ncfowler Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 It seems several threads of starting up a shop has been posted, It got me thinking back when I started, and what two or three power tools I got first, I think the first real power tool was delta 8" chop saw, I got from when Kodak has a points program for the professional photographers. shortly after I picked up a table saw made by AMT, since there factory store was only a hour away I was able to get a scratch and dent, This was my first real purchase at the time it cost me around $80 bucks, then I got a router at a Black and Decker outlet for around $25 mind this was well over 30 years ago, as well as a cordless drill, I still have them and they are still working even that I don't use them much, with these few tools I was able to make several nice projects, over the years my collection grew and I finally open a shop, As it would be I moved from Pa to NC staying in my profession, I did not have a place to put my shop so I gave it away to good friend who was just starting to do wood working with his young son, I kept a few tools but all the big items he has, Over the years here in NC I started to get a new collection, and two years ago during an ice storm a tree crashed through my small shop, destroying the shop but not the tools, Thanks to home owners insurance I was able to get a bigger shop, I guess this is long about way in asking, for the ones who are just starting what two or three tools would many of you suggest, wood working tools are like fishing rods you can never have enough, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Well I think that what projects you would like to build first will have allot to do with your choices...I build mostly cabinets and bookcases so I need a table saw ,jointer and planer..I use the chop saw for moldings but do most all of my crosscutting on the table saw....I have some tools I thought I needed when I first started and they just sit there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I think mat60 hit the nail on the head - so much of it depends on the types of projects you make. But applying the 80/20 rule, table saw, jointer and planer have to be way up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Table saw, Jointer, Planer. Those are the three I started with and I did a lot with just those. Having had a band saw now I would have to put that pretty high on the list. Unless you are doing a lot of case and cabinet work you could almost go with the band saw instead of the table saw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3nry Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I know you guys are talking power-tools so I'm a bit off topic here - but just for giggles I dug out all the tools I used to make my first project. Not pictured is the cheap knock-off B&D workmate bench. Using S4S lumber took care of all the heavy milling (at the time I didn't know you could even buy rough lumber). Add consumables like glue, sandpaper and finish and that's all. The whole lot (including the wood and consumables) cost about $300CAD - my biggest expense after wood was probably clamps...For my second project I added a router (power!) to do fancier joinery, and more clamps. Before the third project I built the workbench and then acquired some hand-planes and saws so I could mill rough lumber. By my fourth project I was right down the hand-tool rabbit hole and started gathering joinery planes etc. And soon after that the addiction had bitten deep enough that cost isn't important - I know what I want and pay what I have to to get it.So why didn't I start out with power-tools? The short answer is that it never occurred to me that I should. The only people I had ever seen using power-tools were professionals, all the amateur woodworking I had ever seen, either dad at home, or in school woodwork classes was all unplugged - it just happened to turn out that I prefer it that way.So I'm not sure what my advice to a new beginner would be, probably not very useful. Buy some wood, use whatever tools come to hand, don't stress, and have fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I always preach the big five...jointer, planer, table saw, bandsaw, router table. Those are the core tools. Then add a drill press. Everything else is luxury. For hand tools, a block plane, a good combo square, a few good chisels, a marking knife, a crosscut saw and a dovetail saw. You could spend the rest of your life working on projects with just these tools and never NEED another one. The definition of NEED clearly varies from person to person.Obviously this list exceeds "just a few bucks," but this is a list of tools that every semi-serious hobby shop should really have to do quality work. There are, of course, ways around some of these tools, but those workarounds are usually a huge inconvenience and fairly often produce only mediocre results.It's not a cheap hobby. Gonna take more than a few bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3nry Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 It's not a cheap hobby. Gonna take more than a few bucks.The point is that it is possible to build up a tool collection a few bucks at a time. All the tools I now own probably add up to a few thousand, but that cost has been spread out over six years.If I had believed that I needed your "big five" plus dust collection plus the cost of an electrician to rewire the garage etc. and possibly even moving house to a place with more shop space, before I even cut a board in half. I never would have started woodwork at all - I would have just paid someone else to custom make the piece of furniture I was wanting, and moved on to another hobby. Would have got a better piece of furniture out of it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Yeah but Henry, you have to realize that you're an extraordinary type of person who possesses this very elusive thing called PATIENCE...if you need proof just check your hamper journal. For normal humans, especially Americans, this is highly irregular and waiting for anything is beyond comprehension. I speak for these normal humans...I am among them. You, on the other hand, are a pod. Now get back to your carving...I'm losing patience waiting for you to finish that thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3nry Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Now get back to your carving...I'm losing patience waiting for you to finish that thing. It's not a fast hobby either - gonna take more than a few minutes .Ok - I'll get back on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Staehling Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I think it depends greatly on what you are building. My most important and most used big tool is definitely my band saw. That is why it was the first. I made some errors along the way the first time, but if starting over for the kind of work I do (building stringed musical instruments), I'd get the band saw first, a thickness sander second, a drill press next, and then a bench top belt sander followed by a table saw. The table saw is not that crucial but is handy and is used most often for cross cutting using a sled, but is handy for a number of tasks. Edited August 30, 2015 by Pete Staehling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I know you guys are talking power-tools so I'm a bit off topic here - but just for giggles I dug out all the tools I used to make my first project. Not pictured is the cheap knock-off B&D workmate bench. Using S4S lumber took care of all the heavy milling (at the time I didn't know you could even buy rough lumber). Add consumables like glue, sandpaper and finish and that's all. The whole lot (including the wood and consumables) cost about $300CAD - my biggest expense after wood was probably clamps...For my second project I added a router (power!) to do fancier joinery, and more clamps. Before the third project I built the workbench and then acquired some hand-planes and saws so I could mill rough lumber. By my fourth project I was right down the hand-tool rabbit hole and started gathering joinery planes etc. And soon after that the addiction had bitten deep enough that cost isn't important - I know what I want and pay what I have to to get it.So why didn't I start out with power-tools? The short answer is that it never occurred to me that I should. The only people I had ever seen using power-tools were professionals, all the amateur woodworking I had ever seen, either dad at home, or in school woodwork classes was all unplugged - it just happened to turn out that I prefer it that way.So I'm not sure what my advice to a new beginner would be, probably not very useful. Buy some wood, use whatever tools come to hand, don't stress, and have I have said this several times learn how to use your hand tools this is the first and last tool you use in making any project, Taking shop in school we were never allowed to use any tools but hand tools, once we became proficient in using them then we got to use the power tools, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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