Advice needed on giving up electrons

[Derrell W Sloan]

Howdy all,

For a few years now I've been considering getting rid of most/all of my electron eaters and going more to hand tools. I very much enjoy working with my hands and not generating all the noise and dust that goes along with the tools of the corded variety. My younger kids also are starting to enjoy being in the shop wit me and like using the hand tools but run for cover when the power tools fire up. I also find time spent with hand tools much more relaxing, enjoyable, rewarding .... than time spend with ear plugs, safety glasses, and a dust mask on. So now I'm considering dumping some of the power tools to make more room (garage shop). I have a pretty full complement of power tools such as cabinet saw, planer, jointer, bandsaw, router table etc. I think the first thing to go would be the cabinet saw since it take up the most room.

From those of you that have been through this, what did you get rid of and how much have you missed it? The one tool I don't think I would want to part with would be my bandsaw. Any regrets dumping the power tools? I'd appreciate any advice from those who have made this transition.

[Mark Dorman]

I would probably keep the bandsaw too. You will enjoy the real estate you gain by selling the tablesaw.

[Jim Matthews]

I recommend Jim Tolpin's "The New Traditional woodworker" as it covers much of the ground you will trod...

I use a circular saw and track to get sheet goods cut down, and for crosscutting lumber too large to navigate through my house, down to the shop.

Anything under 3 feet, I'll rip by hand. I rarely use stock thicker than 8/4, and will laminate to get a greater thickness.
For cutting things longer than 3 feet, the bandsaw extends my shop time.

At these lengths, the bandsaw is my electric apprentice.

I now buy my lumber near my desired thickness, and a planer isn't necessary.
I can get a plank square on six sides in about twenty minutes.

If the plank is larger, I have the seller skim cut to get down to S2S, and rip it to width in my shop.

If it's just one or two holes, I'll crank them out on my own with a brace.
If the holes are critical, and blow out is a serious concern, I'll do it by hand.

There's a reason repetitive tasks are referred to as "boring",
I don't like boring multiple holes by hand. I have a drill press for this operation.

Before selling off gear, is there a co-op nearby that you could join, for the rare milling operation?

I haven't used my router in a year, and it's the tool I miss the least.
Too many jigs required, too often a destroyer of work that's nearly finished.

[Derrell W Sloan]

No co-op that I know of. But I think my strategy would be to sell stuff off bit by bit instead of getting rid of everything at once. The table saw would be the first out the door. The next thing to go would probably be the jointer. I'm not sure I would give up the planer, at least not for a while. I have a nice circular saw and EZ Smart tack system that I would keep for sheet goods and most of my cross cuts are done on the miter saw. I also don't really use the table saw for any joinery so I'm not so sure I would miss it that much.

[Adam Petersen]

Hello,

I got rid of my jointer as my first to go. I am able to dress a face and edge with handplanes quite quickly. I do use the planer for thicknessing. I don't have the shop time available to scrub a board to thickness. (Possibly I am too lazy as well.) I kept the table saw. My bandsaw sits idle most of the time, as I try to use my fret, coping or turning saw for any curved cuts. I haven't used my chop saw in forever and mostly keep it around for actual construction projects. I think the answer to your question depends on your time, wood supply, and your involvement in WW'ing as a hobby or as a pro. If your bandsaw is a good one I'd think your choice of the TS is a good one. My BS sucks so it's part of the reason I keep the TS around.

[Stanley Covington]

While you may not use them much right now, the time will come when you will regret getting rid of your jointer and planer, assuming, that is, that they are decent quality tools of the right capacity. You will want to use some wood, but the time and labor to get it to the right dimensions will be so onerous you will give up. Get creative in ways to keep them around without taking up space. Mounting on wheels is always helpful in a small shop.

The bandsaw is another tool you will regret losing, but can do without; I always have. A drill press and grinder are very useful.

Sell the tablesaw. Keep the router and bits for when you really need to hog wood, but lose the table or just use a simple small single board table that doesn't take any space. A circular saw (worm drive) is the only mandatory power tool IMO.

[Don Dorn]

There are a lot of different opinions here. I've been doing handtool work for a few years but won't hesitate to use power for tasks that are either unpleasant, time consuming or too laborous. I still have a tablesaw even though I don't use it a great deal, but I still use the planer and bandsaw quite a bit and the drill press for repetative boring. Once dimensioned however, it stays at the bench for almost everything else. Guess that makes me a hybrid of some sort.

[Dale Cruea]

2 years ago I shoved all of my power equipment in a corner. I missed every piece of it in the beginning.
Now all I use is the BS and a drill press.
All stock is cleaned up by hand.
My shop is cleaner and I can hear better.
I have been thinking of selling all of my power equipment to give me a little more room.

Sell what you are not using. Keep what you need.

[Adam Cruea]

My wife let me move downstairs into the basement to do woodworking, so I only use hand tools. For some of the wife's projects, I used power tools and I keep them out in the barn for her other projects that don't use fine joinery or need some good quality craftsmanship.

So, since I have another area to store my power tools in, that's what I do. Keep them around because one never knows when you're going to need them.

[Jim Neeley]

"So, since I have another area to store my power tools in, that's what I do. Keep them around because one never knows when you're going to need them. "

I keep my power tools around for two reasons:

* If the job is just too large to do by hand, I have them as an option. I am expecting that "Too large" will vary with time.

* I recognize that the day may come when some of my hand tools may become too much for me to do to any great extent yet I won't give up woodworking if that day comes.

I like having choices... and no electrons are used when the machine is unplugged!! :)

[RickT Harding]

I'm in the middle of doing this myself. The very first thing I got rid of was the table saw and I purchased a nice bandsaw. I haven't looked back. I really wish someone would have told me to get a bandsaw to start with.

I'll be honest, it depends on the project what other tools I use. For single projects that aren't too big I tend to joint with a hand plane and then use the planer to bring to thickness. It's just too much time for me to mark and get any decent sized board to thickness even all the way around in any decent time.

However, I find I still do some larger or, currently, multiple copies of a project at times. For instance I'm currently working on 3 copies of the same night stand. I rip rough boards to close to proper length with a panel saw. (<3 the saw bench built a little bit ago) and I rip close to width on the bandsaw from there. Since I've got some 18 boards that need to be the same (aprons, T&G panel parts) I've been using the jointer/planer on them.

I then bring things to final size all with hand tools and cut all joinery with hand tools. I just ended up getting the left LV plow because I needed to keep both a tongue blade and a groove blade going at the same time. :D

For me, it's a balance. I find if I plan ahead and do a big batch of stock prep I can spend 2hrs using power tools after work before i get my son from day care. Then I can spend the evening (and usually the rest of the week) using hand tools while he's out playing with screw driving and the like.

I'm not sure, but I think the next to go is the router table. I've got a little bench dog unit, but I've not used it at all. I've got a dovetail jig and such that can go with it. I really want to get a set of hallows/rounds, but until then I'll hold onto the router table just in case.

What I did find is that since I'm batching parts, I don't need 8' of clearance around all my tools. Four feet is usually enough for 90% of my work. A mobile base/opening garage door will get me the extra space when required for longer things. Again, this depends on your work. So maybe you can hold onto tools, but rearrange them for better use.