lucas.j.dunton

I'm looking for some outside input on setting up my woodshop. I've been deployed here for over a year now, and upon my return I am looking toward setting up my woodshop. I have stuck to using the huge shop tey have on post since I joined the military, but am tired of driving on post on the weekends to work on my project, so I am starting from scratch. I'm thinking to get started I want a good table saw, a double bevel miter saw, a benchtop jointer, and a good router, along with building applicable benches, and stands for everything. I really want to get it right the first time and get stuff that i will be happy with for a long time. Any and all advice and info is greatly appreciated. I'm going to be mainly building furniture, and home remodels, (some cabinets here and there)
Im looking at a
Jet tablesaw
jet benchtop jointer
bosch or panasonic 2 1/4 hp router
10" sliding or 12" non sliding dual bevel miter saw
and other odds and ends

rlbdesigns

Same here. I need some help on laying out a woodshop in by basement. Also I have a benchtop 10" table saw. I was wondering if anyone out there know of a good plans making a table for that saw.

smitty1967

Hey Lucas: I'm in somewhat of a similar predicament (tough spot to be in, huh?) I am currently underway with the demolition of an old building to make way for my new shop. With any luck and the grace of God, this new building will be my hobby for a few more years and then be my retirement avocation.

What I've done is try, try and try again to imagine everything I'm going to want or need. I found a very simple and easy to use shop planner on the Grizzly website. I have picked out all Grizzly tools, and using their shop planner, which is a simple drag-and-drop java application, you can configure your space any way you choose. It has been an enormous help to me.

Your choice in tools is yours and yours alone. I don't believe anyone else can or should try to tell you what tools you 'need.' That being said, I firmly believe in listening to experience of others that have tried things once or twice in the past. For instance, steel locker for flammables, unplug tools and lock your shop when away, leave room for assembly, infeed and outfeed, etc....these kinds of 'generic' suggestions are all valuable. But, be wary of anyone who says "You have to have a compound sliding miter saw" or "Don't try to build furniture without a dedicated mortiser." You get the idea. Buy what you like, and what works for you and your needs.

Thanks for your service to the US while overseas, and here's hoping for everyone's safe and expedient return.

Best of luck, and keep us posted.

regards,
smitty

Paul K

Obviously all of us work differently, and have different types of projects. Some of us use routers a lot, and others rarely. Some of us do a lot of lathe work, and others can’t stand them. But I think that most of us can agree that the center piece of a good shop is a table saw that we can depend on to make true, precise cuts. There have been a lot of threads here about different table saws, you can read them. For my part, I think that if you have been using a good shop, then you might quickly become discouraged if you bought a machine that couldn’t make a good consistent cut. Since you don’t need the machine next week or even this month, take some time to look around. If you can, I would look on Craigslist and see what I could find. I look thru it daily, as do others. There are lots of other more obscure places to look, and if you are able to buy from the east coast or Midwest, then it is worth looking on ebay too. But I often find deals on good old cabinet saws, such as unisaws, that are $500. Just have to have a bit of patience. (Easy to find them for $800 to $1000. ) I don’t think that any of the new saws for under $1000 will be near as good as one of those older saws. Still, if you want to buy new, there are lots of threads here on good saws for under $1000. After that saw, for myself, I would want a jointer, (and if you can find an 8” that is the smallest one that can usefully face plane lumber and so I would opt for that) and a bench top planer. Band saws are great, but you can probably get by for a few years without one. Yes, a good sliding miter saw is also pretty handy. Next, I would buy a stationary disc/belt sander. Yes, there are obviously lots of portable electric hand tools that are necessary, like drills, routers, jig saws, and the such, but I leave that to you.
Best of luck
paul

knotscott

Hi Lucas - Is your situation going to require portability and frequent moves? If so, it's much more difficult to "buy once" with the portable class of tools in general. Most are lighter, less stable, louder, and not as reliable over the decades as the full size stationary tools.

Bosch makes a well proven router, as does PC, Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Freud, Triton, Ridgid, and Hitachi. The Panasonic might be fine, but I didn't even know they made one.

Jet makes a bunch of table saws...most are very good within their class, but it'd be very helpful if you gave us the Jet model # they use...ie: "708480k". If you end up needing a portable jobsite saw as opposed to a stationary cast iron saw, look at the Bosch, Ridgid, DeWalt, or PC.

The most important ingredient is your desire...you'll find a way!

Knot Home

Glad to hear you're almost done over there! I messed around with the shop planner on the Delta website, but in the end I made scale paper outlines of all the tools I had or was planning to buy and then manually laid them all out on a scale "shop" floor. It worked great and a year later I haven't moved a machine from where it started. Consider your work flow as you do this, and available electric drops, dust collection, etc. Much easier to move the paper around than the steel.

Definately look around and take your time on machine purchases. If all goes well and you choose wisely, you'll have them for a lifetime. Buy the biggest and best you can afford. I used a big box (Lowe's) credit card and paid everything off before any interest acrued for stuff that was available there (jointer, sander, planer, drill press). I also found a store that had a layaway and bought my Hybrid Table saw there so I could pay on it over time. This allowed me to get much more saw, although it took a bit of patience. In the mean time I made due with a bench top POS with a good blade and fence. Anyway, woodworking is a patient art; might as well start right off on the right boot, Sarge.

Keep yer knoggin down and hurry back,

Roy