Which Power Tools used most often?

[Barry Allweiss]

Being new to WW and starting to buy my tools, I am wondering which tools you use more frequent than others. Just curious as to the most "popular" tools. This would help all "newbies" out there as well.

Please put your top 5+ of the following bench/stationary power tools in order which you use most often. Include any other tools you use as well.

Router
TS
CMS
BS
Scroll Saw
Drill Press
Nail guns
Jointer
Planer
Grinder
Sander

[Michael McCoy]

You would almost have to break that down into the phase of a project. If I'm just roughing out lumber to start, it's

Sliding Miter Saw
Bandsaw
Jointer
Planer
Table Saw

After that it's dependent on the project.

[Jim Becker]

1) Cyclone ('cause it's on for every stationary tool...)
2) TS
3) Jointer/planer
4) Festool 150/3 sander and vac
5) Festool drill/driver

My CMS only gets used to break down lumber or a quickie cut when necessary. The BS gets used as needed. The largest portion of work, however, bounces between the TS and the J/P and I actually use the latter less since moving to a slider. Jointing is generally face jointing at this point as I straight line with the saw and it gives a sanding-ready edge.

Equally important, however, are my steel rules, squares, LN low angle block plane, chisels and dovetail saw. Oh, and many pencils... :)

[CPeter James]

My Dewalt 14.4 impact driver. Drives screws better than a drill and drills, too. Twice the power and half the weight.

CPeter

[Bill Huber]

This is the order that I use my tools the most.


TS
Router
Drill Press
Sander
Planer
CMS
Scroll Saw
Nail guns
Jointer
Grinder

[Bob Genovesi]

OK, here goes;

Table saw
Planer
Jointer
Router
Shaper
Leigh D4 Dovetail
Mortiser
Biscuit Jointer
Drill / Screw driver
Air Nailer
Band Saw
SandersBob

[James Phillips]

1a) Table Saw
1b) Jointer
1c) Planer
2) Router
3) Sander and Vac

Also have dust collection on all

The reason for the co #1s is because it is very hard to do any project for me without all three

[Al Willits]

Not sure I'll get order right as it depends on what project I'm doing, but I'd have to add my air compressor as I use air tools and air to blow stuff off a lot, and I also use my cordless drill frequently.
So..

Air compressor
Cordless drill
TS
Sander
BS
Drill Press
Jointer
Planer

Next week the list may be in a different order..:)

Al

[Graham Skinner]

1) Bandsaw.
2) Jointer (if I had one, so a hand plane has to do for now).
3) Mitre saw.
4) Planer.
5) Table saw.

And then I need to start useing my other tools :rolleyes: .

[Don Bullock]

My use is dependent on the project, wood I'm using (how many sides,if any are surfaced) and the tools I have at hand. Until the project I'm working on right now I got buy with S3S wood about 3/4" thick or thicker for all my projects. The table saw was the main tool because it was used to break down the wood into smaller pieces (both ripping and cross cutting) and creating edges for glueing. The only other tool that got a lot of use was my sander. Yes, I was able to make furniture of decent quality with just those two power tools and some form of drill, either drill press or hand drill.

Now tool use is still dependent on what I'm making, but I have a lot of choices. For my last project, a mantle and plywood panel over it, I used the following tools in this order, with the most used tool first:

sanding block
random orbiting sander
ShopVac
table saw
sliding compound miter saw
jig saw
band saw
hand drill (drilling holes and driving screws)
NOTE: for this project I did not yet have my jointer or planer

Current projects:

ShopVac with Dust Deputy
various rulers, tape measures and marking devices (pencil, chalk, knife)
table saw
sand paper w/wo sanding block
sander
band saw
jointer
planer
mortiser
sliding compound miter saw
hand drill (drilling and driving screws)
drill press
router table
hand held router
Kreg pocket screw jig
sign maker templates, etc.
air compressor with 23 g pinner
chisels
wood rasp
Note: yes, I know that I need a DC system, but I'm planning to move within the next two years and will wait until I'm in my new shop

[Charles Wiggins]

1) Cordless Drill
2) TS
3) Router
4) Jointer
5) CMS

[Jon Lanier]

Tape Measure
Dust Collector
Table Saw
Drill Press
Joiner
Thickness Planer
Scroll Saw
Sanders: Palm & Orbital

[Brad Evans]

1. Unisaw
2. Festool TS55 (and MFT or free guiderail)
3. 12" Starrett hook rule (a "bench tool" to me...)


Brad
Urban pix: http://www.citysnaps.net

[Steve knight]

my cyclone it gets used more then any other tool.
then my cnc router gets the most use.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

#1 - Shop Vac - I have 2, both Ridgid. HD has had them on sale on "Black Friday" (Friday after Thanksgiving) for ~$25.00 for the last two years.
I bought 2 because filters are ~$15.00 and hose kits ~ $10.

#2 - Air Compressor.

#3 - Electric drill, corded or cordless.

#4 - Table Saw

#5 - (probably move up in use as I get time to asssemble a table and other jigs for it) Router.

Other essentials:
- Kreg pocket screw jig
- Clamps - lots and lots and lots of clamps.
- Compound miter saw.
- Dremel
- Straight line electric screwdriver, low to moderate power. ( I got one free with a laser level that was on closeout for $5.00. It's just powerful enough to drive most smaller screws, but not so overpowering <like a drill/driver> that it "spins" screws instead of snugging them down.)
- Did I mention - clamps? Lots and lots of them? :D

[Josh Youngman]

0. Shopvac/homeade cyclone
1. TS
2. Router (/router table)
3. SCMS
4. Planer
5. 18v drill
6. Sander (ROS)
7. nailers
8. Jig Saw
9. Circular saw
10. Dremel
11. Biscuit joiner (used rarely)

[Joe Mioux]

outside of the DC.

Table saw because it is so versatile in doing so many things.

However, as I have accumulated tools

I would say planer and jointer tie for second.

then comes various drills

[Paul Greathouse]

As others have said Dust collection is probably used more than any other tool along with measuring and marking devices.

I do mostly cabinet and cabinet related work so my tools and tool usage order may differ from some of the previous posts.

1. Circular saws used in conjunction with my EZ smart guide rail system.
The EZ guide has more or less replaced my tablesaw. Since I mostly work with 1 1/2" or less material, the EZ Smart also serves as my jointer, it gives a perfect edge for face jointing.

2. Thickness Planer: I use alot of rough sawn lumber so my planer gets used on most every project.

3. Routers: Free hand, table mounted and also in conjuction with the EZ Smart guide system.

4. Cordless drill/driver

5. Kreg Pockethole jig.

6. Random Orbit sanders

7. Clamps

8. Senco finish nailers, brad nailers and staplers

9. Porter Cable Dovetail

10. Jig saw, CMS, Biscuit Joiner, Drill Press, Tablesaw

Tools I hope to purchase soon:
Drum sander
Williams and Hussey planer/molder
12" Jointer
Bandsaw

[Danny Thompson]

Easy:
1. TS
2. Router
3. Sander
(1 Random Orbital Sander & 1 Combo Oscillating Spindle/Belt Sander)
4. Drill Press
5. Nail guns
6. CMS
7. Planer
8. Grinder

Don't own one, but wish I did:
Jointer
BS

Don't own one, don't see a need for one:
Scroll Saw

[Vernon Taylor]

Planer
Jointer
Table saw
Kreg Jig
Router
Various sanders(PC330,most used)
Refrigarater
Fein Multimaster

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, since I mostly use solid wood;

1) Dust collector

2)Jointer

3) Planer

4) Tablesaw

5) Layout tools

6) mortiser

7) shaper

8) Hand held tools such as sander, drill, planes, chisels etc.

If you were mostly going to make cabinets from sheet goods, I would pick

1) Dust Collector

2) tablesaw

3) layout tools

4) Sander

5) biscuit joiner or pocket screw jig or Domino

6) hand held tools such as drill, router, planes, chisels etc

regards, Rod.

[Greg Pavlov]

1) Bandsaw.
2) Jointer (if I had one, so a hand plane has to do for now).
3) Mitre saw.
4) Planer.
5) Table saw.
.......

I notice that your list shows band and table saws in reverse order from most of the other lists. Do you have any idea as to why that is ? (I'm asking because, without ever owning one, I *believe* that I would tend to use a bs more than others seem to).

[Jack Briggs]

1) Table-mounted router
2) Plunge router
3) Band saw
4) Drum sander
5) Drill press
6) Spindle sander
7) Jointer
8) Shaper
9) Dremel
10) Pedestal buffer

[BOB OLINGER]

The most used without question is my cordless drill - buy a good one.

[Doug Shepard]

Coffee Maker (actually an Insta-Hot)
TS, BS, Router, Drill Press, Planer, Jointer, Combo Sander, Drum Sander, Cyclone, and Air Compressor all refuse to start without the Coffee Maker turned on.

[Matt Meiser]

Cordless Drill
Impact Driver
TS
Planer
Random Orbit Sander
Jointer
CMS (mostly for utility or rough cuts, but rediscovering it after getting my good blade sharpened. TS with the Incra miter gauge is much more accurate for critical cuts though.)
Drill Press
Router (in table)
Belt/Disc Sander (use it a lot more than I thought I would)
Router (freehand)

As needed:
BS (curved cuts and ripping thick stock)
Scroll Saw (very rare)
Nail guns (less and less--replaced with glues and pocket screws where appropriate.)

[Gary Keedwell]

Measuring tools
Cordless drill
SCMS
Big-3 ( TS...Jointer...Planer)
Portable dust collector
Card scraper
Sanding gear
mineral spirits.& finishing gear



Gary

[Larry Fox]

-TS
-Jointer
-Planer
-DC (same reason as Jim - it is hooked to every tool)
-Measuring / marking tools
-block plane
-various other edge tools
-Tormek
-Bandsaw

[Jesse Cloud]

What an interesting thread!! I don't think any two people gave the same answer! I think there are some trends though:

- You need different tools to work with sheet goods versus lumber. If you are buying rough lumber (which you have to do to get exact dimensions) you will need a jointer and a planer. With sheet goods, one of the guided circular saw systems is probably the best way to go.

- People tend to bond with a particular "go to" tool. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing in woodworking, some will go to the tablesaw for almost everthing, others to the router, others to the bandsaw.

- Whatever you do, you need layout tools. Buy good ones. Unlike those cordless drills, a good square will last the rest of your life. Don't waste money and make errors by buying duplicates. I used to have half a dozen tape measures around the shop until I realized that they varied slightly. Always use the same measuring tool throughout your project.

- Lots of other variables come in: will you be working in a shop or moving stuff around a lot? Do you have room for the big iron (TS, jointer, planer, DC) or do you plan to haul stuff out onto the driveway? What's your budget? What's your timeframe?

- One lesson I learned the hard way - even if your budget is tight, don't buy crap. I bought three "value priced" table saws before I bought a good one, could have bought that good one first and saved $1,000.

Sorry this is so long, but one more piece of advice. Just about all tools are made overseas and the US dollar is doing a nosedive. Sooner is better.

[Barry Beech]

I really don't think that you can do a top 5 so here is what I typically use in a project:

Dust Collector
Table Saw
Jointer
Planer
Clamps
Router in a table
Various measuring tools
Marking knive
Air compressor
Paslode 18 gauge brad gun
Drill driver of some sort (just got the bosch ps40 and have only had a chance to use it on a new deck)
Lie Nielsen #102 L/A block plane
Pair of saw horses
A set of brad point bits
Titebond II or III glue
palm sander


I am sure that I am leaving something or five out.

[John Bailey]

1. Bandsaw
2. Combo Sander
3. Cordless Drills
4. Jigsaw
5. ROS Sander

(Now if you had questioned which power tool I spend most time with - it's the dastardly Parks Planer that still sits disassembled in the shop with this evil cast iron smile it has in astute awareness that I'm in way over my head.)

John

[Bill Wyko]

Jet DC
Performax 22-44 drum sander
PM #64 TS
Incra fence for router & TS
JET 1442 VS lathe
Incra 1000se
New 14.4 V LI screw gun (power lil sucker)
PC router table/incra
All sorts of Woodpecker clamping devices
Jet K&F clamps
DELTA 12" compound sliding miter saw

[Scot Ferraro]

I work mostly with solid lumber and little sheet goods so my list includes the following power tools:

Felder AF22 Dust Collector -- hooked to all machines
Delta overhead Air Cleaner -- always on
Jet 6 inch Jointer and DeWalt 12 1/2 Planer -- soon to be replaced with a new Hammer later this month :D
General 350 TS
Bosch 6 inch ROS
Bessey Clamps
Laguna LT18
Milwaukee Router in table -- the big one
DeWalt 621 for handheld use

Thanks,

Scot