Next tool?

[PartTimeHack]

I have the following power tools, whether purchased or inherited:

Skill saws
Drill press (standing)
BT3000
Compound Miter saw
Jig saws
Corded and cordless drills
cheap palm sander
cheap, small router (probably similar to panel router)

What other tools do you find most useful?

Nicer router set with dual bases, band saw, planer, jointer, compressor with nailer, ...?

[Stytooner]

A bandsaw may be the single most beneficial tool to a small shop after the other tools you have. I have 5 of them. 2 for metal cutting. One 14" for wood. Two smaller 9 and 10". I have two small shops though. I keep machines in each. One shop is reverting back to wood working only. The other is a metal machine shop.

[Condoman44]

I could go to any job or even think about a task without my Fein multi-tool. It is one of the older ones but still gets me out of jams.

[Cochese]

Without doubt, a router that can spin bigger bits and be mounted in a table. I call the 1.75HP+ routers the unsung heroes, as they can serve in several roles. Jointer, planer, shaper...

[Neal]

The answer is "It depends." What are you going to be doing?

When I was remodeling my house, my little cheap harbor freight $20 multi tool was worth every penny ten times over. it cut drywall, flooring, a hole in a cabinet for the vent hood ductwork, etc. Couldn't have lived without it, an still find may uses for it.

A good router is a great tool to have. It can do so much, but if you don't need to do edge profiles, or cut dado's, dovetails, box joints, and other handy things routers do, then you may not need one right away. However, when you do need one, get a decent one. I have a Triton 2 3/4 HP plunge which is mounted in a router table, and a Festool OF1400 which I use for handheld work. I have a couple of fixed base units which I'm going to be selling. They are craftsman flavored.

I also have a 26Gal HF air compressor and a brad nailer. The CH finish nailer I had blew a gasket and I haven't been able to (and basically haven't tried) to find the part for it yet. But the compressor is great for the nail guns, especially since my hammering skills are dangerous. I have done a lot of trim work at my house and this made it possible. If you have a bunch of trim work to do, by all means get a compressor and a nail gun.

Track saw. If you have to cut up a bunch of sheet goods, a track saw is a marvelous tool. There is no way I could easily horse a piece of plywood through my BT3000. There is also no way I could cut an accurate straight line using a circular saw hand held. A track saw solves that problem. I have the grizzly model, three sections of 55" track (one of which has been cut down to 31" and 24" for smaller things.). If you go the grizzly route, get an Oshlun blade as the grizzly blade is AWFUL. For everything I think I have $300 in all of this including the extra track and blade (I did buy the griz saw "used"--as in bought from someone else who was going to use it and never turned it on). Other options here are Festool, Makita, Dewalt, and Eureka Zone will retro fit an existing circular saw into a track saw.

I really like my Festool Domino loose tenon setup. REALLY like it. There is plenty of stuff about that on the internets. Be prepared to drop some bank though. I have and am learning to use the DF500.

A planer and/or a jointer is on my list for the future, as is an upgrade to my Compound miter saw. But I haven't had too many projects to use rough stock hardwood lumber. And space is also a concern for me.

[JoeyGee]

What do you want to build? Woodworking wisdom usually says to pick your next project and then buy the tool you need for that project. I would modify that slightly to say plan your next THREE projects and figure out which tool is common to those three that you don't have and get that one.

I use my compressor (cheap <$40 HF model) and cheap HF brad nailer all the time. I also use my router table (1.5 HP PC router) and band saw all the time and would really, really miss those if I didn't have them.

I don't have a planer or jointer. I wish I did, but I have survived without them.

I would make sure you have a decent plan for dust. I use a Shop Vac and a Dust Deputy. The DD was one of the "why in the heck didn't I do this YEARS ago" purchases. Worth every penny.

[LCHIEN]

router table and router, a jointer/planer and a bandsaw are conspicuously absent.

[leehljp]

router table and router, a jointer/planer and a bandsaw are conspicuously absent.

Without doubt, a router that can spin bigger bits and be mounted in a table. I call the 1.75HP+ routers the unsung heroes, as they can serve in several roles. Jointer, planer, shaper...

Good Router setup was my first thoughts, with bandsaw, thickness planer and jointer next in line.

For me, routers come first. Some people who acquire recycled wood regularly should consider the thickness planers and jointers followed closely by the bandsaw. Depends on your style/woodworking needs though.

As to routers, most woodworkers here in past polls have at least 2 and most of them have more than that. I have two 1/4 inch routers and could use a smaller one; and I have four 1/2 inch routers. Two for tables and two for different purposes. My PC 690 is the old standby. And then I have the next model up with soft start and speed control. Very handy.

[cwsmith]

It really does depend on what YOU want to do in your shop. Each of us will have our own purpose. Even if you're a furniture maker, the design and your particular likes will dictate the importance and need for a specific tool.

For example, if you're using semi-finished stock from your local big-box store, a thickness planer may be a lower priority and if you prefer purchase molding and simple edges, even a router table may be lower on your list.

Personally, a router table was the third tool on my list; but, it was a rather long time before I felt the need (and could afford) a jointer or a planer. (You can do a certain amount of 'edge jointing' on a good router table.

In my shop, I use my little band saw quite a bit.

CWS

[PartTimeHack]

My next projects are really outfitting the shop with accessories like jigs for the table saw, drill press table, better miter saw stand, workbench, etc...

I do have a shop vac and Dust Deputy. Good investment.

I also have some heavy duty aluminum extrusion of various profiles. I'm considering designing an upright sliding rig that incorporates a skill saw and has the ability to hold and cut large sheet goods easier than throwing it on some sawhorses and using a guide. It may take a while to come up with what I'd like to do there.

[capncarl]

I believe that the band saw is still the most useful tool for a shop. While everyone uses a router with a room full of jigs to do most everything, I've never seen them cut meat with a router! Unless it was an accident! A good band saw is downright useful. I've even seen a jig to use it like a lathe.
capncarl

[leehljp]

While everyone uses a router with a room full of jigs to do most everything, I've never seen them cut meat with a router! Unless it was an accident!
capncarl

Been there, done that, then tried to explain why my thumb was in the mess it was in - to the doctor in the hospital emergency room - in Japanese - who only knew that a router was an internet device in the home!

[jussi]

If you don't have a shop vac I'd start there. Then 2-1/4hp router and Random orbital sander.

[atgcpaul]

I'm more apt to buy what I need than to have everything at hand at the get go. I think you will want a more powerful router next.

I have been wanting a jointer for a while, though, and recently I've proven myself right in that need. Some cabinet doors warped after installation. I only have a planer to surface wood flat. I'm convinced the doors would have been OK if I had used a jointer first. Need more space.

[JimD]

Combination routers are very useful but mainly for nicer furniture than shop cabinets. In my last shop, however, I made doors for the upper cabinets using my router table. I also dovetailed drawers for the drill press table and for the BT3100 base. But I could have done simpler doors on the BT3100 and used simpler joints on the drawers.

My track saw was my most recent major purchase and it is one I wish I'd had earlier. I have a DeWalt but I think the Grizzly is probably a better buy. The DeWalt costs close to twice what the Grizzly costs. But half what the Festool costs. I used it last weekend to make the base cabinet for my RAS and CMS. It was easier and more accurate than I've achieved before with the BT3100. I also used my home made parallel guides for the track saw. I think it would be the most useful for the projects you describe. It will, however, change the way you work, especially if you make some parallel guides for it and a MFT style table (Paulk's are much cheaper, have larger capacity, and seem just as useful).

I've had a bandsaw but for what I do, my Bosch jig saw will do most of what it did. I use pneumatic tools in my shop a lot but I also use a lot of drywall screws and could get by without the pneumatic tools better than the track saw. But really I would get at least a cheap HF compressor and nail guns. They have a little pancake for $40 regularly and their guns start at about $20. A 18 guage brad nailer is probably where you should start. A pin nailer would be next for furniture, a finish nailer is more useful for trim. I have those, a framing nailer, and a couple staplers. And a cordless brad nailer (which which I trimmed about 800 ft2 of our house).

I also have both a jointer and a planner. I've had the jointer longer but use the planner a lot more. I suspect most of us don't use the jointer as much as we should, I know I do not. Properly preparing rough lumber requires the jointer but it's a lot more work than just shoving the boards through the planner. Preparing them properly (jointing a face and then an edge first) can also result in boards too thin for your project. Anyway, I would get the planner first of these two. But for shop cabinets you don't need either.

I was a little hard on a bandsaw. My only one so far was home made and 12 inch. I will probably add a 14 inch to my new shop someday but I really don't miss it at the moment. I'm doing home projects including trying to get the shop set up. It would occasionally be nice but a good jig saw is really pretty capable. Nowhere near a full replacement but it will cut metal as well as wood in straight lines or curves. A good jigsaw is a totally different tool than a cheap one. Routers are like that too. I haven't used a really good multi tool but I think my HF is good enough for that function. Maybe I'd be surprised. I was by the tracksaw.