I've just started into woodworking as a result of being fed up with dealing with contractors doing so-so work in my home for a lot of money.
My first project is putting up craftsman style moldings in our upstairs bat h. I've chosen to mill my own wood from rough-sawn pieces, which yielded w ood savings enough to pay for my used Ridgid lunchbox thickness planer and my used Craftsman 6-1/8" jointer. This has turned out to be a good beginne r project as I am learning something I believe is pretty fundamental.
So, first a question: I'm finding that used power tools are a pretty great deal, especially hobbyist-grade, since so many hobbyists only use them ligh tly, or even abandon the hobby before long. Are there any modern tools, ne w ones that are new to the marketplace that are must-haves or really-great- to-haves? Sawstop comes to mind as a good example, IMO. Others?
Second question: I have a secondary interest, beyond just building things f rom wood, in building wooden things by hand - using no, or very few, power tools. Does anyone in the group with experience in old-timey woodworking s uch as this have thoughts or advice? Just to be clear, I'm no reactionary
- my interest is in the charm and tradition in the pursuit, not because I t hink power tools are evil - I think they're great. But I'm drawn to this, as is my son, with whom I'm taking up this hobby.
Thanks for your attention, I'm having fun with this so far. At 53 it's ver y cool to learn new things and feel like a kid again :)