Would be interested in (as a fairly newbie starter) what people would
consider to be the essential power tools in a workshop and in what priority
you would buy new equipment. I appreciate that the equipment would suit the
types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett basic small
items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and steadily build up
the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and more complicated as I
go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

Appreciate your input.

"Sean" wrote:

Would be interested in (as a fairly newbie starter) what people would
consider to be the essential power tools
Ask over in rec.woodworking. This group is primarily for binaries.
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.

In article ,
"Sean" wrote:

types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett basic small
items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and steadily build up
the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and more complicated as I
go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

It does not all need to be power tools. If you have limited shop space,
limited funds, and/or like to listen to music while working, and are not
cranking out 100 pieces in a production atmosphere, hand tools are often
at least as fast, and sometimes faster than a shed-full of power tools.
I make that comment as someone with a shed-full of power tools which I
bought before I knew any better. Enough hand-planes to make the surface
planer/joiner no longer be on your list are a very small investment of
money and space. Look for used ones of "user" (rather than collector)
grade, or buy new ones from Lee Valley, which seem to be the best bang
for the buck, new, IMHO.

Router table is an easy self-build, you have a router already.

Creative use of saw guides and circular saw make table saw a
low-priority purchase with what you have. Look for a good deal on a used
one locally if you desire it greatly, but you don't *need* one.

Missing power tools that expand your work capabilities, rather than
providing other ways to do things you can already do: Lathe, bandsaw.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

You seem to be off to a really good start. A table saw is probably the next
thing that you should get as it likely will be the most used tool that you
will have. Get a good one as accuracy is very important for making
furniture. Then buy what you need as you find that you need it based on what
you are making. I think a good router table and a table saw are the most
used tools for making furniture. Good squares and measuring tools are also
very important. Learn how and take the time to make fixtures to simplify and
increase the accuracy of what you do. Fixtures and guides are very important
but they can be made for little or no cost, find and read books about
fixtures that you can make yourself to help you make what you want to
better. You can do a lot with very little, but speed and accuracy will
require better tools and the knowlege to use them well.

The journey is more fun than the destination.

--
Charley

"Sean" wrote in message
...
Would be interested in (as a fairly newbie starter) what people would
consider to be the essential power tools in a workshop and in what
priority
you would buy new equipment. I appreciate that the equipment would suit
the
types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett basic small
items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and steadily build
up
the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and more complicated as
I
go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

Appreciate your input.

"Ecnerwal" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Sean" wrote:

types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett basic small
items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and steadily build
up
the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and more complicated
as I
go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

It does not all need to be power tools. If you have limited shop space,
limited funds, and/or like to listen to music while working, and are not
cranking out 100 pieces in a production atmosphere, hand tools are often
at least as fast, and sometimes faster than a shed-full of power tools.
I make that comment as someone with a shed-full of power tools which I
bought before I knew any better. Enough hand-planes to make the surface
planer/joiner no longer be on your list are a very small investment of
money and space. Look for used ones of "user" (rather than collector)
grade, or buy new ones from Lee Valley, which seem to be the best bang
for the buck, new, IMHO.

Router table is an easy self-build, you have a router already.

Creative use of saw guides and circular saw make table saw a
low-priority purchase with what you have. Look for a good deal on a used
one locally if you desire it greatly, but you don't *need* one.

Missing power tools that expand your work capabilities, rather than
providing other ways to do things you can already do: Lathe, bandsaw.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by


Thanks for the input and VERY good points.

Take your point about the handtools and hope that I didn't misrepresent by
my comments about power tools. I have a variety of hand tools (inherited
from my father who was a cabinet maker) and do use them, no so much as the
power tools, but such is.

Space isn't much of an issue, so long as I am careful about how I use it. I
have a 16' square workshop which apart from a little storage clutter is
about the right size for a "home" shop.

"Charley" wrote in message
...
You seem to be off to a really good start. A table saw is probably the
next
thing that you should get as it likely will be the most used tool that you
will have. Get a good one as accuracy is very important for making
furniture. Then buy what you need as you find that you need it based on
what
you are making. I think a good router table and a table saw are the most
used tools for making furniture. Good squares and measuring tools are also
very important. Learn how and take the time to make fixtures to simplify
and
increase the accuracy of what you do. Fixtures and guides are very
important
but they can be made for little or no cost, find and read books about
fixtures that you can make yourself to help you make what you want to
better. You can do a lot with very little, but speed and accuracy will
require better tools and the knowlege to use them well.

The journey is more fun than the destination.

--
Charley

"Sean" wrote in message
...
Would be interested in (as a fairly newbie starter) what people would
consider to be the essential power tools in a workshop and in what
priority
you would buy new equipment. I appreciate that the equipment would suit
the
types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett basic small
items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and steadily build
up
the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and more complicated
as
I
go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

Appreciate your input.






Table saw was my impression, too. Whenever I watch Norm in his workshop
(yes, he's primarily to blame for me getting the DIY bug) nearly everything
revolves around the saw.

I'm always picking up extra tools when I am in the DIY store and (probably
because I am a tight git) am concious of the "Will it get used" .. so I do
use just about everything in the shop.

Thanks for the input.

Sean

"Sean" wrote in message
Table saw was my impression, too. Whenever I watch Norm in his workshop
(yes, he's primarily to blame for me getting the DIY bug) nearly
everything revolves around the saw.

Agree. There are a few guys here that don't have and don't want them but
they are the minority. There is truly no power tool that cannot be gotten
around like they did a couple of hundred years ago.

If you are serious about woodworking, get a good tablesaw up front. Figure
to spend a minimum of $800 or so for a decent saw with a cast iron top. Most
every other tool can be bought on an "as needed" basis as your projects
require them or can justify them. In some cases, the same goal can be
accomplished with a variety of tools so you use what you have at the time.
Tenons, for instance, can be made with a tablesaw, tablesaw with dado blade,
bandsaw, router, etc.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

On Tue, 2007-03-20 at 01:55 +0000, Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

If you are serious about woodworking, get a good tablesaw up front. Figure
to spend a minimum of $800 or so for a decent saw with a cast iron top. Most
every other tool can be bought on an "as needed" basis as your projects
require them or can justify them. In some cases, the same goal can be
accomplished with a variety of tools so you use what you have at the time.
Tenons, for instance, can be made with a tablesaw, tablesaw with dado blade,
bandsaw, router, etc.

After much study, I settled on the Ridgid TS3650 which includes cast
iron top and wings, built in mobile base and shopvac under-blade shroud.
I also had plenty of room on the rails even with the right hand cast
iron wing to mount the Rockler router extension. I'm totally pleased
with the saw including the fence and if you do te HD credit card setup
to pay for it, you can knock $50 off for a better than good saw for $500
(+ tax). Of course, pay off the card the next month and cut it up...

- Doug

Sean:
Very good advice from Ecnerwal. Not only do hand tools take less space, you
will grow your skills more with them. This is particularly true with hand
planes which I am still learning to master - after 30 years.

However, don't underestimate the cost to good hand tools. New planes in
particular can cost $100 to $400, even more. But you can find great deals at
estate sales, in the classifieds (look for woodshops for sale) and even
garage sales.

RonB


It does not all need to be power tools. If you have limited shop space,
limited funds, and/or like to listen to music while working, and are not
cranking out 100 pieces in a production atmosphere, hand tools are often
at least as fast, and sometimes faster than a shed-full of power tools.
I make that comment as someone with a shed-full of power tools which I
bought before I knew any better. Enough hand-planes to make the surface
planer/joiner no longer be on your list are a very small investment of
money and space. Look for used ones of "user" (rather than collector)
grade, or buy new ones from Lee Valley, which seem to be the best bang
for the buck, new, IMHO.

Router table is an easy self-build, you have a router already.

Creative use of saw guides and circular saw make table saw a
low-priority purchase with what you have. Look for a good deal on a used
one locally if you desire it greatly, but you don't *need* one.

Missing power tools that expand your work capabilities, rather than
providing other ways to do things you can already do: Lathe, bandsaw.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Hi Sean, I started in the hobby a few years back and had the same questions
as you, I've got a few more tools now, and I think the best purchase I've
ever made was my dust collector. The procrastinator that I am, I've yet to
get it permanently mounted, but I'd much rather move the 10' hose from
workstation to workstation, than wear a mask, or worse yet, breathe in the
dust. I previously had a smaller 12x20 basement shop, but have recently
graduated to a 24x24 garage and even with that the dust thrown from the
router and table saw would make it tough to work in. I wear contact lenses
and they would constantly bother me when "enjoying the hobby", until I got
the dust collector. Don't go small either, I bought a 1.5 HP unit (King)
and I wouldn't recommend anything smaller. Having given the healthy option,
my next tool would have to be the table saw, as most people will agree, it's
the heart of the shop. Best of Luck and happy shopping.




"Sean" wrote in message
...
Would be interested in (as a fairly newbie starter) what people would
consider to be the essential power tools in a workshop and in what
priority you would buy new equipment. I appreciate that the equipment
would suit the types of things that are being made, but what I do is prett
basic small items of general furniture. The idea is to start small and
steadily build up the equipment, learning new stuff and getting more and
more complicated as I go along.

I presently have a sliding compound mitre saw, pillar drill/morticer,
circular saw, router, standard drill, power driver/drill and palm sander.
The obvious things missing from my shop at the moment are a table saw,
router table and a surface planer/joiner.

Appreciate your input.