Seeking recommendations on major power tools for a new woodworking setup

wonderpug

Do we have a dedicated woodworking thread somewhere on the forum? I couldn't find one, but if we do I'm happy to have this thread closed and move over there.

I've just moved into my own house and I'm super excited to get a wood shop set up as soon as possible. Budget is a concern, but I don't want to skimp so much on anything that I sacrifice safety or get so disappointed in a tool's performance I end up buying something better in a year. I really want to ride as close as I can on that line between affordability and performance.

For equipment thus far, I have a pretty fleshed out assortment of hand tools and small power tools, so I'm mainly just trying to figure out the big stuff. I already have a miter saw, but none of the other big stuff.

My must haves:

• Table Saw - my research so far is pointing me toward the Ridgid R4512
• Jointer
• Planer

Want ASAP after the above:

• Router (would build routing table for it)
• Dedicated mortiser

Considering, but on the fence about how soon I need:

• Shop Vac / Dust Collector
• Drill press
• Band saw

Immediate projects on my to-do list are: wood shop furniture (work table, miter saw table, etc.), then book shelves (lots of shelves) and freestanding cabinetry, followed by kid toys/furniture and eventually things like forts or tree houses.

zerzhul

I can 100% see not wanting to screw around with a full size dust collection system right off the bat. However, get a shop vac. It's a must. Keeping a clean shop is of utmost importance to every project and the longevity of your tools.

I'm not much help on tools though. I grew up with a shop full of older or custom bench tools, and I have a shopsmith myself (inherited.. I did not have $4k to slap down on one).

Donovan Puppyfucker

My Dad's got this convertible workbench thing, I can't remember the name of it no matter how hard I try. It's this fully adjustable orange metal thing you can bolt a bunch of different machines into (circular saw to make it a table saw, router to make it a routing bench, etc. etc.) and it's very convenient because you can hook up a regular shop vacuum to the dust outlet and you don't need to buy a dedicated dust extraction system. It takes up way less space than his old solid Jarrah workbench he got when the railway workshops closed down, yet you can still chop up standard 1200x2400 sheets on it. It cost a bit, though.

see317

Personally, I'd suggest a lathe and a cheap set of tools. Learn how to sharpen the cheap ones so you don't screw up expensive ones.
Useful for legs or decorative bits, bowls and the like. Also, lots of fun to use.
Maybe a bench grinder to maintain any sharp edges on chisels or planes.

Another vote to move the shopvac up the list. They're useful in lots of places, not just the garage.

ScottE

You can get better equipment for less money if you buy older stuff used. With a lot of shops going out of business, there's some good stuff to be had on Craigs List. Older Delta Unisaws and Powermatic 66's were great table saws. Put a good, sharp blade on it. The Delta 8" jointer (the DJ-20 ) is a good machine. For non-production situations I've heard good things about the Grizzly stuff. I've had a Woodworkers Supply mortiser in my pro shop for 16 years and it works great. Get dust collection sooner than later. If you are going to have the collector in your shop (instead of being outside in a shed with just the pipe running into the shop) get the super fine particulate bags for it. The regular bags just catch the big stuff and blow the really fine stuff back into the shop for you to breathe. The portercable routers on the swivel bases are great in a router table. I have a cheap bench top drill press and it works just fine, I wouldn't spend a pile of money on one. Buy the best you can afford and buy it once. It sucks having to work with crappy, underpowered tools. Good luck, have fun.

Scott
CustomFurniture.us

wonderpug

ScottE wrote: »

You can get better equipment for less money if you buy older stuff used.

This route makes complete sense, but when it comes to giant machines with spinning blades of danger, I worry about my ability to evaluate if used equipment has been kept in good shape or not. That said, I wish I had been ready to buy this stuff a year ago: I stumbled across a garage sale where someone who seemed like he cared about his tools was selling off all his heavy stuff in preparation for an out of state move. Since I'm not ready to buy everything right this instant, I guess it would be prudent to at least start scanning Craigslist to see if anything jumps out.

Gorgeous stuff on your website, by the way. Do you have a physical store presence, or just the online front? I'm actually just an hour south of you in the Albuquerque area, and if your stuff is on display, I'd love to come up and take a look sometime.

see317 wrote: »

Personally, I'd suggest a lathe and a cheap set of tools. ...
Maybe a bench grinder to maintain any sharp edges on chisels or planes.

A lathe would be a lot of fun, but for at least the first bunch of projects on my to-do list, it would just be a 'nice to have' compared to securing the table saw, jointer, and planer. Definitely on the 'someday' list, though.

Bench grinder is on the list, too, but I figure I can hold off a bit on that expense until I get a few more tools dulled.

Looks like a shop vac is moving higher on the to-buy list, though.

zagdrob

Shop vac is a must for any shop. Wait until Black Friday and go to Lowes / Home Depot - a good shop vac is one of their perpetual door busters, and usually they have their ~$70-80 model dirt cheap through the holiday season.

You seem to have a pretty good idea of the tools you need, and if you can find a Shopsmith type set for a decent price it's definitely one of the best investments you can make for a hobby wood / workshop. Standalone equipment is cool if you've got the space / budget for it, but dropping $TEXAS on something you barely end up using happens.

A table saw is something that's worth spending decent money on and getting something high quality. The Rigid you picked out seems like a good option for a home shop, if you're not commercial you don't gain much by dropping bigger money on Porter Cable / Delta / Dewalt.

In my opinion, a drill press and band saw from Harbor Freight is more than adequate for any home shop. You can certainly spend more, but when I've looked I haven't seen any real benefit in spending more. Same with a bench grinder.

I'd recommend adding a table sander - something with a belt and disc - to your list of tools to buy. A spindle sander is handy, but you can get by with a good belt / disc sander.

If you're really going all out, a radial arm saw is invaluable. There isn't really anything you can't do with a compound miter saw + table saw, but it makes it so much easy...and using a dado replaces a lot of jobs that you normally would need to do with a router.

Probably the only other things I'd recommend if you don't have them already is a good vice, framing square, and plenty of clamps. All kinds of clamps. You can never have too many.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Oh yeah, a good radial arm saw is like the Leatherman of any wood shop. You can do SO MUCH with them.

djmitchella

Table saw -- think seriously about space. I have an older model of the Ridgid 4510, and it's been solid enough for everything I've needed thus far (4'x8' sheets down to cutting tiny slivers off stuff), but it also folds up and leans against a wall when I'm not using it.

Unless things have changed a lot recently, that Ridgid or the Bosch 4100 are the sweet spot between too cheap and overkill.

A drill press is definitely worthwhile -- even a tabletop-sized one will make holes _much_ more evenly than hand-holding will, and for some bits of furniture building that's a big deal.

Also, if you're building lots of shelves, a biscuit jointer is a quick and easy way to make basic frames that are strong enough for most things. (it'll be the wood, not the joints, that breaks).

A Dabble Of Thelonius

Seconding the "get a shop vac" motion.
I used a lot of different tools over 14 years of custom homebuilding and I can say that my favorite tablesaw was my dewalt. Miter saw ss well now that i think on it. Dewalt can be pricey though as they cater to jobsite iyems. I got no beef with rigid. I also really liked my bosch router.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Bosch make good stuff. Thing is, quite often you'll see two Bosch power tools with very similar specs, except one is probably a little plainer-looking and weighs a bit more. Also, it costs about double what the other one does.

Buy the more expensive one.

You'll understand why when your grandkids are using it in 50 years time.