What's the first tool?

[eezlock]

what's the first tool?

I think the most important tool would be .....a very good, accurate steel
rule and a reliable tape measure or folding ruler! Everything in woodworking
seems to be connected to accuracy at the start of the project. Old addage...
but it bears repeating....." measure twice, cut once!"

[Tom Slick]

On larger projects a good circ saw and guide system will go a long way.
Look at the ways Festool, Hilti, Dewalt, Makita, and any other guide systems use a guide for good cuts. You don't have to buy a festool but they have a lot of info on how their systems work with circ saws and routers.

[mskono]

'first' tool

i think a table saw is the center piece of any woodworking shop. what you buy depends on the amt of $ you have. i have a great Jet hybrid with cast iron wings. it is about $1k or so in today's market. if you are a serious hobbyist and even a pro it should last a lifetime...

i started out with a radial arm [craftsman] and went to a craftsman contractor before the jet. no comparison. the fence on the jet is "PHENOMENAL"

oh, and good blades. forrest are as good as they come, and i recommend the freud dado stack.

[SARGE..g-47]

In 1972 I hung a circular saw under a sheet of 2 x 4 ply and I had my first TS in my quest to become a WW wanna-be. I built 4 pieces in 2 years and my ex-wife purchased a Sears Craftsman contractor saw for my Xmas. A PM 66 came latter.. then a BT3000.. then a Uni-saw.. then a Steel City 5 HP whiich works 6 days a week in my shop now.

The center tool I would focus on is... you guessed it... a TS. A router.. a drill and some type of Shop vacuum would be the pecking order if I were starting today. Clamps... I have around 80 total but never enough of the correct length. Some kind of work-bench as I built one in 1974 when I got the TS. I had make-shift arrangements the first two years working off a balcony porch at an apartment complex in Atlanta over-looking the pool for the first year.

Have fun on your journey...

[dbhost]

I totally understand the point of the guys that say Table saw. I disagree to a LIMITED point. I built a few book cases, and stools using a circ saw, a guide system, and a router... So with all due respect, while a good table saw is VERY important, it is not the FIRST tool I would pick...

I already have the following:

Circular Saw

Add to that a guide system, and an honest to goodness good blade. There are also plans online for zero clearance inserts etc... to eliminate or at least radically reduce tear out. a LARGE amount of the work the table saw does CAN be done with a circ saw, it's just tougher to get the same quality results.

Compound Miter Saw

Make sure it is fitted with a good crosscutting blade. Face it, you aren't going to be doing any ripping on here are you?

Jig Saw

As long as you aren't resawing, or cutting curves in THICK lumber, a LOT of the work a bandsaw does, can be done with a jig saw... I mainly got a band saw to resaw found lumber, which I do a LOT of... At least the stuff that isn't going to the lathe now. Oh, and cutting bowl blanks now... Of course if your jig saw is as bad as my little Skil jig saw, pitch it and get a decent jig saw...

Some clamps

You need some more clamps. And when you are done getting those clamps, go get some more. There are simply never enough clamps...

Compressor
Finish nailer

Two items I REALLY wish I had. Actually I have an Arrow electric finish nailer and I hate it...

Orbital sander
Mouse sander
1/4 sheet sander

If you are like me, the mouse sander looks almost new, and the 1/4 sheet sander is almost worn out...

Shop Vac

Add a HEPA filter, or an ultra fine filtering dust bag (go down to at largest 1 micron). A Thien Cyclone separator will make your life a LOT easier, and your lungs MUCH happier.

Corded drill
Cordless drill
Drill bits
Drivers
Countersink bits
Forstner bits

Add a decent drill press to the mix. If you are patient, and willing to spend the $$, the Steel City 17" with its awesome 6" quill travel, strong motor, etc... is the best of the breed... But it will set you back about 6 bills.

(Crap, why aren't I making more things with what I have?)

You should. You have far more equipment than I started out with a couple of years ago...

I'm thinking table saw, since things like dado cuts aren't really easy with a circular saw. Of course, others have suggested routers, or a bandsaw.

Like I mentioned previously, a router with a straight cutting bit, or even the undersize plywood bits will do your dadoes, you can also do rabbets, and all sorts of profiles. I stick with my suggestion that a router and bits really ought to be next... I have the Hitachi KM12VC and cannot recommend it highly enough. Very smooth performance, super easy to use. The older Freud 2-1/4 HP model that got closed out back in Jan or so was a great router, but is out of production now...

Certain hand tools are must have, block plane, bench plane, chisels, mallet, hammers etc...

Now having said that, I am assuming you have measuring and marking tools, Engineers square, combination square, variety of pencils, tape measure, etc...

Wood Magazine Article on outfitting a home workshop will help you out with the decision making process. Also check out their videos, especially the "Basic Built" series where they build some nice projects with basic tools.

[gsmittle]

I was gonna say my brother in law, but since y'all are being serious I won't.

g.

[cwsmith]

Well, you've already gone through the process where you've bought a lot of tools and then misfortune caused you to sell most of them. (That must have been very hard on you, and I hope you never have to go through that again!)

After reading through your list of tools that you presently have, and the kinds of projects you are looking to build, I would have to recommend a table saw, as your earliest possible purchase. True, a circular saw is quite valuable/versatile, but your need for squareness is in particular the domain of a decent table saw. That doesn't necessarily mean big and expensive either, as I have been extremely happy with my BT3100-1. So, I'd look for something close to that, and leave your present circular saw, and a "factory edge" to taking those large sheets down to size. With the table saw, you can rip stock down for trim pieces, edging, etc.

My second tool choice would be the router with a decent table setup and probable my third choice would be a drill press.

I've spent years with basic tools like a circular saw, hand-held drills with a drill guide, hand sanding, squares, chisels, and other necessity hand tools, and it all worked fine for the limited projects like bookshelves, home repair, workbenches, etc. My main cutting tool was my old radial arm saw and that took care of much of my precision "cutting" needs.

But like your current situation, I took the plunge a couple of years ago and added the suggested tools like a table saw, router, drill press, and even a small bandsaw. I'm still not building anything really fancy, but the bookcases and window seats and storage areas of my wife's cookbook room requirements were greatly enhanced by the added tools.

I'd suggest letting the projects dictate your needs. If your style is for lots of curvy stuff, then a bandsaw is probably essential. Likewise if your'e looking at anything beyond straight edging, a router is going to be in demand. But if your goals are for straight, contemporary lines and square, box-type casework, the bandsaw and fancy router bits will see far less work, IMHO.

So, bottom line from my experience is to plan your first project, and get the tool(s) that you will need to complete it.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[Bob Crosley]

CWS,
Thanks for your ideas, and your sympathy. It was very hard selling everything off. I was **** close to having a "New Yankee" level of shop, purchasing basically all used tools. Unisaw, planer, jointer, drill press, bandsaw, mortiser, biscuit jointer, Tormek, tons of parallel clamps, dust collection, compressors. It really was ridiculous now that I think about it. I had this idea stuck in my head that I really wanted to get the shop built first, and then start making stuff. In the end, I basically wound up making only a basic TV shelf that my wife gave away.

I really appreciate your advice, and pretty much agree. I've decided my first purchase will be a table saw, and then a router shortly after that for edges, etc. Then I'll start trying to find a jointer and planer, because the cost of milled lumber around here is ridiculous.

But you are absolutely right about the projects defining the work. I don't care for a lot of curved details, etc., so a bandsaw is down the list a bit.

But nothing really replaces a table saw for good square cuts. I'm building just a simple set of bookshelves right now, customized to hold my kids video games. Nothing fancy, just MDF with a hardboard back. But I had all the big cuts on the MDF done at Lowes, since I don't have a TS. I'm going to actually try to cut the dadoes, etc. with my circular saw and a guide, but a TS would certainly do the trick more nicely.

Really easy to get back into "tool collecting mode," though. I've been scouring craigslist for decent used TS's and keep seeing things like spindle sanders, etc., cheap. Keep catching myself saying things like, "I'm going to want one of those at some point..." but I'm trying to stay focused on the TS. Although I might go router first, if I find a screaming good deal. (For example, a guy on craigslist just posted a Ryobi router, that set of bits Ryobi sells and the Ryobi router table for under $100, all basically in the box since he got them as a gift and doesn't want them.) But for the most part, I'm focused on a decent contractors table saw.

[leehljp]

My preferences are:

Table Saw
DRILL PRESS
Thickness planer
Jointer
Bandsaw
Router Table
lathe

And Primarily in that order.

I was surprised that I didn't see a Drill press listed in the above posts but I could have overlooked it. To me the DP is not the primary tool but it is one of the most valuable secondary tools to the extent that it deserves a place well ahead of other major tools. A DP is head and shoulders above a hand held drill.

[Bob Crosley]

That's a really good point on the drill press, Lee. Drilling straight holes is very hard with a handheld drill, and keeping the speed low enough for big forstner bits, etc., is hard to do.

Considering I have no room for a floor DP, and will have to buy a benchtop, and I can find benchtops all day long on Craigslist for low prices, I might have to move that up the list.