so tools is a topic you could debate for hoursthat i am sure folks will have a lot of different opinions as to which tools to buy first. buti am just going over what my favorite picks are for tools probably the things i wouldrecommend to buy first if you are looking to start a brand new shop. so how i determinewhat things i recommend to get, is get the tools that let you build the widest varietyof furniture projects. so that is kind of
essential tools for woodworking workshop, my explanation for my picks again this isa hotly debated topic. with luck with the tools i show you today you probably alreadyhave a few of these already. let me just dive right in.hopefully you can see at home the #1 thing you will need is a table saw. this one isfrom the home center up the street brand new.
this one would run you about $500. you canget one like this for about half that on craig’s list. it’s been a long time since i boughta table saw so craig’s list wasn’t around back in a day you had to get the want ad andtry to figure out how you get a decent used one. but so take a look on craig’s listif you are on a budget you can get one for a couple hundred bucks and next step is arouter. it is probably the second most used tool in the shop. i recommend you get a plungerouter which allows you to vary the depth of the cut that the router will do.entire books have been devoted to this tool because it is just such a versatile thingto have. for me in the furniture that i build i do a lot of edgings with the router, tabletop edges things like that. it just adds flair
to your design and livens things up a littlebit. so i don’t use it nearly as wide a range of things it can do, but still it isdefinitely my second pick for tools. you can see hopefully you can get look at that athome has a bunch of different types of bits you can get this thing for like i said decorativeedges. you can do dado cuts on this thing. lots of really neat things you can do here.next up on our list, where is my sander, there it is the random orbital sander. this littleguy 5†circular sanding pad, hook and loop variety. very versatile because if you neededto with the right grit sandpaper. it will take away a lot of stock. you can really smooththings up very quickly here that are in pretty bad shape, but at the same time the same toolcan be used to do some really fine finesse
work with the fine grit sandpaper in a lightertouch. next up on my list of tools to get is theskill saw and how i use the skill saw as a furniture builder if i am building some stock.building a piece of furniture lots of stuff i make it pretty small. my stock comes fromthe lumber yard in pretty large pieces so it makes things less awkward for the tablesaw. i cut do my rough cutting with the skill saw. it is faster a little less awkward. ican actually do it outside if i want to. first is kind of carting this thing outside to doit. this is great, great addition to the shop.a decent skill saw you can get for about 75 bucks. this is a fancy one i think i paidabout 150 for it has lasted forever. the only
thing i need to do with this thing is swapup the blade now and again, i get a lot of use out of this thing.biscuit jointer is another versatile tool. this one i use for joints on table tops. youcan get a good look at that it plunges into the wood like that and allows you to use thesebiscuits to make your joint. when you add a little glue to these biscuits they plumpup pretty good and make a fairly strong mechanical joint. and the jig saw. the jig saw is a goodone in that it allows you to cut curves very easily. the expensive route you can take youcan see that at home. band saw would do the same thing. a little more for lot finesseand lets you do more types of cuts with bigger stock. the jig saw though is a lot cheaper.so this is another tool you can get for 75
bucks for a decent model. again as a furniturebuilder i am doing a lot of curved pieces and this allows me to cut those curves uppretty easily. so now we have gotten the big power tools out of way.i want to spend a minute and just talk about some of the smaller items you will need foryour workshop and i want to start off with the item for the table saw the stacked dadoset. what this allows you to do is basically cut through your wood in a wider thicknessin your typical wood with standard 10 inch table saw blade. table saw blade it comeswith your saw will cut about an eighth of an inch depending on which type of blade youhave about an eighth of an inch thick. what this stack dado has what allows you to dois kind of stack up one on top of the other
to make a wider cut and the next thing onthe list is clamps. probably it numbers the most popular thingin a workshop. these half inch ones are really great. they are the most versatile these arethe ones they always use for small furniture projects. so get six of those and slowly buildyour collection. next up on something you already have around the house is a cordeddrill. just a couple of features you want to make sure you get keyless chuck so youdon’t have to lose your chuck and hunt for it this allows you to swap out on the fly.i use this thing for a screw driver and much as i do drill. it is reversible and very inexpensive.you probably already have one but if you don’t just make sure keyless chuck and reversibletwo big features you want to have.
okay next up on the list is a framing squarefriend to carpenters everywhere. us woodworkers use them as well. great to make sure everythingbasically keep your projects honest and make sure they are squared up nice, very inexpensivethey have in aluminum and steel. now just pick your favorite that will come in handywhen you are measuring things out. glue scrapers it is always good to have these one of thethings that you will discover as a new woodworker is glue does not take stain very well. soif you have finished a project and then you are applying the stain you didn’t know thereis a glue mark there before you put the stain on it. you sure will once you put the stainover glue mark because the stain doesn’t go through glue. so this is how you counteractthat it is a great way to scrape off all the
excess glue that will come out of a jointinevitably. you can let it dry off a little bit.scrape some of the glue out then go over with a wet rag. so definitely have a couple ofthose around. i have got one dull one that is useless and one new sharp one that i useall the time. this is great just for marking your stock does a perfect angle for you thisway also does 45s, has a level in the middle that i have never used in my life. but, againit is something a carpenter would find handy. now there are a few more small odds and ends.i am sure you already have they’re probably hidden around your garage all over your housesomewhere. these are things you will definitely be grabbing for all the time as a woodworker.what i recommend you to do is just find them
all and put them in one spot either on oneof your new shelving units which you bought or get some peg board and put it all in onespot because when you are building a project it can really get you going. it can be veryfrustrating if you need one of these items and it is not real handy and you got to huntaround for it is real pain. so some of the stuff obvious stuff you aregoing to need, but like i said round it all up. get to make sure you got your hammer handy,extension cords of all different shapes and sizes are always a must. utility knife witha fresh blade that is one you are reaching for quite a bit and i recommend for tape measuresdefinitely get yourself a couple of them two or three. i have got like eight of them allover the place because i lose stuff and with
the tape measures a lot of the carpentersuse these 25 foot ones and they are great if you are out on big job sites and you aremaking large projects. for most of the stuff that i build i don’tneed one that big and it is kind of inconvenient to have one this size kind of clipped on yourpant. so i like this 16 foot ones they are a little cheaper and just easier to managewhen you are building occasional tables, entertainment centers kind of things wood workers buildall the time. so just like the safety glasses treat yourself to a few of these if one goesmissing no big deal.
