Aldyrin

I've been thinking about getting into woodworking for a while, and pretty soon I'll get out of this apartment and finally have a garage to work in (I used an orbital sander in my girlfriend's study in our apartment, and she wasn't too happy about the mess! Only did that once ), so I've been thinking of what I will need to get started.

Here is my list of tools to get. For some I've listed models and ballpark prices. Any suggestions/comments are more than welcome!

tools to get:
router (250ish)
marking knife (can really just use a pencil, but this is better) (X-Acto - No. 1 Knife, avg price = $4)
chisel set (high carbon steel, bench chisels $75ish... look into some Ashley Iles)
decent woodworking hand saw ($50ish) (Japanese Z-saw?)
marking gague ($30ish)
combination square (Stanley - Combination Square 46-123 $16)
circular saw ($130ish)
block plane
jig saw
clamps
framing square
sharpening stones (japanese or artificial wetstones 1000, 4000, and 6000 or 8000 $100ish) OR - abrasive film of some kind (3M?)
honing guide (Veritas - Honing Guide Mk.II, $50)

firefighteremt153

Aldryin, Welcome to the best WW site on the net. I am just a hobbiest myself and havent been in WW near as long as most on here. You didn't say in your post what type of stuff you are interested in making. Depending on what your projects are going to be and the size of your future workshop, you may want to consider maybe a table saw, joiner, router table. Just some back bone type tools. I have all the tools you have listed above but I'm still without a joiner and if I had to do it over, I would have started with the table saw, joiner, planer,& router and maybe even a band saw. Again, not knowing your WW project intentions and space/finacial limits this is just a kinda whimb. Good luck. Jeremy

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Aldryin

I wrote an article on shop requirements and I would like to post a section of the article on this subject. Remember this is through the "eyes of John" so this meets my requirements and budget for what I build.

May be of some use, but as Jeremy said "Depending on what your projects are going to be and the size of your future workshop" may I add "budget" to that..

Shop requirements and shop tour!


REQUIREMENTS: The requirements will vary between available resources (money) and the projects you are building. There is not a standard that one can set as each person sees different needs and sets their priorities differently. When you are building furniture, small boxes, turning on a lathe or any other project you choose, each job has special tools that are directed towards that project.

I have tried my hand at all of these and many more projects but found certain tools were a must. I have found the (1) table saw (2) router (3) band saw (4) drill press to be the most used power tools in any project I have attempted.

Good luck on the work shop.
John

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toddj99

I started getting heavy into it about a year ago and wish that I had gone the extra mile and gotten a better table saw. Now, if I buy a power tool, I make sure that I get something with "extra capability". The table saw is of the tools that I use most. I bought a 14" Jet bandsaw and use it quite a bit. 16" Floor model drill press along with mortising attachment.
I had to chuck the router table as it was a ryobi and didn't last long as it just got plain dangerous to use. The sander I had was also ryobi and only lasted about 3 months. Bought a Dewalt after that. Moral of this paragraph - stay away from ryobi.
The chisels are probably a good move as I bought some cheap ones thinking that I wouldn't use them much - wrong again.
It started out as a hobby that, after making a few things for hire, quickly turned into a part-time job which drove the need for better, more expensive tools.

Check twice!

toddj99
I am working on getting a site up to be able to post some of my creations and thoughts on wood working as well a quick tour of my shop.

There are so many small items (hand tools) it would take a year to list :), but as I said each project has special tools for each. I have slowly built my collection over years.

As you put it "stay away from ryobi" my view is each tool has a price verses quality. Your use (plus future considerations) must be taken into account when purchasing a tool.
I have made many of purchases based on looking good or less cost..... to be up-grading down the road.

Enjoy the day, make some saw dust. :)
John

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fanback

Just my take here.

You should have a table saw. 10" would be nice.Best you can manage.
You should have a jointer. Even if it's just a 4" from Harbor Freight.
Japanese handsaws from Japan Woodworker. The ones with the replaceable blades.
Low Angle block plane (Stanleys good)
I'd save money on sharpening angle guides and other aides. One can sharpen real good by feel and eye, after learning to trust that.
A slow speed grinder (woodcraft) with a buffing wheel on one side.
The best chisels you can manage.

Hope this helps.

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toddj99

Your right about the price versus quality angle. The main reason that I'll openly state my thoughts on ryobi is that when I had a router/router table compatibilty issue, the rep stated that they were aware of the problem I had. The issue was that the two would connect together, but the bit would not protrude through the hole on the table. They were still selling the items as compatible even though they knew differently. In all fairness though, the router I have is ryobi and is working fine.

firefighteremt153

I am going to give Ryobi a little credit. They have been doing better with the quality of tools they produce. I bought a Ryobi belt sander about a year ago after running over my PC one and I'd put it up against any of the preffered belt sanders. Now I'm not sayin that all their tools are great, but I have seen a change in the last couple years. $.02

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........................www.Jeremydillardwoodworking.com.........................

"Only those who risk going too far, can possibly know how far they can go"

TexasTimbers

I've been anti-Ryobi since before I was born. I slipped about 7 or 8 years ago, whenever it was that they came out with that 5 piece combo - could have 10 years I'm bad with that year-guessing thing - so they offer this thing for an introductory price of $99. I figured what they hay that's a disposable tool combo pak.

I almost came to where I liked it, but then the batteries died. I mean they would no longer take a charge. First one and then the other within a week. What bummed me out was I was allowing my workers to use this Ryobi which, suprisingly the tools themsleves, the little circ saw and recip saw and drill, were really not bad. Never used the flashlight (have a maglight) or vaccum (sucks bad. I mean it doesn't suck good) Especially for the price.

The tools were not PC or Bosch eytc. quality but they cut straight and true and were designed fairly well. So I let my workers use this combo around dock-building jobs to spare my then Panasonics, Milwaukees, Bosch's etc from taking a swin (happened more than once) because I cringed everytime I left the jobsite knowing another $200 - $300 tool might be going scuba-diving with no gear.

So last year Ryobi comes out with their own Li-Ion batteries and guess what they do? Do they make them where they'll only fit their "pro" line of tools so you have to buy new tools as well? Huh uh.

Do they do the right thing and desgn them to fit all those cheapo $99 (they got up to $129 I think at some point) homeowner combo kits they sold with those horrific quality NiCads? Yes! They DID do the right thing!

They made them so that they will fit ALL of the previous combo tools that used those low-quality NiCad batteries the original tools came with. I had read a review on this new battery and charger avaialable at Lowe's so of course I had to bite. I gotta tell ya, as critical as I am of junk tools in general, and as critical as I have been of Ryobi in particular, this Li-Ion so far has performed very well in terms of power and longevity. So far, I give it an A+. Now I am sure it will not last like a Panasonic who has virtually owned the cordeless battery market in terns of longevity and power, but it breathed new life into that cheapo kit which has sat unused for years until I bought this battery.

If you own one of those old combo kits and are wondering if you should ebay it for a pittance don't. grab the new Li-Ion battery and charger at Lowes for $99. It'll never replace my other higher quality Milwaukee Li-Ions but it doesn't cost $400 alone, like the 28v Milwaukee drill did either.

using this Ryobi also extends the life of the other higher dollar tools. Who knows, maybe this disposable Ryobi combo with it's new nuclear power plant renders the big dollar tools obsolete?

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When our outgo exceeds our income, then our upkeep becomes our downfall.
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Daveb

The good thing about woodworking is that you don't need all the tools at once. Just buy what you need for a particular project, then keep adding on a little here or there with each new project. That is the fun part.

Check twice!

Tools remind me of a saying.
"One mans junk, is another mans treasure"

Every tool has a value, it is for each to decide the value of the tool!

To be the same would be a drag. :)
John

__________________
Cleaning my glasses will not make me look any better.
But will make what I am looking at better!

crafter1956

This is a good combo router, with fixed & plunge base.


http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...5&cookietest=1

firefighteremt153

That PC690 is a great router. I bought the 690 with just a regular base a couple years ago and bought a used plunge base for it about 4 months ago for 20.00 off craigslist. I would highly recommend that router especially for a first one.

__________________
........................www.Jeremydillardwoodworking.com.........................

"Only those who risk going too far, can possibly know how far they can go"

Steve G.

About 2-3 years ago when I was 13 my dad bought me the ryobi combo tool kit (sawzall, flashlight, circular saw, drill, vacuum) - I have beaten the crap out of that drill for 2+ years and it still goes hard. I built my first cabinets with the circular saw it came with and was surprised at how well it cut. Everything except the drill is pretty much useless now but the drill still runs hard - and I haven't replaced any batteries yet. I give the ryobi tools an A+ too

And BTW, in the time i've had the ryobi we went through 1 milwuakee and were on our second dewalt And both chucks on the dewalt have been stripped.

dbhost

It's NOT what you spend on tools. But rather what you get for the money. If you just pitched your Ryobi sander after 3 months, you failed to take advantage of the 2 year warranty they come with...

Case in pooint. I have had a Ryobi R161 router mounted in a Wolfcraft table and have been using it for a wide variety of projects now for 7 years. It still works like new. My Makita quarter sheet palm sander vibrates the user like crazy, and spits the mounting pad off whenever you aren't applying pressure to it when in use...

Best advice I can think of, buy the best you can afford for your needs. Do not over buy. I.E. unless you have a large amount of dedicated floor space, that huge cabinet saw is going to be a nuisance instead of a help. Get a good job site saw instead.

Don't let brand name snobs make you think that certain brands produce nothing but junk. If you do, you will end up buying brand X, Y, or Z only and end up paying WAY too much for stuff that does not work one tiny fraction better than an item a quarter of its cost, and will have done so on brand name only. Do your research, read the reviews, and ask your friends and colleagues about their experiences. Use as many of the tools you are interested in buying as possible, and get the features you want.

I've got a roll chest stacked full of Snap On, Mac, and Matco tools. Does that make me a better mechanic than my buddy with the tool chest full of Husky tools? No. I fell for the brand name thing once, and it cost a LOT of money, and kept me out of some tools that were VERY important to doing my job at the time. I won't make that mistake again.

As far as Ryobi is concerned, if toddj99 would have read the online reviews for the Ryobi router tables, and the sanders, there are specific models that have known problems. Just like Makita, DeWalt, Ridgid, Black and Decker, etc...
I've got plenty of Ryobi tools. Table saw (BTS-21), 2 sanders, driver / drill, router, reciprocating saw, planer, buffer / waxer, and they have all been good tools. I stayed away from certain of their tools for good reason.

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