Many woodworkers try to stay pure and use only hand tools or tools that are only powered by human muscle. You definitely need to check out a Chinese woodwork known as Grandpa Amu on YouTube. He uses mostly hand tools and occasionally a foot powered lathe. He is quite impressive. If you are going the hand tools only route, you may want to skip ahead.

Woodworking requires space to work and a realistic budget. I have seen many successful woodworkers who work out of a small garage, a shed or even on the ground. They have made awesome things if in their cramped quarters. You need a realistic budget of what you are willing to spend. Check out The Woodwork Hubby for a short video on the true cost of woodworking. His estimate is under $2k. I would say it is a bit higher but decide what you must have, decide on the quality (sometimes the cheap stuff is more expensive, sometimes it is not) find a group of woodworkers, watch a ton of videos, plan your shop layout and budget together. It is a head-scratching challenge in the beginning.

Table Saw

If you have decided to come over to the dark side of woodworking. The first main tool you will need to consider is a table saw. Do your research to try to determine which might suit your interests: Google “Best Table Saw for woodworking”. Be prepared to be more confused. After you have digested some of that information, find an inexpensive table saw as your first major investment. As your skills improve, either buy a better one or build your own. Several successful woodworkers have build most of their own power tools.

Saw Blades

There are many different types of saw blades, I have more than 20 but seldom use anything other than my general purpose thin Kerf combination blade.

Fence

Robert Frost said “good fences make good neighbors.”  In woodworking, good fences, properly aligned are the key to making accurate square cuts. You should watch several videos on how to align your table saw.

Miter Saw

Others may disagree with my second choice, but I had a power miter saw before I had a table saw. You can find these used at thrift stores but I might buy a new sliding miter saw and it should have a 12″ blade. You will need to put some thought into how you would integrate this into your shop layout.

Other Power Tools (in no particular order, or are they?)

The first power tools in my shop were an old table saw and radial arm saw loaned to me by a good friend who was saving them for her grandson (they are still stored in my garage). I replaced the table saw with a good quality used Craftsman (they used to make awesome tools but drifted to the cheap side). The second major tool that I purchased was a Jointer.

Bandsaw

I acquired an old Sears bandsaw at Habitat for $75. I learned many new skills with it but it was badly underpowered. I donated it to Habitat and purchased a new Bandsaw from Grizzly Tools. I purchased it at the store in Washington.

It has been second only to my table saw in terms of use. I have done very find work as well as resawing 5′ long maple and cherry logs that friends have donated.

I would recommend getting a used one from Craigslist or a thrift store (estate sales are great places to pick up good but inexpensive tools too). As you build your skills and/or get better funding from your family do your research on the “best bandsaw” and buy a new one. Either way you will need several bandsaw blades (lots of great videos on which to select).

Shortly after I purchased my band saw I was adding wheels to it. The idea being to be able to move everything around in my shop. This is very heavy and I was working alone and things got out of whack and I damaged the yoke that allows the table to tilt and a few other things. I called them and they replaced the parts free of charge even though it was my own stupidity that caused the problem.

Check out Matthias Wandel’s YouTube channel he has made several bandsaws for his shop.

Jointer

My spouse gifted me a Jointer for my birthday early in my quest to be more skilled in making sawdust. This 6″ jointer has worked well. Rigid never could seem to let me register it for their “lifetime warranty”. Changing blades on this is a bit tricky, fortunately I have only had to do that once.

You can survive without a jointer, but it can make your life simpler. I have never seen one in a thrift store or on Craigslist near me. A friend did find one at a garage sale though. Check out Matthias Wandel’s YouTube channel he has made a quite workable jointer. When I replace this it will be with a slightly larger one that has helical head cutters.

Planer

Drill Press

Router

Skill saw,

jig saw,

Hand held drills,

sanders

Clamps

specialty tools

<<more coming real soon now>>