Carpentry is a difficult trade, said our “carpenter in Long Island NY”. However, much like any other ability, it can be learned. When you combine an eagerness to learn new skills with regular practice, you just might find that you are in a position where you can provide carpentry services to others!

Tips from Our Carpenter in Long Island NY

Here are a couple of carpentry tips for beginners.

1-Gather High-Quality Tools

First, you are going to need the appropriate equipment. This is step one. You actually don’t need a large quantity to get started, but you need to have various instruments that can be used in a variety of ways. You can purchase a quality starter tool set that includes a box as storage. You can also go to your preferred local DIY store and inquire with the most knowledgeable member of the staff there on carpentry in Long Island NY. Once you have the proper tools, you need to educate yourself on how to properly care for them. Because the way you store them may cause harm to their functionality, you should make sure that they are not positioned too close to one another. Also remember to keep them in a cool, dry place to prevent any rust from forming.

2-Put Tick Marks on Sides You Need to Cut

It’s good to make a small tick mark on the side of the material you’ll be cutting when you’re measuring it. Using this basic method saves numerous hours of re-measuring, and it helps account for kerf, which is the thickness of a blade that you intend to use for cutting. Kerf is what’s between the teeth or the right and left sides of a saw, and every cut of the saw produces sawdust. It would be wrong to cut precisely on the line since the kerf would eat away at your measured piece. If you’ve had a project that was even an eighth of an inch off, you know how aggravating it can be when this happens. Put a tiny tick on the side that you’ll be cutting on. The kerf should be away from the measured area then line your blade up to it. This is a useful tip if you need to split the task with a friend and need to inform each other on where to make cuts. It’s a terrific habit to get into, and professionals use it every time they mark cut lines.

3-Place Your Dowel into a Straight/Slotted Surface to Make a Straight Line

Making sure you get a straight line onto a dowel can be an issue that comes up from time to time and can appear as an incredibly difficult task, even if you have the most advanced measuring tools at your disposal. But, the remedy is as simple as inserting a dowel into a straight-slotted object. In the workshop, use the table saw’s track and place a pencil or pen against the dowel and the track. This will ensure you create a straight line. No table saw? No problem. Use any old door jamb or frame. This approach can be used to draw a line on any cylindrical object.

4-Make a Story Stick

It is essential to take precise measurements, but it can be repetitive. Fortunately, there is a straightforward method to reduce the number of repeated measures. This method involves creating a story stick, which is a measured reference. You can make it using any squared scrap that is lying around in your work area for carpentry in Long Island NY.

Story sticks are wonderful instruments because they can be customized to your needs. They are less cumbersome, compared to a tape measure, plus once the measurement has been marked on the story stick, there is no possibility that the measurement will be misinterpreted. Taking this idea one step further, your story stick can also be a tool that helps drill holes at regular intervals along the edge of a surface. As per usual, you should make a story stick, but this time you should drill a hole at the measured point. Your story stick will now serve as a drilling guide.

Professional Carpenter in Long Island NY | La Clave Improvement

Regardless of your skill set, no one will look down on you or judge you if you occasionally want some assistance with carpentry. There is no shortage of knowledgeable and skilled people that provide carpentry services, and they would be delighted to provide carpentry tips for beginners. When you are feeling overwhelmed by a woodworking project, another option available to you is to seek the assistance of a professional such as La Clave Home Improvements. When it comes to finishing a large project and ensuring that there are no threats to your health or safety, it is sometimes necessary to bring in an expert. Book an appointment today!