[2JADED]

Hello all,

My fifteen year old son and I are planning on spending some quality time together learning woodworking. I'm a big DIY type of guy with a strong background in mechanics, but woodworking will be fairly new to both of us.

We have a three car garage that we will make our new woodworking home and plan to start off with a nice table saw, compound miter saw, a band saw, and a router with table. Any suggestions for beginners is appreciated. We are delving deep into books and magazines before we make the plunge.

It looks like we have found a home with this site...many thanks!:thumbsup:

 

[rrbrown]

Welcome to the forum.:thumbsup:

I'm headed your way mid August. Let me guess it's hot.:laughing:

As for suggestions, what is your budget?

Since your new to this stuff I would suggest taking some classes, joining a club etc. It's a fun and rewarding hobby but can be dangerous. Classes etc will help.

 

[2JADED]

Welcome to the forum.:thumbsup:

I'm headed your way mid August. Let me guess it's hot.:laughing:

As for suggestions, what is your budget?

Since your new to this stuff I would suggest taking some classes, joining a club etc. It's a fun and rewarding hobby but can be dangerous. Classes etc will help.

Yeah buddy, it's hot here..lol. We have around a 3-5k startup budget. I know there are some tools that shouldn't be skimped on, but others that Harbor Freight quality may suffice.

Thanks for the advice on the classes. Safety is of upmost importance!

 

[bigcouger]

Welcome Aboard

 

[rrbrown]

Personally I like SawStop for a table saw. They are very well built saws with the added safety feature. There is no replacement for proper safety technique but it's good as a back up safety feature. I have the cabinet saw which is probably much more saw then you need. I do like the contractor saw also but it is pricey compared to some of the other more budget friendly saws. Don't get me wrong those other saws are very capable and nice saws without the safety device and a slightly less spit and polish finish all around.

SawStop starts out at like $1750 -$3000 where as a comparable saw from Grizzly would cost $950 - $1650 without the safety feature of SawStop. I lost a finger before I got my SawStop so I'm a little bias according to some I like to say enlightened or smarter.:thumbsup:

Porta Cable makes nice routers you can build a table as a project, Grizzly has nice band saws, I have a Harbor freight floor model drill press, nail guns compressor etc. Compound miter saws I would get a 10" or preferably 12" with a double bevel either DeWalt, Hitachi or Rigid brand.

You may also want a planer and get several blades for the table saw. Diablo blades or a good bang for the buck but you will want a dedicated rip, crosscut and a stack dado blades as well as a good general purpose blade. You can start with the latter.

Good luck and hopefully I answered all your questions.

 

[2JADED]

Thank you!!

 

[cabinetman]

.

 

[khowald]

You can find many fine machines on Craigslist. Look daily and be ready to jump, the good ones go fast. Just looking quickly; there are a couple of decent machines in your area listed right now. I looked at grizzly, powermatic and jet, all good machines...you pay extra for the powermatic and jet nameplates. When you check for a bandsaw or tablesaw use both "band saw" and "bandsaw" as well as "table saw" and "tablesaw" they are listed separately. Good luck and have a great summer with your son. I am introducing turning to my 9 y.o. granddaughter. ken

 

[BernieL]

Welcome to you and your son - great site full of great posters always willing to help. One thing you need to be aware of is that we can all accomplish the same task using our own particular methods and preferred tools and you need to chose what will work best for you. I encourage your son to do the same and you may develop along different paths aiming at the same goal. For instance - a tool for dado cuts can be the table saw stacked set as mentioned by rrbrown or others may suggest a good router bit.

One thing for sure, your 3 - 5K budget is a good start, but you can burn that up quickly. May I suggest you and your son sit in the empty workspace and think and talk about the workflow. Then start by building a good workbench. It doesn't have to be all woodworker's dream bench like the European benches - just build a solid flat surface and grow with it. Building shop fixtures and workstations is a good way to learn woodworking and equip your shop at the same time. You can practice different joinery and work methods as you build your shop.

As for tools - hang on to your money and only buy good quality tools as you need them. Many posters will tell you how they use their chop saws all the time and couldn't live without one. I've had my shop for 12 years and still don't have a chop saw. I don't need one. My ts is great and does what I need. That's not to say don't buy a chop saw - just buy what you need as needs arise.

 

[vursenbach]

Welcome to WWT. I moved from LV back in 2006 when I ended my career in acting to become a teacher. Were you living in LV prior to 2006 and did you go to any of the shows on the strip? There are times I miss LV but not enough to move back.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum

 

[rrbrown]

BernieL made me think a lot take more.

I would first think what type woodworking you want to do? You can then go to grizzly.com and look at tools you may need. Thy have a good shop planner that allows you to place items in the shop to see how it all works.

You will want to get dust collection or use respirators for your health.

Used tools if you can find them or a good idea. I can never find any.

You can shop for clearance items as a way to get good deals also. Buying only the stuff you need at this time for you to find deals on other tools you will need etc.

Good luck with it.

 

[2JADED]

Thanks everyone for the responses, they really are appreciated! :thumbsup:

 

[2JADED]

Welcome to WWT. I moved from LV back in 2006 when I ended my career in acting to become a teacher. Were you living in LV prior to 2006 and did you go to any of the shows on the strip? There are times I miss LV but not enough to move back.

I moved to Vegas in 1998 and have been to numerous shows on the strip. Which ones did you participate in?

 

[GeorgeC]

Welcome to the forum. You can spend a lot of time here just reading helpful posts and getting educated.

I enjoy Vegas. Get out there a week or two every year. Major shows are getting to be a bank breaker.

George

 

[vursenbach]

I moved to Vegas in 1998 and have been to numerous shows on the strip. Which ones did you participate in?

I was the court jester at the Excalibur dinner show from 1993 - 2006. I started out as a little Merlin character that got shot in the back with a fire bolt.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum

 

[rayking49]

Welcome and good luck to you and your son. Woodworking can be addictive, and enjoyable.