Do you need that tool?

[bfrikken]

I browse Craigslist quite regularly, mostly for tools or woodworking material. And I stumbled across a craftsman drill press for 150 that sounded like a good deal. I talked to my wife and she asked me if I really needed the tool.

This got me to thinking, I don't really NEED any more tools. I WANT more tools, and various tools WILL most certainly make things better/nicer/easier, etc.

I wondered that about any tools. Specifically, I asked myself what I would use the drill press for anyways. So, here is what I have, right now...

Makita Circular saw - used a lot, first tool purchase (actually a gift from my wife and is priceless)
Table Saw - used quite a bit
Benchtop Bandsaw (10" Craftsman) - used very little
Ryobi 10" miter saw - used quite a bit
Black and decker plunge router - not used a lot, but awfully handy when used.
GMC top handled jigsaw with laser - not used yet, cause i just bought it during the winter.
cordless drills 14.4v and 18v - used all the time

Here are some tools I want to get eventually, and sort of in order of preference
a lathe (got teased with some simple turning projects and caught the bug)
drill press (just seems like deals come up on these a bit)
Planer (a big project will make this tool pay for itself?)
jointer (not really priority, but sort of want one...eventually)
Would really love another BT3x00 for dedicated dado


My dust collection is something I'd love to spend some real effort. I use a Rigid dust vac, and I have a Jet DC that I picked up used and does ok.

So, what's your tool priority list if you have one? I keep fighting the urge to upgrade anything to focus on acquiring what I want (notice I didn't say need).

Oh, and what do I really "need" a drill press for other then to have one? I know it'd come in handy for some cabinet work I'll be doing in our closet organizer system.

[BigguyZ]

I have to admit I have that compulsive "I want that" attitude towards tools. I think it's handy to have additional tools, as I love saying "hey- I have that tool" when I come accross a project that requires a specific tool to do.

However, there's definitely the potential to over buy. For instance, I have 4 routers. A big PC 7538 that's attached to a Woodpecker's Plunglift and will be mounted in a dedicated router table once I have the chance to built it. A Bosch 1617 that I got a decent deal on. A cheapo Ryobi that I bought before the Bosch- because I wanted something lighter than the PC, and it was $30 at a pawn shop. Finally, I just recently picked up a Bosch Colt- which I got to handle small jobs like edging.

It all depends on what you need, what you want, and what you can afford to get.

Personally, I still want to get a floor standing DP, as my benchtop model has proved a little too small to use with a pen blank vise I bought. I just bought a jointer, but I still would like a planer so I can mill my own lumber.

I think after the planer, and maybe/maybe not the drill press, I'll be ready to start the real projects.

[cabinetman]

Tell your wife we all told you you needed a drill press. As a starter, you might consider a bench top type that is inexpensive just to drill perpendicular holes, or maybe drill hinge cup holes. You can chuck those little drum sanders, forstner bits, a hollow chisel mortiser, etc.
.

[poolhound]

I think by nature we all tend to be Toolaholics!!

I also keep a regular watch on CL and have picked up some real bargins. I recently got a benchtop DP (no room for floor model). I have had a number of instances where the lack of one has really been a PITA. Drilling holes with a handheld has been difficult, especially to keep square.

I have a planer which I find invaluable. I do have a benchtop jointer but would like to get a bigger one but space is a problem. I also use the planer and router for jointing so I may end up selling the bench model and try to find a way to fit a full size jointer in it would be helpful.

My next major purchase is a good 14" BS and am working on a shop re-org to get the space for that.

[pelligrini]

I don't use my drill press as much as some of my other tools, but I am really glad I have one. I finally got it after I finished a project where I should have had one. I had about 20 pieces of 1/2" ply that got 5/8" holes in all 4 corners. A drill press would have made it easy. (that's also before I knew I could have done it with a plunge router too) Recently, I have a 2" sanding drum chucked in it and I am using that alot.

Just last weekend I picked up a Dwalt 745 planer during the Home Depot sale. I had been eyeing one of those for years. I figured I really didn't need one before. I had always avoided getting rough sawn lumber, and I just accepted small variances in thicknesses in my stock. After playing with that planer for just a weekend on some maple flooring I salvaged from a condo remodel I have been kicking myself for not getting one sooner. There are ways to get around having one, but it was just a pleasure to use.

[LarryG]

Most people seem to use their drill presses a lot more than they would have guessed before buying them. Well-known woodworking author Gary Rogowski once wrote an article for Fine Woodworking Magazine in which he named the drill press one of his five must-have power tools (after a bandsaw, jointer, router, and miter saw). My top five might not match his but a drill press would certainly be in there.

I use mine on virtually every project. Offhand I cannot recall a day in the shop within recent memory when the drill press was not switched on at least once. In terms of total elapsed time, it might not not run as long as any number of other tools; but when I need it, I need it, and nothing else will do.

On the larger question ... I'm fortunate to have most of what I both want and need. The two main exceptions are a cyclone dust collector, and a lathe. I have no room for either in my current shop; and in the case of the latter, I know that buying a lathe is a tip-of-the-iceberg proposition that I'm not entirely sure I want to get into.

[Sawatzky]

You can pick up a small bench top drill press from HF for about $40.00. I have one and it works great. That said I hardly ever use it, but it sure is handy to have. Being small, it cannot handle big projects, but I have yet to use it for something it could not handle. The table saw, miter saw, router, cordless drill, and brad nailer are the 5 most indespesible tools in my shop. With them I can do almost anything. Of course sanders, jigs saws, scroll saws, drill presses, and jointers come in handy, but they don't get used near as much as the others.

[jackellis]

I have lots of tools, mostly recycled. I need space more than anything else (even with fewer tools, I have very little wall space in my shop) followed by better dust collection.

The DP is great for perpendicular holes and for driving forstner bits. I'm not ready to give up my planer and jointer for hand planes just yet, but it's a thought.

[LCHIEN]

Why you need a drill press.
Let me say that a hand-held drill to a drill press is like a circular saw to a table saw.
the use of fences and precision mounting of the heavier motor and arbor/shaft mechanisms permit accurate applications of holes and custs in all dimensions.

If you are drilling in thicker materials and want the hole to exit the other side precisely opposite where it entered (and this is important for any shafts, etc or rods and dowels you want to span two pieces of wood) then you need to be absolutely perpendicular to the wood surface.
The use of fence and table permit quick and accurate and repeatable positioning of holes in a row and or relative to an edge. This is important for furniture and fixturing, toys, models. etc.

[TB Roye]

Isn't it, if I see it, I need it? or if I want it, I need it. Then there is "He who has the most tools when he dies, wins". I have a real nice collection of tools and really don't need much more. Now it seems to be I would sure like to repleace the HF 14" Bandsaw with a better one or replace the HF Drill press with a better one. But I know I am going to replace that Cheapo SCMS with a better one and maybe not a slider. It was a clone of the supposedly good HF SCMS of a few years ago, but I should have kept my Ryobi 8" 18V one instead.


Tom

[wan2fly]

a drill press

I have a bunch of tools that get used less than others.
A drill press is one of my most used tools.
It is a Craftsman radial benchtop press.

I think that once you have one, you'll see how much more you use it.

My other major sleeper of a tool is the "Portaband" portable electric hacksaw.

[Anna]

I would love to get a drill press, but there's just no space left in the garage or shed to put it.

I'd like to think I'm a reformed toolaholic, though. I've got to the point where I probably have everything I need....

Oh, wait. I just remembered. I want a Dowelmax. Don't know if I'll ever use it, but it looks like a really cool tool. The big Leigh dovetail jig would also be nice, but I haven't even unpacked the Akeda jig I bought a year ago.

Oh, and a right angle drill/driver. I'm no longer allowed to buy more drills, unfortunately. A 12" DeWalt miter saw would also be lovely.

And I really really want the new Bosch 4100. But it's either that or funds for the new gun hobby. I went with the new hobby.

[footprintsinconc]

i bought myself a ts first, then i got misc tools in between like a drill, router, ROS sander, crapy skil jigsaw, shop vac and other smaller tools. then i talked my wife in letting me get a thickness planer -- this i used when making my cabinets. then i talked her into buying a jointer/planer. the dust was causing an issue for me, so after reading here, i found out that i needed a dust collector + mask, which my wife pushed me to get immediately. after this, i have wanted to get a BS and drill press, but ended up buying miter saw + stand instead. i have not used it yet.

so now when i ever i mention BS or drill press to my wife, she asks me are you sure you need it? are you going to use them frequently enough? i just need to start looking at CL more often, so i can get a deal on them.

so what i need now is (in any order that i can get a deal on):

• band saw
• drill press - floor model
• bosch jigsaw
• bosch colt
• shark guard

i beleive then i will have everything i need (at least until then ).

[poolhound]

so what i need now is (in any order that i can get a deal on):

• band saw
• drill press - floor model
• bosch jigsaw
• bosch colt
• shark guard

i beleive then i will have everything i need (at least until then ).

I was in HD earlier in the week and noticed they had a deal on the Bosch 1587. It was in a pack with a free sander. SOrry I dont recall wether is was a qtr sheet or ROS, likewise the price otherwise I would have posted as a bargin alert.

I think in was $120 something but I could be wrong. Probably will be back there in a few days so will check unless somebody else posts first.

[dbhost]

If your wife is anything like mine, just ask her this...

"Honey, I need that tool like you need those shoes. Do you need 4 different pairs of black shoes?"