Woodworking?

[Big_Dave]

Anybody into woodworking here?

When I come off the road here in the next week or so (and start working local again), I have no intention of going back OTR, even if it means changing jobs.

So, with that in mind, I want to pursue one of the passions of my youth. I aced several 'woods' classes in high school and, if I do say so myself, I am pretty damn good at working with wood.

My parents still have an 'entertainment center' that I built in 11th grade, sitting in their living room to this day. :wow:

I'm currently looking for a place to move to (whether it be to buy or rent), that has a double garage. You know.....a 'man cave'. :D:wicked:

So anyways, I have several 'gift cards' from Menards, Lowes and Home Depot and am battling with my 'desires' of which 'power tools' for woodworking to buy. :wtf:

Of course, none of the cards has enough 'cash' on them to make an entire purchase by itself, so I'll have to kick in any additional cash that will be needed. That isn't really a problem unless I decide on something like this.
http://www.centurymachinery.com/images/9104,%20shopsmith%20combination%20drill,%20lathe,% 20and%20table%20saw.jpg

But, I'm thinking of other tools, like a Router, Table saw, Belt sander, Planer or Double Bevel-Sliding Compound Miter Saw.

What would be your choice(s)? :noclue:

[Uturn2001]

I would suggest:

12 inch table saw. Get one with plenty of power. 3 hp or better and a nice big table.
12 inch compound miter saw
router and a router table

These 3 will form a good foundation for a wood shop.

Later you can add a lathe, belt sander, other goodies as money allows. Before getting those things though I would get a decent air compressor, nail gun (brad and finishing), plenty of clamps, speed square, square, chisels, and all the other basic hand tools, and of course a good shop vac.

While those Shopsmith type multi function units are nice the problem is that you can spend a lot of time changing out parts. If you have the room it is better, IMHO, to have separate stations for your larger power tools that way you can easily and quickly move from one task to another.

[The_Governor]

Years ago I had quite the shop set up in my garage in Dallas.Like U-Turn said I would get several "station" tools.............large table saw,band saw,joiner,planer,shaper.............then I would compliment them with smaller electric routers,belt sander,orbital pad sander,etc,etc.I had close to 20K invested in tools before I finally sold them all(huge mistake)

My table saw was built into a large table that I built that could easily hold 4'X8' sheets of plywood from any direction.......NSEW.The legs would fold into it like a card table and I put lift points on all four corners so with a block and pulleys I could raise it up almost flush to the ceiling with minimal effort in just a couple of minutes.

Dave start out slow and a multi-purpose tool like a Shopsmith is a great start.As time goes by and funds become available you can upgrade to better tools.

You know I'm sure that all of the little accessories like clamps,hand planers,screwdrivers,hammers,squares,dowels,and the list goes on and on takes time to accumulate.The first trade I learned was as a carpenter and if I can see it in my mind or I have a set of prints I can build it.When I was married to my first wife and we lived in Spain I worked for a large Kitchen and Bath remodel company and built cabinets for years.It was when we divorced that I came back stateside and went to work building houses.

This is a great hobby.............one I know you will enjoy.

[ladykw]

Dave you and my dad would get a long just great he does wood work and carves..
I used to carve but that was before I started driving....

[EagleAce]

I've loved working with wood since I was a little kid. My first wood project was a big treehouse. The tree was about 100' tall and I had floors from about 10' from the bottom to about 5' from the top!:D

I'd also get a scroll saw and maybe a Dremel.