Woodworking isn't difficult to learn, but it takes a lot of work to become a master. If you're passionate about building projects, you'll overcome any barriers in your path. Carpentry isn't difficult, although it requires a little patience to develop the necessary skills. Learning the basics is actually quite simple, but as you get into more complicated carpentry, you'll need more skill and more expensive equipment.
If you have the means (also known as money), you should definitely take a class to learn carpentry. Preferably, an in-person class; this will allow you to test the various tools, learn to use them safely under supervision and find out which ones you use often enough to buy them for home use. At first, carpentry is actually very easy to learn. Chances are you want to build something, so that's all you'll learn.
Carpentry is a lifelong learning process, but it's always one project at a time. Learning this way keeps you alert, but it never burdens you with much more than you can handle at the same time. Moving away from the first myth, the second myth that usually holds back new carpenters is that you think it's expensive to start. Start with nearby school districts and then expand until you find a district with carpentry options or move further away than you're willing to drive.
I trust Woodworking for Mere Mortals by Steve Ramsey, and it has an excellent playlist of “basic tools” to help you get started. Now that you're familiar with the legal requirements for starting a carpentry business, let's look at some of the things you'll need to do before your carpentry business is ready to attract customers. A great way to identify and conceptualize target markets is to create buyer personas: detailed and accurate (albeit fictitious) descriptions of the ideal customer or customer you would like to sell to when starting your carpentry business. When you start out as a carpenter, you'll hear a series of phrases that represent common techniques.
Anyone willing to put in the effort can make money when they start their own carpentry business with their wood products and carpentry skills. It's crucial for a carpentry company to ensure that it meets all legal requirements when starting a business. You might be lucky enough to start a carpentry business from home, but as a small home-based business grows, new business owners will need to find a location for their carpentry business. Let's start by discussing how to develop the workshop skills needed to become a world-class carpenter.
Unfortunately, I think one of the most valuable aspects of a class is being supervised by an expert; having someone there to give you instructions really pushes you to try new things and start a power tool for the first time. If you are starting to use a saw or new equipment, the safest and ideal thing to do is to learn from a professional carpenter before testing it at home. Once you learn the basics of the most essential tools, you'll be able to start building in no time and you'll feel comfortable learning any other new tool in the future. I started with a general “construction 101” course, where everyone else in the course was preparing to become construction workers, and I was there for fun.
The myth that it's expensive to start working with wood probably stems from the fact that new carpenters see an entire store full of tools when they visit a store.
