All Replies on Expanding my tool collection. What should I get next?

There are some drilling jobs that shouldn’t be done freehand so I suggest a drill press.

You could probably use a bigger belt sander.

A 6-8” or bigger jointer planer would be nice for cabinet making.

Myself, I have been keeping my eye out for an oscillating spindle sander.

Well this is dumb. The objective is to build things, not multiply your tools. Buy one if you need one for a task at hand.

If you are not creative you have a point.

For me, a set of capable tools expands the number of things I can do, while waiting to buy a tool when I have a specific need means I miss a lot of opportunities to create.

I agree with gargey in his post just above as it looks me senseless anything else than adjust your tools set according to your needs.

I suggest you to start with some projects, even simple ones like to construct a few sawhorses or a benchtop and to understand what tools you need or prefer to use as well if anything is missing… use your experience constructing stuff to define what additional tools you would go as well what from your current tools can be sold or gave away as you do not need or use it…

The bottom line is your actual needs in your projects must drive your purchase for new tools...

-- An Amateur Woodworker

I’m usually one who says to never buy any tool until you can’t-do-it-at-all on THIS PROJECT. That said . . .

If you like making the knick-knack, puzzles, key chains, et al, I imagine a scroll saw would come in handy. I don’t have one myself, ‘cause I don’t do that kind of thing (yet). But I know people do use a scroll saw for that kind of thing and there’s a whole world of craftsy projects out there based on scroll saw work.

-- Jim Maher, Illinois

every shop should have a drill press.

Cabinet building benefits greatly from pneumatic tools. Being able to fasten two panels together in about 5 seconds is transformative.

I agree with everyone else, though, that it should be driven by need. The tools in my shop that are sitting around collecting dust are the ones that I bought because I could instead of the ones I bought because I needed them.

But just because it’s a fun question, here are some tools I find myself using all the time that I wouldn’t have anticipated. In no particular order:

• taper bits. Drill bits for #6, #8, and #10 screws that drill perfect pilot holes and have an adjustable counter sink built in. I bought them reluctantly when I was following along on a cross cut sled build, and the instructions insisted that if I wanted the promised results, I needed to use a taper bit. Since then, I found I use these three more than any other drill bit in my shop.
• Edge guide for my plunge router. I think of it as the other half of my plunge base. The plunge base is incomplete without it. I don’t know why these are treated as afterthoughts most of the time.
• Compound square. Originally bought one. I have three and counting now. Having a few that you can set for various depths of whatever project you’re working on is really useful.
• Wixey digital fence for my table saw. I would never have bought this except I had a problem with my fence and needed to replace everything, including the railings that had the markings on it. This thing is transformative. I don’t ever have to account for blade kerf, even with a stacked dado set. I can just adjust the zero point of the fence instead. Also, when you find you need to reset the fence to the same width as a previous cut, this fence lets you do it with impressive accuracy. ALSO, my digital calipers really came into their own in combination with the Wixey fence. Both add and subtract in thousandths of an inch. Working in the same units really helps.

I’d wade in and say that a drill press is a “necessity” notice the ”””. You could do just about everything and I do mean everything without one but you sacrifice accuracy and repeatibility and such.

If it were me looking with a hobby eye towards purchases I would second the scroll saw and a lathe. These two tools are used quite a bit in the hobby field, I am stock-piling goodies so when the weather turns nice again here the wife can hit craft shows. For all these trinket type things either the scroll saw or lathe is used, one or the other. I only have a MIDI lathe at the moment and it serves my purposes.

-- Maintenance Man - I do precision guesswork based on unreliable data from people of questionable knowledge...

Drill press for sure, Scroll saw for small projects, and to me a bandsaw. It takes time. Buy them as you need them.

-- You can't trust a dog to guard your food.

Well…. I guess judging by the the number of idiots that commented I must have failed at getting across what I was really trying to figure out. Before I re-explain my question. I would like to point out that if you really thought that this was a senseless, pointless, or just a dumb question then why would you go out of your way to respond to it? Seems that your comment was pointless, senseless and a waist of time.

Now that that’s out of the way I’ll move on and explain my question better.

Because the work that I do ranges so widely I am trying to figure out which of the tools would benefit me the most moving forward. I understand buying tools based on need. I understand what my needs moving forward are. Because of the wide range of projects that I do the need of a planer is equal to the need of the drill press and it’s about equal to the need of the bandsaw, as I do get offered a lot of rough materials that would need resawing and surface planing. Those would be more for the larger projects, however the drill press and planer could help me on some smaller projects as well. The Lathe and the scroll saw would be more out of want and need, but I have had projects that I have needed those tools for and ended up going to a friend’s shop to use. I am really trying to figure out what’s going to give me the most bang for my buck without overlapping what could be done with current tools.
Judging from a few individuals who were actually kind enough to reply politely. I believe the repeatability of the drill Press would be at the top of my list. However I still wonder how much I could benefit from the planner. I will definitely be going to get a finnish nailer ASAP as I do constantly need it for almost everything.
Thank you to everyone who has replied politely. Your thoughts and advice are appreciated.

Well…. I guess judging by the the number of idiots that commented I must have failed at getting across what I was really trying to figure out.
- Kenny82

Hmmm… second post on the site and already calling people idiots… Not off to a very good start.

Cheers,
Brad

-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable

I just call it like I see it.

I was going to offer some suggestions…..........now I think not.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Judging from a few individuals who were actually kind enough to reply politely. I believe the repeatability of the drill Press would be at the top of my list. However I still wonder how much I could benefit from the planner.

You’ve got a router, pocket hole jig, electric drill – these things can accomplish a lot of what a drill press can do. I’m not saying don’t get a drill press. I use mostly hand tools and I love my drill press, but I got by just fine without one for a few years. To me, there is no “must-have” tool because you can almost (not always) complete the same task using different methods. There are obviously tools better suited for some jobs than others, just as there are tools that make the work easier. But if you want to build tables and chairs and cabinets, etc. you need to be able to make boards dead flat and square. That’s Priority #1.

As for this:

Well…. I guess judging by the the number of idiots that commented I must have failed at getting across what I was really trying to figure out.

I don’t see anyone who didn’t understand what you were saying. In your list of what you are considering to buy, “Thickness planer” is the last thing listed, and you still wonder if you’d benefit from it. You don’t even have “jointer” anywhere, power or hand. I wouldn’t call anyone here an idiot when it’s clear to me that you aren’t as concerned about the most basic fundamentals of woodworking as much as you are for wanting to have The Full Range Of Tools, whatever the heck that is, before you get going.

You need to be able to get boards dead flat and square, even if you’re hanging out with the scroll saw all day long. Or a lathe – how are you gonna center something properly? Maybe you want nothing but oblong Salvador Dali pizza cutter handles, I don’t know.

Not trying to be a jerk, but there’s one thing I know for a fact after many failures and do-overs: if you don’t have the tools to prepare your stock properly, you’re screwed. Your shelves won’t fit right because your entire cabinet isn’t square, your dovetails will have gaps, your drawer bottom won’t fit, on and on.

Dead flat and square, dead flat and square, dead flat and square <——beat this into your head for the rest of your woodworking life.

Also – I see loads of power tools on your list and no mention of dust collection. Like I said, I use mostly hand tools so I have no dust collection system. But I’ve got a giant bandsaw, various sanders, circ saw, few more things that use electricity – the dust from those few tools is insane. If you’re mostly a power tool guy, invest in a DC system. The problem isn’t just the stuff you see hovering in the air, it’s the stuff you can’t see. And your shop will be a general mess.

I just call it like I see it.

- Kenny82

Code for “I don’t care if I’m rude to people.”

-- No craft is very far from the line beyond which is magic. -- Lord Dunsany — Instagram @grailwoodworks

I just call it like I see it.

- Kenny82

Code for “I don t care if I m rude to people.”

- JADobson

In fairness to the OP, he asked a question. He got a few replies basically saying he was an idiot for asking the question. Sometimes that will trigger a rude post.

As to his question, he seems to be building a “wish-list”, not a shopping list. Quite frankly I think you could put 10 people in a room and get 10 different prioritized wish lists…it all depends on what types of things he’ll be doing the most. I would say that air-nailers would be common to most people. The drill press is nice to have especially if he also does any machine work but solely as a wood working tool I would say is “nice to have but not essential”. I personally would rank the thickness planer ahead of the band-saw but that’s just me. Lathe would be on the bottom of my list because that would open a whole new door that I have never entered and not sure I want to!

I don t see anyone who didn t understand what you were saying. In your list of what you are considering to buy, “Thickness planer” is the last thing listed, and you still wonder if you d benefit from it. You don t even have “jointer” anywhere, power or hand. I wouldn t call anyone here an idiot when it s clear to me that you aren t as concerned about the most basic fundamentals of woodworking as much as you are for wanting to have The Full Range Of Tools, whatever the heck that is, before you get going.

You need to be able to get boards dead flat and square, even if you re hanging out with the scroll saw all day long. Or a lathe – how are you gonna center something properly? Maybe you want nothing but oblong Salvador Dali pizza cutter handles, I don t know.

Not trying to be a jerk, but there s one thing I know for a fact after many failures and do-overs: if you don t have the tools to prepare your stock properly, you re screwed. Your shelves won t fit right because your entire cabinet isn t square, your dovetails will have gaps, your drawer bottom won t fit, on and on.

Dead flat and square, dead flat and square, dead flat and square <——>

Yeah, I was going to ask how exactly do you flatten your stock? Even the claimed S4S stuff you can buy is never truly square, so I’d probably start with some type of planer and jointer. Also if your going to give hand tools a go, which are fun as hell by the way, when you grasp the learning curve. Why not just use the money to take said classes?

This is me personally, but the longer I put something off, the sooner I am to forget about it and never actually do it. The few classes I’ve taken have been a tremendous help to me and put in place skills I use every time I’m woodworking.

Take my advice with a grain of salt, but there are some great people who really know what they’re talking about on here. I’ve learned a lot from these forums and everyone seems to generally want to help.

-- Nick, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Never mind, could not resist.

From a guy who previously owned a drill press and now does NOT, get a drill press. It’s next on my list to purchase. If you have bench top space you could get a cheap table top version. I personally want a standing multi speed press good for wood or metal.