Saw
You will need a saw of some description to make wooden holds. Being able to accurately cut to a specific depth and at a specific angle will make shaping holds much easier. A Table Saw, Drop saw or band saw are ideal. If you don’t have one of these a circular saw can work okay.
If you don’t have access to any mechanical saws a hand saw will work fine.
Drill Bits
You will need to be able to make a hole for you bolt or screw for attaching the hold to the wall.
If you are using M10 bolts to attach your holds you will need an 11mm drill bit. Depending on the type of bolt head screw head you will either need a Counterbore or a Forstner bit that makes a recess big enough to accommodate the bolt head and a washer.
If you are using screws or bolts with a countersunk head for attaching your hold or adding set screws you will need a drill bit and a countersink drill bit that is large enough so that head sits below the surface.
Bulk Wood Removal tool
When shaping the hold, depending on the design you may need to remove a fair amount of wood. There are a variety of specialist wood carving tools available. An angle grinder with a flap disk sanding attachment is effective.
If you don’t have an angle grinder then a hand rasp will work fine.
Sanding tools
To finish the hold you will need to sand it. A Random Orbital Sander or belt sander will make things quicker and easier. To go with your sander you will need some rough (40 Grit) and some smooth (180 Grit) Pads pads / discs
There will potentially be some spots on the hold that are hard to reach with a mechanical sander so to finish up some Sanding Paper for hand sanding will be required. Some rough (40 Grit) paper and smooth (180 Grit) sandpaper.
Vice
A vice is not essential but if you can hold your block of wood steady then the bulk removal of wood and the sanding steps will be much easier. You can make a simple attachment that you can bolt your hold to and then place the attachment in the vice from a piece of timber, a t-nut and a long bolt.
