A router is at the top of my list for “nice to have, adds a lot of value, but not absolutely necessary for basic projects” tools. I still don’t have a router table after 6 years, just a Makita plunge router that I got for $100. Great tool, but not 100% necessary if you’re just trying to make basic tables and such.
People will complain about any number of tools. “THIS GUY HAS $10K IN TOOLS, MINIMUM, NO ONE CAN DO THIS PROJECT WITHOUT ALL THOSE TOOLS!!!1!”
Ignoring the fact that while that particular shop has expensive tools, nobody (sane) goes out and drops all that money at once. Most woodworking projects only need a table saw, a planer, a cordless drill, an orbital sander, glue, sandpaper and finish.
All of the tools can be found cheap on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, yard sales, or estate sales/auctions.
Table saw: I ran with a DeWalt job site saw for years before my wife talked me into getting a saw stop. $350 new, or ~$100 used. You can also find used contractor saws for $300 on a regular basis on the aforementioned platforms.
Planer: I used a shitty lunchbox planer for years that I saved from a dumpster with some 3D printed gears that I designed. I bought a used tank of a planer (still only 12", but 230V and weighs about two of me) for $200. You don’t need a jointer. Make a jointer sled for your planer and a jointer sled for your table saw. Takes longer, but I still used the planer sled for boards that don’t fit on my jointer.
Cordless drill: Ryobi has a drill and driver combo for around $100, or get a DeWalt for $60. Or scrape the bottom of the barrel for Harbor Freight that’ll get you by for a bit for $20
Random orbit sander: I used a $14 one from Walmart for years until my hands started hurting after using it. $100 for a new Makita one, can be found for $50 or less used.
Sandpaper: $12 for a massive pack on Amazon
Glue: $10 for a medium sized bottle of Titebond II
Drill bits: $5 at harbor freight
Woodworking isn’t a cheap hobby, but you can get into it with used tools and some restoration work. People love to nitpick shit, and it gets old seeing the same defeatist mentality of people talking themselves out of even trying it.
Space is the only thing you need, but even then, I started on a 5’x5’ apartment balcony in Florida, and used an uninsulated, unpowered 9’x16’ shed in Alaska for several years.
If the recess isn’t exactly the depth of available plywood, unless you have a plunge router and are comfortable making a sled to route the recess slightly deeper, this might be a more difficult job than anticipated. Veneer would be more doable because they’re super thin
Yeah, I’m at that point now. Normally I don’t engage this heavily with obvious trolls, guess this is my quarterly reminder why I don’t.
Right? This dude can’t comprehend that he’s the problem here, not a writing challenge/competition. Reminds me of a saying “If it smells like shit everywhere you go, check your shoe”
Sure lil buddy, whatever you say. Have fun being an overly verbose, abrasive dickwad and thinking that it somehow makes you an intellectual, that’ll show people not to “catch attitude with you.”
On the off chance that you’re actually open to hearing any kind of criticism, sure:
That is the most pretentious way of saying “nuh-uh” I’ve read today. Feel free to continue your string of pseudo-intellectual, self-aggrandizing bullshit, but don’t expect me to clap for you.
You can sit around and be a pretentious dick all you want, or you can take this as an opportunity to welcome people to something that you enjoy. Clearly you’ve already decided to do the former.
When I first started woodworking, I was in an uninsulated shed in Alaska and didn’t bother with anything more than a crappy dust mask. After my first project, I was coughing dust and blowing sawdust out of my nose for a few days. Fuuuuuuuck that.
Since then, I’ve moved a few times, upgraded my dust collection setup, and I still just wear a respirator with P100 cartridges (unless I’m finishing, in which case I’ll use the VOC cartridges).
Even with proper dust collection, I’d rather just wear PPE. At this point, I view having good dust collection as more of a time saver for cleaning than actual protection.
Playing D&D with some people on Friday, then setting up my new Sawstop table saw. After that, building a miter saw station for some storage and more effective use of space in my shop. I doubt I’ll finish that, but then I need to finish restoring an old planer from sometime between 1935 and 1986 (got everything taken apart, cleaned up, painted, put back together, just need to rewire it) so I can sell my cheap one. If I manage to get all of that done, then I have some nightstands to build
Melatonin gives me some trippy ass dreams/night terrors
Congrats!
Interesting. I can’t add images in the body, but that may just be an issue with Sync. There’s a patch coming out soon that’s supposed to address some issues with image upload, so maybe that’ll fix it. Thanks for the input!
Great time!
Are we able to upload multiple images on this instance? If not, was that a conscious decision?
Thanks! I painted them when we moved in at my wife’s request.
The stretcher is a lazy half lap joint, and I didn’t want to deal with clearance to fit the front between the legs.
Thanks!
I’d agree with router before a drill press, miter saw, bandsaw, and a jointer. However, for simple furniture projects, I’d argue a planer is the second most important tool behind a table saw. You can use a planer with a sled for face jointing, and a table saw sled for edge jointing. Yes, you need a router for edge profiles, but not for dead simple tables and cabinets.
Exceptionally versatile tool, and necessary to take you to the next level, but not more important than a planer.