A good jigsaw and assortment of blades, a speed square, hammer, a box of finishing nails, a couple of fence pickets, some sandpaper, and a plan for something easy like a bluebird house. To me these are the basics of starting to learn wood craft.

Hi Richard. I just ran across this video which might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TqRj8ZoGwE This is just for starting with basic segment rings. To put patterns in you have to think in 3D for each segment ring. It helps to think of what you want the finished turning to look like, break it down into rings, then into segments of different woods to get the pattern you want. I did this a long time ago when I started turning using graph paper, then cutting a template from cardboard or other stock and using dark and light pine for the test run. It's been so long that I don't have those templates anymore but I remember it was a time consuming process that most of the time made more firewood.

Sorry about the quality of this photo-Chromebook camera's not so great (and my pencil is not dark) but you get the jist of the idea for making patterns?

The tools I use most in my shop-dust collector!, table saw, bench top belt sander, drill press with a diy spindle vac box/table attachment, and a miter saw. I also have a 14" band saw, router and table, a jointer, and a planer which gets used about once a month but that's all I'll use for a couple of days so I have wood for the rest of the month. My jointer is 20 years old and I've used it maybe a dozen times because a table saw jig for straight edges is faster. I do some lathe turning too, but that's a whole other rabbit hole from construction. Having a small shop is like playing Tetris with your tools. I still don't have it the way I want it so the process is easy to use, because every time I change something a dozen others have to be involved to still work. For me the dust collector is extremely important so my allergies don't get me on breathing treatments and inhalers again. I don't have neighbors so it's run out the wall and those big bags aren't in the way anymore. It still needs work so the chip collector is not so much in the way. The dust is ducted out onto the yard where dew and rain cleans it up and the grass doesn't seem to mind the extra organics. 24 x10 sounds pretty big until you start to put machinery in and tool storage and then there's the wood that needs space. That's about the size of my wood work section and it looked like plenty of space until I started putting work tables and machines in it and built storage space and countertop along one wall. Now it's a mess of stacked wood, machines, cords, ductwork, hand tools, and my other working media (copper) is making its way into it too as I plan to put the two together later this summer. The best advice I wish someone had given me when I started out is to figure out your essential machinery and unless you have a ton of money and a huge shop, the rest is just eye candy. YouTube has lots of videos about how to make jigs for a table saw so you don't have to have a jointer, jigs for a router that take the place of a planer, jigs for a jigsaw to make better cuts like a bandsaw, etc. Good luck and remember, "It's not work if it's FUN!"

Happy May! I can't believe it's half over already-how did that happen so fast? LOL

What are you using to cut with? I've found that the least amount of control I have is using a circular/skill saw and always have to leave a bit to even up a couple of pieces. Using a table saw with a sled is easier to replicate straight cuts, but short cuts are easier on a miter saw with a stop block. If all you have is a circular saw, you can clamp a straight edge to your work piece to help with the straight cut.

@Jason Roberts I had to true up my large square when that happened and it helped tremendously. It was only off by a tiny bit but that adds up over distance. I probably need to check all my tools again and make sure they haven't changed. This is a good video that explains it and how to fix the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUcUwxPtN7E Hope this helps!