Hi, I'm new

[Craig Hunt]

Hi everyone,
I recently joined after lurking for a long time, decided it was time to introduce myself.
I have been woodworking for about a year now out of a 9'-10" x 19'-10" uninsulated shop behind my garage.
I have built my workbench, a bookcase, rt, outfeed support for ts and three end grain cutting boards. My neighbors
saw me sanding one of the cutting boards in my driveway and asked me if i sold them, so I did something dumb . . I said yes.

Anyway, the neighbors have me real busy building them two benches and are wanting me to build a bookcase
in the future. I've decided to put any money I earn into more tools, so my first question for you all is what should i get?

My goal is to build furniture for the house and yard, using solid wood and ply, plus home improvement stuff.

I have a shop vac for dc, a Rockwell 34-425 ts (early 60's made in USA) with no extensions and a tube fence that gets in the way of my crappy miter guage, new 6" dado head, zc inserts, old freud blade, a pc 890 router mounted in a table, no fence yet, plus 8 Whiteside bits. I also have a Bosch 1591 evs jigsaw, 2 old circ saws, old Ryobi crap saw, an old Skil corded drill and a b&d cordless drill with the worst runout ever. 3 forstner bits a couple brad pt bits, countersink bits. Plus I have various hand tools, Stanely no. 4 1911 model, my chisels are no good, but I have good sharpening equipment.
Oh and I recently dropped my ros while running and it does not work too good.

I have a budget of $570, I'm thinking I need better support for my work pieces so I'm thinking of getting a new ts fence, maybe the Vega 40" fence. Also, I plan on building a deck and helping father in law build his house so maybe a better cordless drill. I know nothing about what kind of drill to get. I'm thinking an Incra miter guage or maybe a Ryobi planer to help on the cutting board projects and some grip tites, but first a good dust mask, short of breath right now,:p the list goes on. So, if you are still reading, What do you think I should get?

[Van Huskey]

Welcome!

Right now I would ust buy tools as you need them on a project by project basis. One thing I see you may want to buy is a new table saw blade if you go that route set a budget and make a post and you will get plenty of suggestions.

I think the 5 "biggies" for a shop are the table saw, band saw, jointer, planer and router table. Once you have these you can do most things needed for general furniture making. You will also need some smaller hand and handheld power tools but I think buying as you go makes sense on those and planning for the big purchases over time. Do your best to budget well and remember a good tool can last most of a lifetime, a bad poor tool will just frustrate you until you buy a better tool.

[Gene Howe]

Hi Craig, and welcome.
Van is right on with his suggestions.
Do what you must to make your TS safe to use but I wouldn't invest much in it.
Home built router fences are relatively simple. Check out router forums dot com for some great ideas ranging from a length of wood and two clamps to micro adjustable split fence models.
I got along well with only a vac for many years, but a DC sure makes a difference, now. Not a priority, though....IMO.
Same with a miter saw. Nice, easy to use, makes some jobs a lot quicker but, it can wait, too.
Good luck and nice to have you join this wonderful group of folks.

[Jim Rimmer]

Welcome!
I think the 5 "biggies" for a shop are the table saw, band saw, jointer, planer and router table. Once you have these you can do most things needed for general furniture making.
Welcome to the Creek. You will find a great group of ww'ers here willing to share their expertise with you.

+1 on Van's list. I recently upgraded to Grizzly TS and love it. A little beyond the budget you set but worht the investment. You can find some good tools on Craigs List or eBay but you have to know what you're looking at and what a good price should be. A lot of guys here buy hand power tools refurbished and seem to have had good luck with them at about 1/2 the price of new. I plan to try that on my next hand power tool.

[Steve Bracken]

I agree with the other three :)

I came to the US 5 years ago, with two suitcases and no money.

I made a rule about not buying a tool until a cut I wanted to make needed it. I bought, and still do, on eBay, Craigslist and the occasional new tool.

I now have a 2500 sq ft shop which is dis-organised, and still missing some essentials, but the tool list is fairly sound and comprises of:

Delta DC-380 Planer
Delta Unisaw 50" Beisemeyer
Delta 6" Jointer/Planer
Delta 10" Radial Arm Saw
DeWalt 12" Miter Saw
Craftsman 15" Drill Press
Craftsman 12" Lathe
Grizzly 17" Bandsaw
A bunch of Routers :)

The shop also has a reasonable selection of handtools, etc.

The most I have paid is $700 for the new bandsaw. The rest has been aquired by trading up. For example, I recently traded my Delta Contractor Saw and Lunchbox Planer for the Unisaw and DC-380 Planer, and I did it without spending extra.

I spend a lot of time looking for bargains, because I have to, but I make it a game and quite enjoy breathing new life into older equipment. That is how I got the Unisaw ... $400 and a day's hard work and it's cutting as good as new (It's only 10 years old).

Good luck with your hunt .... It's fun.

The mo

[Craig Hunt]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think I will look for a good TS blade for now and build that fence for
the router table. I still need an exterior switch for the RT and
and will get some feather boards for the saw. Maybe I should get a thin
kerf blade for the saw since its a 1.5 horse.

I have scoured Craig'sList and did find my saw there.
I got the saw and a lawn mower for $200.
It works very well, my only
gripe is the lack of side extensions, I thought by upgrading the fence
I'd have some rails to mount a melamine extension to the right.

I like the idea of buying reconditioned tools too, so far all my new hand held power tools have been gifts.:D

[Chip Lindley]

Welcome to SMC Craig! Spend some time tuning up that ol' Rockwell TS and you will have a nice little saw! It's a solid cast iron machine. Only limitation is lack of table extensions for handling larger pieces. (you know this!) A Freud 50T Combo blade would be a great all around blade. A right-hand table extension can be made and your router table (with fence) incorporated into it to save some space. Double bang for the buck. Put all machines on mobile bases. (shop-made is good, and mucho cheaper than bought)

If you plan on making bookcases you will likely be using plywood or other sheet goods. A decent circular saw (Skilsaw) and long straight edge, and sturdy sawhorses for breaking down large sheets would be a good investment.

The more woodworking you do, the more you will find out what you need to do the work. A small shop is better than none. Work can be done outside during nice weather. A guy just has to improvise and fly by the seat of his pants.

When i started woodworking in the 70s there were no forums. Only a few magazines and books with basic information. We are truly blessed now with the amount of information at our fingertips right HERE! Fine Woodworking mag's all-time DVD compilation would go a long way in educating you with all the basics and advanced techniques too. That's one Heck Ofa Lotta info for $150!

[Dave MacArthur]

Welcome!
Great info above. You do need some basics, which you have or have a good plan for, and buying as you go is good economic sense. But like others have noted above, it becomes quite enjoyable looking for a good deal on CL and other places, so long as you don't HAVE to have that tool yesterday! My rule used to be that after I needed a tool for 2 projects and "made do" or went to a big shop I have available and used their stuff, then I'd start looking for a deal on the tool.

I kind of blew that habit recently, so I'll add a new part to the rule: if you've saved up a bunch by making do, and you're getting ready to retire, and a great deal comes along, go for it ;)