so many choices, as a beginner what to buy so you don't waste money

[Beechwood Chip]

2 hours ago, TheOnlyDave said:

Drill press was one of things I would consider putting off.  I have drills.  I have a cheap bench top drill press.

If you already have a drill press, then don't get another drill press unless you are using (or trying to use) the one you've got and it's not working for you.

[Byrdie]

I agree that a drill press may not necessarily be an early or initial tool purchase but they sure come in handy.  If I had it to do over again, however, I'd get a floor model rather than a benchtop.  You can put the table on a floor model high enough to do benchtop work.  Doesn't work so well the other direction.

[drzaius]

I use my drill press a lot. Not just woodworking, but for general household repairs & projects. But is is a tool that I could do without & it wood (would  ) be below a table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, router table on my list of what to get.

[..Kev]

4 minutes ago, drzaius said:

I use my drill press a lot. Not just woodworking, but for general household repairs & projects. But is is a tool that I could do without & it wood (would  ) be below a table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, router table on my list of what to get.

I would also have a drum sander higher on my list than a drill press.

[TheOnlyDave]

drum sander is on my wish list for sure.   I'll treat woodwork like I do my RC hobby.  I'll use my work bonus to fund it so when I have a good year I'll get some good toys.  I won't buy RC stuff on credit I don't think I'll do that with woodworking either.   Before you think the comparison is silly, the heli sitting above me right now would pay for 2/3 of the SawStop.

[drzaius]

How about a pic of that heli?

[TheOnlyDave]

On 9/17/2016 at 0:46 PM, drzaius said:

How about a pic of that heli?

Bottom left. 

Heli is 4ft long Rotor disk is 52", runs off 44.4 volts and pulls around 108 amps at peak.  

[drzaius]

Nice! That's some pretty serious power. I'm not into RC, but I sure think it's cool stuff.

[mat60]

I  always thought RC would be fun but Id need lots of spare parts also to get started. Cool stuff Dave.

[TheOnlyDave]

35 minutes ago, mat60 said:

I  always thought RC would be fun but Id need lots of spare parts also to get started. Cool stuff Dave.

For planes not so much.  Find your local club and they'll have someone there that'll teach you to fly on a buddy box.  
Heli's you will crash.  They can fly in almost any direction, they have insane power to weight ratios, when something breaks or you loose orientation they are into the ground in second or two.   As with most things the bigger the more money, prices go up exponentially.  

Those are just my helis, have whole wall in my garage of planes. 

[Brendon_t]

34 minutes ago, TheOnlyDave said:

Those are just my helis, have whole wall in my garage of planes. 

That will quickly be replaced by dust collector drops, hanging clamp racks and your wood hord if you get bit by this bug too..

[Immortan D]

I guess drones are to RC hobbyists what CNC is to woodworkers, right?

[TheOnlyDave]

5 minutes ago, Immortan D said:

I guess drones are to RC hobbyists what CNC is to woodworkers, right?

lol,  pretty much.  I think CNC'rs have it a little easier.   Many true RC pilots have a very low opinion of most drone flyers. Some are great guys a lot are dangerous, self obsessed, morons that couldn't pilot anything that didn't have 3 gyros, 3 accelerometers, and a gps.  Most of those drones you don't fly, you guide them, they fly themselves. 

[Tom Cancelleri]

As someone who has flown and owned 13 different RC helicopters, 3 3 channel planes, 2 drones, a shop full of woodworking tools, and a CNC. I can say a CNC is a lot like a drone. It's quick instant gratification fun without the worry of smashing your expensive blades, flybar, and spindle into the ground. Kind of akin to messing up a nice piece of curly cherry.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[jplemons]

I think you're right in sticking to your guns with the Sawstop. I wouldn't wait again if I had the choice. But I would upgrade to the Laguna now. You can save a little by going with the Dewalt 734 planer instead of the 735. Dust collection would be another area to really focus on, as others have suggested.

But is the drill press necessary? I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I haven't had a need, yet. I'm sure I could use one but that's low on my list. 

 

 

[jmaichel]

I am going to make a couple assumptions here. It does not sound like you are going to be short on space or money in the future. If 6K was all you had to spend for everything and no other money could be spent on tools in the future, recommendations would be very different. This does not seem to be the case for you. 

The SawStop seems like a done deal, if I was in your shoes I would make the same choice. I would stay away from CL, although there are some deals to be had, it mostly ends up being a frustrating experience. The SawStop does eat up a good amount of your initial budget, which does not leave a lot left over buying several more machines (not including DC in initial budget). I would skip the lunchbox planers and just spend the money on a nice 15" Planer. I have heard good things about the Grizzly Planers and if I was going to try and get the most bang from my buck, this is where I would do it. I also don't think you need a bandsaw right off the bat but if you do, the 1412 seems like the way to go and then you can add a bigger resew bandsaw a few years down the road. You could go with a router table instead but I have never owned one, so I can't offer you any good suggestions there. I would try to leave $500-$700 for accessories and clamps (not sure what your current clamp situation is like). 

I think you will find yourself pretty busy for the first year just working on your shop setup and doing shop projects. At this point you will have a pretty good idea of what you want to add next. 

About 4 years ago, I was in a somewhat similar situation. I had around 6K to spend on tools, I wanted a SS but did not want to eat up to much of my budget. I went a different route and ended up not being very happy. Fast Forward 3 years, I moved to HI and sold all of my power tools because they were not worth moving. If I had the SawStop, I probably would have kept it. I use mostly hand tools these days, whenever I can find time to get into my small shop. I also got deep into Festool when I was setting up my shop, which I also later regretted. 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[ben_r_]

21 hours ago, jmaichel said:

I am going to make a couple assumptions here. It does not sound like you are going to be short on space or money in the future. If 6K was all you had to spend for everything and no other money could be spent on tools in the future, recommendations would be very different. This does not seem to be the case for you. 

The SawStop seems like a done deal, if I was in your shoes I would make the same choice. I would stay away from CL, although there are some deals to be had, it mostly ends up being a frustrating experience. The SawStop does eat up a good amount of your initial budget, which does not leave a lot left over buying several more machines (not including DC in initial budget). I would skip the lunchbox planers and just spend the money on a nice 15" Planer. I have heard good things about the Grizzly Planers and if I was going to try and get the most bang from my buck, this is where I would do it. I also don't think you need a bandsaw right off the bat but if you do, the 1412 seems like the way to go and then you can add a bigger resew bandsaw a few years down the road. You could go with a router table instead but I have never owned one, so I can't offer you any good suggestions there. I would try to leave $500-$700 for accessories and clamps (not sure what your current clamp situation is like). 

I think you will find yourself pretty busy for the first year just working on your shop setup and doing shop projects. At this point you will have a pretty good idea of what you want to add next. 

About 4 years ago, I was in a somewhat similar situation. I had around 6K to spend on tools, I wanted a SS but did not want to eat up to much of my budget. I went a different route and ended up not being very happy. Fast Forward 3 years, I moved to HI and sold all of my power tools because they were not worth moving. If I had the SawStop, I probably would have kept it. I use mostly hand tools these days, whenever I can find time to get into my small shop. I also got deep into Festool when I was setting up my shop, which I also later regretted. 

Good luck and keep us posted.

Could you expand a bit more? I'm curious about that part. Also it's relative to the conversation I think as any and every woodworker will eventually find themselves on the internet researching something or another on the craft and will inevitably come across Festool and go back and forth in their head trying to understand what makes a $1500 miter saw cost that much and so on and so forth through their product lineup. So it might be an interesting point to note what made an individual "regret" going down that rabbit hole if there is such a person willing to admit it.

[jmaichel]

2 hours ago, ben_r_ said:

Could you expand a bit more? I'm curious about that part. Also it's relative to the conversation I think as any and every woodworker will eventually find themselves on the internet researching something or another on the craft and will inevitably come across Festool and go back and forth in their head trying to understand what makes a $1500 miter saw cost that much and so on and so forth through their product lineup. So it might be an interesting point to note what made an individual "regret" going down that rabbit hole if there is such a person willing to admit it.

Sure, I will do my best to try and explain what happened with me. 

First off, I think that the I was lured in by the "sexiness" of Festool, and those who have owned Festool or have been around long enough know what I am talking about. I really did not really take the time to think about the type of projects I wanted to build and the tools that I needed to own. I wanted to build my shop around Festool stuff and build projects based on my tooling. This is what I started with a TS75, MFT 3, CT26, OF1400, CXS, Domino, and a bunch of accessories including extra guide rails. I know there was a few more items in there but I can't remember what they were. 

Now here was the problem, I really had very little interest in building projects out of sheets goods, nor did I have any real interest in using a ton of loose tenon joinery (Dominos) in my projects. Around a year later I got rid of the MFT/3 and I started buying a few more hand tools. When I found out I was moving to HI, I sold every power tool that I owned. Over the last year and a half I have been buying hand tools and now have a very respectable hand tool kit. I did add a 735, Dewalt cordless miter saw and circ saw, and a portable table saw. These power tools are really only for non furniture projects or when I need to rip multiple small pieces of the same width but really they see very little use. When I finally move again and settle down, these tools will be relegated to shed and used for outdoor and indoor projects. 

 I was so focused on the tools and not on what projects I wanted to build and what I wanted my shop flow to be. I wanted to instead show off my shinny new green loot, which led to instant gratification but long term resentment. The cost of entry for Festool is steep and depending on what projects you want to build, the ROI can be relatively low. The only tool that I did not totally regret owning was the OF1400, although the TS75 saw some use, the price of the the TS75, OF1400, CT26, and accessories was a big chunk of my budget and not worth what I got out of them. If you are setting up a shop on a budget, most Festool tools should not be part of your tool list unless you are planning to build a lot projects out of sheet goods or have a very limited space. 

If I had to do it all over again, I would have went with the 1.75 HP (only 110V), a PM 6" jointer, Dewalt 735, Dust Collection, and some accessories. If I had room left in the budget, I would have probably added a router table. I already owned a bandsaw (Grizzly 0555). Its surprising how much you can get done with this core set of tools.

There may be several people on this forum that might disagree with me and that's fine, this is just my point of view based on my experiences. 

Hope this makes sense.

[Eric.]

Yeah, sorry James, but I disagree.

I'm not gonna make the "Festool is great" argument because I have my own set of problems with them.  But if you think Festool is only capable of doing sheet goods and loose tenon projects, you didn't even scratch the surface and maybe you should have done a little more research on what the system is capable of...especially the MFT.  That thing is an incredibly versatile tool that does WAY more than you're giving it credit for.

I think the truth of the matter is, when you started woodworking you thought you wanted to use power tools, then later decided you enjoyed hand tools more.  That's great, I'm all for it.  But don't pretend there's some deficiency with the Festool system that left you disillusioned.  Your shift to hand tools was based purely upon preference and I think you might be just a little bit bitter about wasting some money at the start.  And that's fine too...I also have a few thorns in my side from bad decisions I made early on.  But I'm not gonna cast blame on anything or anyone but myself.  Let's be real about it.

[..Kev]

I do tend to agree with James' overall thought in that it's better to start out with appropriate core tools than the green kool-aid.  

It's important to figure out how/if that green stuff fits in your work flow before spending that kind of money.  Makes no sense to buy a track saw if all you're doing is turning pens.  Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration but, you get the meaning

As for the FT items I have, my only regret is the jig saw.  What a waste of money that was!  I'm quite happy with the rest of the purchases but, they get used and fit in my work flow.

 

[Immortan D]

I don't have any festools because I know for a fact that I will acquire Shane's Syndrome the very same day I buy my first. I don't need another money pit, lol

[Llama]

I don't regret any of my purchases.

The things I do regret: not finishing my workbench sooner, taking so long to get organized, waiting so long to buy a jointer, basically procrastinating so damn much. I was content with being able to make things, and not understanding the value of a properly functioning shop sooner in this journey.

The good news is, these are all lessons learned. Time to move forward. 

[jmaichel]

1 hour ago, Eric. said:

Yeah, sorry James, but I disagree.

I'm not gonna make the "Festool is great" argument because I have my own set of problems with them.  But if you think Festool is only capable of doing sheet goods and loose tenon projects, you didn't even scratch the surface and maybe you should have done a little more research on what the system is capable of...especially the MFT.  That thing is an incredibly versatile tool that does WAY more than you're giving it credit for.

I think the truth of the matter is, when you started woodworking you thought you wanted to use power tools, then later decided you enjoyed hand tools more.  That's great, I'm all for it.  But don't pretend there's some deficiency with the Festool system that left you disillusioned.  Your shift to hand tools was based purely upon preference and I think you might be just a little bit bitter about wasting some money at the start.  And that's fine too...I also have a few thorns in my side from bad decisions I made early on.  But I'm not gonna cast blame on anything or anyone but myself.  Let's be real about it.

That is not exactly what I said. I know that Festool is not only for sheet goods and believe me I did use them on a number of projects and took advantage of different setups using QWAS dogs and removing the rail on my MFT. I am not blaming Festool! I am blaming myself for not taking the time to think about my future projects and how I wanted approach these projects. You have to admit that there was/is a lot of Festool hype and for some it does not meet expectations. I am only saying some of the Core tools would have been a better first choice. 

 

 

[Tom Cancelleri]

11 hours ago, TIODS said:

As for the FT items I have, my only regret is the jig saw.  What a waste of money that was!  I'm quite happy with the rest of the purchases but, they get used and fit in my work flow.

The only FT purchase I can say I regret is buying a 32" rail when I should've bought the 55" rail to accompany the 75" rail that came with the TS75. I actually really like my jig saw. I've had bosch, ryobi, crafstman, and porter cable jig saws in the past. The Carvex gets me using a jig saw more in my workflow they the others, dust collection on it is meh at best, but it is comfortable and well balanced. It was expensive for being a jig saw, but I wouldn't want to go back to the frustration that was my bosch, or the blades bending when making turns with the ryobi. 

[..Kev]

4 minutes ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

The only FT purchase I can say I regret is buying a 32" rail when I should've bought the 55" rail to accompany the 75" rail that came with the TS75. I actually really like my jig saw. I've had bosch, ryobi, crafstman, and porter cable jig saws in the past. The Carvex gets me using a jig saw more in my workflow they the others, dust collection on it is meh at best, but it is comfortable and well balanced. It was expensive for being a jig saw, but I wouldn't want to go back to the frustration that was my bosch, or the blades bending when making turns with the ryobi. 

Please don't get me wrong, it is a nice saw.  But, it's just not worth the price point especially considering what it get's used for in my shop.  If it were a primary tool in my shop seeing daily use or had killer DC that was up to FT standards, then maybe it would be worth the asking price.