If you were to build a garage shop, what would be the three (3) shop tools - like table saws, etc. - that you would absolutely need to have (not including hand tools, manual or electric)? I need to work on my small garage and am undecided as to what it is that I really need. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ray ===
Table saw, jointer, and band saw would be at the top of my list for stationary equipment. Add a "portable" planer (as portable as anything weighing 80-100 pounds can be), a router table, and a compound miter saw, and you're in pretty good shape.
on 15/11/2007, Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman supposed :
Table saw, band saw, drill press.
Mekon
"Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net:
Table saw, Drill Press, Router (Look for a hand held that you can also use in a table)
Circular saw as a "powered hand tool."
These tools should take care of 90% of what you'd ever want to do with a wood working project. Other tools will make it cleaner, easier, faster, etc, but these will handle the bulk of your projects.
Do I have to even mention the cordless drill/driver?
Puckdropper
1) Table Saw 2) Bench Top Planer 3) Bench Top Jointer (An old one with a belt drive) 4) 4x8 Table to serve as a runout table for the saw, and/or table for planer and jointer.
Lew
1st choice I used this combo for years and it worked well for me. Radial Arm Saw Can to most of what a TS can do with a little training and takes up less room. Band saw Drill Press 2nd choice Shop Smith Planner other tool to be determined by what type of work would be done, for me a band saw
Table Saw Router, Planer
Ray, I have to cite four tools that I feel are necessary - for me - three just won't cut it (sorry about the pun)
Table saw Jointer Planer Band saw.
A hand held plunge router with a good fence/guide system would be a needed item and if posible a means to mount your router in the side table of the table saw would be a great plus. As has been pointed out elsewhere in this group, you could egde joint on the router which could minimize the need for a jointer but I could not get away with that for the stuff that I try to make. Marc
Table saw (of course) band saw jointer
You can mount a router in one wing of the table saw and not have to take up space with a router table.
Dick Durbin Tallahassee
What kind of work do you want to do? If you're primarily a turner then the answer is going to be different from if you're primarily a box maker or a furniture maker or whatever.
By far the most useful thing is a good bench -- hard to do anything if you don't have a good flat spot on which to work. With a good bench you can do lots of one-off things with hand tools about as fast setting up a machine. Without a good bench, layout, dry fit and glue up is much harder and more frustrating.
Everything else is an efficiency device. Since there is a three device limit and it's a garshop, I'm guessing the limitation is really on space and thigns have to be stowed when not in use. If so I'd put efficiency per sq ft high for a smaller full-size band saw, and a table saw (using the bench as outfeed table). I'd go with a dust collector on wheels for the the third. Other stationary machines may vary a lot in space efficiency depending on what you build.
hex
-30-
Table saw, band saw, drill press then next 3
6x48 belt sander/disk sander combo, lathe, dust collector then next 3 jig saw, jointer, planer or large belt/drum sander.I have all these in my home shop except the planer and drum sander and tried to list them in the order I would miss the most, or most used. I really haven't missed the planer at all but would love to have a 24 or
36 inch belt/drum sander... I probably would buy a shaper before a planer, but you can get by with a router. I have a shaper which is is a lot better than a router table but more expensive as well.Whatever you get, make sure it is high quality stuff. Cheap tools always suck. If you can't afford good new stuff, find good old stuff, or do without until you can buy quality.
MiniMax or Felder combo machine, bandsaw, drill press
Hey Frank, that is almost cheating. LOL Great suggestion, you get more machines for a single choice.
The key is "almost cheating."
I moved from a huge shop into a small one and had to ditch the separate machines. The switch was not without some issues. I had to learn to be much more organized and think through the steps for each phase of the project.
In a few years I will be building another shop and I am starting to think about what machines I will use then.
Really want to thank all that have responded with advice on what I should be getting. That is what I like about this group, you ask a question and get strait forward answers.
Again, THANKS.
Ray ===
ts, jointer, planer.
Can't do much without square stock, and I don't have the patience to four-square by hand.
jc
My three power tools are
I have room for one more stationary tool. Might be a lathe, might be a bandsaw.
David Starr
David Starr
Not one person mentioned the shaper... The first principles of working wood...to cut, to shape, to fasten...are the same as they have always been. My choice of three would be the table saw, the plane, and the shaper.
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