are some of them:
- You can improve your grip strength: Without being too technical, your grip strength has to do with how much force you can exert while holding an object. Grip strength is important in many different professions—including one where lots of heavy lifting is involved. The tools and machinery used in woodworking require a strong grip, so working with them will naturally strengthen yours.
- You can improve your dexterity: Dexterity, a word that describes how well coordinated and skillful a person is with their hands, is also something that woodworkers tend to be pretty good at. If you find yourself reaching for the same tool over and over, that’s a great way to build up your dexterity and hand-eye coordination!
- It’s a great way to get some cardio: If you’re not used to it, woodworking can make for an awesome workout—especially those long days when you’re moving around from project to project at the shop. As long as you’re careful about lifting heavy things and bending over, you can end up with a surprisingly intense workout.
- It’s a great way to make sure you stay in shape: You’ll burn more calories than you would watching TV or playing video games, so it’s a great way to make sure you stay in shape—especially if you have a hobby of sitting down for long periods of time!
5. Saves money in the long run
While woodworking is intimidating for many people it can actually save you money. Instead of buying furniture, children’s toys, or home improvements like bookshelves and wine racks, you can make them yourself.
You will be able to make these items to your exact specifications and they will fit perfectly into your space. You will also be able to modify or repair any problems with store-bought furniture at a fraction of the cost.
Even small repairs around the house like fixing a cabinet door or tightening up a wobbly table leg can save you money over hiring someone else to do it for you. If you are handy enough, basic repairs around the house are no problem at all.
If you really get into woodworking and enjoy it, there is always the opportunity to start your own business making custom wood products for people’s homes, cottages, offices, or retail stores. The possibilities are endless!
I wrote another article about making money through woodworking.
6. Helps keep our environment clean
It may not immediately strike you as an environmentally-friendly hobby, but woodworking is actually great for the planet.
From keeping old furniture out of landfills to creating beautiful, unique pieces from scratch, there are a lot of ways that woodworkers can reduce their impact on the environment while enjoying the hobby they love. Here are some reasons that show just how eco-friendly woodworking really is:
Old wood can be repurposed
Many woodworkers look at old furniture and see potential instead of trash. A lot of the time, older pieces can be stripped down and repurposed into something new and beautiful. Whether it’s a simple refinish or a complete overhaul, repurposing old furniture is a great way to reduce waste and create something truly special.
Can reduce landfill waste
Lots of people make the mistake of throwing away perfectly good furniture because they don’t have time to refinish it themselves, or simply don’t know how. This leads to tons of perfectly good wood ending up in landfills each year – something that we can all do our part to help prevent by learning how to refurbish old furniture ourselves.
Wood is a renewable resource.
Wood is renewable. Trees are easy to grow anywhere in the world that has enough sunlight and rainwater. This means that a tree can be harvested for its timber but then quickly regrown from seedlings or cuttings—unlike metals that must be mined from the earth or plastics which are created from fossil fuels.
Woodworking reduces pollution
When you make things out of wood, you’re preventing the release of harmful pollutants into our air and water supply that might be emitted through the manufacture of plastic or metal goods.
Let’s say you decide to use your new skills to make a table. When you do that, you’re preventing the need for buying a premade table from another manufacturer, which means less demand for products made at factories where they often use environmentally damaging practices—like burning fossil fuels or releasing chemicals into our water supply—to make these things.
7. Makes you feel more creative and productive
Woodworking is a great hobby to get into, as it can help you feel more creative and productive. Here are some reasons to try woodworking for yourself:
1. Woodworking helps boost creativity because it allows you to make something from a raw material—your finished product is a reflection of who you are, and no one else will have anything like it.
2. Woodworking is a great way to boost your productivity because it allows you to focus on one project at a time and see it through from start to finish.
3. Working with your hands can be satisfying. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle of your day-to-day life, but woodworking forces you to disconnect from all of that and work with your hands instead.
4. You can do woodworking with your kids! It’s an excellent way to bond over a fun activity and teach them valuable skills they’ll be able to use forever in all kinds of situations, from building birdhouses together when they’re young to helping them build their first bookshelf when they’re older.
When woodworking, there are very few limitations on what you can create. It can be good to let your creativity run free. You can learn how to bend wood and form it into different shapes or use wood in your designs that others may not think of. Because of this, woodworking is quite a creative process!
While working in the shop, woodworking songs help to pass the time. I wrote an article about funny woodworking song lyrics. If you like the lyrics, you might also like my post with 59 cool woodworking sayings.
8. Improves your mental health
Maybe you’re already into woodworking, or maybe you just want to get into it. Either way, you might be surprised at the ways this hobby can improve your mental health. Here are some of them:
Improves focus
When you have too much to think about, it can be hard to focus on any one thing. That’s where woodworking comes in: when you’re working with your hands and shaping a piece of wood, there isn’t really room for anything else in your mind. Focus is all on the task at hand, and that means that you can temporarily escape whatever’s stressing you out while you let yourself get absorbed in the project. And then at the end of it, when you’ve shaped something amazing with just a little bit of time and effort, that boost of confidence will carry through long after your hands have left the tools behind.
Woodworking gives you the opportunity to focus on the task at hand without having to worry about the rest of your life. It is meditative, soothing, and calming—allowing you to leave everyday stresses behind while you complete your project.
Woodworking helps you clear your mind and boosts your self-esteem
Have you ever had one of those days at work where you felt like you did nothing but put out fires? Sometimes it feels like the world wants to break you down, and it can feel impossible to maintain a sense of serenity and control. Woodworking is a great way to take back that control and improve your mental health by giving you a chance to clear your mind and focus on something that’s 100% for yourself. It’s about carving out time for YOU, doing something YOU want to do, just for the sake of making yourself happy.
Once you complete the project, you’ll feel an immense sense of pride. That’s because woodworking is an art form—it takes practice, patience, and precision to make a high-quality piece of furniture or whatever else you want to make—and finishing a project is proof that you are capable of making what you envision in your mind come to life. It feels awesome when someone compliments your homemade or handmade items. Not only will this give you a boost of confidence and self-esteem, but it will help keep the blues at bay by reminding yourself that you can do hard things!
It can help relieve stress and anxiety by encouraging a peaceful state of mind
If you’re starting to feel a little stressed or anxious, here’s a great way to cope: get out the saw. You can do it in the comfort of your own home, and when you’re done, you’ll have something to show for it (rather than just a bunch of ruined furniture from punching holes in the walls).
Start small—build a birdhouse. Put together a bookshelf. Then, when you’re ready, move on to bigger projects like building a bench, or even making your own dining room table.
Working with wood often involves teamwork and collaboration
Working with wood often involves teamwork and collaboration, which builds social skills and a sense of community. Having a strong social network helps you avoid isolation, which is linked to poor mental health and even physical illness.
It’s a great way to meet new people who share your passion for woodworking!
Wherever you are, there are probably lots of other people who are woodworkers or would like to be woodworkers. You can find them online or at local shops or events—and we promise they’ll be friendly! Woodworkers love sharing their passion with others and are always happy to welcome new people into the fold.
9. An excellent way to spend time with friends and family.
Are you tired of getting together with your friends and family, only to find that you’re not bonding over anything? Is it impossible for you to find something that everyone in your group enjoys, from the kids to the grandparents?
Woodworking is a great way to spend time together with them. You can teach your children the basics and show them how to build something. This can be a great bonding experience, and it will give you the chance to watch your child’s natural creativity unfold in front of your eyes.
Another way would be to join a class or community group where you can meet other woodworkers. Even if you have different skill levels, this is an excellent opportunity to share tips and tricks that will help you improve your craft!
Do you find that you don’t have enough time to spend with friends and family? I wrote another article with 11 woodworking tips to make the most of your weekend.
10. You can make some extra cash from it.
You can make some extra cash by selling your woodworking projects. Why buy another boring candlestick holder when you can buy one that’s handmade and unique? You could even get into making furniture or jewelry boxes! The possibilities are literally endless. Here are some of the items you could make and sell:
- Furniture
- Home decor
- Jewelry boxes
- Kitchen utensils
- Picture frames
- Toys
It’s no secret that home goods are expensive. If you’re looking to save money or even make some extra cash, one of the best ways is by making custom gifts and decorations out of wood. You can make anything from a table to a wreath, and sell them for a pretty penny!
There are so many ways to sell your projects. One way is through local craft fairs—but there are more avenues than that as well. You could sell your projects on Etsy or eBay, or you could even start your own website There is also an option of using Facebook Marketplace with buyers who would appreciate handmade crafts.
Final words: 10 Reasons to Get Into Woodworking
No matter where you’re at in your woodworking journey, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the old adage “wood is good.” It’s true! Wood is good for everybody:
- Wood is renewable: Unlike other materials, wood can be grown, harvested and replanted in a sustainable manner. It’s a resource that doesn’t harm the environment.
- Wood is natural: You aren’t putting any toxins or harsh chemicals into your home when you use wood products.
- Woodworking is healthy: Since you are making your own furniture and decor, it’s free of the harmful chemicals many mass-produced items contain.
If you’re just getting into woodworking, we hope this blog has convinced you that it’s not as intimidating as it seems. Woodworking is a fun and creative outlet for both beginning and experienced creators alike. It can help you make furniture that perfectly fits your space, and the pieces will be durable and long-lasting—so you won’t have to keep replacing them.
We hope our list of reasons to get into woodworking has inspired you to start your own project!
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