Basic Woodworking Tools UK: What to Buy First

You can start woodworking with seven tools and a steady table, and you don't need to spend a fortune to get going. The full starter kit below comes in between £200 and £300 if you buy sensibly, and every piece earns its place on the first project. This guide lists the basic woodworking tools every UK beginner actually needs, in the order to buy them, with honest prices and the ones you can skip.

The list is short on purpose. A cordless drill, a jigsaw, a random orbit sander, a work surface, chisels, a square and clamps covers cutting, drilling, shaping, marking and assembly. That's everything a shelf, a bench, a planter or a picture frame needs. Buy those first, build something, then add tools based on what the next project demands.

We compared these products using Amazon purchaser reviews, manufacturer specifications and independent feedback, and we've kept the recommendations UK-focused so prices and availability match what you'll actually see.

The Basic Woodworking Tools Starter List

Here's the kit in buying order, with what each tool does and what it costs in the UK:

1. A cordless combi drill - holes, screws and the occasional hammer action for brick. £70-£150.
2. A work surface - a folding workbench or a solid table you don't mind scarring. £55-£120.
3. A jigsaw - curves, straight cuts and sheet material. £50-£110.
4. A random orbit sander - the difference between homemade and handmade-looking. £45-£90.
5. A chisel set - hinges, joints and cleaning up corners. £20-£50.
6. A combination square - marking cut lines and checking right angles. £15-£25.
7. A clamp set - holding work still while you cut, glue and drill. £15-£35.

That's roughly £220-£300 for the lot with mid-range brands. If you're on a tight budget, drop the sander to a sanding block, pick a budget drill and a corded jigsaw, and you're nearer £150. Every tool below is the best pick we've found at its price point.

The Power Tools - Buy These Three First

Power tools do the heavy lifting in a starter kit, and these three cover almost everything a beginner project throws at you.

The Cordless Drill - Your Most Important Tool

Every woodworker needs a good 18V combi drill. You'll use it for pilot holes, driving screws and mixing the odd pot of glue, and a hammer function means it doubles for light masonry work around the house. The Makita DHP486Z is the pick of the bunch for UK beginners: a brushless motor, two speed ranges, a hammer mode and the LXT battery system that shares cells across dozens of Makita tools. It's the tool you'll still be reaching for in ten years.

If the Makita is over budget, the Ryobi RPD18BL2-0 is a brushless ONE+ combi drill that costs about half as much, and Ryobi's battery platform covers more than 200 tools, so the batteries you buy for the drill power future purchases too. Buy either one as a kit with two batteries and a charger so you're never mid-project with a flat pack. Our best cordless drills comparison has the full rundown.

The Jigsaw - Your Most Versatile Saw

A jigsaw is the best first saw because it does everything a beginner needs: straight cuts, curves, circles and angles through plywood, MDF and softwood. The DeWalt DCS334N-XJ is brushless with a tool-less blade change, so swapping blades is a two-second job, and variable speed lets you slow down for tight curves. It runs on the same 18V XR batteries as DeWalt drills, which matters if you're building one battery ecosystem.

On a budget, the corded Bosch GST 90 BE is a workhorse at around £85 that never runs out of power mid-cut. You lose portability, but if your workbench lives in one spot that's rarely a problem. More options in our best jigsaw review.

The Random Orbit Sander - Your Shortcut to a Pro Finish

The difference between a homemade-looking project and something you're proud to show off is usually the finish, and a random orbit sander is the fastest route to a smooth one. It removes material without leaving the swirl marks a belt sander leaves behind. The DeWalt DWE6423 is the best all-rounder: variable speed, low vibration and a dust port that hooks to a shop vac so the sanding dust doesn't coat your whole garage. Pair it with a pack of 80, 120 and 240 grit discs and you're set for every project.

A Solid Work Surface

Before you cut anything, you need somewhere stable to cut it on. A wobbly table is how beginners end up with wonky cuts and bruised fingers. The WORX Pegasus WX051 folding work table is the best answer for most UK homes: it clamps work in its built-in jaws, holds up to 250kg, and folds flat enough to store behind a door. At around £100 it doubles as a sawhorse and an assembly bench.

The BLACK+DECKER Workmate 301 is the classic budget alternative at around £55, and it's served UK DIYers for decades. If you have a permanent garage or shed, our best workbenches guide covers heavier fixed benches, and you can also build your own with our workbench build project for under £150.

The Hand Tools That Earn Their Place

You don't need a wall of hand tools. Three sets do the work.

Chisels

A set of four to six sharp chisels handles hinge recesses, joints and cleaning up corners that power tools can't reach. The Irwin M750 Splitproof Pro set comes ready sharpened with a 25° bevel and a striking cap for mallet use, at around £30 it's the best value start in the UK. If you'd rather buy once and keep it for decades, the Bahco 434-S6 set holds an edge longer but costs roughly twice as much. Our best wood chisels comparison breaks down seven sets.

A Combination Square

You'll mark every cut line with one of these, and it doubles as a depth gauge and a 90-degree checker. The Stanley 1912 12-inch combination square has a cast iron body with a machined face for accuracy and costs around £20. It'll outlast every power tool you own if you don't drop it on concrete.

Clamps

Clamps hold work still while you cut, glue and drill, and you always need more than you think. The VonHaus 13-piece set mixes F-clamps and quick-grip styles so you can try both without buying twice. For glue-ups that need serious pressure, the IRWIN Quick-Grip twin pack is the brand every workshop ends up with. See our best clamps for woodworking for six sets compared.

What to Skip When You're Starting Out

Half the battle of buying basic woodworking tools is resisting the ones you don't need yet. Skip these until a project forces you to buy them:

• A table saw - powerful but huge, and a jigsaw plus a straight-edge guide covers your first year.
• A router - brilliant tool, but it's for trimming and profiling, not first builds.
• A thicknesser or planer - workshop machinery, not starter kit.
• A 200-piece bit set - a decent 40-piece driver and drill set plus a few countersinks is plenty.
• Premium chisels - start with a £30 set, learn to sharpen, upgrade later if you fall for joinery.

The rule is simple: if the next project doesn't need it, don't buy it. Tools bought ahead of need sit in a box and teach you nothing.

The Starter Kit Comparison

How to Choose Your First Kit

Three quick rules keep your first tool spend honest:

Buy into one battery system. If you start with a Makita drill, buy a Makita jigsaw and sander so the batteries swap between them. Ryobi ONE+ is the cheapest way to do this, Makita and DeWalt the longest-lasting. Mixing brands means buying batteries twice, which is the most expensive mistake beginners make.

Buy the drill kit, not the bare tool. A combi drill sold body-only looks cheap until you price two batteries and a charger separately. The kit price is almost always the better deal, and two batteries mean you never stop mid-project.

Buy tools as projects demand them. The starter list above covers a first shelf, a workbench and a planter box. When you start making things with joints, add a router. When you build a bookcase, add a circular saw. Let the work pull the purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

The basic woodworking tools you need are a cordless drill, a folding workbench, a jigsaw, a sander, chisels, a square and clamps. Buy into one battery system, buy the drill as a kit, and resist everything else until a project demands it.

Start with the Makita DHP486Z drill and the WORX Pegasus work table if the budget allows, or the Ryobi drill and a Workmate if you want to keep change from £150. Build something simple this weekend, and buy the next tool only when the next project earns it.

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Last reviewed: August 15, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links