What power tools are worth keeping in a hand tool oriented shop?

[Edward Clarke]

When I first started in "woodworking" I fell into the "Tim the Tool Man" trap. More POWER!!! Go through the Rockler catalog and buy the biggest most powerful tools that you can find. I continued on in this fashion for about fifteen years and then came down with asthma. So I have all these huge space wasting tools that make me wear a 3M powered respirator and take forever to set up because I have to move everything in the shop around to get space to use even one of them. Here's a list of the major culprits -

Delta Unisaw with 52" unifence and sliding table on mobile base
Delta 15" planer on mobile base
Delta heavy duty shaper on mobile base with power feeder
Delta 14" bandsaw with riser block on mobile base
Delta Radial Drill Press not on mobile base
Sears Radial Arm Saw on home made wooden mobile stand
Shopsmith Mark V with every damn tool attachment they made (given to me when my dad moved)
Monstrous pattern makers jointer big enough to land a small plane on
Delta 3HP dust collector on mobile base
One of those fine dust collectors that hang from the ceiling
Ingersol-Rand compressor (had 5hp motor on it but a 15HP (!) compressor head) on mobile stand
I can't freaking move in the shop! So what do I really need to keep?

14" bandsaw because resawing by hand is a horrible job from what I hear
15" planer to get things into rough shape
Jointer because it's too damn heavy to move and presently has no motor on it (needs 10HP or better)
Dust collector for the above tools
Is there anything else in the list that I really should keep? The drill press is "new delta" and frankly not that good. I'd like to get rid of it after I finish drilling the hold-fast holes in my workbench project.

[Bill White]

I'd keep the table saw as well.
Bill

[John Coloccia]

Keep everything for now and start doing projects without the tools you want to get rid of. Eventually, the tools you don't need will be obvious.

[Trevor Walsh]

Out of that list, had I the space, I'd keep the Patternmaker's jointer (no really I'll keep it:D), one of the planers, the bandsaw and the DC. Selling the rest even at moderate prices will outfit you with a really nice hand tool arsenal.

What sort of work do you like/want to do? That might help make decisions too.

[Ron Kellison]

Keep the planer and bandsaw. Sell the table saw and get a good sliding compound miter saw to handle crosscuts. Sell the jointer and replace it with a smaller one. Keep the dust collector(s) for the power tools. You may also want to consider getting a track saw if you think you will ever need to break down sheet goods. You can now rip, crosscut and prepare stock. Will it still feel like your workshop if you have the freedom to move around easily? :)

Regards,

Ron

[James Carmichael]

get a good sliding compound miter saw to handle crosscuts.

Cross-cutting is probably the easiest thing to do by hand, especially smaller stock that can be cut in a hand miter box. You would also want to make a shooting board to clean up ends.

I think John has a good suggestion, though I think your last list is sound. Milling to correct dimensions by hand is the toughest part.

Resawing and ripping anything over a couple feet is a good way to combine woodworking with a cardio workout. Serious resawing would probably also require a shop-made frame saw, I'm not aware of any commercially-available ones. If you want to save space by losing the TS, you can rip on the bandsaw and hand-plane the sides parallel on a long shooting board (Harry Strasil had a great post on how to do this), or, as I used to do before getting a TS, run through the planer on edge.

[Dale Cruea]

I just went through this. I could not breathe in my shop anymore from the dust. Every power tool I had is now in a corner out of the way.
I kept the band saw and the drill press.
I have some hand tools but not a lot.
I hand plane everything so far because I like to do it.
I have to re-learn wood working again and I find it fun and frustrating but well worth the effort.

[Jim Foster]

If you have the room, I'd just look to get rid of things one at a time if you find you did not use it over a 6 month to one year period.

[Don Dorn]

I still use most all my powertools and take no shame in it. RAS for crosscutting to near length, drill press, tablesaw (not much) stationary sander on occasition and wouldn't be without a planer. I would keep the bandsaw to the exclusion of the others but I could get rid of the jointer and lathe and not miss them. In short - it's a hybrid shop with power doing stock preperation and handtools doing flattening, smoothing, jointing, and all joinery and fitting work.

That said - if I had a Shopsmith like you, I'd probably clear the rest out with the exception of the bandsaw and planer. I think I could run laps then - and probably should.

[Zach Dillinger]

The only power tool I've ever wished that I still had is a working bandsaw.

[Jim Koepke]

This is a question that brings out many thoughts but can not really be answered without knowing more about what you want to do in your shop.

Having the tools take up enough space to make the shop a difficult place to work is a problem.

If you do production work, the answer will be different than if you mostly do projects for your own home.

My shop only has three major power tools. A band saw, a drill press and a lathe. The other tailed tools circular saw, sabre saw, belt sander, ROS sander and a router do not get much use.

I am not trying to make a living from woodworking, but I am not against turning my woodworking into cash when possible.

If a person was trying to have woodworking provide income, then power tools could be quite advantageous.

In many cases, some folks find setting up power tools takes as much or more time than just doing the task by hand. Another problem I have seen with power tools is what happens when your jointer or planer blades get a nick. I used to work with a guy who was proud of his power planer until the blades needed sharpening. He was at a standstill because he didn't have a way of sharpening 15" planer blades.

Having of a power tool that needs a 10 HP motor is beyond the ability of my shop without a major rewire.

You may also look at what can be removed due to redundancy.

jtk

[Bob Jones]

I agree with waiting to see what you don't use. Then you should have no regrets. I have a bandsaw and a circular saw and a router. I had others bit sold them when I realized they were replaced with handtools I don't miss them. I would miss my bandsaw and circular saw, but I think the router may go next...

[Paul Saffold]

Since you have asthma, I would definitely keep both the dust collector and the air cleaner (hanging from the ceiling). I agree with you to keep the band saw and planer. I'd also keep the big jointer for the nice flat surface and a drill press. Using planes, scrapers, spokeshaves, rasps and files will not create the fine airborne dust that the power tools will. Good luck making the transformation from power to hand tool woodworking.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on the air cleaner. If you have a decent vacuum cleaner, it can be pressed into limited DC duties.

I have two shops, with the wheeled Bandsaw, Jointer and planer in my garage.
If you're willing to buy lumber "dressed" you can do most of the smoothing by hand.

That said, you're still going to generate some dust. Even with my advancing skills with a smoother and cabinet scraper, sanding seems inescapable.

I'm just completing a project that involved LOTS of handsawing. I have a new appreciation for using electricity to "motor" through rip cuts longer than 36 inches.
There are some things that it just are drudgery and a bandsaw does them without complaint.

Jim
Westport, MA

[James Owen]

I'm going to be contrary here, and suggest that you sell ALL of them.

The money gained from the sale of your industrial power tools will finance a very nice set of hand tools...certainly enough to get you going in the hand-tool world. Take a look at Chris Schwarz's The Anarchist's Tool Chest for a well thought-out list of what hand tools you need, and why you need them.

FWIW, I made the transition to building furniture using only hand tools several years ago. I don't miss any of the power tools, any of the noise, any of the saw dust finding its way everywhere, or any of the danger involved with fast-moving sharp parts, etc.

Some things take a bit longer, but many others are faster and easier than with a power tool. Among other things, you gain much more control over what you are doing with/to the wood, make (fewer) mistakes less-quickly, develop much better hand-eye coordination and a better design sense, are forced to examine the wood and decide exactly how to approach what you need to do, get a decent work-out much of the time, and are able to hold conversations and listen to music while working. You end up working the wood, instead of machining the wood.

Realistically, of course, whether you really want to find a new home for (all of) your power tools will depend on how much you like hand tool woodworking. Since this is (I assume) a hobby for you, it only makes sense to pursue it in the way that provides you with the most fun, satisfaction, and enjoyment. Going completely Neanderthal does that for me; it may or may not for you.....

[Harlan Barnhart]

I enjoy prepping stock by hand for small projects but it could quickly become "like real work" if the project got a little big. I would keep a bandsaw, planer and joiner (in that order) with dust collection of course.

[Mike Holbrook]

I don't think I will ever get rid of my Festool/Circular saw. I would loose the table saw and maybe even the bandsaw before I got rid of it. The Festool saw is great for breaking down sheet goods, ripping or cross cutting, making good edges...and I think the Festool saw, unlike a regular circular saw, is safer than a tablesaw or bandsaw. It certainly takes up much less space than any of the major power tools. For me the Festool saw is just closer to hand tools too. The other two electrical devises I do not think I will get rid of any time soon are the band saw and drill press.

[Mike Olson]

The big question is: Do you want/need to complete projects so you can move onto the next one?
Or, Do you start a project because you enjoy the process of creation, not just the completion of it?

If you just want/need to complete projects then you will quickly become fed-up with hand tools and wish you had your power tools back.
If your not time constrained and you start projects because you WANT to build them then sell them all. I sold all mine except a router & circular saw which are used only when I need to knock something together quickly. Although I did just re-purchase a used air compressor for some back yard construction & garage work.

Mike

[Deane Allinson]

I would keep the table saw, band saw, drill press, and a router.
You can build almost anything with these. If you aren't doing curved shapes you really seldom need a band saw.
I do hand work now and sometimes use a router.
I don't crank out a lot of finished work.
Deane

[David Castor]

I'm mostly a lurker here, but I wanted to make a comment based on my present project of building a glued-up workbench top of framing lumber using only hand planes. I'm doing this because I don't have a powered jointer or planer, so I have no choice. It's been a learning experience and I'm glad that I have at least attempted it. But....I think a planer and jointer could save you a ton of time and labor if you are working with rough stock. I'm hoping that the surfacing by handplane gets easier on my aching back once I have a decent workbench at the right height. But since you already have the full set, I think John is right - just see what you use and don't use. There are no rules to be followed - at least there shouldn't be.

In his Anarchist's Toolchest, C. Schwarz recommends a portable planer along with a bandsaw and a mortising machine, IIRC as machines useful to a mostly hand-working woodworker.

[David Weaver]

I'd add the planer, too. I haven't used mine in about 3 years probably, but if I had to build something quickly again (haven't had to), I would want to have it plugged in and running.

I have and regularly use a bandsaw. It's my opinion that having a good bandsaw that will resaw a foot or more with some room to the left (like an 18" saw or so) is a very nice thing to have once you start handtooling. You can rip with it if you have to, resaw (which is never fast with a hand tool), and rough shape things or cut curves quickly, and big or little pieces, you don't have to worry about them coming back at you like with a TS.

I tossed my TS, and I think my jointer is probably waiting to be put on the curb or sold for scrap (it's one of those crappy delta things with the fixed table, barely better than the craftsman things), but I like my BS.

Other things that are nice to have, because as a hand tooler, I think starting to make tools you feel would be useful is a next step, is a belt grinder and a bench grinder, and a good quality cordless drill.

I don't have a mortising machine (I wouldn't use it), but I can see why Schwartz would recommend one.

[glenn bradley]

All of them . . . you'll get over this hand tool thing soon :D. Seriously, machines are there to make tedious tasks quicker or easier or both. Consider the tasks you regularly do in your woodworking and then decide which ones you really enjoy doing by hand. Any of those that duplicate a machine's function win and the machine goes.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Glenn makes a valid point! Close to a decade ago I rid my shop of most of my power tools. In the years that have past, I have replaced those I missed, basically paying twice for what I once owned. Use the power tools for the tedious tasks. I would keep the table saw or the bandsaw, drill press, jointer and wood lathe, for example.

[Von Bickley]

I would keep everything and enlarge the shop.......