Buy twice cry never? I went to trade school and an instructor there reccomended buying the cheapest available version of tools until I knew what I was doing and which ones I would use. That way when I outgrew the cheap stuff, I would only have to shell out for what I knew I needed and I would have a set of beater tools.
I have been woodworking and buying tools for over fifty years. In the shop I am still using corded tools purchased in the 1980 and on. Many cords have been replaced but most of the battery powered tools that I have bought over the many years are gone. The tools were trashed when the battery systems were updated or abandoned. Buy your cordless drill and impact driver, perhaps a saw for breaking material down but otherwise buy corded tools. Of course, if you are making a living with tools on a jobsite, buy whatever cordless tools you need.
Yeah it’s a great point. I really like my little Makita trim router that’s cordless but I also don’t at all mind the cord on the big one. You get used to working out how to keep them out of the way.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking I thought about adding a trim router to my list. It would be handy. But, I keep five routers set up at my cabinet assembly bench. I change routers not bits.
i love the advice about upgrading the saw blades. Best decision i ever made. Could not believe the difference. My number one tip is if you decide to go into machine woodworking, get a good table saw early. I went for years with a contractor saw and it took all the joy out of my work. The moment i bought my Harvey table saw, i spent more time in my workshop and enjoyed it more. As a hobby woodworker sometimes it is the joy of using a high end tool that is worth the investment.
When it comes to power tools, I did lots of research. Eventually, I saw a comment that said, "Just pick the color you want. They're all decent." I like grey, so I went with the Flex platform and absolutely love it. No regrets.
A few years back, I also jumped the gun and splurged on the similar ultimate Jessem router table, thinking it was the key to my woodworking dreams. Fast forward to now, and it's mostly been gathering dust in the corner of my shop. Over years, I've found my groove with traditional woodworking and hand tools, and my enthusiasm for power tools has waned substantially. Moral of the story? Take the time to discover what type of woodworking really captures your heart before investing in expensive gear.
💯. Thank you for understanding the point of this video. I’m trying to communicate that message here. I was super enthusiastic when I started and definitely didn’t know what I really wanted to make before buying stuff.
It also comes down to whether you do woodwork to make money or just for the joy of the craft. I do a lot of handwork. It is relaxing and kind of 'romantic'. But takes longer to perfect it.
First time viewer - glad RUclips recommended this. I think all your tips are solid. I started into woodworking about 3 years ago and have been slowly building out my shop. Here are some things that I would add to your tips - for context I am a hobbyist who works primarily in my shop and seldom onsite: 1. Don't buy cordless tools unless you have to. I went with Bosch and Ryobi for my battery platforms (drill, driver, jigsaw, nailers, one palm router). However, for most of my other tools I buy corded versions, especially for tools used only in the shop or seldom used tools. 2. Related to #1, buy the best tool you can afford regardless of brand. For a battery powered tool I will only buy Bosch and Ryobi now, but for all other tools I buy the best one for the job regardless of brand or color. 3. Related to one of your points, but because I am in a small shop every tool needs to have more than one use - no one trick ponies. Space is a premium and whatever I buy has to be versatile. 4. A more general tip - I know when woodworking for a living, time is money. But when woodworking as a hobby time is also very valuable. It does not always equate to profit, but I have much less time in the shop so that time needs to be as productive as possible or projects take forever! 5. Consider the upgrade path when buying tools. As an example, I bought a Rikon 1420VSR Midi lathe as I wanted to learn how to turn but wasn't sure how often I would do it or everything I might want to make. The price was reasonable for the features offered, and it has a 1.25 inch spindle, like many larger lathes, which means I can use the same chucks and jaws on a larger lathe without buying new ones. The chucks and jaws I have cost more than the lathe. 6. Make a list of what you think you want or need in the future and prioritize it. If you do not need them right away, then save and wait for them to go on sale and buy them then if you still think you want/need them. I have bought over half my tools this way and saved a lot of money. Over time, I also decided that I no longer needed what I thought I might, and removed them from the list as I reprioritize after each purchase on the list.
Awesome tips! Sounds like we’re on the same wavelength. I had an Amazon list and once I realized I was being stupid and buying things I didn’t have a plan for I started just putting stuff there instead and waiting til I needed it to buy (or ask for birthday or Christmas gifts lol). Thanks for watching and offering these!
Quality and practical video. I transitioned from carpentry to woodworking, and made the transition from basic rough tools to finer ones; I have the same Bosch miter saw and love it. What I suggest people also consider is WHY they are woodworking - what do you want to get out of it? Over time I've transitioned almost entirely to hand tool-based woodworking because I found using so many machines stressful (not to mention loud, messy and dangerous). What I realized is the process was more important to me than the result. Everyone's goals will be different, but it was a big epiphany that would have saved me a lot of money had I come to it sooner.
Yes! Thanks for sharing! If I didn’t need to make things fast (for business reasons) and could take all the time I needed I could really get into more of hand tool woodwork.
My two cents: If you are not doing carpentry, invest in really good measuring/marking tools. Get a table saw with ripping capacity >25 inches. Get an air compressor and finish nailer, brad nailer, pin nailer and stapler. Get a better quality hand plane. Learn to sharpen chisels and plane blades. Clamps are your friends and you need dozens of them, well, you can never have too many clamps… watch this guy’s video and take notes. Mostly I make cabinets and furniture. I have a big lathe and 17” band saw for resawing logs into lumber. I use the lathe a little, but use the bandsaw a lot. If you have a small shop, put machines on casters. Figure out decent dust collection and wear PPE.
The bandsaw as well. Great advice. I probably use mine 9 times out of 10 over my table saw. Although this does depend on the type of work you will be doing.
From a nearly 5 decade woodworker, I agree with nearly all your advice to newbies. I would add to your item #1 - don't purchase a tool just because every RUclipsr has one. I take slight exception to the table saw comment. I think a tablesaw can actually elevate the quality of your work. I recommend a better table saw and a cheaper track saw. Your advice to cut angles, miters, etc. on the table saw is spot on. It's a good idea to make the most critical, accurate cuts on your heaviest, most stable machine. Very good video from an old codger (I understood the gamer comment, too. Haha). Thanks. Subscribed.
Thanks so much for that validation! I think I can agree with your thoughts about the good table saw. My table saw was my first big investment and it's been worth it in the long run - definitely elevated my work. I do think for folks who are brand new to woodworking (and thus aren't really sure what they're going to make or whether they're actually going to stick with it) my point stands and I'd rather see more folks enjoying the craft and leveling up to the big TS once they know what they're doing and know they'll be happy they spent thousands on a good saw.
Lots of good advice here. My path was a little different. When I was younger, I mostly bought tools I needed to fix up our old shack of a house. Most of my "woodworking" time then was actually carpentry, furniture or cabinet repairs to restore the house. Only later did I have the time and inclination to get into new woodworking projects. I certainly regretted buying cheap tools, but I wasn't making enough money 30 years ago to allow me to "cry once". So I did what I could with used, yard sale, thrift shop tools. And I discovered that most of the hand power tools from the 1960s really were "buy it for life". The jigsaw runs smooth, the Skil saw is heavy but unstoppable. The 1958 Delta hobbyist tablesaw I picked up for $25 at a yard sale worked darn well once I gave it a full tuneup and alignment. I used that for over a decade until I acquired a used Jet tablesaw. I was able to buy pre-war Stanley handplanes for a song. Once properly sharpened and set up, they're a joy to use. Since I don't do this for a living, I never bought a power jointer or planer. Yes, it takes a lot more time, but I think of it as an exercise program. 😊 The best jig I've made so far is the tablesaw sled. My miter saw sits almost unused now, except for first breakdown of long boards. I've made a variety of jigs, all have repaid the time they took to make many times over. You're right, don't buy what you'll never really use. I inherited my dad's inexpensive lathe, but never did much with it. I pulled it out and tuned it up a little bit recently. Then I realized that I don't have any lathe work I want to do. I'm not out any money, but it's taking up space in my shop.
I love it. I wish old tools like those were still readily available. All of my hand planes are also antique pre-war planes that were in rough shape on eBay and learning to refurbish and tune them and get them cutting again was my gateway drug into woodworking. It was the most satisfying thing. If you watch any of my build videos you’ll see them at work. Thanks again for watching!
You bet. I've built a tablesaw sled, tenoning jig, tapering jig, and a full woodworking-oriented table with fence for my drillpress. The possibilities are endless, and making them is fun in itself. And, I've made over a dozen tool holders for my French Cleat wall, out of scraps from other projects.
Excellent video, thank you! You asked for more ideas, my contribution would be to prioritize quality measuring, marking and setup tools. Having a dead on set of setup blocks, combo squares, digital caliper etc. is worth every penny and you use them all constantly. Don’t trust the big box versions. “A man with one watch always knows what time it is, a man with TWO watches is never sure” 🙂
Oooh that is a really good one I didn't even think of. I did invest in a few really good engineering squares and measuring tools and agree they're nearly priceless for doing quality work.
@ Using a marking knife instead of a pencil makes a huge difference in precision (and reduces tear out). Having REALLY good and consistent tape measures and rulers do as well. The digital angle finder is a godsend. I find many of the things that make the biggest improvements are little things - larger router bases (3x3 Custom’s is amazing), compression bits, superior push sticks, etc.
I built my own bandsaw 18” from a kit years ago. Then a while back I upgraded to grizzly 17”. I use the bandsaw to cut wood, copper, aluminum, plastic, foam, tubing, pallet wood, variable sized circles (2”-3’), firewood burl slabs, resaw and size rough lumber…… if I had space I’d probably get a small 9-10” bandsaw with a thinner blade 3/16” for fine work and tighter radiuses.
I am glad that I found this channel, even if I started using construction and woodworking tool in the 70's and did it professionally for more than 20 years. There is always more to learn. I like your router principle best. I would add a principle: Don't overlook old tools. As long as the motor still runs, most of them were built to last much longer than todays have. My oldest useable power tool is a 1956 DeWalt Radial Arm Saw (which I know how to safely use) that slices hardwoods like a hot knife through butter and purrs while doing so, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner without doing research on safe use because your fingers would also be like butter. Oh, and while it cost $900.00 in the 50's it only cost me $75.00 and a sore back lifting from lifting it.
Geez…my wallet could not agree more to this video and message. This seems like a video playback of experience in this hobby. It’s so easy and addictive to buy that expensive tool, even if you never use it. I paid $3,500 for the complete Shaper Origin router setup. I played with it for a few days…a year ago.
The best advice you offered was to fit your purchases to the work you plan to do. I do mostly small projects now, that I then donate to non-profits. I enjoy buying old tools, like the Craftsman tools of the 1950's and refurbishing them. Yes, they are small...but no plastic whatever on them! Almost all of my power tools have cords on them. I wouldn't trade my 1970's Milwaukee Hole Shooter for any battery powered tool. Same for my Fein Multitool. The 1993 12" Delta planer I bought (very) used from Habitat for Humanity works great with new blades. The 1950's jointer I bought from a Facebook Marketplace ad was well worth the 30 minute drive. All it needed was adjustment. The one piece of advice you didn't give was to buy used. Craig's list, Facebook Marketplace, Habitat stores and other thrifts...and yard sales...are full of great tools you can buy for cheap. And trust me...when it comes to accurate and strong joints, dowels and biscuits work great. Just use good glue. By the way...I'm 82 now, and I have been doing DIY and woodworking for 50 years. I use my Dad's 1920's Union Company combination square almost every day. Still square. Take that, Woodpecker!
From the UK. Excellent advice. Particularly liked the battery platform tip. Many years ago I bought a Makita drill/driver and have stuck with their tools ever since. They are well made, well priced and have an almost inexhaustible range of tools for all purposes. Agree strongly about the saw blades. Thanks.
#11. you dont need every power tool to be battery operated. seriously man, this is a BIG one, if you're working in a shop and you can deal with a cable easily, corded electric or air tools can be a real life saver. they tend to be far cheaper and just as powerful for many of the tools you can buy, especially for wood working where you often attach dust collection. when I bought my angle grinder, I saw the corded one for a little over $100, and a battery powered with the same HP rating, from the same manufacturer for like $250. I have not ONCE felt like the cable was in the way. the only battery powered tools I own, or will ever own are drills and impacts. Ill never have to buy new batteries, or worse yet, new tools because the batteries are not longer manufactured.
I like that one for sure. The angle grinder is a tough one for me. On the one hand, the time I used it most was for power carving for hours and having the cable saved me swapping tons of batteries. On the other, I knicked the cable a couple times in the process 😆 Thanks for watching!
@@sturdyboneswoodworking im really careful with cables, I like to run them through my belt and over my arm, no cable tug, and no chance of eating the cable. I do that with air hoses as well, I LOVE air tools.
I absolutely agree with your comment up front - try and determine what you plan on making first. I also have a full woodworking shop, and my initial plan was on making furniture and Japanese makiwara (martial arts striking). I have been working with live edge slabs recently, and the track saw is essential over my table saw. A lot of versatility with a track saw. I also appreciate your comment on buy once cry once, and have had the same experience. Not everything needs to be the best, especially if you may not use it often enough to justify the price. Cheers!
I totally agree. Sometimes it's better to be able to bring the tool to the material like when you can't bring the material to the tool! Lol. Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Pretty much your advice is spot on. General principle, buy what you need...when you need it. Prioritize your need to produce over some manufacturer's need to push product. One difference I have comes from my recent purchases (
Awesome! Yeah I’m glad it’s working out for you. I think that approach works too because you didn’t buy super expensive but also underpowered machines. They’re easy to sell later and upgrade when you’re ready for a more permanent machine. I doubt I’ll ever need to upgrade my jointer or planer at this point (maybe a 20” planer later on, but I get by with the 15 just fine right now)
Very good and well done presentation! I agree with essentially everything you said BUT for me, part of the woodworking ‘hobby’ is buying and trying tools. It’s just part of my fun. But your advice is good for somebody who seriously wants to make money and clear a profit! 😀
@@sturdyboneswoodworking well, it’s really not really my “#1” - as I said, it is PART of the ‘hobby’ for me - I do a lot of woodworking in the process - and the two together round out the total experience. 😀
Oh wow! Well I hope my advice serves you well. Some others have mentioned that track saws are only for plywood work. They are handy for plywood but I mostly use mine when I need to bring the saw to the piece or when I need to establish a square edge on tabletops etc - so not just for plywood breakdown.
Timely video. Recently bought my first planer and was looking at a jointer purchase. I came pretty close to buying an 8” tabletop model several times. I’ve resisted thus far 😀
Haha. Well I’m glad to hear my first comment on that note is a positive one. Yeah a lot of focus is out on the cutting capacity and not enough on the bed length.
This advice and opinion is great. If you are a full time woodworker there is definitely some good suggestions in here. I would add this as something to think additionally about. A domino is very expensive and most people who are getting into woodworking will still have a learning curve with the domino, and it isn't as straightforward as a lot of woodworks of youtube show out there. For this a cheaper option of a doweling jig, that was mentioned earlier in this video, is an excellent suggestion as this can provide excellent strength, cheaper, and can easily be as repeatable as the domino, by adding a drill stop guide to your drill bits at a fraction of the price. The jointer, this is the issue I see with some of the statements from woodworkers of youtube and that is you need a "giant" jointer because you will "out grow" your benchtop or smaller jointers "in no time". Jointers are used to "flatten" or square up the "edges" of the board and a planer is used to help "flatten" the "surface" of the board. With this in mind, do you plan on jointing wood that is greater than 6" thick? For most woodworkers, the answer is no. Now if using to "make your own lumber" I would recommend instead of spending 1500 dollars on a jointer to help you square a side to send it through the bandsaw safely, just get a hand plane, to help get you into the ball park of flat, enough to be considered safe through the bandsaw. The next can be stating the weight of the wood, it is no unusual for people to have infeed and outfeed tables to help with the weight, the only draw back is getting the height you desire for it. The jointer, needing to get a bigger one, was technically a contradiction to how you started the video discussing the "need for a bigger lathe" to later, only using the smaller one. Space is a premium, and money is not easy for people to handle. There is always the side of selling your old tools on social media or other outlets to help offset the cost if you are finding, that "yes, I do need that bigger/smoother/more expensive (insert here) tool." It is not ideal, but in line with waiting on the right tool, sometimes its the right tool, for the right job, for right now. Please keep making videos like this, it brings in the conversation and can help people identify the direction they are going.
Thanks a bunch! And I appreciate your perspective too. Hopefully people will read and decide what makes the most sense for their project requirements. My main point about small vs big jointer is that the bed is too small for longer timber. I disagree slightly that the jointer is not for face milling. In my opinion you get much better results getting stuff square when you have a jointed edge and face before planing. That said, my point about getting a better planer is that the milling sled is a great alternative for a long time vs a small underpowered jointer.
agree with all the points! Adding one of my own: Sander should be the first power tool, one should upgrade. I had simple corded 5in orbital sander which do the job but when I got into serious furniture, it was just too slow. Didnt had budget for festool so I took a gamble on bosch get 5n and its just awesome! Another thing I have done is to buy second hand local tools and see if that fits the bill. I got kobalt jobsite table saw first and made few pieces but when I got into joinery, it was not accurate enough so decided to upgrade to ridgid R4560 which was extremely accurate for my needs without breaking the bank. Same goes with the planer which I recently upgraded to dewalt 735x
Additionally I would encourage anyone to look into hand tools and sharpening early, especially if you are tight on money/space or if noise is an issue. And for some operations it is just the easier and safer choice. It opens up an additional level of woodworking and understanding, that does not require the next big expensive powertool purchase. You can face joint big boards with relatively small hand planes and a straight edge and then feed them through the planer/thicknesser . Also with a hand plane you can remove a thou of material and really creep up on perfect fits. This can also be handy to fine tune jigs for powertools. And the buy once/cry once mantra for tools is still valid. If you look at the prices of secondhand high quality tools in Europe, you can still get back 70-90% of your cost for a premium tool you don't need. At least I haven't found a domino for less than 70-80% of retail prices. I assume in the US it's the same.
Hey yes! Thanks these are all great points! I think if I had not gone so quickly from hobbyist to full time woodworker I would have liked to spend more time honing (pun intended) my hand tools skills. It’s where all the zen of woodworking exists. I am going to do some more thinking and research and maybe do a follow up type video focusing on hand tools. It’s a deep well and I agree often overlooked in this world of woodworking content. And I 100% agree a lot of high end tools do hold their value and for good reason. My point there is mostly that for beginners who maybe don’t have a ton to spend they could get by for a long time before buying the finest version of a similar tool.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking You are absolutely right, it is crucial to predict what kind of projects you will do. Sheet goods vs. solid wood projects. And a crappy tool can build motivation for a great one if you truly need it. But as soon as you are confident, that you will continue your woodworking journey in a certain direction there are obvious high quality tools, were you can't go wrong. I feel much more confident selling my Festools or Makitas for a good price, than the cheap box store tools .
Thank you for watching! Yes I like Makita (if you can’t tell haha). My dad always had Makita growing up and when I started buying I liked that they’re made in Japan (or were originally). I haven’t ventured much into Festool myself apart from the Domino and Rotex (but literally only for rough sanding). Everything I’ve heard about the brand is that the prices are high but worth it if you depend on your stuff.
I agree 100%. You’re not stuck if you make bad choices but there’s depreciation and the effort of reselling to think about too. I’m just trying to encourage folks to think and buy carefully. Thanks for watching!
I'd add that getting segmented carbide cutter heads on your planer and jointer is the only way to go, now that they are so readily available. You'll never worry about getting nicked!
Track saws don't work for me. I guess they are fine if you do a lot of cabinetry work with plywood. If you work with solid wood the table saw is much more versatile, it's more accurate, the dust goes on the floor, you can do cross cuts, thin rip cuts, cut dadoes and rabbits. Track saws are made for left handed people, the blade is on the wrong side. I've always found them to be awkward. The biggest reason for a table saw is I stand up to use it, cutting panels on the floor is for those young guys. My track saw sits in the corner. You left off the band saw. When I got a band saw my woodworking went to another level because I could cut curves, re-saw, cut shapes, tenons, chair legs, guitar necks, and cute little reindeer. If you work with plywood and make square cabinets you don't need one. Drill press. The ability to cut perpendicular straight holes is critical to good woodworking. You can hog out mortises, do drum sanding on curves, cut big holes safely. Also good for working with metal parts. Then I would get the joiner and planer as a set. It's a huge commitment! I bought mine used and replaced blades, belts and bearings. Now I can make just about anything from rough cut lumber. Before that I simply got my lumber cut to thickness. I agree with the 8" joiner, then you don't need a monster 20" planer because your boards are only 8" wide. Clamps, more clamps, lots of clamps.
Lots of good advice in this video. Once a professional, now a hobbiest. A Stanley #3 or #4. A nice Miller's Falls small block plane. A decent set of chisels from the junk store. A draw knife or 3. The ability to sharpen these tools. A heavy, heavy bench. And here's my out-of-left field recommendation... A small dumb-head shaving horse/bench. Of course I still have a table, chop, and many hand saws. But for me, it's all about noise. I hate using a router... which means using a router and a vacuum... which means ear protection and eye protection and lung protection. Hand tools are quiet. Most hand tools make shavings, not dust. Hand tools require skill, which is largely what makes woodworking fun as a hobby (for me). Of course, if you gotta make money, you have to set up production runs and design everything around power tools. But if you don't? It's so much more fun (for me) to get to know the wood.
Thanks so much for your reply. I definitely hear that for sure. I agree that in a world where I had enough time to make the same things and didn't need to make money from them, being able to do most things with hand tools would be really satisfying. And I agree hand tools require skill - I feel mine growing whenever I pick up a plane or intentionally leave a bit of delicate trimming for chiselwork. The skill of power tools is mostly in order of operations and jig-making, which as a engineering oriented person myself, is satisfying in its own way. Thanks for watching!
As a rooky I followed most of this advice because I had no other choice financially. I once bought a cordless 28 Volt set from Milwaukee that I still own and use, but you can't easily get replacement batteries for it. Always buy Brushless, don't save money buying older, cheaper tech.
I think the buy one cry once mentality is good for the core essential tools, like a table saw, jointer, and planner, basically for milling which you’ll do on every single project. For other things it is more based on your projects. I recently upgraded to a SS cabinet saw and 8” jet jointer over a job site saw and bench top wahuda. I started making furniture so your projects can change along with your skill level. You can also sell the tools you outgrow, so you do get some money back. In my area of Southern California, it’s hard finding professional woodworking tools on the local used market so beginner tools are easy to sell.
Yeah that’s a good point. I definitely think folks that don’t have any tools should take my advice here. But once it’s time to make a serious investment into the larger tools, I think Buy Once, Cry Once kicks in - at that point I buy the ones I hope to have for a long time, maybe forever.
Having multiple brands allows for way more versatility If your in a shop u have plenty of room for multiple.colors It also allows for getting beat deals that usually get u the best bang for buck and batteries If u go with one brand your stuck and especially with the limes of Makita you will pay double and sometimes triple.for.a.tool.that in many cases isn't even the best We have 4 different routers Get the Metabo HPT 36V plunge router Was first 1 1/2 router in mkt and still the king in our shop and at a much better price than the other colors
Love it. Definitely not dissing the jig. It’s awesome. I wasn’t able to get very accurate results with it but looking back I think I was just a newbie and wasn’t yet able to mill my material very square to begin with. Definitely not trying to make the point that the Jessem jig or doweling jigs in general are a waste and everyone should have a domino.
Learned several of these the hard way. Nice video, wish I’d seen it years ago. I have that same old Jet jointer and love it but as I do more I’m starting to be limited. Been a good one to learn on.
Yeah that’s exactly why I made this video. A hobbyist friend of mine was asking advice about tools for his shop and I kept giving him advice based on all my poor decisions early on.
Great advice! I definitely agree with your point on expensive router tables! I never understood why someone would choose an expensive router table like from woodpeckers or Jessem when you’d be better off with a shaper. You can find a great shaper for about the same amount of money and it’s more versatile and accurate. Plus a lot of shapers can take router bits as well.
Yeah I just think a lot of folks would get by for much longer with less expensive approaches. I like my table and don’t plan to change it up but it’s overkill for most folks. Main thing I like about a router table is being able to put a template bit on my router and flush trim bit on the table and quickly do both operations without changing bits.
Track saw is the best tool I’ve bought hands down Graco airless sprayer (the small gun is probably better for most people) I bought all powermatic for my big tools even if it meant getting a less powerful machine… I wish I would’ve gone with grizzly and got all 5 hp machines
I'm more of a carpenter than a woodworker, so I'm generally working with other people. As such, my rule is; if I have to borrow a tool from somebody else, or somewhere else (like a tool library), more than 3 or 4 times in a a shortish time frame, I buy that tool. On that note, tool libraries and community shops are a great way to start and figure out what you need and will want. If you have one close enough, use it. There's always knowledgeable people there to help out as well.
I’ve never heard of a tool library but that sounds amazing. I wish there was a community shop around where I live. I think there is one about 40 minutes away so it isn’t worth it for me. But that’s great advice.
40 years furniture making hardly ever need a router table and if i do I attache some MDF to base and use that. Seen more people loose finger when holding the work pice as apposed to holding the router
Solid advice. I have several tools sitting in drawers that I have never used or rarely used. The money could have been better spent. For instance, on another router. I think many people starting out see the popular videos and think they need all those fancy tools to even get started.
Hey thank you! Yes, I think I got caught up in it too when I was new. That’s why I wanted to make this video. Obviously woodworking can be an expensive hobby. But there’s a ton you can do with a solid basic set and as you have more budget, over time you can build up to a great set of tools without spending 30k. I did because I wanted to do this professionally but it was a business investment. But I still could have made less work for longer. Cheers!
Good thoughts overall, but #3 conflicts with #1. Saying to buy a track saw and a contractor's tablesaw instead of a cabinet tablesaw is only correct if your projects are mostly sheet goods. If you're making outdoor furniture from solid wood, for instance, you may struggle cutting the 8/4 hardwood material that is often used in outdoor furniture with either the track saw or jobsite saw.
I hear you. But I said #1 first for the reason that it’s always the first consideration. For new folks who don’t have a table saw yet, #1 might, to your point, lead them to prioritize the bigger cabinet saw. But the beginners out there making this and that and small cutting boards and such should at least think about #3 in my opinion before spending $2500-5000 on a huge table saw.
I disagree. I make fine furniture and do not own a “professional” cabinet saw. I have a job site saw and track saw that work just fine for me and my methods. I also have several Diston hand saws and tenon saws that I keep razor sharp. For a few cuts I find it faster to use a hand saw than setting up tracks or using a table saw - especially if I have to create an elaborate jig. But, to each their own.
Thank you for these experience based advices that really make sense. Especially the last bit helps me with a decision that I am about to make. 8" or about 210 mm is the least, I am thinking of a 12" or 310 mm jointer/planer but am stil not sure if this really is necessary for me. I do have a lot of rough sawn wood that now has dried for over ten (!) years and until now I used my table saw and my simple planer, using double sided tape on straight shelves to make this into woodworking sizes. Not very accurate and not the best results. On the other hand, woodworking is my hobby, I do not have a high productivity and intend to leave it that way 😉 Looking forwards to your next video!
Ah yes 100%. There are so few occasions where I actually need my parallel clamps. And some of the brands making those absolutely suck. The Jorgensens are great but I have some Bora clamps and I have no hesitation on bashing them publicly. They just suck. They hold but they’re sticky and impossible to clean out glue from and they’re also expensive to boot.
Thank you for a lot of good advice. On the battery platform issue, I have Makita, Dewalt and Milwaukee, and probably 20 batteries between the three. With respect to the compact routers, I have all three brands and the plunge bases for all of them, and there are some features on all of them that I prefer over others. For instance, I really like the weight, the feel and the depth adjustment of the Makita with the standard base. But I hate the stiff adjustment of the depth rod of the Makita plunge base and the fact that the plunge lock lever pops loose unless you keep continual thumb pressure on it while routing. The Dewalt is heavy and clunky to hold compared to the other two but the plunge base for the Dewalt has a beautiful depth adjustment rod and plunge lock as does the Milwaukee, but the Dewalt router is difficult to align and insert into either the standard or plunge base. If I could only have one, the Milwaukee is the best of all three in these respects. With respect to the JessEm doweling jig, I have the original and if you are doing occasional built in cabinetry or custom work, it is a fantastic tool - extremely nice quality! John Jensen from British Columbia
Thanks so much for writing and offering that perspective! I agree you really have to mash down the lock on the small makita router base (the big one is great) but I had no idea the Milwaukee was so nice. I've never used it.
Recent new homeowner, I had my eye on the bosch protractor miter saw and sawstop table saw to help me remodel my house. my dad gave me his old harbor freight Chicago electric miter saw, that said, using it along with my makita circular saw and dewalt jigsaw, there was no task I couldn't accomplish, was trying to get an excuse for the purchase, but the Chicago electric mitre saw was sufficient enough for my needs did make repetitive cut task a breeze, would invest in mitre saw than just circular saw, but table saw still seems unnecessary for homeowner, I've been able to jig something to make it thin cuts with clamps and a circular saw.
I’ve been woodworking for 50+ years and I’m cheap. Most of my major equipment was purchased used some even free much of it needed extensive restomod. My current table saw is a vintage cast iron Craftsman new fence, motor, and miter gauge, I’ve used good cabinet saws it will match them for precision all in under $500 and lots of shopping. I greatly enjoy turning rusty junk into fine woodworking tools. Most table saws also need a new miter gauge anyway. As for a miter saw, I have a radial arm saw that out preforms any miter saw I’ve used except it only has a 10” blade, it was my dad’s 68 Craftsman . As for router bits sometimes inexpensive is the way to go when finding out what you’ll need or use it once, I have a bunch of rarely used expensive bits. Don’t be a tool snob my shop ranges from the “best” to cheap. Harbor Freight is often what you need I’ve turned 100’s of pens on their mini lathe. HF ranges from dumpster fill to excellent buys. Invest in high quality sandpaper!
I like it! Those are great tips for sure! I've bought several cheap router bits and have upgraded some that I know I'm going to depend on a lot. High quality sandpaper for sure!
I bought a used 1950s Delta hobbyist tablesaw at a yard sale for $25. (I found out why the seller didn't like it when I got it home - they had the blade in backwards, lol.) I polished the top, tuned and aligned everything, put a decent blade in - and it served me well for almost 20 years. I also bought 1960s hand power tools when I saw them at yard sales or thrift stores. People sell them cheap because they're old, but most were built for lifetime use. They may be heavier but they're smoother and stronger than low-price modern stuff. Also, I was able to buy pre-war Stanley handplanes for reasonable money. Properly set up with an uber-sharp blade, they're a joy to use. I finally gave away the old Delta saw after I was given a larger Jet tablesaw for free. The top was rusty and the wiring needed a complete overhaul, but now that it's fully restored and tuned, it will last me the rest of my life.
This is the only video on RUclips about woodworking tools that I've found truly useful in the last 7 days, and I don’t think I’ll find someone like him again.
Wow thank you so much! I hope to make more like this in the future. I feel I’ve learned a lot from my past mistakes and this is only the surface of what I feel I can share with folks who are into woodworking but don’t know where to start. I’ve had a ton of fun making things and want to help others have the same experience. Thanks for watching!
I haven't bought a table saw yet. I bought a track saw first because it takes up less space, helps me break down sheet goods and pushing an enclosed blade away from me feels more natural than pushing wood into an exposed blade. I will get a table saw at some point. I have a cheap mitre saw that I used to trim my house. It requires additional effort and an upgraded blade to get accuracy.
For #5, I've been using a piece of plywood with a router plate for years to do tons of work. It's not even a lift because that's totally unnecessary. The router base adjusts, so the lift mechanism is unnecessary, especially when the "table" is just a piece of wood. And like you said, the majority of the bits I use have a bearing, and if they don't, they're probably in the router for plunge cuts. Save your money on a router table, and buy better router bits. Buy the correct sized bits if you're building cabinets so it perfectly matches your materials. an 18mm bit cuts perfect dados in 18mm plywood, and it's worth every penny to buy the better brand vs the home depot option. For the jointer, just get a roller stand for your outfeed. Easy to set up, and can easily double your safe capacity on the jointer, table saw, miter saw, etc.
Tools don't make the woodworker, woodworkers got along without all the fancy tools most of them made the tools with their skills, as needed. great vid!
My experience is that great tools make the work easier and/or faster, but not necessarily better. The few tools that made my work better were generally layout and marking tools.
I saw this way too late! I’m just starting woodworking, built a shop and loaded it with top brand tools and equipment. (Oliver, Festool, Harvey, etc.)❤
I would addd to this advice for initial tool purchase for most tasks buy the hand tool equivalent first expecialy if you have a tight budget. The reason being even a predominantly power tool user will drop back to hand tools for some tasks. You mentioned the major Japanese style saws in your advice. Those or a cross cut configured panel saw will do for most cross cutting tasks. For rip cutting that is where power tools have a major advantage ver hand tools in terms of speed. Now hand planes that is a problem area the ones you can buy in the big box stores are mostly trash or need expert knowledge to tune up to get them working to an aceptable standard.
I agree about the rip cuts with the saw. I pretty much only use them when doing joinery cuts vs long rips. As for hand planes, I agree. Even new hand planes from great manufacturers usually need a bit of tuning. I learned all about tuning and setting up hand planes by buying antique ones that needed a ton of work, but now I am pretty proficient at managing my planes and having them cut well with little additional maintenance.
In my fifty years of buying tools, my rules are: Buy the top priced or close to it item, the cutest, the current fad, anything Woodpecker, anything that makes you look cool, the right color, of course anything Festool, anything that is the opposite of common sense. Now to do this you must win the lottery or marry a very rich honey badger.
I understand your point about the jointer but often times an 8 inch jointer requires 240 volt power which is a massive investment for someone on top of the already expensive jointer if their shop is not wired for it.
Yes that's a good point. When I got mine, I had the luxury of having some electric work experience and was able to install the circuit for it myself. I suppose though if you're getting into the hobby enough to justify going for an 8" jointer (like you've kinda maxed out what you can do with a good planer and shims, straight rip jigs, offset router fence etc options) then maybe it's worth the extra expense?
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Having a 6 inch jointed (envy for an 8 inch) I use the woodpeckers rout-n-plane for wider boards then this flat side down through the 12 inch planer. Lot less than the 8 inch jointer.
I don't have a jointer and use the options you mentioned. I had one a long time ago and never learned to use it properly, I didn't have a mobile base to move it, and eventually sold it 30 years ago in a garage sale.
1:10 - you missed the most important one - quicker. Especially for tedious tasks, or redundant tasks, tools that will get you to the result quicker will always be worth the investment
My recommendation is that a hobbyist woodworker can get away with using a shopvac / cyclone set up for dust collection for a long time. Don't buy a full dust collector until your shop is well set up and you know where you want your big tools. And a cyclone on your DC saves time, filters, and makes cleanup easier.
Yeah for sure. I probably could have gotten away with a good shop vac and cyclone bin setup for a good while. But I had very few options for how to lay out tools and DC given how my shop windows/doors/electric are laid out so thankfully it hasn't been a headache. Definitely use flex hoses a long time before trying to install piping so you only have to do it once.
I fully agree on the jointer front! I've been wanting to upgrade my old 6" Grizzly jointer for a while now, but room is definitely an issue. I did upgrade to a helical cutter head, so I want to get my money's worth out of that... Now that I say that, I'm not sure it makes any sense. Guess I'm shopping for that 8" Grizzly after all!
Haha. Yeah I’ve been surprised how often I have to rip stuff down before jointing because even 8” is narrower than a lot of rough lumber. Hope you find the jointer you’re looking for. But I get it about the space.
Buy once cry once can apply to just not buying cheap junky modern stuff no matter how swank it appears. E.G. I looked at the Bosch mitresaw. It was flimsy. I could pull it off line without even trying. Instead, I saved $300 by buying a 14” three phase 1953 DeWalt Radial Arm saw. This 500 pound saw actually lives outside under a canopy, and once calibrated, It cuts better, faster and does things no miter saw can dream of. It has taken over 90% of what I used to use my table saw for. It Can’t kickback when cross cutting. In ripping it can only kickback 90 degrees from where I am standing, although it has never kicked back once. It can rip to 24 inches wide, do miters, bevels, compounds, and with a 90 degree fence add on, it can cut both sides of a mitre with a perfect match, even if you don’t set the saw at exactly 45 degrees. It does perfect dados and rabbets at any angle. While I appreciate that a mitre saw is more portable, I don’t need to cart my saw about. This saw was built before I was born and will outlive me by generations.
@ Just search RUclips for ‘Old Dewalt radial arm saws’ and you will find dozens of video of them in action. The more common, smaller home shop saws even had available Shaper, Jointer, planer and jigsaw attachments. And they range from half horsepower all the way up to 7 horsepower monsters that sling 22” blades. With the right blade they cut non ferrous metals and plastics and you can get specialty blades that cut steel and iron. Again, I’m talking the older ones made of cast iron. I found mine being sold for $500 and it was in like new condition, but you can often find the 12, 10 or 8 inchers for sale for $50. There is a company that bought the tooling for the larger DeWalt saws and still makes them new, The Original Saw Co. But the new ones run around 7 grand and up. About the only caveat for buying the old ones is making sure the bearings in the carriage head are good. For some models they can be hard to source replacements. But other than that, they tend to run forever. It’s far more versatile and accurate than any miter saw.
I agree to a point with your message. Take for example the Jessum Doweling jig. I have the original as well as the new version. I also have the Dowel Max. Why? I love dowel joinery. I don't build cabinets (yet) and for me an investment in a Domino would just be a waste at this point. Now if it ever got to the point where time was of the essence, then sure I would invest in one. It is a great tool.
Totally. I definitely don’t think everyone needs a Domino. My goal is to encourage people to think carefully about what they want to do and buy the tools that meet with what they need. For me, I couldn’t drill accurately enough even with the jig to satisfy my level of quality and speed so the Domino made sense. So my point was it’s actually a lot easier to swallow an upgrade from a mid-level tool to a great tool once you know what you’re doing than to buy a super nice one right away only to learn later that you didn’t really need it after all.
Switched from Makita to DeWalt for 3 reasons: On average, Makita is more expensive, more likely to come from China, and harder to source batteries. DeWalt is available nearly everywhere at competitive prices, has at least SOME tools made in the US, or Mexico, or Taiwan, and the batteries are not only available, but run everything from my miter saw to my lawn mower. As far as i can tell, the miter saw is dead nuts, and I've DeWalt saw blades generally comparable to Freud. Now, I am VERY fond of Makita engineering, and they make stuff no one else makes. But I have no intention of supporting multiple battery types.
Ooh yeah I will say the soft start on that Makita I demonstrated is soooo nice. You don't get as much of the jerk motion on start. That's a TON of routers! Thanks for watching!
I’m leaning to a Scorpion 16” combo jointer planer. From your value perspective, is it a good deal at 5600$ if the buyer wants a 16” capacity on planing for panels? I mean, hell, you also get 16” of jointing, which I guess I’ll figure out how to use, without the added space in a small shop.
My tips: eventually you need a jointer AND a planer. Buy a jointer-planer. If you go up, skip cabinet saws and look what kind of slider saw options do you have. With a good slider table saw you can replace your table saw, your track saw and specially your miter saw. And you don't have to ever do again any awkward in-air pushing if you ripping large sheet materials and in most cases, your fingers will be far away from the blade.
I like that as those only take up the space of one tool if you don't have a ton of space. I like the idea of a slider but you really have to have the space for those. I've gotten to where if I really need to break down plywood, i don't count on the track saw even for finish cuts (usually because I rarely can depend on making them perfectly square) so I oversize them by about a kerf and then true everything up on the table saw.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking If you have to cut a big sheet on your cabinet saw, then you have the space for a slider. Your space requirement is often determined what you actually construct, not the machine. And people keep adding big cabinets around their mitre saw, an outfeed table for their table saw, etc. And sliders usually have physical stops. If you set up the fences correctly, it will cut things in square. However, I would thrust more in a cut which is supported correctly than something which I have to hang in the air or I have to push around the blade by hand/with a pushstick. There are combination machines which have a jointer-planer-slider saw and a shaper. People can start a complete, professional business on a relatively small space here. Felder actually have a few, good demonstration video for that. (I know, those are marketing materials, but I think it is a good representation - I know, the ways are a bit different how US (youtuber) woodworkers working.)
@@sturdyboneswoodworking How do you then manage a 4x8 sheet when you need to cut two 2x8s ...sounds like a single sheet cannot so both when you cut them oversized
Look for what's on sale first. Haha, Also, I go into the two main big box stores around here ( Lowes and HD ) once or twice a month, even if I have nothing specific I am looking for, because they both will have random items with yellow tags. Always look for the yellow tags peppered along the aisles.! There will be some ridiculously good prices that you will not see on the company websites, you have to go in and look. Lowes just had a nice hand saw that was about a $40 saw for $12 on yellow tag. Same with HD and a laser thermometer, was about a $45 unit at full price, on yellow tag for about $13.! Yellow tag is your friend.!
I am blessed or cursed by being one who has to experiment. I blame my engineer dad. I do consider the wood lathe to be the best christmas present I ever bought myself, and now I have 6.... Mostly a bowl maker, but do some spindles. Your long lathe is ideal for turning table legs, but you would need a long tool rest. They make some that are 2 foot long, or you can "engineer" one for yourself. Don't get into bowl making, your table saw ends up being a storage area for bowl blanks. You also need 2 bandsaws, one that cuts about 6 inches high and another that cuts about 16 or so high for big bowls.... I took to bowls like a duck to water. For the cordless tools, I did construction, mostly concrete, for 30 years. The first cordless drills I saw were the Dewalt. I saw one fall off of a 5 story building and other than a slight case crack, it was not hurt at all. Now days even the concrete guys use drills. I see mostly Dewalt and Makita. Almost no other brands. Spot on about the saw blades. And about some one who knows how to sharpen them. I had a guy years ago who took my Forrest blade and it came back sharper than it was out of the cover. I use mostly the Freud combination blades so I don't have to change out for cross cut and rip cuts. One not mentioned, but you can find so many uses for once you learn how to use them, are hand planes. Worst one I bought, a Bridge City plane. The bottom was convex. I sent it back and the replacement was the same. I do have mostly Veritas, and Lie Neilson (from my dad). I do have some old Stanley, and some wood ones since I want to make some. I haven't splurged for a Festool domino tool yet. Been using biscuits forever. They do line things up well. Long before there were track saws, I was using aluminum channel and an old Skill saw. The channel was 1 by 2 by 1 inch. It doesn't hurt to have your blade square to the base and that isn't always easy.
Thanks for your thoughts here. I actually finally sold the lathe as I was making this video! 😂 And yes I love hand planes. You can probably see my Stanleys behind me in my videos. Refurbishing them was my gateway into woodworking - they’re all vintage ones from eBay and antique stores that needed a lot of love but they all work great now. Maybe I need to do a follow up on just hand tools advice. Thanks for watching!
Yes but you spent $1500ish on a jointer when you could save up a bit more and just get an 8” and not have to make a table which itself still costs money and time.
Really overall good advice. There are always exceptions and you covered that pretty well. Sure, for people who have a mature woodworking experience and have their patterns and approaches well set this doesn't apply quite as perfectly. But that's not who you made the video for.
Need to understand the type of woodworker you want to become! I rely almost exclusively on hand tools for cutting joints, and power tools for dimensioning. So I use my router plane 100% more than my power router. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I used my router? I use a hand saw to rough cut lumber so have no need for a miter saw. But love my Hammer A3 31 as a precision jointer/planer that save lots of space! How you’re going to work the wood and what you plan on building is the first thing you need to figure out to drive you tool purchases. That said, I think we all develop differently over time, so there will always be tools hanging around that you don’t use or regret buying - until the one time you need it…
Oh yeah I didn't even think to mention that there are some great combo jointer/planer machines out there! I definitely agree you have to know what you want to make. It's not a big deal if it changes over time and you've bought versatile tools. But I've also made a new rule for myself that I only buy tools when a) I need it to get a project done or b) I've found myself over multiple projects wishing I had a thing and then I save up for it and buy. Just no more impulse buying for me.
There's not much point in having a trim router with variable speed. They shouldn't be run with larger diameter bits, which is when you should slow it down.
Depends on the wood you use and if you want burn marks or not, even with a small diameter bit its easy to put burn marks on wood like cherry unless you slow it down.
Thanks! Yeah I hope I didn't come across as dissing the jig itself. The main point I hoped to make was that I should have started off a little cheaper to see how I liked dowel joinery first and then upgraded to the fancy one, but I wanted to Buy Once, Cry Once, and it didn't pay off for me in that case.
when it comes to most machines you're better off buying older American made used. they are far better made than new and they are a lot less, You can find Powermatic 66 for $1200 and delta unisaws for less than that, and they are far superior than anything made by any of the asian companies, As for a router table, you can mount a router to a piece of plywood, when needed, I run a professional shop and I don't even have a router table. I use shapers instead and I have a bunch of routers that are not mounted. As someone that as been in the business for a long time I have found that a lot of people are trying to reinvent the wheel, and make a profit, when the reality the tools of long ago do a better job and they are easier and faster to use once you have learned the proper techniques in your work. To me the most valuable tool in your shop is a woodworking education, sadly it is not easy to find masters to teach anymore,
I hear that for sure. And yeah I agree once you know how to use routers, you don’t really need a router table; it is more of a safety/speed/accuracy thing than anything else. And I agree unfortunately RUclips is the best substitute for woodworking education we have that’s accessible but you really need the hands-on experience to learn properly and most of the folks making quality content here are not very experienced or else not focusing specifically on teaching. Thanks for watching!
Picked right up on your username. I’ve bought and sold a few Ollie machines. Great stuff. You are right on. I’ve been pro for 22 years and came from a restoration site carpenter background. My current shop is full of old cast iron monsters, many pre WW1. They will handle any size timber I feed them and were all purchased for hundreds of dollars in running condition. My slider is a 20” patternmakers saw with 36” crosscut. 20” jointer. 20” planer. 32” bandsaw. 7 hp Oliver shaper. 80 gal CH compressor. 3300$ total for the machinery listed in perfect working condition. A three phase converter for 1200. (Scratch and dent), and they all run just fine. Smaller 3 hp shapers can be picked up for a grand apiece. Miter saws are consumable items as are electric hand tools. With a solid collection of edge/hand tools you can work as precisely as you need. Mine are 95% antiques from flea markets and such. You need to have the ability to move it and set it up and the floor system to set it on. I know people get upset saying they don’t have the space or a truck/trailer to move these machines. We all make our choices and move our lives accordingly. And yes I’ve built plenty of cabinets in garages and driveways on portable contractor machines. Totally doable. But also very limiting if you are looking to stretch your dollars and potential.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking the issue with you tube and woodworking, is that most of the better woodworkers and teachers are not good entertainers, and that is what people look for, I have seen a lot of people that have no clue what they are doing but they make a good video and have a gazillion subscribers, I have made some videos but I don't get a lot of views, I run a professional shop and I am usually busy, so it is hard for me to take the time to make videos when I am not getting the views and subscribers to make it worth while, I am going to do a shop tour video soon and show some of my stuff that will be completely different than anything others have
Could somebody please recommend an ideal list of tools for around $1k that would help me build cutting boards? I want to get into this so bad but I would prefer to save some money if I’m able to. I am thinking table or miter saw, router, planer, orbital sander. Would I be able to get by with these?
Yes I think if you’re just looking to do cutting boards right now that dewalt saw I showed, the dewalt DW735x planer and some used clamps or pipe clamps and a sander would get you going for around that budget. You might even be able to buy all of those tools used and squeeze in the miter saw or circular saw and a trim router with a couple bits.
I used to make cutting boards with a hand saw, pipe clamps and belt sander. Its a bit of work and make easier with some clever jigs you can make but it will get you started. Then sell the cutting boards to buy the rest of the stuff you want.
Don’t think I saw much about dust collection. Wish I’d bought one of the Oneida supercells to start with. That looks like it would have covered a small shop better then the 5HP dust gorilla pro and three vacs (2 Fein & a Festool) By the same token I’d trade the 5 PC routers for one Festool with decent dust collection Almost everything is used from Craigslist and some auctions. One odd buy was a Hilti 267 track saw with Festool rails but gives a 7 1/4” saw and Festool rails
I’d pick a tablesaw that’s used, good, and cheap first if I did this again. I’d also likely get a jobsite saw and then a cabinet saw. I enjoyed my contractor saw but lacks both portability of a jobsite saw and lacks power of a cabinet saw. I’d do that before a track saw because I can get a good tablesaw for $50. I got my Unisaw for $150. Obviously, I waste time dealing with hunting haha I COULD have gotten Unisaws for like $50 if I just waited. I didn’t get them for that price because I passed on them. I also repair my tools. So that’s a time sink. You can definitely get used jobsite saws DIRT cheap. I still only use my track saw for specific cuts. I bet I’ll use the heck out of it once I have a better setup for it. I also guess if you don’t have a setup for a tablesaw and just have a bench? A track saw would be amazing and you really wouldn’t need a table saw for most things. A tablesaw just makes your life easier for small repeatable things. Makes your life easier for big rips.
Get a planer. He literally said it while I was typing this haha Get a good planer. I grabbed a Makita 2040 I needed to repair for $100. It’s amazing and has been SOOOOOO worth it.
Yes I agree the main reason to upgrade the table saw is for power and stability. I nearly had a bad accident trying to push hardwood through my underpowered and dull bladed 3/4hp craftsman saw and was like nope just gonna get a big one. But I think there is a middle ground folks should explore with some of the newer job site saws.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Several things. It hasn't made sense for me (hobby) to buy a Domino, but I have a nice doweling jig I don't much use... I bought a great homemade router table because it came with a router, bits, many options I don't use, and lots and lots of storage. The fence isn't that good, but it's OK and as you pointed out, one doesn't use it much.
These are great tips! I couldn't help but notice what seems to be a custom dust collection shroud on the miter saw. I have the same saw and dust collection is horrendous. What did you use there?
It's one made by a guy on etsy called Benchtop Woodworks: www.etsy.com/shop/BenchtopWoodworks?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1452237262&from_page=listing. Chris is a great guy. He recently lost his home in a fire so I'm not sure if he's back up and running yet with 3d printing, but I really like it and it does a good job. The dust flap tends to get caught and pulled out when cutting thicker material, but I guess all of them tend to do that.
@sturdyboneswoodworking thanks for the link! It really sucks to hear that he may have lost his home. If he gets back up to printing, i'll buy one from him to support them.
Buy twice cry never? I went to trade school and an instructor there reccomended buying the cheapest available version of tools until I knew what I was doing and which ones I would use. That way when I outgrew the cheap stuff, I would only have to shell out for what I knew I needed and I would have a set of beater tools.
THIS!!! THIS THIS THIS!!!!
Thats what Ive done over time. Ended up buying the best of the ones I use the most...well second best.
I have been woodworking and buying tools for over fifty years. In the shop I am still using corded tools purchased in the 1980 and on. Many cords have been replaced but most of the battery powered tools that I have bought over the many years are gone. The tools were trashed when the battery systems were updated or abandoned. Buy your cordless drill and impact driver, perhaps a saw for breaking material down but otherwise buy corded tools.
Of course, if you are making a living with tools on a jobsite, buy whatever cordless tools you need.
Yeah it’s a great point. I really like my little Makita trim router that’s cordless but I also don’t at all mind the cord on the big one. You get used to working out how to keep them out of the way.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking I thought about adding a trim router to my list. It would be handy. But, I keep five routers set up at my cabinet assembly bench. I change routers not bits.
i love the advice about upgrading the saw blades. Best decision i ever made. Could not believe the difference.
My number one tip is if you decide to go into machine woodworking, get a good table saw early. I went for years with a contractor saw and it took all the joy out of my work. The moment i bought my Harvey table saw, i spent more time in my workshop and enjoyed it more. As a hobby woodworker sometimes it is the joy of using a high end tool that is worth the investment.
When it comes to power tools, I did lots of research. Eventually, I saw a comment that said, "Just pick the color you want. They're all decent." I like grey, so I went with the Flex platform and absolutely love it. No regrets.
Nice! Thanks for watching!
A few years back, I also jumped the gun and splurged on the similar ultimate Jessem router table, thinking it was the key to my woodworking dreams. Fast forward to now, and it's mostly been gathering dust in the corner of my shop. Over years, I've found my groove with traditional woodworking and hand tools, and my enthusiasm for power tools has waned substantially. Moral of the story? Take the time to discover what type of woodworking really captures your heart before investing in expensive gear.
💯. Thank you for understanding the point of this video. I’m trying to communicate that message here. I was super enthusiastic when I started and definitely didn’t know what I really wanted to make before buying stuff.
I had to spend thousands on fancy power tools before realizing I preferred doing most of the work by hand. Funny how that seems to happen so often XD
It also comes down to whether you do woodwork to make money or just for the joy of the craft. I do a lot of handwork. It is relaxing and kind of 'romantic'. But takes longer to perfect it.
First time viewer - glad RUclips recommended this. I think all your tips are solid. I started into woodworking about 3 years ago and have been slowly building out my shop. Here are some things that I would add to your tips - for context I am a hobbyist who works primarily in my shop and seldom onsite:
1. Don't buy cordless tools unless you have to. I went with Bosch and Ryobi for my battery platforms (drill, driver, jigsaw, nailers, one palm router). However, for most of my other tools I buy corded versions, especially for tools used only in the shop or seldom used tools.
2. Related to #1, buy the best tool you can afford regardless of brand. For a battery powered tool I will only buy Bosch and Ryobi now, but for all other tools I buy the best one for the job regardless of brand or color.
3. Related to one of your points, but because I am in a small shop every tool needs to have more than one use - no one trick ponies. Space is a premium and whatever I buy has to be versatile.
4. A more general tip - I know when woodworking for a living, time is money. But when woodworking as a hobby time is also very valuable. It does not always equate to profit, but I have much less time in the shop so that time needs to be as productive as possible or projects take forever!
5. Consider the upgrade path when buying tools. As an example, I bought a Rikon 1420VSR Midi lathe as I wanted to learn how to turn but wasn't sure how often I would do it or everything I might want to make. The price was reasonable for the features offered, and it has a 1.25 inch spindle, like many larger lathes, which means I can use the same chucks and jaws on a larger lathe without buying new ones. The chucks and jaws I have cost more than the lathe.
6. Make a list of what you think you want or need in the future and prioritize it. If you do not need them right away, then save and wait for them to go on sale and buy them then if you still think you want/need them. I have bought over half my tools this way and saved a lot of money. Over time, I also decided that I no longer needed what I thought I might, and removed them from the list as I reprioritize after each purchase on the list.
Awesome tips! Sounds like we’re on the same wavelength. I had an Amazon list and once I realized I was being stupid and buying things I didn’t have a plan for I started just putting stuff there instead and waiting til I needed it to buy (or ask for birthday or Christmas gifts lol). Thanks for watching and offering these!
Quality and practical video. I transitioned from carpentry to woodworking, and made the transition from basic rough tools to finer ones; I have the same Bosch miter saw and love it. What I suggest people also consider is WHY they are woodworking - what do you want to get out of it? Over time I've transitioned almost entirely to hand tool-based woodworking because I found using so many machines stressful (not to mention loud, messy and dangerous). What I realized is the process was more important to me than the result. Everyone's goals will be different, but it was a big epiphany that would have saved me a lot of money had I come to it sooner.
Yes! Thanks for sharing! If I didn’t need to make things fast (for business reasons) and could take all the time I needed I could really get into more of hand tool woodwork.
My two cents: If you are not doing carpentry, invest in really good measuring/marking tools. Get a table saw with ripping capacity >25 inches. Get an air compressor and finish nailer, brad nailer, pin nailer and stapler. Get a better quality hand plane. Learn to sharpen chisels and plane blades. Clamps are your friends and you need dozens of them, well, you can never have too many clamps… watch this guy’s video and take notes. Mostly I make cabinets and furniture. I have a big lathe and 17” band saw for resawing logs into lumber. I use the lathe a little, but use the bandsaw a lot. If you have a small shop, put machines on casters. Figure out decent dust collection and wear PPE.
Yes to the sharpening. Learn how to do it well and keep al your tools sharp. It will save you so much headache.
The bandsaw as well. Great advice. I probably use mine 9 times out of 10 over my table saw. Although this does depend on the type of work you will be doing.
From a nearly 5 decade woodworker, I agree with nearly all your advice to newbies. I would add to your item #1 - don't purchase a tool just because every RUclipsr has one. I take slight exception to the table saw comment. I think a tablesaw can actually elevate the quality of your work. I recommend a better table saw and a cheaper track saw. Your advice to cut angles, miters, etc. on the table saw is spot on. It's a good idea to make the most critical, accurate cuts on your heaviest, most stable machine. Very good video from an old codger (I understood the gamer comment, too. Haha). Thanks. Subscribed.
Thanks so much for that validation! I think I can agree with your thoughts about the good table saw. My table saw was my first big investment and it's been worth it in the long run - definitely elevated my work. I do think for folks who are brand new to woodworking (and thus aren't really sure what they're going to make or whether they're actually going to stick with it) my point stands and I'd rather see more folks enjoying the craft and leveling up to the big TS once they know what they're doing and know they'll be happy they spent thousands on a good saw.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Yep. Goes along with what you said about knowing what you're going to do with the tool in the first place.
Lots of good advice here. My path was a little different. When I was younger, I mostly bought tools I needed to fix up our old shack of a house. Most of my "woodworking" time then was actually carpentry, furniture or cabinet repairs to restore the house. Only later did I have the time and inclination to get into new woodworking projects. I certainly regretted buying cheap tools, but I wasn't making enough money 30 years ago to allow me to "cry once". So I did what I could with used, yard sale, thrift shop tools. And I discovered that most of the hand power tools from the 1960s really were "buy it for life". The jigsaw runs smooth, the Skil saw is heavy but unstoppable. The 1958 Delta hobbyist tablesaw I picked up for $25 at a yard sale worked darn well once I gave it a full tuneup and alignment. I used that for over a decade until I acquired a used Jet tablesaw.
I was able to buy pre-war Stanley handplanes for a song. Once properly sharpened and set up, they're a joy to use. Since I don't do this for a living, I never bought a power jointer or planer. Yes, it takes a lot more time, but I think of it as an exercise program. 😊
The best jig I've made so far is the tablesaw sled. My miter saw sits almost unused now, except for first breakdown of long boards. I've made a variety of jigs, all have repaid the time they took to make many times over.
You're right, don't buy what you'll never really use. I inherited my dad's inexpensive lathe, but never did much with it. I pulled it out and tuned it up a little bit recently. Then I realized that I don't have any lathe work I want to do. I'm not out any money, but it's taking up space in my shop.
I love it. I wish old tools like those were still readily available. All of my hand planes are also antique pre-war planes that were in rough shape on eBay and learning to refurbish and tune them and get them cutting again was my gateway drug into woodworking. It was the most satisfying thing. If you watch any of my build videos you’ll see them at work. Thanks again for watching!
If you're a new woodworker, you'll soon realize the value of jigs. Instead of buying fancy pre-made ones, try making them yourself out of wood.
You bet. I've built a tablesaw sled, tenoning jig, tapering jig, and a full woodworking-oriented table with fence for my drillpress. The possibilities are endless, and making them is fun in itself. And, I've made over a dozen tool holders for my French Cleat wall, out of scraps from other projects.
Most of the ones you can buy are copies of shop made jigs
I’ve spent about 40K on woodworking tools in the last 10 years and everything said in this video is spot on - totally agree!
Excellent video, thank you! You asked for more ideas, my contribution would be to prioritize quality measuring, marking and setup tools. Having a dead on set of setup blocks, combo squares, digital caliper etc. is worth every penny and you use them all constantly. Don’t trust the big box versions.
“A man with one watch always knows what time it is, a man with TWO watches is never sure” 🙂
Oooh that is a really good one I didn't even think of. I did invest in a few really good engineering squares and measuring tools and agree they're nearly priceless for doing quality work.
@ Using a marking knife instead of a pencil makes a huge difference in precision (and reduces tear out). Having REALLY good and consistent tape measures and rulers do as well. The digital angle finder is a godsend. I find many of the things that make the biggest improvements are little things - larger router bases (3x3 Custom’s is amazing), compression bits, superior push sticks, etc.
I built my own bandsaw 18” from a kit years ago. Then a while back I upgraded to grizzly 17”. I use the bandsaw to cut wood, copper, aluminum, plastic, foam, tubing, pallet wood, variable sized circles (2”-3’), firewood burl slabs, resaw and size rough lumber…… if I had space I’d probably get a small 9-10” bandsaw with a thinner blade 3/16” for fine work and tighter radiuses.
I am glad that I found this channel, even if I started using construction and woodworking tool in the 70's and did it professionally for more than 20 years. There is always more to learn. I like your router principle best. I would add a principle: Don't overlook old tools. As long as the motor still runs, most of them were built to last much longer than todays have. My oldest useable power tool is a 1956 DeWalt Radial Arm Saw (which I know how to safely use) that slices hardwoods like a hot knife through butter and purrs while doing so, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner without doing research on safe use because your fingers would also be like butter. Oh, and while it cost $900.00 in the 50's it only cost me $75.00 and a sore back lifting from lifting it.
Geez…my wallet could not agree more to this video and message. This seems like a video playback of experience in this hobby. It’s so easy and addictive to buy that expensive tool, even if you never use it.
I paid $3,500 for the complete Shaper Origin router setup. I played with it for a few days…a year ago.
The best advice you offered was to fit your purchases to the work you plan to do. I do mostly small projects now, that I then donate to non-profits. I enjoy buying old tools, like the Craftsman tools of the 1950's and refurbishing them. Yes, they are small...but no plastic whatever on them! Almost all of my power tools have cords on them. I wouldn't trade my 1970's Milwaukee Hole Shooter for any battery powered tool. Same for my Fein Multitool. The 1993 12" Delta planer I bought (very) used from Habitat for Humanity works great with new blades. The 1950's jointer I bought from a Facebook Marketplace ad was well worth the 30 minute drive. All it needed was adjustment. The one piece of advice you didn't give was to buy used. Craig's list, Facebook Marketplace, Habitat stores and other thrifts...and yard sales...are full of great tools you can buy for cheap. And trust me...when it comes to accurate and strong joints, dowels and biscuits work great. Just use good glue. By the way...I'm 82 now, and I have been doing DIY and woodworking for 50 years. I use my Dad's 1920's Union Company combination square almost every day. Still square. Take that, Woodpecker!
Fantastic advice. I’ll definitely keep it in mind when I consider a follow up to this one to mention used tools.
From the UK. Excellent advice. Particularly liked the battery platform tip. Many years ago I bought a Makita drill/driver and have stuck with their tools ever since. They are well made, well priced and have an almost inexhaustible range of tools for all purposes. Agree strongly about the saw blades. Thanks.
#11. you dont need every power tool to be battery operated.
seriously man, this is a BIG one, if you're working in a shop and you can deal with a cable easily, corded electric or air tools can be a real life saver. they tend to be far cheaper and just as powerful for many of the tools you can buy, especially for wood working where you often attach dust collection. when I bought my angle grinder, I saw the corded one for a little over $100, and a battery powered with the same HP rating, from the same manufacturer for like $250. I have not ONCE felt like the cable was in the way. the only battery powered tools I own, or will ever own are drills and impacts. Ill never have to buy new batteries, or worse yet, new tools because the batteries are not longer manufactured.
I like that one for sure. The angle grinder is a tough one for me. On the one hand, the time I used it most was for power carving for hours and having the cable saved me swapping tons of batteries. On the other, I knicked the cable a couple times in the process 😆 Thanks for watching!
Especially if you’re buying a tool that you’d like to keep around for a few decades. Battery platforms change.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking im really careful with cables, I like to run them through my belt and over my arm, no cable tug, and no chance of eating the cable. I do that with air hoses as well, I LOVE air tools.
A lot of solid advice in this video. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I absolutely agree with your comment up front - try and determine what you plan on making first. I also have a full woodworking shop, and my initial plan was on making furniture and Japanese makiwara (martial arts striking). I have been working with live edge slabs recently, and the track saw is essential over my table saw. A lot of versatility with a track saw. I also appreciate your comment on buy once cry once, and have had the same experience. Not everything needs to be the best, especially if you may not use it often enough to justify the price. Cheers!
I totally agree. Sometimes it's better to be able to bring the tool to the material like when you can't bring the material to the tool! Lol. Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Pretty much your advice is spot on. General principle, buy what you need...when you need it. Prioritize your need to produce over some manufacturer's need to push product. One difference I have comes from my recent purchases (
Awesome! Yeah I’m glad it’s working out for you. I think that approach works too because you didn’t buy super expensive but also underpowered machines. They’re easy to sell later and upgrade when you’re ready for a more permanent machine. I doubt I’ll ever need to upgrade my jointer or planer at this point (maybe a 20” planer later on, but I get by with the 15 just fine right now)
Very good and well done presentation! I agree with essentially everything you said BUT for me, part of the woodworking ‘hobby’ is buying and trying tools. It’s just part of my fun. But your advice is good for somebody who seriously wants to make money and clear a profit! 😀
Thank you! And yeah I get that too. But that’s your #1 so it’s perfect for what you’re trying to do.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking well, it’s really not really my “#1” - as I said, it is PART of the ‘hobby’ for me - I do a lot of woodworking in the process - and the two together round out the total experience. 😀
Dang I was just about to sell my jobsite table saw and RUclips recommended this. Taking that advice and going to invest a track saw now.
Oh wow! Well I hope my advice serves you well. Some others have mentioned that track saws are only for plywood work. They are handy for plywood but I mostly use mine when I need to bring the saw to the piece or when I need to establish a square edge on tabletops etc - so not just for plywood breakdown.
Totally agree with the 8” jointer!
I have that Jessem mitre gauge too. I absolutely love it.
It’s phenomenal. Pricey, but phenomenal.
Timely video. Recently bought my first planer and was looking at a jointer purchase. I came pretty close to buying an 8” tabletop model several times. I’ve resisted thus far 😀
Haha. Well I’m glad to hear my first comment on that note is a positive one. Yeah a lot of focus is out on the cutting capacity and not enough on the bed length.
That was fantastic video mate. Well done. Really good tips
Thanks Tom!
Having a friend and trying out with their tools gives you great ideas on what to buy. Need a workspace to do woodworking in that is comfortable.
This advice and opinion is great. If you are a full time woodworker there is definitely some good suggestions in here. I would add this as something to think additionally about.
A domino is very expensive and most people who are getting into woodworking will still have a learning curve with the domino, and it isn't as straightforward as a lot of woodworks of youtube show out there. For this a cheaper option of a doweling jig, that was mentioned earlier in this video, is an excellent suggestion as this can provide excellent strength, cheaper, and can easily be as repeatable as the domino, by adding a drill stop guide to your drill bits at a fraction of the price.
The jointer, this is the issue I see with some of the statements from woodworkers of youtube and that is you need a "giant" jointer because you will "out grow" your benchtop or smaller jointers "in no time". Jointers are used to "flatten" or square up the "edges" of the board and a planer is used to help "flatten" the "surface" of the board. With this in mind, do you plan on jointing wood that is greater than 6" thick? For most woodworkers, the answer is no. Now if using to "make your own lumber" I would recommend instead of spending 1500 dollars on a jointer to help you square a side to send it through the bandsaw safely, just get a hand plane, to help get you into the ball park of flat, enough to be considered safe through the bandsaw. The next can be stating the weight of the wood, it is no unusual for people to have infeed and outfeed tables to help with the weight, the only draw back is getting the height you desire for it. The jointer, needing to get a bigger one, was technically a contradiction to how you started the video discussing the "need for a bigger lathe" to later, only using the smaller one.
Space is a premium, and money is not easy for people to handle. There is always the side of selling your old tools on social media or other outlets to help offset the cost if you are finding, that "yes, I do need that bigger/smoother/more expensive (insert here) tool." It is not ideal, but in line with waiting on the right tool, sometimes its the right tool, for the right job, for right now.
Please keep making videos like this, it brings in the conversation and can help people identify the direction they are going.
Thanks a bunch! And I appreciate your perspective too. Hopefully people will read and decide what makes the most sense for their project requirements. My main point about small vs big jointer is that the bed is too small for longer timber. I disagree slightly that the jointer is not for face milling. In my opinion you get much better results getting stuff square when you have a jointed edge and face before planing. That said, my point about getting a better planer is that the milling sled is a great alternative for a long time vs a small underpowered jointer.
agree with all the points! Adding one of my own: Sander should be the first power tool, one should upgrade. I had simple corded 5in orbital sander which do the job but when I got into serious furniture, it was just too slow. Didnt had budget for festool so I took a gamble on bosch get 5n and its just awesome!
Another thing I have done is to buy second hand local tools and see if that fits the bill. I got kobalt jobsite table saw first and made few pieces but when I got into joinery, it was not accurate enough so decided to upgrade to ridgid R4560 which was extremely accurate for my needs without breaking the bank. Same goes with the planer which I recently upgraded to dewalt 735x
Awesome ideas! Thanks for watching!
Additionally I would encourage anyone to look into hand tools and sharpening early, especially if you are tight on money/space or if noise is an issue. And for some operations it is just the easier and safer choice.
It opens up an additional level of woodworking and understanding, that does not require the next big expensive powertool purchase. You can face joint big boards with relatively small hand planes and a straight edge and then feed them through the planer/thicknesser . Also with a hand plane you can remove a thou of material and really creep up on perfect fits. This can also be handy to fine tune jigs for powertools.
And the buy once/cry once mantra for tools is still valid. If you look at the prices of secondhand high quality tools in Europe, you can still get back 70-90% of your cost for a premium tool you don't need. At least I haven't found a domino for less than 70-80% of retail prices. I assume in the US it's the same.
Hey yes! Thanks these are all great points! I think if I had not gone so quickly from hobbyist to full time woodworker I would have liked to spend more time honing (pun intended) my hand tools skills. It’s where all the zen of woodworking exists. I am going to do some more thinking and research and maybe do a follow up type video focusing on hand tools. It’s a deep well and I agree often overlooked in this world of woodworking content.
And I 100% agree a lot of high end tools do hold their value and for good reason. My point there is mostly that for beginners who maybe don’t have a ton to spend they could get by for a long time before buying the finest version of a similar tool.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking You are absolutely right, it is crucial to predict what kind of projects you will do. Sheet goods vs. solid wood projects. And a crappy tool can build motivation for a great one if you truly need it.
But as soon as you are confident, that you will continue your woodworking journey in a certain direction there are obvious high quality tools, were you can't go wrong.
I feel much more confident selling my Festools or Makitas for a good price, than the cheap box store tools .
I agree what you said in the video. Been woodworking for 20 years. Makita is my choice of power tools but would like to add Festool into the mix.
Thank you for watching! Yes I like Makita (if you can’t tell haha). My dad always had Makita growing up and when I started buying I liked that they’re made in Japan (or were originally). I haven’t ventured much into Festool myself apart from the Domino and Rotex (but literally only for rough sanding). Everything I’ve heard about the brand is that the prices are high but worth it if you depend on your stuff.
The great thing about tools, if you take care of them, You can sell them and put that money towards an upgrade or something different all together!
I agree 100%. You’re not stuck if you make bad choices but there’s depreciation and the effort of reselling to think about too. I’m just trying to encourage folks to think and buy carefully. Thanks for watching!
@sturdyboneswoodworking I've learned hard lessons buying tools. Great content... keep it up!
I'd add that getting segmented carbide cutter heads on your planer and jointer is the only way to go, now that they are so readily available. You'll never worry about getting nicked!
Track saws don't work for me. I guess they are fine if you do a lot of cabinetry work with plywood. If you work with solid wood the table saw is much more versatile, it's more accurate, the dust goes on the floor, you can do cross cuts, thin rip cuts, cut dadoes and rabbits. Track saws are made for left handed people, the blade is on the wrong side. I've always found them to be awkward. The biggest reason for a table saw is I stand up to use it, cutting panels on the floor is for those young guys. My track saw sits in the corner.
You left off the band saw. When I got a band saw my woodworking went to another level because I could cut curves, re-saw, cut shapes, tenons, chair legs, guitar necks, and cute little reindeer. If you work with plywood and make square cabinets you don't need one.
Drill press. The ability to cut perpendicular straight holes is critical to good woodworking. You can hog out mortises, do drum sanding on curves, cut big holes safely. Also good for working with metal parts.
Then I would get the joiner and planer as a set. It's a huge commitment! I bought mine used and replaced blades, belts and bearings. Now I can make just about anything from rough cut lumber. Before that I simply got my lumber cut to thickness. I agree with the 8" joiner, then you don't need a monster 20" planer because your boards are only 8" wide.
Clamps, more clamps, lots of clamps.
Lots of good advice in this video.
Once a professional, now a hobbiest. A Stanley #3 or #4. A nice Miller's Falls small block plane. A decent set of chisels from the junk store. A draw knife or 3. The ability to sharpen these tools. A heavy, heavy bench. And here's my out-of-left field recommendation... A small dumb-head shaving horse/bench. Of course I still have a table, chop, and many hand saws. But for me, it's all about noise. I hate using a router... which means using a router and a vacuum... which means ear protection and eye protection and lung protection. Hand tools are quiet. Most hand tools make shavings, not dust. Hand tools require skill, which is largely what makes woodworking fun as a hobby (for me). Of course, if you gotta make money, you have to set up production runs and design everything around power tools. But if you don't? It's so much more fun (for me) to get to know the wood.
Thanks so much for your reply. I definitely hear that for sure. I agree that in a world where I had enough time to make the same things and didn't need to make money from them, being able to do most things with hand tools would be really satisfying. And I agree hand tools require skill - I feel mine growing whenever I pick up a plane or intentionally leave a bit of delicate trimming for chiselwork. The skill of power tools is mostly in order of operations and jig-making, which as a engineering oriented person myself, is satisfying in its own way. Thanks for watching!
As a rooky I followed most of this advice because I had no other choice financially. I once bought a cordless 28 Volt set from Milwaukee that I still own and use, but you can't easily get replacement batteries for it. Always buy Brushless, don't save money buying older, cheaper tech.
I think the buy one cry once mentality is good for the core essential tools, like a table saw, jointer, and planner, basically for milling which you’ll do on every single project. For other things it is more based on your projects. I recently upgraded to a SS cabinet saw and 8” jet jointer over a job site saw and bench top wahuda.
I started making furniture so your projects can change along with your skill level. You can also sell the tools you outgrow, so you do get some money back. In my area of Southern California, it’s hard finding professional woodworking tools on the local used market so beginner tools are easy to sell.
Yeah that’s a good point. I definitely think folks that don’t have any tools should take my advice here. But once it’s time to make a serious investment into the larger tools, I think Buy Once, Cry Once kicks in - at that point I buy the ones I hope to have for a long time, maybe forever.
Having multiple brands allows for way more versatility
If your in a shop u have plenty of room for multiple.colors
It also allows for getting beat deals that usually get u the best bang for buck and batteries
If u go with one brand your stuck and especially with the limes of Makita you will pay double and sometimes triple.for.a.tool.that in many cases isn't even the best
We have 4 different routers
Get the Metabo HPT 36V plunge router
Was first 1 1/2 router in mkt and still the king in our shop and at a much better price than the other colors
Nice! Thanks for the tips and perspective!
Sawstop is definitely a worthy buy once, cry once, if you value your fingers
Leading to what should be tip #1. Safety is PRICESLESS.
I subbed just because of this video. Thank you for sharing. God bless.
Absolutely you’re welcome! Thanks so much for watching and subscribing!
Solid tips! It all depends on what you're building right.
Absolutely! Thanks for watching.
I have had and used my jessem dowel jig for some years now and love it
Love it. Definitely not dissing the jig. It’s awesome. I wasn’t able to get very accurate results with it but looking back I think I was just a newbie and wasn’t yet able to mill my material very square to begin with. Definitely not trying to make the point that the Jessem jig or doweling jigs in general are a waste and everyone should have a domino.
5 Most useful tools I have are: Festool Tracksaw, Rikon 10” bandsaw, Lie Nielsen rabbet block plane, 1” Bench Chisel, SawStop table saw
Learned several of these the hard way. Nice video, wish I’d seen it years ago. I have that same old Jet jointer and love it but as I do more I’m starting to be limited. Been a good one to learn on.
Yeah that’s exactly why I made this video. A hobbyist friend of mine was asking advice about tools for his shop and I kept giving him advice based on all my poor decisions early on.
Great advice! I definitely agree with your point on expensive router tables! I never understood why someone would choose an expensive router table like from woodpeckers or Jessem when you’d be better off with a shaper. You can find a great shaper for about the same amount of money and it’s more versatile and accurate. Plus a lot of shapers can take router bits as well.
Yeah I just think a lot of folks would get by for much longer with less expensive approaches. I like my table and don’t plan to change it up but it’s overkill for most folks. Main thing I like about a router table is being able to put a template bit on my router and flush trim bit on the table and quickly do both operations without changing bits.
Track saw is the best tool I’ve bought hands down
Graco airless sprayer (the small gun is probably better for most people)
I bought all powermatic for my big tools even if it meant getting a less powerful machine… I wish I would’ve gone with grizzly and got all 5 hp machines
Your spot on. I wasted so much just getting started thinking I needed this and that
Thanknyou! Glad it helps!
I'm more of a carpenter than a woodworker, so I'm generally working with other people. As such, my rule is; if I have to borrow a tool from somebody else, or somewhere else (like a tool library), more than 3 or 4 times in a a shortish time frame, I buy that tool. On that note, tool libraries and community shops are a great way to start and figure out what you need and will want. If you have one close enough, use it. There's always knowledgeable people there to help out as well.
I’ve never heard of a tool library but that sounds amazing. I wish there was a community shop around where I live. I think there is one about 40 minutes away so it isn’t worth it for me. But that’s great advice.
#8 is the best advice any woodworker could ever receive.
40 years furniture making hardly ever need a router table and if i do I attache some MDF to base and use that. Seen more people loose finger when holding the work pice as apposed to holding the router
Solid advice. I have several tools sitting in drawers that I have never used or rarely used. The money could have been better spent. For instance, on another router.
I think many people starting out see the popular videos and think they need all those fancy tools to even get started.
Hey thank you! Yes, I think I got caught up in it too when I was new. That’s why I wanted to make this video. Obviously woodworking can be an expensive hobby. But there’s a ton you can do with a solid basic set and as you have more budget, over time you can build up to a great set of tools without spending 30k. I did because I wanted to do this professionally but it was a business investment. But I still could have made less work for longer. Cheers!
Some fantastic advice and wish I knew some of this when I started.
Good thoughts overall, but #3 conflicts with #1. Saying to buy a track saw and a contractor's tablesaw instead of a cabinet tablesaw is only correct if your projects are mostly sheet goods. If you're making outdoor furniture from solid wood, for instance, you may struggle cutting the 8/4 hardwood material that is often used in outdoor furniture with either the track saw or jobsite saw.
I hear you. But I said #1 first for the reason that it’s always the first consideration. For new folks who don’t have a table saw yet, #1 might, to your point, lead them to prioritize the bigger cabinet saw. But the beginners out there making this and that and small cutting boards and such should at least think about #3 in my opinion before spending $2500-5000 on a huge table saw.
I disagree. I make fine furniture and do not own a “professional” cabinet saw. I have a job site saw and track saw that work just fine for me and my methods. I also have several Diston hand saws and tenon saws that I keep razor sharp. For a few cuts I find it faster to use a hand saw than setting up tracks or using a table saw - especially if I have to create an elaborate jig. But, to each their own.
Thank you for these experience based advices that really make sense. Especially the last bit helps me with a decision that I am about to make. 8" or about 210 mm is the least, I am thinking of a 12" or 310 mm jointer/planer but am stil not sure if this really is necessary for me. I do have a lot of rough sawn wood that now has dried for over ten (!) years and until now I used my table saw and my simple planer, using double sided tape on straight shelves to make this into woodworking sizes. Not very accurate and not the best results. On the other hand, woodworking is my hobby, I do not have a high productivity and intend to leave it that way 😉 Looking forwards to your next video!
Pipe clamps, instead of parallel clamps.
Ah yes 100%. There are so few occasions where I actually need my parallel clamps. And some of the brands making those absolutely suck. The Jorgensens are great but I have some Bora clamps and I have no hesitation on bashing them publicly. They just suck. They hold but they’re sticky and impossible to clean out glue from and they’re also expensive to boot.
Absolutely. When laminating strips together, my parallel clamps bow. I hardly use them anymore even though they were 8x the price.
First time commenter long time follower. That’s my saw! Great advice Cam!
Awesome! I had no idea I have “long time followers! 🤣 just hit my 1 year launch anniversary. Thanks so much Preston! 🙌
Thank you for a lot of good advice. On the battery platform issue, I have Makita, Dewalt and Milwaukee, and probably 20 batteries between the three. With respect to the compact routers, I have all three brands and the plunge bases for all of them, and there are some features on all of them that I prefer over others.
For instance, I really like the weight, the feel and the depth adjustment of the Makita with the standard base. But I hate the stiff adjustment of the depth rod of the Makita plunge base and the fact that the plunge lock lever pops loose unless you keep continual thumb pressure on it while routing.
The Dewalt is heavy and clunky to hold compared to the other two but the plunge base for the Dewalt has a beautiful depth adjustment rod and plunge lock as does the Milwaukee, but the Dewalt router is difficult to align and insert into either the standard or plunge base.
If I could only have one, the Milwaukee is the best of all three in these respects.
With respect to the JessEm doweling jig, I have the original and if you are doing occasional built in cabinetry or custom work, it is a fantastic tool - extremely nice quality!
John Jensen from British Columbia
Thanks so much for writing and offering that perspective! I agree you really have to mash down the lock on the small makita router base (the big one is great) but I had no idea the Milwaukee was so nice. I've never used it.
Recent new homeowner, I had my eye on the bosch protractor miter saw and sawstop table saw to help me remodel my house. my dad gave me his old harbor freight Chicago electric miter saw, that said, using it along with my makita circular saw and dewalt jigsaw, there was no task I couldn't accomplish, was trying to get an excuse for the purchase, but the Chicago electric mitre saw was sufficient enough for my needs did make repetitive cut task a breeze, would invest in mitre saw than just circular saw, but table saw still seems unnecessary for homeowner, I've been able to jig something to make it thin cuts with clamps and a circular saw.
I’ve been woodworking for 50+ years and I’m cheap. Most of my major equipment was purchased used some even free much of it needed extensive restomod. My current table saw is a vintage cast iron Craftsman new fence, motor, and miter gauge, I’ve used good cabinet saws it will match them for precision all in under $500 and lots of shopping. I greatly enjoy turning rusty junk into fine woodworking tools. Most table saws also need a new miter gauge anyway. As for a miter saw, I have a radial arm saw that out preforms any miter saw I’ve used except it only has a 10” blade, it was my dad’s 68 Craftsman .
As for router bits sometimes inexpensive is the way to go when finding out what you’ll need or use it once, I have a bunch of rarely used expensive bits.
Don’t be a tool snob my shop ranges from the “best” to cheap. Harbor Freight is often what you need I’ve turned 100’s of pens on their mini lathe. HF ranges from dumpster fill to excellent buys.
Invest in high quality sandpaper!
I like it! Those are great tips for sure! I've bought several cheap router bits and have upgraded some that I know I'm going to depend on a lot. High quality sandpaper for sure!
I bought a used 1950s Delta hobbyist tablesaw at a yard sale for $25. (I found out why the seller didn't like it when I got it home - they had the blade in backwards, lol.) I polished the top, tuned and aligned everything, put a decent blade in - and it served me well for almost 20 years. I also bought 1960s hand power tools when I saw them at yard sales or thrift stores. People sell them cheap because they're old, but most were built for lifetime use. They may be heavier but they're smoother and stronger than low-price modern stuff. Also, I was able to buy pre-war Stanley handplanes for reasonable money. Properly set up with an uber-sharp blade, they're a joy to use. I finally gave away the old Delta saw after I was given a larger Jet tablesaw for free. The top was rusty and the wiring needed a complete overhaul, but now that it's fully restored and tuned, it will last me the rest of my life.
This is the only video on RUclips about woodworking tools that I've found truly useful in the last 7 days, and I don’t think I’ll find someone like him again.
Wow thank you so much! I hope to make more like this in the future. I feel I’ve learned a lot from my past mistakes and this is only the surface of what I feel I can share with folks who are into woodworking but don’t know where to start. I’ve had a ton of fun making things and want to help others have the same experience. Thanks for watching!
I haven't bought a table saw yet. I bought a track saw first because it takes up less space, helps me break down sheet goods and pushing an enclosed blade away from me feels more natural than pushing wood into an exposed blade. I will get a table saw at some point. I have a cheap mitre saw that I used to trim my house. It requires additional effort and an upgraded blade to get accuracy.
I wish I had bought my track saw before I bought my circular saw because I find that my circular saw is not seeing the use it used to see anymore
For #5, I've been using a piece of plywood with a router plate for years to do tons of work. It's not even a lift because that's totally unnecessary. The router base adjusts, so the lift mechanism is unnecessary, especially when the "table" is just a piece of wood. And like you said, the majority of the bits I use have a bearing, and if they don't, they're probably in the router for plunge cuts.
Save your money on a router table, and buy better router bits. Buy the correct sized bits if you're building cabinets so it perfectly matches your materials. an 18mm bit cuts perfect dados in 18mm plywood, and it's worth every penny to buy the better brand vs the home depot option.
For the jointer, just get a roller stand for your outfeed. Easy to set up, and can easily double your safe capacity on the jointer, table saw, miter saw, etc.
Tools don't make the woodworker, woodworkers got along without all the fancy tools most of them made the tools with their skills, as needed. great vid!
Thanks so much! I agree!
My experience is that great tools make the work easier and/or faster, but not necessarily better. The few tools that made my work better were generally layout and marking tools.
I saw this way too late! I’m just starting woodworking, built a shop and loaded it with top brand tools and equipment. (Oliver, Festool, Harvey, etc.)❤
I would addd to this advice for initial tool purchase for most tasks buy the hand tool equivalent first expecialy if you have a tight budget. The reason being even a predominantly power tool user will drop back to hand tools for some tasks.
You mentioned the major Japanese style saws in your advice. Those or a cross cut configured panel saw will do for most cross cutting tasks.
For rip cutting that is where power tools have a major advantage ver hand tools in terms of speed.
Now hand planes that is a problem area the ones you can buy in the big box stores are mostly trash or need expert knowledge to tune up to get them working to an aceptable standard.
I agree about the rip cuts with the saw. I pretty much only use them when doing joinery cuts vs long rips. As for hand planes, I agree. Even new hand planes from great manufacturers usually need a bit of tuning. I learned all about tuning and setting up hand planes by buying antique ones that needed a ton of work, but now I am pretty proficient at managing my planes and having them cut well with little additional maintenance.
Thanks for sharing your experience man! Quite helpful
In my fifty years of buying tools, my rules are: Buy the top priced or close to it item, the cutest, the current fad, anything Woodpecker, anything that makes you look cool, the right color, of course anything Festool, anything that is the opposite of common sense. Now to do this you must win the lottery or marry a very rich honey badger.
😂😂😂
I understand your point about the jointer but often times an 8 inch jointer requires 240 volt power which is a massive investment for someone on top of the already expensive jointer if their shop is not wired for it.
Yes that's a good point. When I got mine, I had the luxury of having some electric work experience and was able to install the circuit for it myself. I suppose though if you're getting into the hobby enough to justify going for an 8" jointer (like you've kinda maxed out what you can do with a good planer and shims, straight rip jigs, offset router fence etc options) then maybe it's worth the extra expense?
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Having a 6 inch jointed (envy for an 8 inch) I use the woodpeckers rout-n-plane for wider boards then this flat side down through the 12 inch planer. Lot less than the 8 inch jointer.
I don't have a jointer and use the options you mentioned. I had one a long time ago and never learned to use it properly, I didn't have a mobile base to move it, and eventually sold it 30 years ago in a garage sale.
1:10 - you missed the most important one - quicker. Especially for tedious tasks, or redundant tasks, tools that will get you to the result quicker will always be worth the investment
My recommendation is that a hobbyist woodworker can get away with using a shopvac / cyclone set up for dust collection for a long time. Don't buy a full dust collector until your shop is well set up and you know where you want your big tools. And a cyclone on your DC saves time, filters, and makes cleanup easier.
Yeah for sure. I probably could have gotten away with a good shop vac and cyclone bin setup for a good while. But I had very few options for how to lay out tools and DC given how my shop windows/doors/electric are laid out so thankfully it hasn't been a headache. Definitely use flex hoses a long time before trying to install piping so you only have to do it once.
Good list.
Subscribed.
Thank you!! Hope it helps you buy wisely!
I agree. I just subscribed. Had never seen this channel before and I am sold.
I fully agree on the jointer front! I've been wanting to upgrade my old 6" Grizzly jointer for a while now, but room is definitely an issue. I did upgrade to a helical cutter head, so I want to get my money's worth out of that... Now that I say that, I'm not sure it makes any sense. Guess I'm shopping for that 8" Grizzly after all!
Haha. Yeah I’ve been surprised how often I have to rip stuff down before jointing because even 8” is narrower than a lot of rough lumber. Hope you find the jointer you’re looking for. But I get it about the space.
Buy once cry once can apply to just not buying cheap junky modern stuff no matter how swank it appears. E.G. I looked at the Bosch mitresaw. It was flimsy. I could pull it off line without even trying. Instead, I saved $300 by buying a 14” three phase 1953 DeWalt Radial Arm saw. This 500 pound saw actually lives outside under a canopy, and once calibrated, It cuts better, faster and does things no miter saw can dream of. It has taken over 90% of what I used to use my table saw for. It Can’t kickback when cross cutting. In ripping it can only kickback 90 degrees from where I am standing, although it has never kicked back once. It can rip to 24 inches wide, do miters, bevels, compounds, and with a 90 degree fence add on, it can cut both sides of a mitre with a perfect match, even if you don’t set the saw at exactly 45 degrees. It does perfect dados and rabbets at any angle.
While I appreciate that a mitre saw is more portable, I don’t need to cart my saw about. This saw was built before I was born and will outlive me by generations.
Sounds amazing. Would love seeing it at work.
@ Just search RUclips for ‘Old Dewalt radial arm saws’ and you will find dozens of video of them in action. The more common, smaller home shop saws even had available Shaper, Jointer, planer and jigsaw attachments. And they range from half horsepower all the way up to 7 horsepower monsters that sling 22” blades. With the right blade they cut non ferrous metals and plastics and you can get specialty blades that cut steel and iron. Again, I’m talking the older ones made of cast iron. I found mine being sold for $500 and it was in like new condition, but you can often find the 12, 10 or 8 inchers for sale for $50.
There is a company that bought the tooling for the larger DeWalt saws and still makes them new, The Original Saw Co. But the new ones run around 7 grand and up.
About the only caveat for buying the old ones is making sure the bearings in the carriage head are good. For some models they can be hard to source replacements. But other than that, they tend to run forever. It’s far more versatile and accurate than any miter saw.
@@christopherpardell4418 ok now I want one😂
I agree to a point with your message. Take for example the Jessum Doweling jig. I have the original as well as the new version. I also have the Dowel Max. Why? I love dowel joinery. I don't build cabinets (yet) and for me an investment in a Domino would just be a waste at this point. Now if it ever got to the point where time was of the essence, then sure I would invest in one. It is a great tool.
Totally. I definitely don’t think everyone needs a Domino. My goal is to encourage people to think carefully about what they want to do and buy the tools that meet with what they need. For me, I couldn’t drill accurately enough even with the jig to satisfy my level of quality and speed so the Domino made sense. So my point was it’s actually a lot easier to swallow an upgrade from a mid-level tool to a great tool once you know what you’re doing than to buy a super nice one right away only to learn later that you didn’t really need it after all.
Great vid , Good Knowledge! !!!
Much appreciated!
Switched from Makita to DeWalt for 3 reasons: On average, Makita is more expensive, more likely to come from China, and harder to source batteries. DeWalt is available nearly everywhere at competitive prices, has at least SOME tools made in the US, or Mexico, or Taiwan, and the batteries are not only available, but run everything from my miter saw to my lawn mower. As far as i can tell, the miter saw is dead nuts, and I've DeWalt saw blades generally comparable to Freud. Now, I am VERY fond of Makita engineering, and they make stuff no one else makes. But I have no intention of supporting multiple battery types.
Thanks for sharing and watching!
Great video; a new subscriber thanks to this quality advice.
Soft start on routers is also a great option,guilty of too many routers 13.😂😂👍🏝️🇨🇦
Ooh yeah I will say the soft start on that Makita I demonstrated is soooo nice. You don't get as much of the jerk motion on start. That's a TON of routers! Thanks for watching!
I’m leaning to a Scorpion 16” combo jointer planer. From your value perspective, is it a good deal at 5600$ if the buyer wants a 16” capacity on planing for panels? I mean, hell, you also get 16” of jointing, which I guess I’ll figure out how to use, without the added space in a small shop.
Great video, thank you.
Consider zero clearance fences and throat plates for safer and cleaner cuts on your miter saw.
Thanks! I like it! And maybe make them? I made a template for the one I made (from walnut of course) for my table saw so I can replace them as needed.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking I run super tall aluminum fences as well on my glide 12". I can not recall the maker right now, but they are sweet.
My tips: eventually you need a jointer AND a planer. Buy a jointer-planer.
If you go up, skip cabinet saws and look what kind of slider saw options do you have. With a good slider table saw you can replace your table saw, your track saw and specially your miter saw. And you don't have to ever do again any awkward in-air pushing if you ripping large sheet materials and in most cases, your fingers will be far away from the blade.
I like that as those only take up the space of one tool if you don't have a ton of space. I like the idea of a slider but you really have to have the space for those. I've gotten to where if I really need to break down plywood, i don't count on the track saw even for finish cuts (usually because I rarely can depend on making them perfectly square) so I oversize them by about a kerf and then true everything up on the table saw.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking If you have to cut a big sheet on your cabinet saw, then you have the space for a slider. Your space requirement is often determined what you actually construct, not the machine. And people keep adding big cabinets around their mitre saw, an outfeed table for their table saw, etc. And sliders usually have physical stops. If you set up the fences correctly, it will cut things in square. However, I would thrust more in a cut which is supported correctly than something which I have to hang in the air or I have to push around the blade by hand/with a pushstick.
There are combination machines which have a jointer-planer-slider saw and a shaper. People can start a complete, professional business on a relatively small space here. Felder actually have a few, good demonstration video for that. (I know, those are marketing materials, but I think it is a good representation - I know, the ways are a bit different how US (youtuber) woodworkers working.)
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Not to mention, I see a lot of people with SawStop with a lot of extension tables. An average slider table saw aren't larger.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking How do you then manage a 4x8 sheet when you need to cut two 2x8s ...sounds like a single sheet cannot so both when you cut them oversized
@@saxus A slider is definitely a tier above cabinet saws. It's a bigger expense also though
Look for what's on sale first. Haha, Also, I go into the two main big box stores around here ( Lowes and HD ) once or twice a month, even if I have nothing specific I am looking for, because they both will have random items with yellow tags. Always look for the yellow tags peppered along the aisles.! There will be some ridiculously good prices that you will not see on the company websites, you have to go in and look. Lowes just had a nice hand saw that was about a $40 saw for $12 on yellow tag. Same with HD and a laser thermometer, was about a $45 unit at full price, on yellow tag for about $13.! Yellow tag is your friend.!
I am blessed or cursed by being one who has to experiment. I blame my engineer dad. I do consider the wood lathe to be the best christmas present I ever bought myself, and now I have 6.... Mostly a bowl maker, but do some spindles. Your long lathe is ideal for turning table legs, but you would need a long tool rest. They make some that are 2 foot long, or you can "engineer" one for yourself. Don't get into bowl making, your table saw ends up being a storage area for bowl blanks. You also need 2 bandsaws, one that cuts about 6 inches high and another that cuts about 16 or so high for big bowls.... I took to bowls like a duck to water.
For the cordless tools, I did construction, mostly concrete, for 30 years. The first cordless drills I saw were the Dewalt. I saw one fall off of a 5 story building and other than a slight case crack, it was not hurt at all. Now days even the concrete guys use drills. I see mostly Dewalt and Makita. Almost no other brands.
Spot on about the saw blades. And about some one who knows how to sharpen them. I had a guy years ago who took my Forrest blade and it came back sharper than it was out of the cover. I use mostly the Freud combination blades so I don't have to change out for cross cut and rip cuts.
One not mentioned, but you can find so many uses for once you learn how to use them, are hand planes. Worst one I bought, a Bridge City plane. The bottom was convex. I sent it back and the replacement was the same. I do have mostly Veritas, and Lie Neilson (from my dad). I do have some old Stanley, and some wood ones since I want to make some.
I haven't splurged for a Festool domino tool yet. Been using biscuits forever. They do line things up well.
Long before there were track saws, I was using aluminum channel and an old Skill saw. The channel was 1 by 2 by 1 inch. It doesn't hurt to have your blade square to the base and that isn't always easy.
Thanks for your thoughts here. I actually finally sold the lathe as I was making this video! 😂
And yes I love hand planes. You can probably see my Stanleys behind me in my videos. Refurbishing them was my gateway into woodworking - they’re all vintage ones from eBay and antique stores that needed a lot of love but they all work great now. Maybe I need to do a follow up on just hand tools advice. Thanks for watching!
For the joiner problem couldnt you just build a table in plane with the joiner and problem solved?
Yes but you spent $1500ish on a jointer when you could save up a bit more and just get an 8” and not have to make a table which itself still costs money and time.
@@sturdyboneswoodworkingfair enough
Really overall good advice. There are always exceptions and you covered that pretty well. Sure, for people who have a mature woodworking experience and have their patterns and approaches well set this doesn't apply quite as perfectly. But that's not who you made the video for.
Correct! I just want to help new woodworkers who want to get into it not waste their cash on fancy stuff they don’t need! 🙌
Need to understand the type of woodworker you want to become! I rely almost exclusively on hand tools for cutting joints, and power tools for dimensioning. So I use my router plane 100% more than my power router. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I used my router? I use a hand saw to rough cut lumber so have no need for a miter saw. But love my Hammer A3 31 as a precision jointer/planer that save lots of space! How you’re going to work the wood and what you plan on building is the first thing you need to figure out to drive you tool purchases. That said, I think we all develop differently over time, so there will always be tools hanging around that you don’t use or regret buying - until the one time you need it…
Oh yeah I didn't even think to mention that there are some great combo jointer/planer machines out there! I definitely agree you have to know what you want to make. It's not a big deal if it changes over time and you've bought versatile tools. But I've also made a new rule for myself that I only buy tools when a) I need it to get a project done or b) I've found myself over multiple projects wishing I had a thing and then I save up for it and buy. Just no more impulse buying for me.
There's not much point in having a trim router with variable speed. They shouldn't be run with larger diameter bits, which is when you should slow it down.
Depends on the wood you use and if you want burn marks or not, even with a small diameter bit its easy to put burn marks on wood like cherry unless you slow it down.
Good advice but I love my JessEm dowel jig. My jobsite Dewalt tablesaw (space limitations) and routers are the most used for this hobbyist.
Thanks! Yeah I hope I didn't come across as dissing the jig itself. The main point I hoped to make was that I should have started off a little cheaper to see how I liked dowel joinery first and then upgraded to the fancy one, but I wanted to Buy Once, Cry Once, and it didn't pay off for me in that case.
What about dust collection and extractors? Where does that fit into this?
when it comes to most machines you're better off buying older American made used. they are far better made than new and they are a lot less, You can find Powermatic 66 for $1200 and delta unisaws for less than that, and they are far superior than anything made by any of the asian companies, As for a router table, you can mount a router to a piece of plywood, when needed, I run a professional shop and I don't even have a router table. I use shapers instead and I have a bunch of routers that are not mounted. As someone that as been in the business for a long time I have found that a lot of people are trying to reinvent the wheel, and make a profit, when the reality the tools of long ago do a better job and they are easier and faster to use once you have learned the proper techniques in your work. To me the most valuable tool in your shop is a woodworking education, sadly it is not easy to find masters to teach anymore,
I hear that for sure. And yeah I agree once you know how to use routers, you don’t really need a router table; it is more of a safety/speed/accuracy thing than anything else. And I agree unfortunately RUclips is the best substitute for woodworking education we have that’s accessible but you really need the hands-on experience to learn properly and most of the folks making quality content here are not very experienced or else not focusing specifically on teaching. Thanks for watching!
Picked right up on your username. I’ve bought and sold a few Ollie machines. Great stuff. You are right on. I’ve been pro for 22 years and came from a restoration site carpenter background.
My current shop is full of old cast iron monsters, many pre WW1. They will handle any size timber I feed them and were all purchased for hundreds of dollars in running condition.
My slider is a 20” patternmakers saw with 36” crosscut. 20” jointer. 20” planer. 32” bandsaw. 7 hp Oliver shaper. 80 gal CH compressor. 3300$ total for the machinery listed in perfect working condition. A three phase converter for 1200. (Scratch and dent), and they all run just fine.
Smaller 3 hp shapers can be picked up for a grand apiece. Miter saws are consumable items as are electric hand tools.
With a solid collection of edge/hand tools you can work as precisely as you need. Mine are 95% antiques from flea markets and such.
You need to have the ability to move it and set it up and the floor system to set it on.
I know people get upset saying they don’t have the space or a truck/trailer to move these machines. We all make our choices and move our lives accordingly.
And yes I’ve built plenty of cabinets in garages and driveways on portable contractor machines. Totally doable. But also very limiting if you are looking to stretch your dollars and potential.
@@sturdyboneswoodworking the issue with you tube and woodworking, is that most of the better woodworkers and teachers are not good entertainers, and that is what people look for, I have seen a lot of people that have no clue what they are doing but they make a good video and have a gazillion subscribers, I have made some videos but I don't get a lot of views, I run a professional shop and I am usually busy, so it is hard for me to take the time to make videos when I am not getting the views and subscribers to make it worth while, I am going to do a shop tour video soon and show some of my stuff that will be completely different than anything others have
Could somebody please recommend an ideal list of tools for around $1k that would help me build cutting boards? I want to get into this so bad but I would prefer to save some money if I’m able to.
I am thinking table or miter saw, router, planer, orbital sander. Would I be able to get by with these?
Yes I think if you’re just looking to do cutting boards right now that dewalt saw I showed, the dewalt DW735x planer and some used clamps or pipe clamps and a sander would get you going for around that budget. You might even be able to buy all of those tools used and squeeze in the miter saw or circular saw and a trim router with a couple bits.
@@sturdyboneswoodworkingI appreciate the reply man 🙏🏻 thank you.
I used to make cutting boards with a hand saw, pipe clamps and belt sander. Its a bit of work and make easier with some clever jigs you can make but it will get you started. Then sell the cutting boards to buy the rest of the stuff you want.
Don’t think I saw much about dust collection. Wish I’d bought one of the Oneida supercells to start with. That looks like it would have covered a small shop better then the 5HP dust gorilla pro and three vacs (2 Fein & a Festool)
By the same token I’d trade the 5 PC routers for one Festool with decent dust collection
Almost everything is used from Craigslist and some auctions. One odd buy was a Hilti 267 track saw with Festool rails but gives a 7 1/4” saw and Festool rails
I’d pick a tablesaw that’s used, good, and cheap first if I did this again.
I’d also likely get a jobsite saw and then a cabinet saw.
I enjoyed my contractor saw but lacks both portability of a jobsite saw and lacks power of a cabinet saw.
I’d do that before a track saw because I can get a good tablesaw for $50.
I got my Unisaw for $150. Obviously, I waste time dealing with hunting haha
I COULD have gotten Unisaws for like $50 if I just waited. I didn’t get them for that price because I passed on them.
I also repair my tools. So that’s a time sink. You can definitely get used jobsite saws DIRT cheap.
I still only use my track saw for specific cuts. I bet I’ll use the heck out of it once I have a better setup for it.
I also guess if you don’t have a setup for a tablesaw and just have a bench? A track saw would be amazing and you really wouldn’t need a table saw for most things. A tablesaw just makes your life easier for small repeatable things. Makes your life easier for big rips.
Get a planer. He literally said it while I was typing this haha
Get a good planer. I grabbed a Makita 2040 I needed to repair for $100. It’s amazing and has been SOOOOOO worth it.
Yes I agree the main reason to upgrade the table saw is for power and stability. I nearly had a bad accident trying to push hardwood through my underpowered and dull bladed 3/4hp craftsman saw and was like nope just gonna get a big one. But I think there is a middle ground folks should explore with some of the newer job site saws.
Great advice
Thanks for watching!
Yup, that's about right!
Haha which point stood out? The whole thing?
@@sturdyboneswoodworking Several things. It hasn't made sense for me (hobby) to buy a Domino, but I have a nice doweling jig I don't much use... I bought a great homemade router table because it came with a router, bits, many options I don't use, and lots and lots of storage. The fence isn't that good, but it's OK and as you pointed out, one doesn't use it much.
These are great tips! I couldn't help but notice what seems to be a custom dust collection shroud on the miter saw. I have the same saw and dust collection is horrendous. What did you use there?
It's one made by a guy on etsy called Benchtop Woodworks: www.etsy.com/shop/BenchtopWoodworks?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1452237262&from_page=listing. Chris is a great guy. He recently lost his home in a fire so I'm not sure if he's back up and running yet with 3d printing, but I really like it and it does a good job. The dust flap tends to get caught and pulled out when cutting thicker material, but I guess all of them tend to do that.
@sturdyboneswoodworking thanks for the link! It really sucks to hear that he may have lost his home. If he gets back up to printing, i'll buy one from him to support them.