**Newbie** Looking for suggestions on next tool purchase

[Jason Whitaker]

I am fairly new to this whole world of woodworking, but can see how/why everyone here seems to love it so much.

I have been slowly putting together a workshop (single car garage all to myself) and am at a point where I am ready to make another purchase but am not sure what I really want vs. really should have vs. actually need.

I have a table saw (CF - 10in, 1 1/2 hp, direct drive with a forrest WWII blade) that I have added the AccuSquare fence and a melamine side/outfeed table to. It is a decent saw but I know it is far from being "ideal" My question is: Should I look at upgrading this first? or are there other tools that you would see as being more useful to me?

I already have a 10in Compound Miter, Router Table, Drill Press w table, 14in Band Saw, Scroll Saw, and all of your basic portable power tools/sanders, saws, biscuit joiner, etc..

Some of the other pieces I though I may need were a Joiner? Planer? anything else? Or should I take the money and put it towards a better quality table saw (have been looking at a Delta that my local Lowes has on sale)

Just to give an example of some of the things I have been building: Bathroom Vanity, Shoe Rack, Plant Stand, Sofa Table and have a new project for a friend to build a set of night stands.


Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
Thank you

[Dave Sweeney]

If you plan on making furniture you'll definitely at some point in time need a jointer, planer and a band saw.

[Tim Thomas]

I would recommend a thickness planer next. If you plan to buy any rough lumber you will definitely need it. Ideally you would also get a jointer, but if your budget or space only allows for one purchase at this time, I would recommend the planer for several reasons. One is that you can build jigs that will allow you to use a planer like a jointer (search for "planer sled" on this site and you will find several excellent examples), but I don't know of any way to use a jointer like a planer. Another reason is that you can get a good capacity planer (13 inch wide Ridgid for about $350) for relatively little money when compared to a jointer (12 inch wide jointer could be multiple thousands) and it will take up much less space in your garage shop. Many people who buy smaller jointers (like a 6 inch or 8 inch) upgrade later anyway to larger models when they have more space and budget. (For the record, I am making due with my 6 inch jointer just fine, but I'm still a relative beginner.)

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

[glenn bradley]

Dust collection, of course. I would expect this to be the first answer out of most folks here. Once you have a healthy environment so you can keep on woodworking . . . .

Seriously though; we all recommend based on what we do in our shops which is probably different than what you do in your's. So in my little slice of the world it goes like this, assuming a good start on drills, chisels, etc.

1. Tablesaw or (LARGE) bandsaw
2. Selection of routers
2a. ** cough cough ** where'd all this dust come from?
3. Dust collector
4. Jointer (a jointer is the tool that creates the initial flat surface from which all other milling operations are based)
5. Planer (now that you have a flat surface, lets make the other side parallel)
6. Bandsaw or tablesaw (whichever wasn't covered in item 1.)
7. Drill press
8. By now you have a good idea what your own needs are . . .
9. Forge ahead . . . .
10. Keep having fun . . .

[Travis Rassat]

I would also suggest dust collection and an air cleaner. Like Glenn said, this will help you enjoy the hobby for a long, long time.

Also, you can never have enough clamps...

I have that Delta table saw you're looking at at Lowe's with the basic T2 fence. In my opinion, it's a decent table saw and you'll probably be happy with it. Having it attached to a dust collector enhances the experience greatly.

[Don Bullock]

While I built things out of wood for many years without a jointer or a planer I highly recommend both. I started with the jointer, but it's a toss up as to which to buy first in my opinion. Unfortunately when you buy either one, especially the planer, a shopvac won't be able to keep up with all the shavings so a DC is a must.

[Rick Fisher]

I would suggest an 8" Jointer as your next tool. Get something decent or a few years from now, you will be replacing it ..

[Steve Kohn]

IMHO your first purchase should be dust collection and air filter. Properly tuned, your table saw should do what you want it to do.

After protecting your lungs, invest in safety glasses and hearing protection. Only after you have protected yourself would I consider additional tools. Depending on what you want to build, and what stock you work from, you should consider the jointer or planer (or both) as your next acquisition.

As stated a jointer gives you reference edges. Absolutely necessary for edge gluing boards into wider panels. In fact, I used a 6" jointer for years until I upgraded. Watch CL, you can find good used machines for a couple of hundred dollars.

If you buy rough sawn stock, or if you wish to build something that requires different thicknesses of wood then you have to look for a planer. Again watch CL. You can find some pretty decent used planers for a couple of hundred also.

And then you have most of the rest of us who keep upgrading and then selling off our tools on CL. That's been my experience.

[Rich Souchek]

Jason,
Not neaning to be negative, but if you don't have enough experince to know what tools you should have, or need to obtain, then after saftey items, perhaps some education and wood would be the best next items.
Safety first, for me, includes dust collection. Most everyone I know complains about the dust, and coughs like a smoker, but doesn't put money and attention to this important item.
By education, I mean taking some classes somewhere to build your skill level up. Look at what interests you, then find some classes or event in that are that will help you develop skill in that area. Perhaps making chairs, boxes, kitchen cabinets, turing wood, whatever you enjoy doing. This will let you enjoy what you do and get the skill to advance, plus knowledge of what tools you will need on your own woodworking journey.
Then I would suggest buying the wood and expendable supplies you need to practie and devlop your skills. Knowledgable, skilled craftsman usually have been doing their crafts for long time. They developped their skills by practice. So, my suggestion to you is to get building and developing your own skills. And this takes some money, time, and dedication.
Rich S.

[Rick Fisher]

I agree on the Dust collector. The mistake I made was first buying a cheap one. In my early 30's I was concerned with cleaning up chip's. In my 40's I am concerned about breathing.

The dust collector should be the most used tool in your shop. Wether your using the Jointer, Planer or Table saw, the DC will be chugging away in the background. I recently upgraded because I bought the "cheap one".

So when you buy one, get the best one you can afford. Check out all the different brands and read Bill Pentz site. Some dont agree with him, but its a good read.

[Denny Rice]

Jason,
Not neaning to be negative, but if you don't have enough experince to know what tools you should have, or need to obtain, then after saftey items, perhaps some education and wood would be the best next items.
Safety first, for me, includes dust collection. Most everyone I know complains about the dust, and coughs like a smoker, but doesn't put money and attention to this important item.
By education, I mean taking some classes somewhere to build your skill level up. Look at what interests you, then find some classes or event in that are that will help you develop skill in that area. Perhaps making chairs, boxes, kitchen cabinets, turing wood, whatever you enjoy doing. This will let you enjoy what you do and get the skill to advance, plus knowledge of what tools you will need on your own woodworking journey.
Then I would suggest buying the wood and expendable supplies you need to practie and devlop your skills. Knowledgable, skilled craftsman usually have been doing their crafts for long time. They developped their skills by practice. So, my suggestion to you is to get building and developing your own skills. And this takes some money, time, and dedication.
Rich S.


Jason, I agree with Rich's post. Education is very important, I was lucky because I grew up in the 70's and 80's when shop class was a required class in most jr. high and high schools for atleast 1 semester (I also remember having to take a sewing and cooking class too)! To this day I can't sew on a button or boil water, LOL. But anyway back to the topic, in the 8th grade I had my first woodshop class, then every year after that until I graduated high school, I was a shop prodigy you could say. But even after 5 yrs of woodshop in school, I still loved this hobby and wanted to learn more. After HS I did not have the money to put my own shop togeather, so I looked back to my HS (they offered a woodshop class for night school) I signed up twice a year every year until the school did away with their woodworking program in the late 90's. I was also very lucky that I had really good woodshop instructors while I was in school and even durning the NS program, the regular shop teacher taught the night school class. Go to the library, there you will find a lot of good books there, read as much as you can and try to find a local forum that meets once a week or month. Woodcraft also puts on classes at their local stores, sometimes I think they are a little pricey, but you can still learn from their classes. Like I said check your local HS for night school classes, they usually have a really qualified instructor there because of the dangerous nature of woodworking equimpment in general. My shop teachers would not let you touch any machines unsupervised until you passed a written test and a pratical test on each machine. And you had to recite within 45 seconds the 6 steps to squaring a board. I still can recite those steps by memory 25+ yrs later.....

[Denny Rice]

Jason,

I forgot the most important thing..............Welcome!!!!!! I hope you enjoy SMC, there are a lot of good guys here, really smart guys too. I have found SMC members are willing to help anyone with any issues or problems you might be having with a project.