Free Woodworking Plans

Buying Woodworking Tools?

Could anybody point me in the right direction with regards to building a workshop. I would like to know which tools I should buy first e.g. a table saw, band saw, etc.

Public Comments

1. You can do alot with just a band saw but depends really on what you intend on doing . I have been a cabinet maker for over 20 years and the main piece of advice i would give is buy the best u can afford. Japanese chisels and blades are the best for hand tools ,you will regret it in the long term if you skimp.
2. depends what you want to build. So far from my prospective, the following tools have become a fixture in mine. 10 inc table saw. Get a good one, don't get a cheap 200 dollar saw. A band saw A Jointer 6" A Planer (at least 6") A compound miter saw 10" A hand held belt sander A hand held palm sander A cordless drill A drill press A router table or shaper Bits and blades for all of them. That should give you a good start. Always start with a table saw first and a miter saw then move to all the rest.
3. Well, this will depend a lot on exactly what you intend to do. And, knowing exactly what you are going to do is not possible, because once you try something else, you need tools for it. For a general wood shop, Id suggest these, in this order,a) 10 inch Tablesaw, contractor style, or cabinet saw, NOT a benchtop model.b) Equally important is a good quality blade for that saw, a combination blade will get you started, look to a freud or forrest blade.c) A miter saw, sliding compound miter is best, check out the Makita LS1013, or Hitachi also makes a good one (and again, another good blade is important). d)Router with 1/2 inch collet, bits to go with it,and if you can afford it, a table mounted router is priceless. e) a bandsaw, Jet Delta and Grizzly all make good ones in the 14 inch models.f)A planer (I have a Ridgid 13 inch planer, its a workhorse).g) a drillpress.h)a good scroll saw, stay away from any of the ones under $200, I really like Dewalt.i)a wood lathe, youll be amazed at the fun this tool will be. j) a disc sander, 12 inch would be nice, and if you can afford it, a combination belt/disc sander is even better,k) a jointer, stay away from benchtop models.l)a thickness sander, the Performax is great. Many of those tools need some type of dust collection, so a dust collector should be one of the top priorities as well. Some necessities I didnt mention are equally important, like clamps, you never can have to many of them,a good square, straightedge,and tape measure, hand tools like drills, sanders,etc. Most important.... a pair of safety glasses, good old fashioned common sense, and all the other necessary PPE.
4. That will depend on what you are doing. Just remember that there are two things that make a good woodworker: 1) The quality of the tool. 2) The experience of the worker. What tools depends on what you want to do. A table saw is good if you want a number of precise repeated cuts. A circular saw and a guide is faster with single cuts that won't be repeated. A small table saw is only good for smaller cuts of wood. A large bench table saw is good for accurate 4'x8' sheet cuts as well as smaller cuts. The smaller table tops simply can't keep the larger boards lined up straight without extra tools to help. Plan to spend at least 700 on a table saw. Anything less isn't worth getting. Band saw is good for making minor curves. Scroll saws are for pretty shapes. A sliding miter saw is extremely useful for cutting anything up to a 1x10. There is a whole bunch of tools to improve the use of this. A router is very useful for creating grooves. There are two or three different ways to set them up. freehand, table, etc. There are dozens of special bits, jigs, and tools for drills to allow you to hide holes so they aren't visible, more convenient, or just out of the way. Either load up on the jigs to guide your drill or get a drill press. You might want both options for the flexibility depending on what you are doing. You will need clamps if you are going to connect anything. Bar, spring, corner, and C-style clamps are the mainstay of this area. You will need a lot of these. They are expensive at stores, cheap at auctions. Then there are numerous other tools for various purposes or to just make the work go faster. Have fun.
5. I would start with hand tools and as my skills improved, buy the best table saw you can afford. I like this company, but Delta, Jet, Sears make a very excellent product also.
6. I am so glad you asked this question...I sat down one day last week and wrote a list of every tool(electric/hand) I could think of that would/could possibly be used in a wood-working shop. I have just informed several members of my family that I want wood-working tools as gifts at all gift-giving holidays, Christmas, birthday, Mother's Day. Oh, yeah, I forgot to say I'm a Grandma, not a Grandpa! My dream is to have my own shop here at home to do woodcrafts and small furniture pieces(shelves/small tables, etc.). My list has everything on it that the 2nd person who answered listed, plus a few others. As for which to buy first..that would definitely depend on what type of projects you will be starting with. I think my first ones would certainly be a table saw , band saw, belt sander, palm sander and drill. In addition, I would want to have at least 2 work tables/benches as well as at least 1 set of work horses, levels(minimum of 2 sizes), squares( again, 2 sizes), hammers,screwdrivers, chalk/plum lines, punches in assorted diameters and small pry bar.
7. I'm a retired contractor/carpenter. I furnished my basement with all wood-working tools for build or making furniture or hobbies like, bird houses and models. I'm not rich so, I had to do some shopping to get both quality and dependability. I bought a drill press from 'Tractors supply" and got a bench grinder with tit complete. I got a Band saw from Sears and got two bench vices on a special. I got a scroll saw for an old shot-gun I traded for, a Dewalt saw. Very nice. I bought a Lathe from Home Depots catalog store. got all necessary tools on a special. I have small items like a Plunge router, I made my own bench and routing table for it. I also have the complete sign making kit. I have a truck load of tools I've collected through the years as a carpenter. I get my wood from the Amish, they're reasonable, they have the saw ends and sides they sell for burning. It's usuallt good for wood-working, you can get many pieces of wood out of a piece if you know what your doing. I also have friends in lumber yeards that let me know of their specials and save wood for me. I pick up odds and ends from people, dressers, things like that. Easy to repair and refinish and then sell. You can go to a big store and buy all brand names and spend your inheritance or shop around and get bargins, I didn't say cheap, I said bargains. A Dewalt lathe will sell for 3 or 4 hundred. My Shop Smith was 2 and every bit as good. Make sure you get warranties or guarenties. Make sure you can get parts or "add ons" Get all the carpentry magazines you can afford and get patterns and ideas from them. Instead of sending for a pattern for 15 bucks look at the picture and try and use your head. make your own patterns. Good luck I almost forgot. Instead of buying benches, build your own from old doors. I built mine from using ten old doors, some had to be covered. I made all my shelves from scrap wood from saw mills they were tossing out or, burning.
8. i have spent the last 4 years outfitting my garage with woodworking tools, for when i am laid off in the winter...i started buying cheap stuff and then when i realized they just wouldnt do , bought better stuff...not the best maybe, but as good as i could afford...6 in. jointer and 14 in. bandsaw are grizzly...13 in planer is rigid...table saw is rigid with knock down rollaway stand...6 in.belt x 9 in. disk sander is craftsman , not a big craftsman fan but a sander is a sander...craftsman drill press...again accuracy is not a great factor with a drill press... a couple of routers...bought a used craftsman lathe that leaves a lot to be desired but is ok to learn on...a lathe is not an essential in a wood shop as far as i am concerned, but lots of fun to use...lots of chisels and hand tools...for hand tools , if money is no object check out lee valley tools...as stated above , buy the best you can afford...
9. Koyoteek's wish list is pretty complete, but the list of "toys" is endless. Depends on how deep your pockets are, but as far as major tools , a good table saw is most useful . The rest depends on what kind of projects you will be doing & how often you will be using specialized tools. My shop is fairly basic because of space , but is built around a table saw,drill press,bandsaw, lathe, router w/ table, radial arm saw ,(better choices these days) & the usual hand held power tools as mentioned & drawers full of things picked up as needed. I built it up over many years & try to get the best I can afford.. Still on wish list is a jointer/ planer & a biscuit joiner.. Best regards
10. If I was starting a shop, I would immediately take a look at Festool. All their tools are built with dust collection in mind. Their sanders and saws are built to be 90-100% dust free when used with their duct exctractors, and even their Routers and upcoming miter saw have incredible dust collection. You'll be able to spend your time working on your projects instead of cleaning up dust and wood chips! Festool tools ARE a bit pricey, but are worth every penny when you factor in the quality and ease of use. Most home woodworkers can get away with using a Festool TS75 or TS55 plunge saw in lew of a table saw. The saw is portable and will take up less space!