Essencial Shop Tools

[STEAM]

Hello Everyone
First let me say that reading this forum is what convinced me to buy a CW. I placed my order two days ago and am now setting up an area in my basement to work. I have never done real woodworking before. I have built decks, utility buildings, remodeling, etc. My question is what do you suggest I buy to go in my new shop. I currently have a scroll saw, a dremel set, miter saw, drills, etc. I am going to purchase a dust collection system but other than that I really don't know what I should get. I am mainly going to be doing this as a hobby and have no plans of going full time with it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated .:)

[pkunk]

the most used & important WW tool would be a tablesaw with a good fence. Bosch & Dewalt make decent small saws. The CW requires wood w/ absolutely parallel edges.

[Hawg_man]

A nice table top router............Using the CC for edge work is overkill and it is much quicker with a router.

Bob

[STEAM]

Thanks guys. That's two things I hadn't thought about. After work tomorrow I think I will make a trip to my favorite toy store. Home Depot :D

[Kenm810]

How about a Little Eye and Ear protection not to mention Dust Masks.
Also a Random Orbital Sander, and possible a 3 x21 Belt sander or 10 Disc Bench Sander.
Along with a Craftsman Membership card and up to date catalogs from Rockler and the WoodCraft stores and locations.
A Wireless Extension Phone with a Loud Ringer and a Radio for some woodworking music and the Hockey Games.

ps. Maybe for Christmas a Bench top Drill Press would be Handy

[STEAM]

How about a Little Eye and Ear protection not to mention Dust Masks.
Also a Random Orbital Sander, and possible a 3 x21 Belt sander or 10 Disc Bench Sander.
Along with a Craftsman Membership card and up to date catalogs from Rockler and the WoodCraft stores and locations.
A Wireless Extension Phone with a Loud Ringer and a Radio for some woodworking music and the Hockey Games.

ps. Maybe for Christmas a Bench top Drill Press would be Handy

Thanks kenm810. I have the eye,ear protection and the dust masks. I have and older craftsman belt sander that belonged to my late father-in-law. It works well. I'm pretty heavy into computers and electronics so I have a 17 inch LCD TV thats going up on the wall down there soon. The Craftsman card I will have to get for sure. For the phone I think I'll rig one to a strobe light so that If I don't hear it I will still see it. The best thing that I have is a wife who is happy to see me do something I will like. What ever I need she said its OK with her. ( within our price range of course) What more could a man ask!!!

One nice thing about where I live is that it is in Amish country and there are plenty of Amish sawmills, cabinet makers, woodworkers and so on. I will be able to get some nice pieces of oak from them. There is also a Kitchen and Bath place here in town so hopefully I can get Corian from there.
I work for an Industrial Electronics circuit board manufacturer and we have a complete shop there with drill presses, band saws, belt sanders and such. The company lets us use it anytime we like for personal projects. We can even borrow tools to bring home. That will save me some money until I see how heavly I get into woodworking.:D

[Digitalwoodshop]

Most used with my Carve Machine.....

Air Compressor.... Blowing off sawdust Dust mask too....

Digital Calipers to measure board thickness, text placement, general no brainer measurements.

Dust Collector....

Along with everything else that was mentioned.


AL

[Kenm810]

Quote- What ever I need she said its OK with her. ( within our price range of course) What more could a man ask!!!

Sounds like your well on your way.
I also make my rounds of the Amish sawmills in Ohio and Indiana to pick up Hard woods and fruit woods,
plus fruit wood chips for my Smokers. Just finished Smoking some King Salmon my son caught in Lake Michigan Friday

[RC Woodworks]

Everyone is correct I hate to say it I agree most with Paul!!! A good tablesaw is a must, that is with a good fence. You might also consider a jointer, don't waste your money on a bench top model. Along with a good orbital sander and of course a couple good cordless drills. Maybe a router I prefer the Porter Cable 100 7/8 hp.

Oh don't forget a few tape measures and accurate T squares. A sliding miter saw or radial arm saw is used every day in my shop. A good shop vac and Santa I want I want .....Lol

Wow you are going to go broke like the rest of us!!! There is so much more but it depends on the size of your shop.

Welcome to forum and to woodworking!!


Rick

[Woody]

A good starter wood be a table saw,router & table,band saw,combo sander:) Woody

[oldjoe]

Not sure I have ever seen a tablesaw,router, bandsaw sander combination before, But I do own a Ryobi table saw that has a router station in it. There is a special router kit that you have to purchase for it. And you order it thru Ryobi. I bought mine at the toy store you mentioned and it ran me about $250 then I bought a Hytachi variable speed router to mount under it. May not be the best system but it works great for what I do just as a hobby. And its lightweight and very portable. It also has a couple zero clearance throat plates and one for a dado head. I think its a pretty good deal for the money. It even is belt driven.
You may have enough money left to take your wife out for a good dinner, and tell her all the nice things your going to build her. ;)

[STEAM]

Well today I bought a nice router table off ebay. The other things that I plan on getting soon are a new table saw, (the one I have now cant cut a straight line), a set of Digital Calipers, a dust collection system, and maybe a joiner. I'll have to see how deep my pockets go first. I have already expanded my original plans for the basement workshop. Originally it was going to be one room, half for my stuff and the other half for my wife. She makes jewelry.The room was going to be 11x14. Now I have decided to just make that room for her and on the other side of the basement build a room just for my stuff. It will have to be about the same size as the first but that will keep all the noise and mess in the back corner of the basement. I told some of the guys at work about the CW today. One of them owns a pet store and has already ask me to make a sign fo him and I don't even have the machine yet! Who knows, I might even make some of my investments back if this continues. Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions. I have read them all and they remind me of things I have stored away but haven't used for a while. Like t-squares, air compressor, hand tools etc. :)

[RC Woodworks]

Well today I bought a nice router table off ebay. The other things that I plan on getting soon are a new table saw, (the one I have now cant cut a straight line), a set of Digital Calipers, a dust collection system, and maybe a joiner. I'll have to see how deep my pockets go first. I have already expanded my original plans for the basement workshop. Originally it was going to be one room, half for my stuff and the other half for my wife. She makes jewelry.The room was going to be 11x14. Now I have decided to just make that room for her and on the other side of the basement build a room just for my stuff. It will have to be about the same size as the first but that will keep all the noise and mess in the back corner of the basement. I told some of the guys at work about the CW today. One of them owns a pet store and has already ask me to make a sign fo him and I don't even have the machine yet! Who knows, I might even make some of my investments back if this continues. Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions. I have read them all and they remind me of things I have stored away but haven't used for a while. Like t-squares, air compressor, hand tools etc. :)


Nu, I almost forgot!!!!!! A planner is a must stay away from Ryobi they make a cheap terrible planner. I have 2 planners a 13" Ridgid and a 12 1/2 Dewalt and both are great. For the price Ridgid is a bargain.

Oh I am jealous buying new tools and setting up your shop!!!

Rick

[Semper Fi]

You might try looking for a used Shopsmith set up. If time isn't a problem, that system will do everything you'll need with one motor and frame........ just takes a little time to change between machine set ups. I started with one for @ $500 from an auction. eBay is a great place to start looking. I've picked up quite a few items there. And space needed to use one is minimal.

Ernie

ps. Forgot to mention the attachments.... 4" joiner, 6"(?) planer, bandsaw, 21" belt sander plus the 5 normal tools it comes standard with...........10" table saw, wood lathe, 12" disk sander, vertical and horizontal drill press. This is what I started with.

[STEAM]

Shopsmith - multitasking - small amount of space. Now that's my kind of tool. Thanks Semper Fi. I had never heard of it before but I'm looking for one now.

[Digitalwoodshop]

You can find a bunch of them used by people seeing them at Fair's and just having to have it.... Then it collects rust in the basement.... A good tool for a small shop.

AL

[jlpemberton300]

I had one at one point when I only had a garage that I shared with the cars. They are servicable tools and a great for people with limited space. I have the ?luxury? of living less that 30 minutes from the factory, so when I got mine, I was able to get a new one and save on shipping. All of the accesories are very servicable, with the exception of the planer that is a little underpowered with just the normal head on the machine. I know at one point they had a speed increaser for the planer that helped but was pricey.

If I was back in the days of limited space, I would definately have one back in my shop, but I have graduated to a 24 x 40 woodshop and a 24 x 32 finishing shop and am not looking back....

Jim

[badger]

What kind of sanders or what does everyone else use when it comes down to sanding the detailed work such as text and inside the carved out region?

[Kenm810]

badger,

I would suggest A dremel type tool with 3M or Scotch Bright sanding disc brushes.


Ps. Don't forget your lubes and pre-sealers

[Gman_Ind]

I have an old shop smith I use it mostly for the lathe and disc sander. for a hobbyist it is a good investment but for production, the setups kill time=$. (I have 3 shapers just so I don't have to change setups making cabinets)
basic tools as everyone has suggested is an accurate table saw/fence.
RO sander, velco on paper. If you have access to a sawmill make sure you have a planer.
IMHO a Jointer as wide and long as you can afford is a great investment as well.
And IMHO an ambient shop air filter is a must have for a basement workshop, sanding/saw dust in your home will get you in trouble with the house cleaner.
and if you are on cement floors get some of the rubber exersize room mats the kind that lock together like a jigsw puzzle. the smooth surface is easy to sweep or vacuum up, your legs will thank you for it.
some of the anti-fatigue mats have big sawdust collecting holee and are hard to clean.
good luck and welcome to the 'club'

[Gman_Ind]

badger,

I would suggest A dermal type tool with 3M or Scotch Bright sanding disc brushes.


Ps. Don't forget your lubes and pre-sealers
Ken the first photo almost looks like my shop, these are The lube products to get.
I also use a DuPont teflon dry film spray, I also forgot, a machine wax for the cast tabletops is very nice, keeps your table saw top from rusting and reduces friction, make sure it contains NO SILICONE, in fact banish Silicone from a wood shop, it is heck on final finishes.

[badger]

Thanks Kenm810, but since I couldnt find a dermal tool, I started looking around for a dremel tool set....sorry had to point it out. ;)

None the less always great information on here.