Hello All,
My name is Winston, and I am brand new to the woodworking world as of 3 months ago when I purchased a SawStop Contractor Saw CNS with upgraded cast-iron extensions, T-Glide fence, and a 36 inch table extension. Currently, my "primary" hobby involves fixing, and upgrading an old BMW M3 so it can live for a few more sessions on the track. When I started that adventure, I had never changed the oil on my car, but I have worked my way up to a position where I can perform fairly complex tasks on the car ranging from electrical issues to rebuilding the engine after removing it from the vehicle. I have enjoyed that hobby, and the costs of various tools seem to be commensurate with the cost of woodworking equipment, for the most part.
My woodworking goals are to be able to create quality keepsake boxes, trays, and cutting boards I can give as gifts and use in my own household. I am trying to develop a plan on what tools to purchase, and the order of purchase. After reading numerous threads, books, and watching countless hours of YouTube videos, I am still at a loss for which tools I should focus on purchasing, and in what order. Please forgive my lack of knowledge, I am just starting out. My thoughts are as follows:
1. Quality Thin-Kerf Table Saw Blades-From everything I have read, my saw with 1.75 HP will perform better with a thin-kerf blade. I would consider an initial investment in a quality set of blades (Forrest), for ripping and crosscutting, to be the starting point. Forrest sells blade stiffeners, but I do not know how these function. From a practical standpoint, I feel like the added weight of the stiffener would increase the rotating mass, and I do not know how this would interact with the thin-kerf blade, other than presumably making it stiffer.
2. Planer- I have found that the suggestion of simply working with S4S lumber at the beginning to be somewhat misleading. Even the highest quality wood I have purchased in S4S has cups, bows, etc. that take it out of the square-stock category. I feel like starting a project with square stock is a must, and people typically advise purchasing a planer before a jointer.
3. Jointer-See above. Also, I have heard completely mixed advice on planer sizing. I know larger is generally better, and a spiral, helical head is preferred. My belief is that a 6 inch joiner would work for the projects I intend to start on. Would you advise completely staying away from benchtop planers. I know this is a budget decision but certain Youtube woodworkers lampoon the idea of a benchtop Jointer because of the outfeed table size and weaker fence.
4. Clamps-I honestly just need some advice here. I know I need a ton of clamps, I am just trying to figure out the best clamp configuration for clamping a box square, and some other clamps I should have in my arsenal.
5. Incra Miter Gauge w/ Sled-The miter gauge that came with my saw is not great, and I have seen great reviews on Incra products. The goal here would be to make mitered and straight cuts with a stop block for repeatable cuts. I know I could construct a purpose build sled for this purpose, but it seems that the added functionality of the higher quality miter gauge may make the purchase worth it.
6. Dado Stack-For accurate, repeatable rabbets etc.
7. Router-For champers, roundovers, dados etc.
8. Self Centering Drill Bits-For Hardware
9. Bandsaw-To cut off box tops (when I get past using the table saw) and to cut out miter splines etc.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. All suggestions are appreciated. Additionally, if you have some recommendations that I may be ignoring (I am not ignoring dust collection...) for my specific build goals I would greatly appreciate it.
My name is Winston, and I am brand new to the woodworking world as of 3 months ago when I purchased a SawStop Contractor Saw CNS with upgraded cast-iron extensions, T-Glide fence, and a 36 inch table extension. Currently, my "primary" hobby involves fixing, and upgrading an old BMW M3 so it can live for a few more sessions on the track. When I started that adventure, I had never changed the oil on my car, but I have worked my way up to a position where I can perform fairly complex tasks on the car ranging from electrical issues to rebuilding the engine after removing it from the vehicle. I have enjoyed that hobby, and the costs of various tools seem to be commensurate with the cost of woodworking equipment, for the most part.
My woodworking goals are to be able to create quality keepsake boxes, trays, and cutting boards I can give as gifts and use in my own household. I am trying to develop a plan on what tools to purchase, and the order of purchase. After reading numerous threads, books, and watching countless hours of YouTube videos, I am still at a loss for which tools I should focus on purchasing, and in what order. Please forgive my lack of knowledge, I am just starting out. My thoughts are as follows:
1. Quality Thin-Kerf Table Saw Blades-From everything I have read, my saw with 1.75 HP will perform better with a thin-kerf blade. I would consider an initial investment in a quality set of blades (Forrest), for ripping and crosscutting, to be the starting point. Forrest sells blade stiffeners, but I do not know how these function. From a practical standpoint, I feel like the added weight of the stiffener would increase the rotating mass, and I do not know how this would interact with the thin-kerf blade, other than presumably making it stiffer.
2. Planer- I have found that the suggestion of simply working with S4S lumber at the beginning to be somewhat misleading. Even the highest quality wood I have purchased in S4S has cups, bows, etc. that take it out of the square-stock category. I feel like starting a project with square stock is a must, and people typically advise purchasing a planer before a jointer.
3. Jointer-See above. Also, I have heard completely mixed advice on planer sizing. I know larger is generally better, and a spiral, helical head is preferred. My belief is that a 6 inch joiner would work for the projects I intend to start on. Would you advise completely staying away from benchtop planers. I know this is a budget decision but certain Youtube woodworkers lampoon the idea of a benchtop Jointer because of the outfeed table size and weaker fence.
4. Clamps-I honestly just need some advice here. I know I need a ton of clamps, I am just trying to figure out the best clamp configuration for clamping a box square, and some other clamps I should have in my arsenal.
5. Incra Miter Gauge w/ Sled-The miter gauge that came with my saw is not great, and I have seen great reviews on Incra products. The goal here would be to make mitered and straight cuts with a stop block for repeatable cuts. I know I could construct a purpose build sled for this purpose, but it seems that the added functionality of the higher quality miter gauge may make the purchase worth it.
6. Dado Stack-For accurate, repeatable rabbets etc.
7. Router-For champers, roundovers, dados etc.
8. Self Centering Drill Bits-For Hardware
9. Bandsaw-To cut off box tops (when I get past using the table saw) and to cut out miter splines etc.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. All suggestions are appreciated. Additionally, if you have some recommendations that I may be ignoring (I am not ignoring dust collection...) for my specific build goals I would greatly appreciate it.