Which Tool Next?

[Jason Hanko]

Hey all,
I’ve been doing amateur woodworking for several years now, and am (slowly) building up my collection of tools. Ive got most of the basics to do what I need to do around the house, but Im getting to that point where I’d like to start adding the “serious woodworker” tools and transition from basic home repair projects/shelf building to finer furniture and heirloom projects. I got my Grizzly catalog in the mail a few weeks ago and I feel like I want one of everything, but don’t have the funds to make more than one purchase a year or so.

Currently I have:
∙ 10’’ contractor table saw
∙ 10’’ CSMS
∙ plunge/fixed base router combo
∙ jigsaw
∙ skillsaw
∙ combo belt/disc sander
∙ cordless drill/finishing sanders/misc hand tools.


So go ahead, spend my money! What’s the next step – Planer? Jointer? Bandsaw? Drill Press? (I have a separate account slowwwly saving for a ClearVue DC).
Thanks for your input!

[Ben Martin]

I vote for whatever tool you can get a good deal on. I have so far amassed a jointer, table saw, drill press, bandsaw and disc sander by surfing the net and looking for what is available. The MS Cashback deal has been good to me.

But to add to that, I don't buy new tools only used ones, so you get what you take. Being in Chicago makes that possible for me too...

[Paul Ryan]

Jason

I also suggest the MS Cash Back option. It is really easy to do. With a 25% of you cant beat it. If you are going to shop grizzly which many folks love their tools. I just ordered my 1st grizzly tool last night with the cash back option. The prices are the same on ebay or out of their catalog. So you might as well take advantage of the 25% off deal. Used tools are a good idea too but if you are in the situation that I am, good used tools don't come around to often here, and when they do the prices are HIGH! The band saw I bought was cheaper shipped to my home than I could get it off of craiglist used. By looking through your list of tools I suggest a jointer. It helps out so much having a jointer. Some will say a planner, but if you are not buying rough stock too often you can wait. I jointer comes in real handy. Good luck

[Peter Quinn]

I vote for gaining control of flattening and thicknessing your stock. Without the ability to prepare flat stock of a specific thickness you are limited in your ability to venture into fine wood working, and no tools will let you do that faster than a jointer and planer. Can you swing a combo? Two birds with one stone so to speak. They really are a team, but if you are getting stand alone models I'd get a planer first, as it has uses by itself and can be used to flatten, where as a jointer is sort of a one trick pony, it flattens. Actually there are many things you can do with a jointer that few actually use it for, but most of these things can be accomplished using other tools you already own.

[glenn bradley]

I voted for DC and Jointer; two tools that get left too far down the list too often.

[Todd Bin]

Do you have a router table with a good fence? If you want to make furniture that usually means doors and drawer fronts, dovetails etc. You can also use a router (with or without table) to edge join a board.

The planer/jointer usually go hand in hand. If you want to resaw wood and make veneer as well as do curved work then a bandsaw is a must.

I would purchase the drill press last.

[Dewey Torres]

You really need a jointer and a planer next but they both require DC so I would start to plan for all 3 of those next. This is going to cost $$$ so save up and always get the best tools you can afford.

Do some research here on the creek before deciding on a model. Good luck and thanks for an interesting poll.:)

[Jeff Bratt]

I definitely vote for a planer. That give you a big capability your don't have, to flatten and thickness boards. While a jointer is nice, establishing a straight edge can be done with a rip sled on the tablesaw and/or with a jointer fence on a router table. I can flatten a board well enough to go through a planer using a hand plane (scrub plane), or you can build a sled for the planer.

You should be able to get an bench-top drill press very inexpensively - if you decide you need a bigger one, you can get that later. Being able to drill straight is a very good thing. Then one of your first projects should be to build a router table.

And you already know about the dust collection thing...

[Jim Becker]

Jeff, the jointer is for truly flattening the boards before thicknessing, not just for edges. A planer cannot (without a creative jig) make a board flat...only parallel to the other face. That said, I do agree that if the OP cannot buy both a planer and a jointer, then the planer should be first as it provides some versatility he doesn't have now.

[david kramer]

Get whatever tool you think you need! It depends on what type of projects you are working on, or are planning on working on. If you want to turn some legs, a jointer's not going to help you, and vice versa. If you have found yourself frequently working around a problem that a specialized tool will do easily, that's probably the tool you need.

David

[Michael Gibbons]

I voted for the jointer but it is only really useful if you have the planer so that you can easily dimension lumber. They go together.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Jointer. Think of all the edge joints on a tabletop, and the only way to do these well is with a jointer. Or a jointer plane, which opens a whole new can of worms...:D

[Jeff Bratt]

A planer cannot (without a creative jig) make a board flat...only parallel to the other face.

I did not mean to give the impression that a planer will automatically flatten boards. I find that I can easily hand-plane most boards enough to go through a planer for thicknessing and smoothing. Plus a planer sled can be built handle more severe warps. Then there are the methods I mentioned previously for milling a straight edge. While a jointer is certainly nice to have, there are reasonable alternatives. Without a planer, it's just a whole lot of work to thickness boards by hand.

[Don Bullock]

...I got my Grizzly catalog in the mail a few weeks ago and I feel like I want one of everything, but don’t have the funds to make more than one purchase a year or so.[/FONT]...

Watch out!! That Grizzly catalog can be very dangerous for the budget.:eek:;):D

Since you said that you can only buy one tool I voted for the band saw (at least 14"), but if you can afford a jointer and planer or a jointer/planer combo then that might be a better way to go. While I worked for many years without either one I wouldn't want to give up having both in my shop.

If you do decide on a planer you will definitely need a DC system of some sort. That's another reason I voted for band saw.

[Andrew Joiner]

What is your next project? If you can get decent dry rough lumber cheap, get a planer first and make a sled.

I had a good planer and jointer in my shop when I was a full time pro woodworker. I only used them the first few years I was in business. When they came out with glue joint rip blades I found it was actually cheaper to order my lumber S3S and use a glue joint rip blade to size my stock.

It takes time and money to buy and maintain a planer and jointer. Plus it takes time to feed the stock to the machines and sweep up and a dust collector is best.

Call around to wholesale lumber yards, get a price on lumber surfaced on 2 faces and straight lined 1 edge (that's S3S). Price the same lumber rough. You may find you can do all your projects now and pay a little extra for S3S.

If you want to spend money on a machine, get a bandsaw if you do a lot of solid wood curve cuts. If you want to make cabinets a panelsaw is a real workhorse.

[Thomas Williams]

I voted for the jointer. But with some reflection, maybe dust collection would be a good decision. While admittedly not as much over all fun as a jointer, band saw or the like dust collection has many benefits including protecting your health.

[Wayne Cannon]

Something else to consider would be a table in which to mount your router. A table greatly extends the list of things for which you can use your router.

[Ray Schafer]

I strongly suggest a dust collector. The Delta 50-760 has gotten good reviews, and seems to have enough power. I am an example of someone who bought every tool before dust control. I regret it, but finally went out and bought that machine. I am going to assemble it within the next couple of weeks and have made a personal commitment to never make sawdust with out dust control and a respirator. My next project is to get a squirrel cage blower and build an air filter. (This hasn't been high on my list because I am in a garage with a cross-breeze ... but with winter coming ....)

[Art Mulder]

... I've got most of the basics to do what I need to do around the house, but I'm getting to that point where I’d like to start adding the “serious woodworker” tools...

Jason it would help if you would tell us about your shop.

For instance, if your shop is in the basement, then dust is a much bigger concern than if your shop is in an detached building where you like to work with the door wide open.

For example, I planed lumber in the driveway for several years (to keep the mess out of the house) before finally buying a DC --once I could afford it-- and moving the planer to the basement shop with the rest of my tools.

For instance, if you have a very small shop, then fitting in tools might also be a concern. You might be better off saving up for a combination jointer/planer, for example.


Get whatever tool you think you need! It depends on what type of projects you are working on, or are planning on working on.

This.

[John Schreiber]

Jointer or planer. Planer or jointer. Easy! Get a combination machine.

Dust collection is a must too, but I haven't made that step yet either. It's hard to spend my precious funds on something that won't make my work better immediately. I just keep the doors open and a fan at my back. (It's getting cold in Illinois.)

[Prashun Patel]

DC.

If you get a planer and don't have a DC, you'll be sorry.

After DC, I'd get a planer. You can use yr tsaw or router table as a passable jointer, but there's no way to properly thickness stock.

I love my bandsaw, but yr jigsaw can get you by for a lot of ops.

Then I'd get a drill press, which actually does the most duty for me as a spindle sander for stuff cut on the bandsaw...

[Jason Hanko]

Thanks to all of you for your advice!
I was leaning towards a jointer when I first posted this (the Grizzly G0586), but it was a close race between it and a planer. A lot of your comments confirmed some of what I was thinking as well, since Im currently using the straight bit with offset router-fence setup as a passable edge jointer.
So then it was down to Planer vs. Dust Collector.
Long story short - economics stepped in and made a quick decision for me.
After lots of shopping around and tons of thread-reading here on SMC, I had my eye on the Dewalt DW735 planer. The Ebay 10% off coupon combined with today's 30% MS Cashback = Final price of $258 and some change. :D:D:D
It was going to be awhile before I had the $$ for a decent DC setup, and I had the cash now for the deal above. Looks like Ill be wheeling it out into the driveway until I can save up for my Bill Pentz special - So many tools, so little funding. :rolleyes:
Thanks again for all the valuable input, in both this thread and all the others!

[Wade Lippman]

With the tools you have you don't really need a DC.
But I don't see how you can make anything without a router table.

[Tony Bilello]

YOu guys are bad about using acronyms that some of us are not familiar with.
I would like to know more about MS cash back where is the best place to order Grizzly tools from.

Thanks in advance

[Jason Hanko]

YOu guys are bad about using acronyms that some of us are not familiar with.
I would like to know more about MS cash back where is the best place to order Grizzly tools from.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=96253



With the tools you have you don't really need a DC.
But I don't see how you can make anything without a router table.I dunno - all of my tools so far spit out this yellowish fluffy stuff all over the place every time I use them... maybe they're defective? :p (and from what I hear a planer is going to make even more of this)
And I do have a router table - made it myself. :)

[Jeff Bratt]

... I had my eye on the Dewalt DW735 planer.
...
Looks like Ill be wheeling it out into the driveway until I can save up for my Bill Pentz special.

I've attached a Phil Thien separator - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=69765 - to my DeWalt 735 - and the setup works quite well. Unless, of course, you to spew sawdust everywhere...