Top 5 Stationary Power Tools

[KenOfCary]

A little video from WWGOA with recommendations for beginners.

https://www.wwgoa.com/video/top-5-stationary-woodworking-power-tools-for-beginners-009275/

If you want to use power tools this is good advice.

 

[Mike Davis]

I would start with a table saw,

but then the band saw,

planer,

Jointer,

A good drill press,

Maybe a lathe.

I disagree about the router table being in the top 5, maybe even that it is a major stationary tool.

 

[sawman101]

I agree with your list Mike. Although going back to the earlier days of young adulthood and making furniture type items, I had the router table long before the drill press. Power drills get the holes I needed then.

 

[beloitdavisja]

I bought a router table as one of my early purchases. Hardly ever use it. My bandsaw, on the other hand, I use all the time. Interesting that the author says he uses the bandsaw a lot, but lists it last? My list would be:

1 - Table Saw
2 - Bandsaw
3 - Drill Press
4 - Planer
5 - Jointer (but really the planer & jointer would be 4A and 4B)

Honorable Mention: Lathe (but not everyone wants to do turning)

 

[walnutjerry]

table saw
jointer
planer
band saw
drill press
lathe

That is 6 but who is counting

 

[Barry W]

I would start with a table saw,

but then the band saw,

planer,

Jointer,

A good drill press,

Maybe a lathe.

I disagree about the router table being in the top 5, maybe even that it is a major stationary tool.

Although a router table was one of the first (probably fourth) stationary tools I bought, I agree it should not be in the top 5. It is convenient and handy, but not a necessity.

 

[KenOfCary]

I'm glad this is generating the kind of discussion I'd hoped for. George mentioned the Table Saw being number one but said the others could be ranked in any order. I tend to agree with his list as I built a router table early in my power tool acquisition phase, but I also see the value of a really good drill press. It is all subjective and depends a lot on what kind of work you do, but it is a good starting point and a great discussion so far.

 

[Gofor]

Referencing the title of the video ("Top Five ......For Beginners): Looking back on my past, based on what I "needed" as I got more involved, the first 5 were:

1. Table saw
2. Router table
3. Miter saw
4. Drill press
5 Planer

My progression was probably quite typical. Started by needing items I couldn't afford to buy ready made based on a limited income and using limited space. First table saw was inexpensive with a sheet metal top and wings. Used it to build self standing shelf units from plywood. Progressed to wanting to put doors on it, so a router was next. Began with hand held but then acquired a cheap table top router table. (Later built a better one). Projects got larger, and the table saw had a terrible fence, so wife bought me a good compound miter saw as a birthday present. (Craftsmen 8" slider that I still use to this day). Income improved, so next step was to seriously up-grade the table saw. But complexity of the cabinets I was building also increased, so I bought a drill press to do a better job of spacing the holes for adjustable shelf pegs, but more importantly, started using European style hinges. By this time the realization that I really couldn't build it cheaper, but I could build it custom to my needs and of better quality, so progressed to rough lumber. Next "need" was a thickness planer, but this step also drove me to hand tools (i.e. hand planes) which filled the needs of the jointer. Also led to buying a bandsaw, but it is still one of the least used tools I have.

I guess my problem with the jointer being on the top 5 list is that from my experience with a table top model, combined with all the posts about them on the forums, is that unless you get a quality one of sufficient size, it will destroy more wood than you produce with it. That means $$$ and space, which many beginners do not have. Guess I view it as a luxury more than a basic tool, although it does perform a basic function.

Depending on which way one's woodworking progresses, though, I can easily see where a lathe and a bandsaw could easily move up fairly high on the list. I think Earl (erasmussen) proved that.

Also wouldn't have a problem with discounting the router table altogether as a stationary tool, in which case the next tool for my list would be a bandsaw.

jmtcw

Go

 

[chris_goris]

A little video from WWGOA with recommendations for beginners.

https://www.wwgoa.com/video/top-5-stationary-woodworking-power-tools-for-beginners-009275/

If you want to use power tools this is good advice.

Im ok with the list, I think I got my start this way but if I had to do it over, I wouldve gotten a dust collector at the same time as my planer!

 

[jgpncll]

I don't consider a router a stationary tool(nor table) as it was never meant nor designed to be used in a stationary manner.

My order is based on what I feel I need the most for my projects.

1- table saw
2- planer
3- jointer
4- band saw
5- drum sander

 

[David Justice]

I agree the table saw should be number 1, but I think I use my bandsaw more than any other power tool in my shop. I do almost all of my ripping on my bandsaw, then clean it up with a Jointer plane, i just don't like ripping anything more than about 3 feet on the table saw.

 

[Raymond]

Being a wood turner, primarily, my order of preference was definitely different.

1. Lathe
2. Bandsaw
3. Drill Press
4. Table saw

I still do not have a planer nor a jointer and do not see myself getting either in the future but that is just me.

 

[nn4jw]

I have a 6-inch jointer, but really don't use it. What little jointing I need to do is just as quick or quicker with a No. 7 jointer plane or my table saw. The jointer will likely end up in the classifieds here soon so I can get the room back.

The DeWalt 735 is handy, so it stays.

My list would be:

1. Miter saw.
2. Table saw.
3. Drill press.
4. Band saw.
5. Lathe.
5. Router table.

I have a mortiser, but I really haven't used it enough to justify the space it takes up either.

Used my miter saw for 20 years or more before I had the shop. Built several pieces of furniture with it as my main power tool as well as the stuff it was designed for. But I do have to say that having a table saw makes a lot of things much easier.

 

[junquecol]

My list would have break down table, circular saw and guide as #1 tool. (I do a lot of sheet goods case work) #2 would be table saw, #3 band saw, #4 planer ( I buy my lumber S2S, and straight lined,) # 5 air compressor. The compressor runs all my air nailers.

 

[MichaelSC]

1. Table saw
2. Drill Press
3. 12 inch disk sander (I built)
4. Jointer/planer combo
5. Dust collector (home built)
I have a Lathe I purchased later, but haven't used it much. The dust collector and disk sander were 2 must haves on my list.

 

[danmart77]

I would be lost without my bandsaw. Didn't have a 20" back in the 70's but the 14 worked. Still have both of them.

I do very little plywood work so the TS and sleds have not been that important for my work.

I have been discouraged by big TS set ups taking up so much shop space and becoming tables for junk to sit on.

Everybody is different I guess.

 

[Mike Davis]

Then again if I had my dream shop....

1. lathe
2. lathe
3. lathe
4. band saw
5. chainsaw

 

[Raymond]

Then again if I had my dream shop....

1. lathe
2. lathe
3. lathe
4. band saw
5. chainsaw

OK, Mike. I give up. What three sizes of lathes are you talking about?

 

[Jim M.]

Here are the top five for me:

1 - Table Saw
2 - Bandsaw
3 - Drill Press
4 - Planer
5 - Jointer

My table saw is the heart of my shop, a good table saw enables you to do a variety of projects. The band saw is also a must for cutting curves on my decoys and resawing. A good drill press, you could do the same with a hand drill, but you can't beat the accuracy and ease of having one ready to go. A planer for thickness and flattening boards, if I had too it could be supplanted with my jointer, but the reason I bought one was I hated doing those tasks on the jointer, go figure. A jointer for straight edges and better glue ups. I would also add to the above these hand held or bench top tools which I won't do without.

- Router which has proven itself indespenible in my shop so many uses, its hard to list.

- Miter saw for crosscuts and roughing down material qiuckly.

- Combination belt/disc sander and hand-held sanders, like my routers, they've become indispensable for me for a variety of reasons.

- Biscuit joiner, it keeps my glue-up strong, aligned and me sane.

- Hand drill, I use for fastening more than drilling.

I purposely listed only power tools, as the list of hand tools varied too much to list in one post.

 

[Mike Davis]

Oneway 2436

Oneway 1224 plus extensions

Robust American Beauty

But I can tell you I will never own any of those lathes...