Which gets the most use?

[Victor Robinson]

Just a curiosity...

After your tablesaw, which tool sees the most use?

[Michael Flores]

Im one up on the planer. When you live in the concrete jungle, most hardwood is sold already surfaced. You have to go out of your way to get lumber in the rough. The most i usually have to do is run it through the planer to reach the desired thickness.

[Karl Card]

I had to go with "other" due to my lathe being the most used tool in my shop.

[Brian Penning]

Couldn't vote. Planer and jointer get used equally in tandem.

[Curt Harms]

Couldn't vote. Planer and jointer get used equally in tandem.

I agree with Brian. I seldom perform just one operation. Of course I mostly use rough stock. If I had to pick just one I'd say planer but would not want to give up either.

[Ken Shoemaker]

No vote - Planer/ Jointer

[Myk Rian]

Bandsaw for me.

[Gary Muto]

The jointer on one face and one edge of each board...at least. except plywood!

[Stephen Edwards]

I chose other. These polls would be much more meaningful if one could choose more than one option. I don't know if that's a vBulletin limitation or not.

[Jeff Miller]

I voted other and that would be my Radial Arm Saw:D



JEFF:)

[Rod Sheridan]

Couldn't vote. Planer and jointer get used equally in tandem.

I agree, and the most used machine in my shop is the cyclone, since it's used for all of the machines.......Regards, Rod.

[Paul Ryan]

My jointer used to get way more use than my planer. Since getting a new planer that is always out and ready for action it gets more use. However the jointer still gets more use.

[Harold Burrell]

Couldn't vote. Planer and jointer get used equally in tandem.

I thought that too, at first. Until I remembered that I go with one more step with my jointer...edge jointing.

[Jeremy Brant]

Planer. I use the planer and jointer in tandem as well. I tipped the edge to the planer since it typically removes much more material than the jointer (more passes to bring to thickness).

[Sean Nagle]

I voted Drill Press. Practically every project seems to visit the drill press at one time or another. If using sheet goods, the jointer and planer stand down otherwise they would have come in second.

[Hugh Jardon]

Other for me. My Shopvac! I am forever using the damn thing. I use it far more than any of the other tools.

One other thing, I agree wrt the drill press. I have only had one about 6 months, and I have to discipline myself to drill holes with it and not grab the nearest black and wrecker. Every time I do that, and get great results every time, I remind myself to be more disciplined and use it more often, even if it does mean another run with the shopvac.

[Paul Atkins]

I have to say the lathes, usually only three of them. Well, that's what I do, so not much tablesaw work. The bandsaw next and then the jointer. Tablesaw got used this month twice.

[Victor Robinson]

Sorry to all the turning folks...didn't mean to disenfranchise you with my poll. ;)

[joe milana]

Definitely my big Johnson......TAPE MEASURE THAT IS!!! Geeze...what were you thinking?

[Chris Tsutsui]

I voted CMS though I have a SCMS.

The only reason is because before I Joint and Plane a board I cut it down in length so I'm not working with a 10' or longer board.

I also don't have a crosscut sled for a TS so I end up making most crosscuts 8" or less with the SCMS.

[Brian Tymchak]

I voted Jointer since the poll was asking about wood working machines. But, the large tool in my shop that gets used, by far, more than any other, is the workbench (probably every minute of a project..). The machine that gets the most use over any other is the DC as it gets used with all my wood working machines.

Brian

[Chip Lindley]

Not a very valid Question, and impossible to answer! Each answer depends upon what is being made. Turners need a bandsaw and lathe. Carvers need chisels. Cabinet makers need LOTS of machinery! Newbies use what they have!

Each machine has it's own specific use in the shop! When turning rough lumber into usable stock, it is ripped (if too wide), jointed, planed, ripped to size, crosscut, shaped, glued and clamped, sanded, and finished. No one tool outshines the other. Each machine has it's specific function, or another is used in it's place. To each his own!

[Victor Robinson]

Not a very valid Question, and impossible to answer! Each answer depends upon what is being made. Turners need a bandsaw and lathe. Carvers need chisels. Cabinet makers need LOTS of machinery! Newbies use what they have!

Each machine has it's own specific use in the shop! When turning rough lumber into usable stock, it is ripped (if too wide), jointed, planed, ripped to size, crosscut, shaped, glued and clamped, sanded, and finished. No one tool outshines the other. Each machine has it's specific function, or another is used in it's place. To each his own!

You're absolutely 100% right. But I wanted to see if after the TS (and DC as some have pointed out), there was a clear "second most common tool" among woodworkers. I know our equipment usage diverge quickly depending on what is being made, but I was curious to see if there is another universal tool after the TS/DC. :)

[Tony Bilello]

I voted router since all my furniture projects require routing, In actuality, my second most used tool was not on the list - Air compressor. I use it for air sanding, nailing, blowing down dust and spraying once in a while.

[Brian Kent]

My most used machine is my computer - to find out stuff I don't know on each project from Sawmill Creek - y'all are my shop teachers, buds, woodworking partners, and advisory board.

[Al Navas]

In this order - and NO vote:


Jointer - one face, and one edge
Table saw - do the other edge
Planer - mill to intermediate thickness, let acclimate, check for stability. When stable, for for final thickness.

By itself, the question is irrelevant for most situations building furniture and buying rough lumber. Even when buying lumber at the BORG you will very likely have to joint it, to get it flat. I've yet to see a truly flat board from the home center.
.

[Tony Joyce]

I second Jeff's answer.

[Frank Drew]

Vacuums are appliances, not tools :cool:.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I use my bandsaw more often than my table saw. Jointer and planer follow after TS.

[David Helm]

I voted, but really wanted to vote for several tools.

[glenn bradley]

Couldn't vote. Planer and jointer get used equally in tandem.

Like Brian, jointer and planer are about equal after tablesaw. Then it would be a draw between the router table and the bandsaw. If you're trying to pick one to do without; forget it. If you are trying to pick what to get next; it doesn't really matter.

I recall back a few years I was standing in a store in front of a cabinet FULL of router bits, staring and thinking, staring and thinking. . . . a wise man standing nearby said "don't stress over it, you'll have a bunch of them soon enough". I didn't believe it at the time. Now I find my router table bit storage of a few dozen woefully inadequate and I've got a half a dozen routers or so . . . who knew?

It'll be the same with your core machines; whatever one you don't yet have will make its absence felt very soon.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

It seemed a bit odd to vote that way but I had to put down CMS. There are a few occasions I don't need a jointer or planer but every board has to be cut to length and the CMS is what I use for that.

[george wilson]

Jointer wins? After those HUGE,LONG discussions of everyone who says you don't need a jointer?

I use my bandsaw the most. It depends upon what you are making. I make guitars. they have curves. They need book matched,resawn wood. And,back when I didn't have a dust collector,they made less mess than a table saw.

[Myk Rian]

Strange, isn't it?

I chose bandsaw because I'm always using it for cuts when I don't want to set up the TS.
Sure, I use the jointer and planer, but they aren't an everyday use. Only when I need some stock to cut on the TS or BS.

[Dave Cav]

I voted other and that would be my Radial Arm Saw:D
JEFF:)

Second that! Sometimes I think I use the radial arm saws (I have two) more than the table saw.

The poll did mention a CMS, but as far as I'm concerned, that's a framer's tool, not a cabinetmakers or furniture maker's tool....

[Van Huskey]

Its between the jointer and planer but I picked planer since I think I run it more often, but it is really close.

[Victor Robinson]

Not that this is by any means scientific, but it's interesting to see the router and CMS inching ahead of planer and bandsaw.

[Michael Schwartz]

If your making fine furniture or cabinetry from solid wood, a table saw won't get you very far without a jointer and thickness planer.

Even if you buy your lumber surfaced S3S, or S4S, it is still likely to have some cup/twist or bow, and due to the fact wood moves and is constantly changing dimensionally you will likely need to true it again if it was so when you bought it.

If I had to to pick just one to have along side a table saw I would go with a thickness planer. Even if I had to make due with a $150 bench-top machine. I don't think I could live without a planer.

A few well tuned hand planes, sweat equity, or table saw jigs and a planer sled can make up for a jointer to some degree. While some accomplished woodworkers get by without a jointer, there really is no substitution if you have the means to get one.

To some guys the bandsaw has equal status to a table saw. After a table saw, planer, and jointer I would purchase a good 14" bandsaw.

Routers are somewhat of a given, but won't do much for you if you don't have the tools to mill up stock to rout with it.

Use the right tool for the job. It takes some patience to get them all, but the tools that let you flatten, true, square and mill a piece of wood to accurate dimensions should come first.

[Glen Butler]

I say jointer because it surfaces 4 sides whereas the planer only does 2. It also edges peices that warp as they come off the table saw, that don't need the planer.

[Greg Portland]

The TS is not the most used tool in my shop. If I had to rank things in terms of minutes used / week:

- palm sander
- drum sander
- hand tools (saws, chisels, planes, etc.)
- impact driver
- kreg jig
- planer / jointer
- Domino
- router
- bandsaw
- table saw

In general, the time on the table saw per project is very small when compared to the time it takes me to complete other operations. Sanding and finishing is easily 80% of my time (I am picky).

[Art Mulder]

I agree, and the most used machine in my shop is the cyclone, since it's used for all of the machines.......Regards, Rod.

Hmm, I was having a hard time deciding, but I think Rod nailed it. My DC.

[Thomas Pender]

Your poll is too limited. Plus, it suffers from some possibly erroneous presumptions.

Is there anyone here that does not use their workbench (including vises)more than any other tool? We measure on it, cut on it, drill on it, chisel on it, plane on it, finish on it, store crap on them, etc. Also, what about our rulers and squares - aren't they tools? Can you do anything without measuring?

I also disagree that my DC is not a tool. I think it may be the most expensive and possibly most valuable tool in my shop and I use it the most after my bench. I also use my bandsaw to rip with, so I actually use my table saw much less than I did before and considering how easy it is to use my Festool Plunge saw and how good its dust collection is, my table saw sees very little use.

But, I freely confess my jointer and planer are critical. Same with my router - both free and under the table. But after my bandsaw, the jointer wins.

Also, who here really does not use their sharpening tools a great deal - for chisels, plane blades, striking knives, etc.? Or - I use by LV block plane several times every darn day and it is not rare for me to use my BU Smoother, Jack, or Jointer or my medium shoulder plane.

One thing all of us know is that they way a poll is structured tends to extrude a certain result. If you had a poll wherein you asked to rank for 5 most used tools in use order, you would have a statistically accurate poll. I would not not presume the TS is the most used tool - statistically it cannot be, because we usually measure wood on our bench before we cut, or at least I do.:)