[pawelk]

I started when we bought our first house and there wasn't much money left for kitchen furniture. But we needed a kitchen, so I decided to get some big box store pine, hinges, drawer slides etc to build some temporary cabinets. I didn't know much and I made many mistakes, but the kitchen I built lasted us... 7 years, and is gone now mainly because we're renovating the whole house.

All the tools I had back then were a cordless drill, two hand saws, some chisels and a sander. You don't need much and you should only buy new equipment if the project requires it. Also I did not "design" anything, just did some sketches on paper then improvised on the spot.

Woodworking instantly became my hobby and after watching some Youtube videos - including ALL of Paul Sellers videos - I made a decision to go the unplugged route.

If I were to start over I'd read a book about the basic principles of woodworking and joinery, especially how the wood behaves and how to apprloach it. I sort of got all of this by intuition, however an introductory book would be a better start. Also I should have mastered sharpening way earlier in my journey.

[greedo]

I too used Paul Sellers as a guide when I started up, but it's important to realize that he isn't really unplugged. He shows you how you can do it unplugged, but he uses a wide variety of power tools for "monkey work" as he calls it. This includes jointers, planers, and bandsaws (though he demonstrates that tool explicitly).

Unless you're able to get wood already S4S, unplugged is a helluva lot of work.

[pawelk]

I'm well aware that Paul Sellers uses machine milled / planed / dimensioned lumber. I am quite comfortable starting with rough sawn boards straight off the mill (I'm not crazy enough to re-saw logs by hand). Yes, it requires effort and depending on the size of the project I will either use S4S wood or rip, flatten and true boards by hand.

However if I were to have machines in my shop I'd get a bandsaw first, then a jointer/planer. I'm mostly limited by physical space, not self-imposed constraints, although it is very fulfilling to build something without electricity.

[mauvehaus]

Paul Sellers' book is worth a buy as well. It's a good reference on not only the use, but also the care and feeding of pretty much all of the core hand tools, with pictures.