As a semi-newbie (I’m a woodworker groupie who just recently realized where the bug bit me, and decided to jump into the sawdust), I’d like to add my $1.37. (Inflation, don’t you know?)

Most of the people here have all mentioned variations on the same advice, and most have added one or two new points. Just scanning the advice, there are two that stand out (aside from the big one at top). Pat, TimTAN, and BigStick all have advice THAT HITS ME as pertinent. (Just because it works for me does not mean it is gospel truth.)

Seeing as I’ve stumbled on some of the big dreams and don’t have the tools yet, let me voice my small squeak of wisdom.

#1) Pencil and paper. – Draw up some plans, figure out what you first want to attempt, and it will give you an idea of tools you need.
#2) Measuring tape (6′ minimum, 25′ is overkill but needed in rare instances)
#3) Miter box/saw. (the hand saw variety. Stanley sells a yellow plastic miter box with back saw for cheap. I bought mine 6 years ago, and I’m still breaking it in.)
#4) 2×4s. (Use the Miter box/saw, and a clean scrap section of counter or plywood or patio, and use it to make sawhorses or shelves. Hey, guess what. Your first project.)
#5) Sandpaper. (buy a variety pack, of at least four different grits.)
#6) First aid kit. (You’ll use it once or twice at first. Especially if you use a hand hammer instead of air or cordless)
#7) Drill/driver. (I started with a dinky Black & Decker rechargable driver, and didn’t realize it didn’t have the power to drill holes or drive screws without pilot holes. And don’t worry about the corded/ cordless variety just yet. That will come later.)
#8) Hand plane / Block Plane. (some sort of hand powered plane. Much as I loathe the things, I’ve learned quite a bit from using them)
#9 Circular saw. (I’d recommend the corded variety at first, but that’s because I refuse to cut wood very far from where I’m comfortable. There’s a few jigs/patterns out there to make panel saws for them, and you can use one as a lightweight table saw at first. DO NOT TURN THEM UPSIDE DOWN TO DO THIS!)
#10) …. this is for you to decide.

My logic on this list (didn’t realize I wrote so much, so I’ll wrap it up now) is that you should learn the basic principle of what you need to do before getting the big tools. Take the classes. Go to the shops. Watch the blogs. Little projects are harder to do with the hand held powertools, but hand tools work just fine. And they cost 10 % of what most “big shops” cost to start. but most of all, don’t forget: this is a passion. Enjoy it.

All the cool tools help you build things either faster or better, but arent always necessary (unless you are making a proposal to the wife for a new tool purchase).

My favorite tools so far: an old beater table saw (1950s Craftsman) for cheap on craigslist…it really changed the type of projects i could make. Relatively inexpensive chisels. A few clamps…and little things here and there as needed.

Another great thing to do is borrow tools from friends or parents. You get to see what you like about it, whether you use it when trying to solve a problem on your project, and whether you need to add one to your shop….all for free!

Anyway, best of luck.

2) A GOOD block plane. Either the Lie-Nielsen or Veritas (Lee Valley) adjustable mouth low angle block plane will do the trick. The reason for getting a GOOD one is because it will allow you to work right off the bat without “fettling” (tuning a plane up) it. It will also give you a benchmark for comparing other planes.

5) A GOOD bench plane. You might get lucky and find a used one cheap, or you can go the guaranteed route of picking up a LN or LV. Research, research, research.

3) A set of decent quality chisels. Nothing fancy, the Marples will do fine. Look into Scary Sharp as an inexpensive means of sharpening them, perhaps with a sharpening jig.

4) A pair of Japanese-style handsaws.

5) A pickup truck load of lumber for building your bench.

6) A Nupla 2lb steel/plastic face deadblow hammer. This will rapidly become your favorite option for whacking things!

7) Measuring tools. A good combination square, a tape measure, and some .5mm mechanical pencils will get you started.

The only other thing you’ll need is a plan for your bench. You can build most benches with the tools above, although a lot of folks would suggest getting a quality circular saw, which will speed things up quite a bit.

Build your bench first. Not only will it give you someplace to do all the rest of your work, but it will give you confidence. Unless you totally mangle the building, the appearance won’t matter for long, so its a project that’s very forgiving of mistakes.

None of the people you see here were born with the ability to spit out perfect woodworking projects. We all have our unevenly-nailed-butt-jointed boxes and dovetails that look more like duck feet in the deep dark recesses of our woodworking memory.

If you’re expecting to go into this an expert, you may have set your expectations inappropriately. Instead of worrying about sucking, think of that workshop as your own personal school, where’ re you’ll be constantly challenged to become better.

And don’t worry about that first project. Keep it around so you can always remember just how far you’ve come.

Lest you think I have any skill, check out this hideous M&T:

http://catamaran.outland.net/~......sized.jpg

And this terrifying dovetail:

http://catamaran.outland.net/~......sized.jpg

Rather than list out a bunch of tools and an explanation about each one or what to look for, I’ll direct you to this article by Chris Schwarz:

http://www.popularwoodworking......b07_HI.pdf

(I’m bad with links so you may need to copy and paste.)

I’m sure Marc will agree that Chris is quite the authority when it comes to woodworking. This manual really helped me (and still does) when I first started buying tools. Give it a read and I promise that you will feel better about any purchase you make.

~Danny

1) be careful when buying a cheap tool. even if you think you will only use it a couple of times, it still might not work well for the 2 or 3 times you use it. you don’t have to buy the BEST, but do your research, ask around, and look for a “quality” budget priced tool. I’ve done well with Ridgid, for example. mid priced as far as tools go, but good quality compared to PC, DeWalt, etc. and far better than B&D, Skil, and most Ryobi stuff.

2) spend as much time learning how to use and sharpen your hand tools as you spend with your power tools. Hand tools are more forgiving and can fix a number of power tool mistakes. Popular Woodworking’s “Hand Tool Essentials” book is a good place to start.

3) the biggest problem I had starting out is accuracy. things just didn’t come to gether well most of the time :) a big part of that is poor measurement tools, so make sure your combo square is good quality. The other part of it is inexperience. Learn about how to measure and mark your work properly, and pick Marc’s brain about “relative dimentioning”.

4) Read as much as possible, as well as try to find a mentor or classes. Taunton has a fantastic series of books – their “complete illustrated guides” – that are worth every penny. Start with the “complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking” for a good overview, and then start collecting the rest of the series as your interest grows. between those books, quality woodworking magazines like Fine Woodworking and Popular Woodworking, and the plethora of online sites you’ll have plenty of knowlege to be successful. *hint* – a subscription to the Fine Woodworking online site not only has the most recent articles that they post in their magazine, but hundreds of archived articles from back into the late 70’s and early 80’s. I made the mistake of buying one of their “best of Fine Woodworking” books once, only to find that all the articles in the book were also still available on their website. And if you’re around during the day, the morning chat room regulars are full of opinions…..er,um…..advice….um, yeah – advice, that’s it ;)

Welcome to the community!

Mike

My advice may sound snobbish, but it’s just my opinion based on experience. Here goes…

Power tool brands I would recommend:

- Delta
- Porter Cable
- Powermatic
- Grizzly
- Shop Fox
- Dewalt
- Makita
- Milwaukee
- JET
- Steel City
- Festool
- Bosch

Portable power tools are almost a must. This would include cordless drill, router, orbital sands and maybe even a biscuit jointer.

Once you’ve got some skills and experience under your belt from taking classes, I would save a large chunk of change and buy:

- Cabinet saw or hybrid. You can usually find nice, used examples for a good price. You can’t go wrong with a used Delta Unisaw or Powermatic PM66. (You likely won’t find a used PM 2000, but if you do, buy it!)

If you’re going to be serious about woodworking, I wouldn’t bother with a contractor saw. That’s what I bought and I still have it. If I added up all the money I spent trying to make it usable, I could have bought a nice, used Unisaw; which will be my next purchase.

- Jointer. By all means, get an 8″ jointer. An 8″ doesn’t cost much more than a 6″ and it’s so much more versatile. My very first jointer was an 8″ and I still have it. Going big here was best tool purchase decision I ever made.

- Planer. You can get a lot of use from the proverbial “lunchbox” planer. I have a Delta 13″ model which I would recommend. The DeWalt lunchbox planers are also good machines.

- Bandsaw. You can always find nice, used 14″ bandsaws for sale. These bandsaws are quite versatile and are even nice to keep around the shop when you eventually move up to a larger bandsaw. (Note that Marc has a small and large bandsaw in his shop.)

- Drill Press. A table top drill press is fine. If you can find a nice floor model on sale, go for it. But going big here isn’t essential.

- Dust collector. Don’t skip this tool! A dust collector will be the most used tool in your shop. Don’t be like me and continually turn your shop into a sawdust storm before you break down and buy a dust collector. Any of the brand names I listed above will be a good start. You don’t need cyclone right away, but you might eventually decide to upgrade.

- Air compressor. These are also often available used. Even a small example can open up a whole new world of air tools; primarily nailers and staplers.

Have fun!