Thews40 Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 I'm thinking about getting a new hobby. I'm going to get into woodworking. Specifically, building some basic furniture: bookcases, desks, shelves, that thing that goes over your toilet with the cabinet. Should I be investing in a table saw, a circular saw, both, or something else? Discuss. Where do you live... I have extras. I have 85% of the middle finger on my left hand... beware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Where do you live... I have extras. I have 85% of the middle finger on my left hand... beware. New Jersey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 and always remember: measure once, cut twice. I was actually going to recommend getting a nice tape measure and squares etc...and not just getting them but using them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Saw 1 was pretty good. I enjoyed it. Saw 2 was, well a waste of time, but it did have the smoking hot Dina Meyer in it. Never saw Saw 3 or 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 So, reviving this thread, when we moved into the new house I hit craigslist pretty hard and now have a woodworking shop that takes up pretty much all of our 3 car garage when it's in full swing. I got a table saw, miter chop saw, router table, portable planer, workbench, palm sander, circ saw, a crapload of clamps and a bunch of other stuff. So far I've made *the brackets that the surround sound speakers are hanging from *I've added about 10 shelves to our master closet *converted a coat closet into a linen closet (2 coat closets in the desert. . .brilliant planning by our builder) *turned an entire wall of our storage space into a CD/DVD library * built my MIL a window planter *made a board game nerd friend of mine a dice tower *built a standing toilet paper cabinet for the powder room And today I finished by far my largest project yet: an 8'x10' custom artsy bookcase in my living room. By my estimation this took around 300 hours start to finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 So, reviving this thread, when we moved into the new house I hit craigslist pretty hard and now have a woodworking shop that takes up pretty much all of our 3 car garage when it's in full swing. I got a table saw, miter chop saw, router table, portable planer, workbench, palm sander, circ saw, a crapload of clamps and a bunch of other stuff. So far I've made *the brackets that the surround sound speakers are hanging from *I've added about 10 shelves to our master closet *converted a coat closet into a linen closet (2 coat closets in the desert. . .brilliant planning by our builder) *turned an entire wall of our storage space into a CD/DVD library * built my MIL a window planter *made a board game nerd friend of mine a dice tower *built a standing toilet paper cabinet for the powder room And today I finished by far my largest project yet: an 8'x10' custom artsy bookcase in my living room. By my estimation this took around 300 hours start to finish. Nice work, Sheik! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Good job Sheik, glad to see Monty and I aren't the only geeks around here playing with lumber. I haven't quite been able to expand my "woodshop" off of the front porch, yet (begin redneck jokes..... NOW!!!) But have been able to complete a few projects. Mahogany Trestle Table Cherry End Table Mahogany Sofa Table (not completed, but a better view of the finish on the top.) Bird Wood Carving This is the the carving in the bottom stretcher of a small bookcase that I am building. Hopefully the bookcase will be done soon, but I haven't had a lot of time lately. I'm still working on getting more tools, but I've got to build my shop first. Currently I have a 10" bandsaw, a router table, a festool track saw, a thickness planer (13"), and a bunch of hand tools. Due to this... It takes me FOREVER to finish a project. I have also built a couple of chairs but don't have any pictures handy. (here is a chair, while being built, and the view from my front porch shop.) My next project is going to be a hallway table, but I've gotta design it first. Edited October 1, 2012 by SEC=UGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh B Tool Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Table and miter saw, a good router and a jig saw. Start out on cheap woods until you get comfortable. Great hobby for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Table and miter saw, a good router and a jig saw. Start out on cheap woods until you get comfortable. Great hobby for sure Started thinking about this... Table Saw - Never used, so I'm not sure how important they really are. Efficient, yes, if you have properly jointed and flattened your boards. Fairly dangerous, check. That being said, without a table saw I have been able to produce quite a few large square tabletops and other furniture components. It may have taken a bit more work, but I just don't see a table saw as a necessity, especially at $1,800 + for a decent one. Miter saw - I have a manual one made by Nobex. I have used a Sliding compound miter saw that I borrowed from a friend of mine for cutting some 3X3 pieces, but have found that most of the work can be effectively done with a manual one. That being said, If I had $600 to $1,000 to drop on one, I would definitely invest in a sliding compound miter saw. Jig saw - I have one, used it once. I find them to be quite annoying to use, they don't cut well and are useless in thicker stock. Router - These are a must have for straight lining long boards without a table or track saw. Also, the perform numerous other tasks that no other piece of equipment can match. I do have a Stanley #55 combo plane that can perform many of the tasks of a router, but it is not much fun to use. Band saw - probably the most versatile and "most needed" piece of equipment I own. It is a workhorse and is what I use to make the bulk of my preliminary cuts. If you came up to me and said I'm taking away all your power tools but one, I'd keep the bandsaw (and somehow try to sneak off with the router.) I'd agree with the practicing on cheap wood thingy, with one exception... Many lumber yards on a monthly basis, or so, will set up a cart with a bunch of nice lumber that is in some way defective (bowed, warped, cracked, not clear (frequent knots), etc...) I picked up what I would consider damn near a pick-up truck load for $100 when I was starting out. All the boards were between 8 and 14 ft. in length and ranging from 4/4 to 12/4 and varying good widths. The cart had African Mahogany, Cherry, Spanish Cedar, Poplar, and Maple. In total, probably over 175 BF of wood (about $.60 per board foot for good wood and in many ways cheaper than what you would pay for the stuff they sell at HD or Lowe's.) I was by there a couple weeks ago and they had their cart set out again with about 230+ BF, $200... Same deal as before but this time they had some hard maple and black walnut sprinkled in there. Be sure to check out your local yard and see if they have a sale on this type of stuff and when. Another good thing about getting this wood is that you learn how to dress lumber on your own which can save you money in the long run and you become accustomed to working with good hardwoods vs. soft woods or lesser hardwoods that react differently to tooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 I just don't see a table saw as a necessity, especially at $1,800 + for a decent one. um, wut? I got mine off Craigslist for $100. It's nothing fancy, but it's a Craftsman and it's all metal. . no plastic table surface or fence. Biggest difference between it and a high end model is the table size, but $30 worth of fir 2x4s and some MDF and you've got yourself a nice big outfeed table. I can't imagine not using a table saw in any project. How do you rip 8 foot sheets of plywood? That being said, If I had $600 to $1,000 to drop on one, I would definitely invest in a sliding compound miter saw. Again, wut? I got the $85 Chinese piece of crap from Harbor Freight. Not a great tool, but it gets the job done and I'm guessing more accurately than a manual miter. Jig saw - I have one, used it once. I find them to be quite annoying to use, they don't cut well and are useless in thicker stock. Agree 100% here. I never use mine. Wow about your local yard offering scraps of good wood for less than $1/BF. . .that's amazing. As far as I know, the only place in Vegas that sells furniture grade wood has a monthly special that sucks compared to yours. This month it's red oak for $2.39/BF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 um, wut? I got mine off Craigslist for $100. It's nothing fancy, but it's a Craftsman and it's all metal. . no plastic table surface or fence. Biggest difference between it and a high end model is the table size, but $30 worth of fir 2x4s and some MDF and you've got yourself a nice big outfeed table. I can't imagine not using a table saw in any project. How do you rip 8 foot sheets of plywood? Never really used plywood except for on a cellar door that I made for the rental house. For ripping that, I simply set the plywood on my workbench, pull out the track saw and cut on the line (one could also use a circular saw with a straight edge.) With regard to the table saw pricing, I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to buying tools. I would have to go with a big cabinet saw, powermatic, Laguna or Sawstop... Most likely a Sawstop, due to me being deathly afraid of table saws, with at least a 3.0 HP motor and 36" rip capacity. I managed to build a 34" x 90" table top without a table saw, not sure if I'll ever build anything bigger than that, so at this point I really don't place a priority on a table saw. Again, wut? I got the $85 Chinese piece of crap from Harbor Freight. Not a great tool, but it gets the job done and I'm guessing more accurately than a manual miter. You'd be amazed at the precision you can get with the Nobex miter saws, amazed. Again, somewhat of a tool snob, Makita or DeWalt make pretty good miter saws, I could go with a Hitachi also, but Festool supposedly makes the best, so yer looking at $500 minimum for the De, Mak or Hit and up to $1,000 + for the Festool Kapex. Also, I'm talking about pricing for a sliding compound miter saw, not just a miter saw. The SCMS gives you greater cutting capacity which I would find necessary. Agree 100% here. I never use mine. Wow about your local yard offering scraps of good wood for less than $1/BF. . .that's amazing. As far as I know, the only place in Vegas that sells furniture grade wood has a monthly special that sucks compared to yours. This month it's red oak for $2.39/BF. Red Oak for $2.39 is a good deal. I was looking for some cheaper wood for my bench top and I think I was quoted right around $3.00 from my place, went with Hickory for $2.79, if my memory serves me correctly. But, yes, it is a great deal. Now, mind you, once you get it home, a good bit of this stuff is going to have to be cut down into shorter lengths to get clear boards from it and then you will spend quite some time with your planes taking out any warping and then you get to spend a bit more time getting your first straight edge... Inexpensive, but a good bit of work. That all being said, the best tool values I find are for handplanes on e-bay. You can get great deals on the older Bedrocks and Baileys so long as they aren't in good enough shape where the collectors start bidding you up. You want to buy pre WWII models. I just picked up a #3 Bailey for $24.00 + $8.00 shipping. It's gonna need to have the sole flatened a bit and the blade sharpened, but other than that it is a great tool. For comparison, I have two Lie Nielsen planes, I don't use them, the old baileys and bedrocks seem to have a better feel to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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