If I had a dollar for the number of times I have seen this question in my inbox and in the forums, I wouldn’t have to finance my new shop build. The question is, “What tool should I buy?” As you can imagine, the answer to this question really depends on the woodworker doing the asking. I actually wrote an article called “Common Questions Only You Can Answer” in an attempt to address inquiries like this. But when it comes to a FIRST tool, I think we all have a personal opinion on the topic. So what say you?
August 27, 2012
I would tell then to sign up for the Wood Whisperer guild or at lest watch the free videos
Then there is Wood Talk Online. Education is the first thing you should do as a new woodworker.
My vote was something else. I would recommend a circular saw. With an extruded aluminum guide or just a long straight board as a guide one can accomplish quite a bit with a circular saw. I almost selected the Hand tools. I am sure the Woodright would shake his head at my decision not to stick with that selection:)
The first woodworking tool I purchased was a circular saw with a edge guide. I used this for years doing rough & finished woodworking. The first bench tool I purchased was a Delta compound Miter saw, 25 years later I still use that saw on almost every project. ( if I was to do it over I would spend the extra $$ to get a sliding compound miter). The next tool was a router w/ that I could cut dados, rabbit and tendons and mortise slots. That was living on a budget and no real wood shop / workshop. I was given a radial arm saw and used that as tabl saw / miter saw and shaper but I was never completly comfortable using it as a table saw.
I will say this, when I got my table saw my woodworking did get easier, so If $ $ were not an issue i would get a table saw first.
I voted miter saw, because it was much easier setting up shop, getting benches, stands, etc built. You could get by with a circ saw as well.
Yes, the table saw is essential, but for initial shop setup, and you HAVE to choose a first, it’s just much easier to cut all the construction lumber with the miter saw.
I would actually recommend picking up a small lathe and working on smaller projects to begin. This really gives a good intro into wood working projects with out having to break the bank on a decent table saw or one of the other big machines.
I purchased a contractor saw, which worked fine, but was useless to cut down large sheets. I tried a cheap circular saw, then built my own track, then purchased a cheap track system. After 4 months of pain and suffering, I purchased a Festool Saw. AMAZING. I love it. I would prefer to use it over contractor saw everytime. But table saw has it’s uses. Granted if I had a larger shop and larger budget, a NICE tablesaw would probably sway my opinion. But for now, a FESTOOL track saw will do ANYTHING.
A good quality hand plane and method for sharpening it. It will teach you a lot about wood and wood grain. Easy woods to work with and which ones are not.
I voted table saw. It was the first real shop tool I bought when outfitting my modest shop. I think it is the most versatile and gets the most use on my projects.
My first stationary tool was the good old tablesaw but since adding a track saw to my shop I might go that route first if I had to do it all over again simply because unil I could mill my own lumber a lot of projects use sheet goods and there is no other tool better to do it accurately and safely just make sure you get the router adapter for the track.
I realize I might be answering the poll incorrectly, but I think the best one for me was a simple drill. It is compact and relatively inexpensive. It has so many versatile uses around the house besides the wood shop (although that is our main focus here).
Bought my first tool in 1950 – A Shopsmith. With several updates, it”s still with me and still in use. I have added the Bandsaw, Belt Sander, Jig Saw and various smaller tools, such as a Porter Cable Planer
I bought a Shopsmith in 1950 and with several updates still have it and use it. I’ve added the Bandsaw, Belt Sander, Jig Saw and Jointer to the collection. My Planer is a Porter Cable.
1. Pencil
2. Measuring device
3. Square
4. The rest depends on what you wish to build.
What do you want to build?
As much as we’d like to assume that someone starting out has some hand tools already, it’s not safe to assume anything. Depending on the types of projects, I can see a table saw or band saw as the next logical step. However, the more time I get to work in my shop, the more I’m leaning on my hand tools.
My son is a Webelos scout now and learning a few things with me in the shop too. Most of our projects together don’t require any power tools. I’ve even shown him how to mortise and make dado cuts with nothing more than chisels. I showed him how to use the band saw safely (under VERY close supervision) but he prefers to let me do all the power tool work. On the other hand, he handles my ryoba with wonderful finesse.
That’s a long winded explanation, but I’m please to see that hand tools have been selected in the poll by so many people.
I did my first furniture project with a circular saw, a router, a shop vac, and some clamps; none of those were choices in this poll. I’d start with a drill, then add a circular saw and a router.
I would say a cordless drill. Not only cause It’s pretty useful for woodworking, but also just because of how useful it is for everything else around the house.
I went a lot of years doing projects before I had my first real power shop tool. I went more years working with cheap and knockoff shop tools. The skills and techniques I developed with all those hand and cheap tools now come through as I get better and better tools and more interesting projects. I sharpen my own chisels and plane blades. I’m getting better at maintaining my lathe tools and I’ll do my own intermediate saw sharpening but will send out or buy new when it gets too tough.
A lot of people think it’s the tools that do the work and that the more money you spend on them the better the results will be. Without the skills to use the tools properly and safely you’re money is just wasted.
Get the hand tools, learn how they work and what you can do with them, and soon you’ll find you’re ready to decide for yourself what larger shop tools you’re ready for.
BTW, by hand tools I don’t necessarily mean just non-powered tools. A jig saw, a circular saw and a hand drill definitely are included.
Byrdie
Tablesaw.
It’s hard to beat the versatility of a good table saw. Once you have a cross-cut sled you’re able to handle more cutting than can be done on any other tool in the workshop (cross-cut, ripping, rabbets, tenons, dado, etc).
And what do you use to make the cross-cut sled for the table saw? Why a table saw, of course!
DD
I would have to stick with the tried and true, and say a good table saw. This means a traditional contractor saw or better. While I have seen many, including myself, get by with a job site or bench top saw, these just don’t compare to one with a cast iron top and induction motor. The smaller saws can be a source of frustration and have scared many away from the craft who are just getting started.
My first tool I bought was a radial arm saw. I made many projects with just that tool. After understanding that ripping is not the best thing to do on a radial arm I had some second thoughts. Later I bought a used Mark V shopsmith. Something with all the tools I needed. I still use it today as my primary tool because of my room I have and not having the funds for something better. Hoping to someday have some nice tools like Marc.
If we say to a friend that it is what it has to buy to begin in the serious carpentry hand tools brushes chisels you saw etc. Since to learn to work the wood there is no another form, and an electrical machine would be the miter saw with top, serious table already imprecindible to be able to start learning to work the wood, I have it clear enough, you it do not have clear Marc?.
I would go for the handheld router..
It’s relatively cheap to buy, and the possibilities are endless!
Howdy All, although I voted for the band saw, I think we need to know how much experience the person asking the question has. The first “tool” for a complete novice should probably be some serious introduction to woodworkinig classes. That person could then decide if woodworking was the right fit for them, if it is, then they will gain the experience and knowledge to start acquiring the tools for their style of woodworking. I know that I will seriously date myself, but back in 1960 we had the opertunity to take shop class in school! I know that you young whippersnappers are going “shop class, what’s that”. If you were successful in getting in the class, the instruction was included with all your other calssed, the parents only had to pay for the materiels that you used. We learned shop safety, project design, the proper tool for the job, the discipline to complete the project and many other things that have followed us in life. Given the basic experience, I would suggest the band saw as a good choice for fisrt major tool. A good band saw, say a 14″ with a riser block kit and larger motor, can provide resaw capacity for creating panels, ripping stock to width, crosscutting to length with a little creativity, cutting curved shapes and much more. The bandsaw is a little bit safer to use than the table saw also. The cost of a good band saw is a bit less than a good table saw and can do a few more opperations all in one machine. Thats just my $0.02 worth. Where’s my oxygen tank? I’m all gassed out now (smiley face). Happy Woodworking.
To tell the truth, I don’t think that hand tools should fall into the same category as power tools. I think they’re a given–like glue and sandpaper. They are not optional.
On the other hand, use of hand tools has a higher learning curve, and unless the beginner has had some instruction in their use, and is fairly proficient, attempting a project of any size will be rather frustrating. I think a lot of would-be woodworkers give it up because they can never cut an accurate line with their hand saws, or understand how to properly use a chisel or plane. A beginner, with nothing more than a table saw, could construct a simple jewelry box, or small table or stool in a reasonable amount of time, and with an encouraging amount if accuracy.
DD
Recommend starting with hand tools. After a few projects you can then decide to either use only hand tools included powered hand tools, or purchase power tools. Depending upon your woodworking interest, the first power tool would be a table saw or perhaps a multi-tool such as shopsmith.
I was lucky enough to get all the big machines at the same time. I think if I had to pick one machine to start with I’d go for the bandsaw first.
Reasons:
Very versatile: curve cutting, stopped cuts, circle cuts, ripping, resawing…
Probably the safest machine for a newbie to get familiar with
Smaller footprint than a table saw so easier for a hobbyist to tuck away in the corner of a garage
Price for a really good bandsaw is probably comparable to a mediocre tablesaw
With that said, however, I think perhaps a good starter kit of hand tools might be the best way to go. I was a Normite when I started so the hand tools came later for me. Now I use them quite extensively. I only wish I had built those skills earlier on.
I was double-minded about this. Hand skills are what I wish I had the most. Speed to get a project done in the limited shop time I have pushes me to find the fastest way to get there.
A table saw with a good blade can give a beginning woodworker great cuts. I have a Bosch. It’s sometimes a bit small for what I’d like. But when I figure out how to make it work and safely, it handles almost anything. But finessing a fit is most often a hand-tool thing.
But starting out with hand-tools, you could easily spend more for top quality tools.
So if I could change my vote, I’d go with “Something Else” – and make it classes. Use their tools and their experience to see if it’s something you want to do. A few hundred spent there will get you both some education on tools and techniques as well as a feel for which you prefer.
I think that when I started building projects then I knew which tool I should buy first. hum, I thought that I knew…
I wanted to build boxes and the first tool I decided to bought was a table saw. Then I bought a miter saw in order to get better miter joints. Then I realized that the pre-milled stock that I was using was not that perfect so I bought a jointer and a thickness planer and I begin to prepare the wood that I was needing. Surprised, I saw all that dust everywhere so I bought a dust collector and and a air filtration system… and so on.
An important aspect to this question is also should we buy basic, intermediate or advanced tools…
My next project will be night tables with tenon and mortises joints. Should I buy mortiser chisels or hollow chisel mortiser? Benchtop or floor-standing. I just realised that the shaft of the first tool I bought, the table saw, don’t accept a large dado stacking. Should I change the table saw or should I use a vertical tenon jig or maybe even a router…
It depends on the woodworker personality, (is he more traditionnal or hight-tech), budget and workshop avalaible space…. and in some cases the boss!
In any case it’s a very good question!
Get a combination machine like this http://www.hammerusa.com/us-us.....rform.html it counts as one tool :)
WoW Joel! That would be such a luxury. But what a versatile and space saving machine! I’d love to have that in my shop!
I had originally wanted to respond with a band saw because you can do more individual tasks with a band saw than you can with a table saw. That doesn’t mean the band saw can do all of the tasks better than another tool but you can do more tasks period. But then I thought about when I bought my first table saw. No other tool purchase has excited me more than the table saw purchase and I couldn’t wait to keep building from that moment on. I can’t say I was excited when I purchased the band saw, it was just another tool to the collection. So based on enthusiasm and excitement alone, I think the table saw is the most important first tool purchase.
I struggled with the decision. After the fact, I realized there are so many different ways to do the same job, that it doesn’t matter as much what the first machine is. The important factor is to learn how to get the most out of what you have.
This is really a hard question. Because, or course, the table saw is the heart of every woodworking shop, but at the same time, if you’re just starting out how much saw will I need? is the question to begin with. I know the answer is “as much saw as you can afford!” but what if you have nothing else? I chose to vote for the radial arm saw (used would be my preference) because it really can be quite a multitool and in many ways for a beginner wood worker it can be much safer than a table saw.
I guess this is just my experience. A few years ago I inherited a number of small and medsize tools, when a member of my church passed away. I sad at the circumstances, but honored that I was chosen to receive this gift. Here is a list a some of the tools, many of which was quite old: a table top drill press, table top belt sander, dremel belt sander, a bench grinder, some hand tools and small power tools and an 8.5 inch craftsman radial arm saw. Although all the tools were quite old, they were in excellent condition (the previous owner was very meticulous in how he stored and cared for everything he owned (even had the original receipts and all owners manuals). Up to this point I had just a few handheld power tools and alot of hand tools, so I was quite thrilled!
After replacing the table top and calibrating the saw, the radial saw works like a champ! Since then I have purchased a contractor table saw, but only after quite a bit of research and soul searching as to what type of woodworking i wanted to do and how much time I will put into it.
Even though I am the proud owner of an adequate table saw, I still find myself going to the radial arms saw for many applications.
The tablesaw is the heart of my shop.. So many things can be done with it. My rule of thumb is”Buy your last tool first”…
The late Don McKinley, founder of the Furniture Design program at Sheridan College in Oakville Ontario, always told his students to buy a tuxedo before any tools. The reason he gave was that the only people who will buy commissioned work are The Rich, and you need to hang out with them, hence a tuxedo.
A membership to the Wood Whisperer Guild would be the first tool. From there you could decide what you want to build, what you need for each project, know something about working safe, and have a source for tips and support as you work through your project. Also, spend time listening to all the back episodes of Wood Talk Radio Online.
I picked miter saw, simply because the tool I would be completely lost without I consider to not be a shop tool, but a home essential- a good drill. Miter saws- good ones- tend to still be cheap and readily available on Craigslist. Make basic utilitarian stuff with those 2 tools, while you figure out what functionality is missing for the projects you want to do that really just drives you bonkers. Need to rip long pieces? Cut curves? Turn lace bobbins? :-)
Yes, I know you can crosscut on a table saw. I actually got a wants-to-be-a-tablesaw-when-it-grows-up off Craigslist for a similar price point to the miter saw (sub $100). I don’t trust it, to the point that I avoid using it because I don’t trust the fence/blade/miter slot alignment, and the table is awkwardly small to do much of anything. Had I not been told a tablesaw was a first essential tool, I would have saved that money, skipped it in favor of drill press or bandsaw, and continued saving until I could get a larger, higher quality tablesaw that I wouldn’t be scared to use.
The first tool?
A combination square!
You will probably use it in every single project as long as you do woodworking. Either as a square or as measuring device.
Since you are probably going to screw up some things and need a lot of sanding afterwards, buy a random orbit sander.
You can have the wood cut for you in most DIY stores. Wait a little with the power saws and make sure you get a stable table / workbench so you can modify the precut stuff with some hand tools like chisels, a tenon saw or a general purpose No.5 plane.
You still enjoy it? Extend your possibilities with a scroll saw.
If money is no object, I vote track saw. The beginning woodworker can benefit from the flexibility, portability, and small storage footprint of such a tool while they cut their teeth on the craft. Safety is also a factor; a table saw can be a tremendously dangerous tool, particularly for someone not accustomed to power tools, and a track saw is comparatively much safer.
Of course, if money is no object just buy a SS and negate the safety issue almost entirely. :)
I am a hybrid woodworker but strongly advocate hand tools as the first thing that should be considered. Learn how to use them making sure they are kept sharp.
A table saw is probably one of the most expensive items and might not be needed for everyone. However if you decide that it is a necessity it might be acquired, along with other larger machines, when you become hooked. Personal requirements may be different for each individual. If you want to turn, for instance, a table saw is not required. A band saw may be better to cut stock roughly circular. But you could still do that with a hand saw.
If you need to get some stock planed then there maybe somebody in your area who could help you out, or a friendly wood-shop may be able to cut down stock to the size you require for a modest fee.
That way you can get into woodworking in a less expensive way. You can accomplish a lot with hand tools, just take a look at the work of people in the pre-machinery age.
I’m a bit old fashioned. I say buy a few cheap basic tools and learn how to use them. Make a few projects with those tools, learn the basics of wood working and if you are even enjoying it. Once you reach the point of “needing” the bigger, more powerful, dedicated tools because of what you are already doing, then begin to acquire what you need, as you need it. I think that this process will help prevent someone from going crazy too soon, and ending with a lot of money tied up in something they may not enjoy too much or from just acquiring too many tools before they’re really ready to get full potential out of them. I’m a little different than most, possibly, in that I had reasonably easy access to a fully equipped shop from the beginning, and even while contemplating what my first major tool purchase should be could always use the top of the line industrial size tools at the shop while making up my mind. I realized that not all people have this luxury. But speaking for myself, if I had used that shop and then immediately moved, I might have been tempted to try to reproduce that shop at my new location, and really over extended myself. Start slow and make sure you’re really into it before investing in a big way seems to me to just be good old fashioned common sense.
Frank… I couldn’t agree more. Everyone needs a hobby and many dive in to woodworking without knowing if it’s for them. Taking a class or two is a great way to get your feet wet with hands on experience in woodworking and will ultimately help in deciding which tools you’ll need/want when getting started. Community colleges often offer night classes in woodworking if you don’t live near or can’t travel to some of the more well known schools.
Definitely a table saw. It doesn’t have to be a big expensive one either. You can rip boards, crosscut them, make tenons, cut bevels, etc. Yes, you can do all of these tasks with hand tools, but the learning curve is much greater with hand tools and you have to have a way to sharpen them which has its own learning curve.
I believe the table saw to be the heart of the workshop, and while it may be true that you could spend months building jigs and fixtures for the table saw, when finished with those accessories there would be little you couldn’t accomplish with it.
I think hand tools would be the first thing and then a band saw. Table saws and the like are over rated, you can do a lot more with the money, just by buying other hand tools or small power tools, you can accomplish many more tasks with smaller more versatile tools. Unless you want to spend your first several months after a table saw purchase building a bunch of jigs.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with building “a bunch of jigs”. I’d rather spend some time learning what works, improving my skills with all sorts of tools before I jump in and start ruining expensive pieces of lumber. Give me some shop grade ply to work on some jigs first any day of the week.
Case in point: I’ve not yet seen a commercially produced spline cutting jig for a table saw, but as I’m making several keepsake boxes, with decorative splines, this is crucial to both safe work, and accurate cuts.
As time has progressed and my “first tool” progressed into many more than I can count one thing I believe to be the most important is clean and sharp tools. If someone were to ask me what tool they should have in their shop…the commitment to work with sharp tools and a clean environment. Everything just falls into place after that. (A Powermatic Table saw doesn’t hurt either.)
An awesome Dust Collection system first!!! Duh!!! Set up the unit FIRST, then place the tools and route the hoses.
I had a wonderful experienced shop teacher in high school. His name is James Stayton.
He taught us first of safety. Panels can kick back easily w/o the right supports. i built a grandmother hall clock with some very expensive maple. I cut, with his teaching every single cove, crown and bead trim as well as miter and tenon joints with a 12 inch delta table saw. It was required to pass the grade. That was 1976.
It turned out beautiful. all the rest of the finesse work was done with simple blocks and paper and hand planers and brace and bit. Old School Style.
The table saw is the most versatile of machine tools. All the rest of your tasks can be done by hand. But…. remember it is also the most dangerous of rigid mounted power machines if not educated in the safety aspects.
Tracy
If you getting into wood working I’m hoping you already have a few hand tools so I’m thing the first big purchase would be a good table saw as there are just so many good uses for it. My second choice would be the festool track saw system.
AndyL