$1,000 to spend

[Dennis Kelly]

Hello everyone,
I am new to woodworking and have decided to dedicate $1,000 to upgrading my shop. I have a decent starter set right now with a 6" jointer, contractor table saw, compound miter saw, 10" drill press, Kreg Jig system, jig saw, orbital and belt sander, brad and fraiming nailer, several clamps and a shop vac. I was hoping to get some advice as to what I should buy with the money. I enjoy making furniture (ie. end tables and coffee tables) and am interested in expanding my skills to other furniture.
I don't have tons of money to throw at my hobby right now so this money is designed to last several months. Any advice from the experts would be more than appreciated.

Deke

[Brian Penning]

A planer for sure. Add a Dust collector and that's all your money right there

[Scott Loven]

Get a good lunch box planer and a mini lathe with tools.
Scott

[Ray Bersch]

Dust collector, planer, band saw, in that order......oh, and more clamps

[Rick Moyer]

Well, planer jumps out at me as missing from your list, especially since you have a jointer. Then maybe a bandsaw depending what you plan to do. I'm sure others will jump in here soon.

[Von Bickley]

A planer and a good router (or 2, or 3, or 4).......:D

[Dave Anderson NH]

Don't spend it all on tools. You might want to allocate a good bit of it for buying wood and then buy tools as you find you need them.

[Jeff Craven]

Why not use some of that money to enroll in a woodworking class? I took a class on hand tools & a project based course building a toolbox & they have helped me tremendously. The were both at the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop. It gave me some direction on what skills I wanted to learn & what tools I wanted to acquire.

[Bill Eshelman]

Domino.

//runs and hides.

seriously though, if you like making furniture.

[Paul Johnstone]

I second the dust collector. It's not a fun purchase, but consider the health risks. At least read through Bill Penz's web page before you rule it out.

[Ron Blaise]

A DC & a plainer, in the order. Sawdust can stop you in your tracks. The DC will save your lungs, the plainer , A lot of money. Then, later on, A band saw, Router, Mortiser, Drum Sander, etc. In fact, it never stops:D

[Andrew Williams]

I'd go for the planer and spend the rest on hand tools.

[Jerry Olexa]

I'g go planer next followed by Dc and BS or more wood...

[Brian Dormer]

DC first! It's your lungs, after all.

[Dennis Kelly]

Hey guys!
Thank you so much for all the input, keep 'em coming, this is invaluable advice. I didn't even contemplate a DC but I had been thinking planer and band saw. This is also helping me realize very quickly that $1,000 doesn't get you very far these days.

Deke

[glenn bradley]

DC - $300, router kit - $200, planer - $400, balance on material.

[John Buzzurro]

Planer, router, more clamps, maybe some hand tools.

[James Phillips]

Spend $600 to $800 on a Jet DC1100 with 2 micron canister filter and enough clear tubing and fittings and get dust collection done right. With the last $200 - $400 get either a planer of air scrubber

[John Shuk]

I second the wood suggestion.

[Dennis Kelly]

So, I just got home from home depot and purchased a ridgid 13" planer (I know I'm not allowed to gloat without pictures, but I'm still new to this). Now I need some suggestions on a dust collection system. My shop is 1/4 of my basement which measures about 15 feet by 10 feet so I'm not working with a ton of space but it's my own little slice of heaven. Any tips would be much appreciate.

Deke Kelly

[Greg Deakins]

I have a 12' Delta and haven't used it in months for not buying a few replacement brushes. It hasn't been a problem, because my lumberyard will plane down any material I buy. As far as dust collection, I'd just wear a mask for now. For what I do, (a lot of curvature), a good bandsaw is next on my list...

[James Phillips]

I have a 12' Delta and haven't used it in months for not buying a few replacement brushes. It hasn't been a problem, because my lumberyard will plane down any material I buy. As far as dust collection, I'd just wear a mask for now. For what I do, (a lot of curvature), a good bandsaw is next on my list...

No disrespect intended, but for a basement shop DC is esentiall as is an air cleaner of some sort. THe dust will not stay in the shop; it will get in the whole house