Newbie starting the journey

[Alex Gauthier]

Hey everyone, built a kayak from a kit a while back and did some wood work in art school. I just came into possession of a pretty nice 2.5 car garage that I can do whatever I want with so I decided to get back into doing stuff with wood. Been reading some great stuff here but since I'm starting the journey here is where I'm at and interested in the community analysis of the way I plan to go about getting some tools and building skills:

I have several projects looming that would benefit from a table saw and since I sold my last one (no great loss), I thought this time around I would get one that I'll never need to upgrade from. Have my eye on either PM2000 (36", 3HP) or an equivalent Sawstop. The turn off of the Sawstop seems to be having to buy lots of other stuff for it but I love the safety feature so I'm torn.

The budget doesn't allow for big machines to start with and I like doing things by hand (the artist in me, I suppose). So I'm thinking I'll try to get some good quality hand planes, chisels or where it makes sense inexpensive power tools. I'm not married to doing everything traditionally but I respect the craft and figure picking up some of those skills will do me good.

Should I be looking at some other kind of table saw? Should I NOT be looking at a table saw at all? Is my strategy sound as an approach to building my skills and getting tools that I won't feel I wasted my time on down the road?

Also, I picked up these two planes, a drill and some chisels for $20 this weekend. Was this a good buy?

[Robert Engel]

The block plane is ok. The handyman plane is a paperweight. You still did ok.

My advise is don't spend money on a premium TS right away. Nothing magic about mustard yellow ;-)

I do think a TS should be your first machine purchase. If at all possible buy a 3hp cabinet saw. You may even be able to find an old Unisaw, which are excellent, and made in the USA!!

If you need advise about acquiring planes, there are many, many sources out there on assembling a basic tool kit.

Also, check out Tom Fidgen at unplugged, Paul Sellers for "hand tool only" excellent ww'ers.

[John Lankers]

First of all welcome to the creek.
I think Robert is spot on with his advise, one thing I might want to add is: buy what you need when you need it, or else you could end up becoming an involuntary tool collector fast.

[Alex Gauthier]

Well, at least it was only $20 :)

Regarding Table Saws, from reading around forums and reviews etc. I had been looking at the PM2000 and a new saw vs used for a couple reasons. I have been watching CL for a couple months and seen 1 saw between Denver and Colorado Springs where I am the entire time that wasn't just a contractor saw and it looked pretty rough. Also the delivery factor and knowing for sure that I'm getting a saw I won't be sorry I bought are attractive. The $3000 price tag is a less attractive though... Any advice on places to watch where I can score an older saw?

[Bob Leistner]

I would say your first power saw should be a bandsaw in the 14 to 20 inch range. It can be had for half the tablesaw money, safer and far more versatile. If I were to have only one saw, the bandsaw would be it hands down.
Bob L.

[Alex Gauthier]

interesting. I've heard that a few times but for cutting dados, sheet goods and other stuff, is there a way to do these kinds of things with a band saw?

[Bob Leistner]

No, but you can't do scroll work or rip rough sawn-live edged or just rip as safely with a table saw. A circular saw for sheet goods and a router will do dados. Many ways to do everything in woodworking. Bob L.

[mark mcfarlane]

...I have several projects looming that would benefit from a table saw and since I sold my last one (no great loss)

Can you share little more about what you want to build? Your tool acquisition strategy is highly dependent on what you plan to build. If you want to make kitchen cabinets from plywood a tracksaw might be a good place to start. If you want t make doors from solid wood, that is a different requirement. If you want to make bowls, a lathe and a bandsaw would be a good first choice...

[Doug Hepler]

Alex,

It is difficult to provide serious responses to your questions because there are so many variables, for example the size of your tool budget, what you want to build, your time frame (schedule? urgency? patience?) and your attitude about learning a craft. I agree with earlier responses that you need not reach for the perfect saw when you are starting out. Also, hand planes are an exception to the principle that great tools do not make great craftspeople. You should get a re-habbed plane from somebody here who does that as a sideline or hobby so that you can know how a handplane is supposed to work. If you have the money, buy a #5 or #6 from Lee Valley or Lie-Nielsen. You can find plenty of articles on how to rehab those planes you bought, but you really should start by knowing what the finished rehab should look and feel like.

I appreciate that this reply may be more serious than you want (a bit of a downer, maybe). There are many helpful people here who would be glad to answer any specific questions you may have. So let's start with what you want to build, when you need it (them), and whether you are willing to take time to learn by doing or you just need to "gitter done".

BTW I live in Golden, CO. It sounds like you may live in Denver?

Doug

[Alex Gauthier]

Not at all a downer. I have an interest in making furniture, small boats, and also fine art pieces that would defy easy description but which are probably most comparable to furniture in terms of tools and skills. I plan to start small and be willing to turn out lots of garbage that my friends and family will probably end up with. I'm in no particular hurry although I am eager to start making things. There are some things that I'm sure I would love to make for no other reason than the hell of it as well. I assume this is still too many variables but that's the best I could narrow it down at this point in time. I consider myself pretty patient. I enjoy the process of acquiring new skills and that itself is part of the reward for me.

Budget- I could spend the $3000 on a really nice saw but one reason I posed the question is that it seems like overkill but at the same time I hate to buy stuff twice. Maybe I should just forgo the table saw entirely and invest in good hand tools and learn to work in that way. Though if I decide to mill my own stock for a strip built boat I would regret that choice.

I'm actually down in Colorado Springs.



Alex,

It is difficult to provide serious responses to your questions because there are so many variables, for example the size of your tool budget, what you want to build, your time frame (schedule? urgency? patience?) and your attitude about learning a craft. I agree with earlier responses that you need not reach for the perfect saw when you are starting out. Also, hand planes are an exception to the principle that great tools do not make great craftspeople. You should get a re-habbed plane from somebody here who does that as a sideline or hobby so that you can know how a handplane is supposed to work. If you have the money, buy a #5 or #6 from Lee Valley or Lie-Nielsen. You can find plenty of articles on how to rehab those planes you bought, but you really should start by knowing what the finished rehab should look and feel like.

I appreciate that this reply may be more serious than you want (a bit of a downer, maybe). There are many helpful people here who would be glad to answer any specific questions you may have. So let's start with what you want to build, when you need it (them), and whether you are willing to take time to learn by doing or you just need to "gitter done".

BTW I live in Golden, CO. It sounds like you may live in Denver?

Doug

[Victor Robinson]

Given what you've said, I think a bandsaw will enter the equation sooner rather than later. If you had said you want to start out with mostly shop furniture or cabinets from plywood, you could get pretty far with just a tablesaw (or tracksaw) and router, and hand tools (aside from the very basics...everyone needs a chisel or two) could be put off for quite some time too.

However, if you are looking into getting into furniture and more...artsy (for lack of a better word) or sculptural work, you will need tools that can cut curves as well as shape. A bandsaw is a really versatile tool, and excels over the tablesaw in being able to cut curves, being able to work with small pieces more easily and safely, and being able to resaw.

You'll need a TS no doubt, but given your interests, you will need an arsenal of tools/abilities to do what you want. I'd encourage you to think about the TS and BS as a one-two punch and possibly even accommodating both tools in your initial budget, because while somewhat of a necessity, the tablesaw will be limited for what it sounds like you want to do.

I'll say also, and this is just my perspective and experience...that when you're starting out and you want to acquire new skills, it is more valuable to have access to an array of abilities within your shop than it is to have the premium tool X at the expense of being able to perform a certain task. Upgrading is a reality of this hobby and that process takes place naturally over time. Nobody likes to buy things multiple times, but when the budget is limited as it is for most of us, getting the best of tool X at the expense of tool Y only serves to limit your creativity and growth. I'm not saying buy junk so you can have everything, but try to squeeze as many "abilities" as you can into the budget, within reason. Then upgrade to premium later when you figure out which tools you really depend on or NEED to perform better for your projects. An exception to this is hand planes, where I strongly agree with Doug that one should start with well-tuned tools, whether that's via purchase of high-end new tools from manufacturers such as Veritas or Lie-Nielsen, or finding someone who knows what they are doing with plane rehab.

[Robert Engel]

Alex,

I very good entry level new saw, as far as I've seen is the 2HP hybrid saw Grizzly makes. I would peruse CL for a unisaw (and widen your search its worth driving 200 miles to pick up a $500 Unisaw!). I would stay away from the consumer type saws you see in Home Depot or Lowes, it seems you already have gone past them so you're on the right track.

A bandsaw is really limited to resaw, rip, xcuts and curvy cuts, maybe a few more unique application. But you can't plow a dado or groove or cut an accurate miter. No doubt a valuable part of the ww'ers arsenal, but not a first machine.

Right now, my advise to you is concentrate on building as good quality set of hand tools as you can. Spend some time researching what tools you need, which brands are the best, etc. You will gain a lot of knowledge and quickly find out just how expensive premium quality tools are. Very good advice on buying tools when you need them.

Lastly, don't make the mistake I made when starting this venture, and this is "I'm not ready or worthy of a top quality tool". Inferior quality tools do nothing but frustrate the novice, often times ending up in him blaming himself for lack of skills when all the time its a crummy tool.

For example, the first time I put a premium plane to work (Lie Nielsen) my calibur of workmanship immediately achieved a new height, and ww'ing became much more enjoyable not fiddling around with settings and such. It was then I realized that most of the planes I had accumulated belonged in the metal scrap yard ;-)

Good Luck on your venture. If I can help you in any specific way, feel free to ask.

BTW I'll be in Denver in a couple weeks my son lives there and works in Golden.

[rudy de haas]

About two years ago I started a learning-by-doing project...(mainly because the house needs lots of work and I have more time than money). Some conclusions you may find of interest:

1 - buying tools is much easier than learning to use them. Basically, if you don't know what you're doing, the best tools in the world won't help much (and, if you do know, mid range tools will generally be perfectly adequate.)

2 - in general lower end power tools will disappoint. It's great to get a bargain, but if it doesn't do the job it's useless. Notice that this in combination with #1 above implies there's a saddle point - a price/performance trade-off that will just suit you and your needs. In my case it's pretty clearly in the 3HP/grizzly range for pretty much everything (My stuff says "Craftex" because I'm in Alberta, Canada, but it's all the same stuff from the same factories.). Only you can decide what that appropriate range is for you, but don't get taken in by pretty paint and features (particularly euro regulatory features) you may never want to use.

3 - on the specific issue of sawstop: I think it comes down to how much of a clutz you think you are. Sawstop's market is really the school or other organization which recovers the additional cost of the saw from reductions in insurance - because every class has a clutz who shouldn't be allowed near a power tool. If that's you, get one because fingers cost more than money; if it isn't - products like grizzly's perform as table saws about as well as anybody's below the $4K range.

[Neil Gaskin]

We have a Sawstop and I like it better than my old unisaw. Personally I think it's a better engineered saw than the older unisaw or the newer PM etc. the safety feature is an added bonus. An older unisaw or PM 66 are good places to start if your trying to stretch a budget and I wouldn't hesitate with either if found in good shape.

Ill throw a different angle out there. Use the table saw money and start with a track saw, router, and decent hand tool set up with a few sharpening stones. The track saw and router can do most of what a table saw can do and free up $.

[Doug Hepler]

Alex,

You can get a decent complement of decent tools for $3000. I agree that spending it all on a table saw (TS) might be overboard, in terms of utility per dollar (opportunity cost, etc.) Last year I downsized and had to let go of my TS because of space in my garage (I know you don't have that problem, but bear with me.) I make furniture and smaller decorative pieces like lamps, vessels, etc. I have found that a TS is very convenient but that I can get along very well without one. My choice basically was TS vs band saw (BS) and I chose to keep and/or purchase the following complement of power tools. I have a quality 14" BS (Laguna 14-12), cutoff (carpenter's) saw, hand held and table mounted routers, drill press, thickness planer, large cyclone dust collector and a 12" lathe with a bed extension for bowls etc as well as table legs..

I rip with the BS and crosscut with a hand saw in a miter box or with the cutoff saw. I break down sheet goods with the cutoff saw. The band saw takes a bit more care than a TS but it can cut with dead accuracy. Anyone can learn to make cabinet grade crosscuts or rips with a cutoff saw and a guide. It just takes longer to set up the cut than with a table saw.

I groove, dado, etc with the router and with hand tools. I do a lot of mortise and tenon joinery and some box joints, lock miter joints and dovetails with a combination of band saw, router and hand tools.

I have made 5 or so professional quality pieces of furniture with that setup in the past year or so, and countless shelves, etc. I admit I was starting to get tired of the cutoff saw and miter saw, so when I decided to get into wood turning again, I bought a sliding compound miter saw to cut staves and segments. The only "tool" I feel that I lack is an air cleaner to help with dust control but I don't want the noise.

So, that is my combination of what I make and what I use to make it. I, too, enjoy learning and the challenges of overcoming problems in the shop. I am retired and so have more time perhaps than you do. I am not particularly patient by nature but I enjoy the time spent in making nice things with this setup. It's very personal, of course, but perhaps it will address your issues.

If you do get a TS, look for one with left tilt, a solid cast iron (or granite??) top, rip fence that locks solidly in place and cabinet mounted trunions. A large table (table extension) is really desirable but you can often add one later. These are often called hybrid table saws as they are a compromise between a contractor grade saw and a cabinet saw. You should be able to get a completely adequate saw for about $1200 or so new. I bought a Craftsman "zip code" saw many years ago despite the advice of many people who hate Craftsman, Turns out it was basically a Unisaw for half the money. It was perfectly satisfactory for 10 years until I gave it up. Maybe you can find a used Zip code saw or Unisaw.

Best of luck.

Doug.

[Luke Dupont]

I'd second the recommendation to check out Paul Seller's material in regards to hand tools.

A good place to start would be to acquire:
1. A Tenon Saw or Rip Pattern Douzuki ("Dozuki") for joinery and pretty much any short rip or cross cuts
2. A vintage (non-handyman) Stanley No. 4 (or No. 5, if you prefer something larger). Don't be afraid to clean off the rust, sharpen it, and set it up. Those are things you'll need to learn anyway.
3. A good set of starter chisels. Narex makes a quality, inexpensive set.
4. A drill. A power drill will probably be your most versatile option to start with.
5. A card scraper. This is a really useful tool which I wouldn't neglect buying for too long, even if it is a bit tricky to sharpen.

You might also find a coping saw, and a rip saw to be of use, but a bandsaw can cover those functions.

You will also want:
1. A Combination Square
2. A Marking Knife (A utility knife should work)
3. A Marking Gauge
4. Sharpening Equipment: Auto Sandpaper, Diamond Plates, Or a Combination India Stone are all great starter options. I'm an oil-stone guy, so I'd encourage you to try a Fine, or Fine/Coarse India, as they're easy to use and fast cutting. Waterstones are also a good option, but they need to be flattened every time you use them and pre-soaked before use.
You will want a strop as well. Some leather glued to a piece of wood, and some Green compound (Chromium Oxide) will do just fine. I recommend learning on a coarser stone (400-1000 grit) and relying on a strop to achieve a final level of sharpness. It's easier and more economical as a beginner. You can get finer finishing stones in the future to precede the strop if you want.

If you buy a quality western saw (Tenon or Rip), you'll need a good saw file (triangular file). Avoid Nicholson. But don't be afraid of saw sharpening - it's not difficult. You can get by with disposable big box saws, or Japanese change-able blade (kaeba) saws too, but of the two, you'll have a much more pleasant experience using the Japanese saws, as they're generally higher quality than low-end western saws.

Quick little technique tip for using hand tools: Learn to mark out stuff with knife walls and marking gauges early on. These will provide you with physical reference points to register your tools into, and will make accuracy so much easier than if you try to get by with pencil lines as I did :P

Also, one last thing:
Get a vise. A "light weight woodworking vise" from Irwin or some other company, or even the little "Portable Woodworking Vise" from harbor freight that can clamp on top of a 2" or thinner worktable. Even a small vise will handle most things perfectly well, will make your life much easier, and will only run you $20-$30.

The bandsaw would be an excellent investment in addition to this basic hand tool set. I do everything entirely by hand, including dimensioning wood, as I live in an apartment and I find hand-tools more enjoyable to use anyway, but I'd love to have a band-saw even if just for ripping large boards to width or even thickness. Ripping stock like that is the one area where power-tools really can make life easier. For everything else, hand-tools are actually more efficient than you might think, especially if you're just making a bunch of one-off items.

The above list will be your go-to tools for almost any/every project, and can do just about anything. You can buy additional, more specialized tools as you need them.

[Alex Gauthier]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the great info. You must all see a million people asking these questions so I'm doubly thankful for your patience. After reading all the above, here is what I'm now thinking:

Lower end table saw than first planned (grizzly or Jet?). I'd still like to get a 3HP saw as i think I'll really enjoy working with harder wood. I have no shortage of 240v plugs in my space so that's no worry.
Band Saw (need to start researching these now)
A selection of hand planes- spring for high quality new ones
Sharpening stuff
A couple of hand saws. (I've already used the Japanese ones a little so I know how nice they are but need to do additional research)
Small tools (marking gauges, etc- i already have various squares etc)
Adapters to fit my shop vac to the machines (upgrade to real dust collection later)
A set of good chisels and mallets
A drill Press (I already have a few different drills but nothing for precision drilling- probably wait on this a little)

I'll buy all this in the order that I need it, of course.

Projects in order I need to complete them:
1. Finish off a kayak (i can do this on saw horses with stuff I already own)

2. Build some mobile work benches (not wood working benches) for the shop. Maybe try to build them with small height adjustments so they could double as out-feed tables etc

3. Build a prototype of an art "door" that I have in mind. Basically a miniature door, distressed and "aged" with large vintage style peep hole, containing a scratched lens, some images and a flickering backlight to be mounted on a gallery wall.

4. A real woodworking bench- I like the look of the split top roubo ones I've seen but have no idea if I would benefit from something this elaborate

5. Fencing and wood cladding- i have various concrete walls and older fences on my property I want to either face with nice wood (rather than plain pressure treated stuff) or replace entirely. I hate chain link fencing and I have tons of it. I have the tools for this work already though.

6. dining room table

Anyone want to suggest a project or two that I can use to starting adding to my skill set but that won't be too costly or worry producing if I waste a bunch of wood? :)

[Luke Dupont]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the great info. You must all see a million people asking these questions so I'm doubly thankful for your patience. After reading all the above, here is what I'm now thinking:

Lower end table saw than first planned (grizzly or Jet?). I'd still like to get a 3HP saw as i think I'll really enjoy working with harder wood. I have no shortage of 240v plugs in my space so that's no worry.
Band Saw (need to start researching these now)
A selection of hand planes- spring for high quality new ones
Sharpening stuff
A couple of hand saws. (I've already used the Japanese ones a little so I know how nice they are but need to do additional research)
Small tools (marking gauges, etc- i already have various squares etc)
Adapters to fit my shop vac to the machines (upgrade to real dust collection later)
A set of good chisels and mallets
A drill Press (I already have a few different drills but nothing for precision drilling- probably wait on this a little)

I'll buy all this in the order that I need it, of course.

Projects in order I need to complete them:
1. Finish off a kayak (i can do this on saw horses with stuff I already own)

2. Build some mobile work benches (not wood working benches) for the shop. Maybe try to build them with small height adjustments so they could double as out-feed tables etc

3. Build a prototype of an art "door" that I have in mind. Basically a miniature door, distressed and "aged" with large vintage style peep hole, containing a scratched lens, some images and a flickering backlight to be mounted on a gallery wall.

4. A real woodworking bench- I like the look of the split top roubo ones I've seen but have no idea if I would benefit from something this elaborate

5. Fencing and wood cladding- i have various concrete walls and older fences on my property I want to either face with nice wood (rather than plain pressure treated stuff) or replace entirely. I hate chain link fencing and I have tons of it. I have the tools for this work already though.

6. dining room table

Anyone want to suggest a project or two that I can use to starting adding to my skill set but that won't be too costly or worry producing if I waste a bunch of wood? :)

Sounds like a good plan. Would still encourage you to give a vintage Stanley a try, but you can't go wrong with a high end plane.

Quick tip until you get a drill press:

A drill press would certainly be convenient, but for the time being, you can use a tried and true method of getting precisely squared holes at the right angle:
Mark the hole square and dead on from both faces, and drill half way from each face meeting in the middle. Any slight variance will meet in the middle and will not affect the overall angle of the hole. This will also prevent any blow-out of fibers.

You can also make a jig to register your drill against, but I haven't had as much success with this method.

I find that hand drills and bit and braces are much easier to hold perfectly square (and you can use a square registered up against them while drilling). The difficulty with electric drills is that they're usually bulky, obscure your vision, and have no square references to them that you can gauge from. Maybe there are some that are better in these regards that someone can recommend, though.

[Adam Herman]

steel city:
http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/5705955958.html

PM:
http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/5705083574.html

UNISAW:
http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/5705957786.html

lots of good table saws up in Denver for sale. 3hp would be nice, but are going to be harder to find, you can certainly make do with 2 hp. I have cut sections of hard maple bowling ally on my little ridgid ts3650 2hp saw with a sharp blade. I built an island from the bowling ally, would also be a fantastic table.

also, welcome. I am up in lafayette, seems to be a good number of us scattered around Denver/ Co Springs

[John Lankers]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the great info. You must all see a million people asking these questions so I'm doubly thankful for your patience. After reading all the above, here is what I'm now thinking:

Lower end table saw than first planned (grizzly or Jet?). I'd still like to get a 3HP saw as i think I'll really enjoy working with harder wood. I have no shortage of 240v plugs in my space so that's no worry.
Band Saw (need to start researching these now)
A selection of hand planes- spring for high quality new ones
Sharpening stuff
A couple of hand saws. (I've already used the Japanese ones a little so I know how nice they are but need to do additional research)
Small tools (marking gauges, etc- i already have various squares etc)
Adapters to fit my shop vac to the machines (upgrade to real dust collection later)
A set of good chisels and mallets
A drill Press (I already have a few different drills but nothing for precision drilling- probably wait on this a little)

I'll buy all this in the order that I need it, of course.

Projects in order I need to complete them:
1. Finish off a kayak (i can do this on saw horses with stuff I already own)

2. Build some mobile work benches (not wood working benches) for the shop. Maybe try to build them with small height adjustments so they could double as out-feed tables etc

3. Build a prototype of an art "door" that I have in mind. Basically a miniature door, distressed and "aged" with large vintage style peep hole, containing a scratched lens, some images and a flickering backlight to be mounted on a gallery wall.

4. A real woodworking bench- I like the look of the split top roubo ones I've seen but have no idea if I would benefit from something this elaborate

5. Fencing and wood cladding- i have various concrete walls and older fences on my property I want to either face with nice wood (rather than plain pressure treated stuff) or replace entirely. I hate chain link fencing and I have tons of it. I have the tools for this work already though.

6. dining room table

Anyone want to suggest a project or two that I can use to starting adding to my skill set but that won't be too costly or worry producing if I waste a bunch of wood? :)

You're going down the bunny hole fast :)
Maybe build some shop projects first like cabinets to house supplies and hand tools.

[Sean Shannon]

I'm in the same position as you are. Relatively new into the hobby and had the desire to burn some cash up on a big table saw purchase.

I bought the Laguna Fushion table saw and have been very happy with its performance and cut quality and its overall construction.

I hunted on Craigslist and found most of my equipment. I bought an older Powermatic bandsaw, delta jointer and a dust collector all for under $1200 bucks.

The deals are out there. The craigslist pro app is awesome for finding things outside of what craigslist lets you search for distance wise.

Best advice is take your time and be patient on finding tools. $3000 will buy you quite a lot if you wait.

[Alex Gauthier]

At this point I've decided to skip power tools entirely. I'll probably still pick up some items down the road but last night I picked up a Wood River smoothing plane, chisels, carcass saw and sharpening supplies for a small project I need to knock out right away. My decision partially stemmed from thinking about my kayak project that I worked on. I mostly enjoyed the process of building it and the actual use of the kayak was just a bonus. I enjoy the process of making things, be they art or something else. Here we go!



I'm in the same position as you are. Relatively new into the hobby and had the desire to burn some cash up on a big table saw purchase.

I bought the Laguna Fushion table saw and have been very happy with its performance and cut quality and its overall construction.

I hunted on Craigslist and found most of my equipment. I bought an older Powermatic bandsaw, delta jointer and a dust collector all for under $1200 bucks.

The deals are out there. The craigslist pro app is awesome for finding things outside of what craigslist lets you search for distance wise.

Best advice is take your time and be patient on finding tools. $3000 will buy you quite a lot if you wait.

[Mike Cherry]

FWIW, I started making furniture using entirely traditional methods with no power tools. I am now what many refer to as a hybrid woodworker. In the beginning budget was my main motivation for not having power tools. Now that I have a few, and the skills to do the work without power, I find that I am not as restricted in my woodworking as others might be if they had never used a hand plane or thicknessed a board with handplanes. I only have a 6" jointer, but because I know how to use a handplane thats not a limitation for me.

Your own journey in the craft will dictate what tools end up in your creative space.