I think it's worth pointing out that a tablesaw in the first couple purchases isn't required at all.
Buy a good quality bandsaw, and a selection of blades from suffolk for say 500 total. You then don't need a jig saw, or a table saw for a while. Sure the table saw might do a better job, but for way more money, and they are only really good at one thing.
Just my two cents
Andrew
He didn't say it was ideal, he said it was invaluable!
I use my drill press for both metal and wood, so quality was essential for me. But even a cheap drill press is more accurate than hand drill> Different opinion from here. Bought a benchtop Delta drill press and
While all of the above suggestions are right on for power tools, they all add up to many thousand dollars. Consider starting with the school if available, and then going to hand tools to get started. I have some power tools in Montana, but only hand tools in Illinois, and it works. You can start with a good square, X-acto knife, block plane and one larger plane, 3-4 chisels, a good back saw, steel rule, a scraper, and some sandpaper. You will also need some sharpening stones and a guide to sharpen planes and chisels. Maybe a regular crosscut saw too. Oh... as many clamps as you can get.
With these, and the use of some books, you can plane boards square, make dovetail joints, glue boards together to make wider boards, and build boxes, bookcases, shelves, and a lot more.
Then, as your budget regains it's health, add one power tool at a time. You may already have an electric drill or a skill saw, and maybe just need some good bits and a carbide saw blade. A cheap belt sander from Home Depot will hide a lot of mistakes! In the mean time, you will have developed some skills in woodworking, and will start to get an idea of what power tool will let you progress to the next level.
I hope this helps a little!
regards,
Rich.....
Now that I've filled the garage (i.e. shop) with tools I think I agree with Andrew. If I was starting over I'd have a band saw, circular saw, and router (with table). I'd then fill in with good (used?) hand tools. You should be able to find used tools if you keep looking.
When I started out as a teen I had a jigsaw, router, and drill. Along with some hand tools my grand dad gave me. I was able to build some serviceable furniture. Start slow and easy. Wait to buy those expensive tools until you understand (classes?) their use. And don't buy cheap.
D. G. Adams
I understand your situation, I was there 20 years ago. One of my big mistakes was to buy cheap tools. If you are serious, you will burn a lot of cash on junk that will have to be replaced. If we had an idea of what type of woodworking you would like to do we could give you better advice, but I'd still say don't buy junky tools. Used is ok, junk is not.
Note that you can do some pretty amazing stuff with just a few hundred dollars in hand tools and a little patience.
D. G. Adams
Deborah,
If you're looking for a power tool, I'd recommend a Radial Arm Saw. The low-end new Deltas will eat up nearly all of the $1000, but you'll have something that does the work of quite a few power tools. Or, if you don't mind a fixer-upper, find a used DeWalt Radial Arm Saw from the 1950's at an estate sale for an even better saw. It'll do all sorts of cross-cuts, rip cuts, jointing, etc... I no longer use my (admittedly cheap) table saw or my under-sized jointer.
But buy a book on how to use it, too. It'll teach you the tricks and how not to lose a body part or two.
Or buy the best drill you can afford and spend $30 or so on a drill/driver set (such as DW2730) where you just extract and flip - no chucking.
Deborah,
Based on my own experience, here's the tools I would start out with.
Anthony
Here's my experience, for what it's worth.
I've been doing "serious" ww for about 15 or so years, building furniture and such, along with numerous other small projects that required wood as the prime material. I slowly accumulated tools, sometimes not so slowly, but never had room for a table saw until we got our new house this summer. It's the big ticket item, both in cost and in space. It's great. I love it. I might even say, "I don't know how I ever got along without it", but I know how I got along. I managed by getting whoever I bought sheet stock from to cut it for me into bitesize pieces that I could bring home. A Bosch jigsaw is, in my humble opinion, the single most useful power tool you can buy for cutting. With a good setup and clamps and straight guides, you can do a good portion of what you can do on a table saw. A drill press is another really invaluable tool. And a RO sander. A router opens up a whole new world of ways to shape wood, but you CAN live without one. Beyond that, you need a minimal collection of good hand tools, such as a #4 plane, chisels, handsaws, maybe a dowelling jig, marking and measuring tools, good quality drill bits (make all the difference in the world). You can do a lot with a little, and work your way up as you go along.
lol I did tell serval people what I was planning on doing yesterday but silly me just hit the reply button and not the reply to group button (hmmm wonder where they sell brains these days...lol)
first off I'm going to build my workbench, after that loads of bookcases for all the books we have (we are turning the upstairs into a library its a
20x30 ft room). after that I might try some funiture, and ofcourse toys (I made my daughter a really cute bird pull toy for er first birthday this year with the jigsaw and a hole saw bit on the drill, and I have to say when working with hardwood, it was out of wild cherry, having a wood blade expecially a sharp one is so much better then a metal blade...lmao, Wish I had at lest a planer for that because I was working with ruff cut wood took for ever to sand it :)After reading all the posts I think I'm going to spend most my money on a halfway decant table saw, $600-800 range and a butt load of clamps and wood for the workbench. (I think Hubby desided to do my birthday presant this way is so in the future he can just buy something for the shop for me and not have to figure out what I like...lmao)
And after much inner debating I have locked my inner cheapskate up and buy atlest midrange EQ...lol
Deborah
I have to say you guys have all been great with responding to my message and I would like to thank you all....I tryed to respond to a lot of message but sence my little natives are getting restless....lol....I don't have the time...lol...
I think Norm has the right idea for me but with a $1000 it is now iffy in my mind if I can get both a table say and planner (planners are sooooooo neat I just love them, taking an old weatered board and you plane it and it looks so pretty and smooth....)
Today I happened to hit the reply group button so you all should get the message about what I am planning on building I forgot that what you are planning to do is a big part of what tools you get...lol and sence I knew what I wanted to do...sometimes forget that people arn't mind readers...lol
I'm going to start looking for used EQ so I guess that means taking the bull by the horns and going into pawn shops and what not (even though the whole time I'm in one I'll be saying 'Sean don't touch that' and 'Emily no you can't get down' lmao
oh and I never told you guys the two spaces I'm thinking about turning into my workshop. my garage (which the door is to short for my van to fit in) is
10x20 with a concrete floor, Then I have the big space in the barn which is 24x24 with a 11x11 corner pened off (which I thought would make a wonderful kids 'workshop' complete witha gate...lol) but it has a dirt floor (thinking maybe next year we will get a 4 inch slab layed in there)Deborah
Agree with getting decent table saw.
You might want to consider this:
l;ol I was just telling Hubby today on the phone that we needed a new tape measure since our old one had that accedent....lol...
and we just got a square when we had to replace some window glass last month....lol.... we have a little bit of hand tools so...
It is just so much to think about...lol
Deborah
Deborah,
You should be able to pick up a decent "contractor" tablesaw (or a high end portable) for around $500, a decent portable planer for around $200, and still have $200 left over for a power miter saw.. :)
My old tablesaw is smaller and junkier than even a contractor saw, and it has served me well for over 14 years. I've wanted to upgrade many times, but it's hard to justify the cost when mine still works well (and doesn't take the space the newer saws would).
Until we built our garage a few years ago, I did all of my woodworking out of a small 8x12 shed. I'd pull the tablesaw out in the yard, build my projects on tarps, and put everything away at the end of the day. :) A lot of work, and it restricts you to dry days, but it's certainly possible...
Anthony
lol...I'm not going to be portering around anything....lol...Right now I need stationary I'm to darn weak to be dragging table saws around....lol...(might have to get that home gym soon...lol)
A power miter saw is on the list of things I need though, Last place we lived the land lord had a laser guided one new in the box that we got to use, along with his portable planer....hehehe invented projects just so I could use them...lol
Deborah
I do projects in my basement and so far I have had to remove the steps on the back porch to get some cabinets out. And it is a pain is the butt to get plywood down stairs, but it can be done.
The room I am working in is 16 X 16. and loaded with, well allot of junk. I've only begun the journey into making it a real workshop, since I doubt that we would ever move out of the city, which I hate.
I'm working in a 11x13 (interior - 12x14 exterior) shed. I don't have room for a bandsaw or a sharpening station, but I have a tablesaw, jointer, drill press, stationary belt sander, and workbench plus a bunch of portable power tools (although at my age, calling a 60 pound planer portable is pushing it a wee bit) and hand tools.
I've never had to maove anything outside, but when ripping long stock I do have to open the doors.
Deborah,
Many of the "portable" saws come with roller stands to make them easy to move and store. But, you could also build a wheeled cart for the saw, providing a base that includes storage space and expands the support area. With a small workshop, this lets you move the saw out of the way easily when you're not using it.
My saw is "stationary" but I still end up dragging it around to move it out of the way when it's not being used... :)
Anthony
lol big items I just tend to leave wherever they are and move everything around them. hopefully we will get the EQ one weekend when Hubby is home and he can organize the shop...lol.. I would say se he could move it all around but I know thats not going to happen...lol... Besides I'm a procrasanater and if I have to get the saw out to use it.... lol
Deborah
Larry,
Believe me, my 8x12 shed was packed to the rafters with "stuff". :) I couldn't walk in there, let alone do any woodworking. There was only one door, and everything had to go in and out in a specific order. :)
As for using the tablesaw, I can't see ripping a sheet of plywood with anything less than 20' or so. 8 feet in front of the saw, 8 feet behind the saw, 3 feet for the saw itself, and some room for me. :)
Of course, if the shed has doors on two sides, it only needs to be big enough for the tablesaw. Maybe 4'? :)
Anthony
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