Beginner's Introduction to Power Tools for First Time Woodworkers

First, I would definitely recommend borrowing tools as you are getting started. Everyone knows somebody with some power tools. Nearly every family has a circular saw and you can certainly bum some tools off of close family members, co-workers or friends. So my first suggestions would be to not buy power tools until you've decided woodworking is right for you!Power tools are a big investment. I acquired my first tools a little at a time. In fact, we borrowed (we still have them after seven years…) our low-end circular saw and table saw from my in-laws as we were getting started. For our entertainment center project, we borrowed an air compressor and nail guns, a jig saw and a router from neighbors and co-workers. 

If you are serious about woodworking, below are my recommendations as you are consider investing in power tools. This list is by no means comprehensive and there are lots of tools available, but I will review the basic tools I use and give my opinion of what to look for when buying tools.

The great thing about woodworking is the ability to do things 100 different ways and get the same or similar results. You can do multiple tasks with multiple tools, so you obviously don’t need all the tools below. Be creative with what you've got!

Must-Haves
1. Tape Measure – The tape measure is pretty self-explanatory, but if you have used a tape measure very long, you know the value of spending a whopping $9 to get a good one. This is not a place to scrimp and save a couple dollars. I prefer the Stanley 25’ tape measure. It has inches on both sides and markings to the 16th of an inch (any more than that is not realistic). It is very easy to read. It is wide enough that it doesn't fold when you are pulling it over a long distance. Here is the major tip: DO NOT GET A TAPE MEASURE WITH METRIC UNITS ON ONE SIDE (i.e. centimeters). Nothing is more frustrating than having the centimeters on one side when I’m trying to mark a measurement. Do not get a flimsy, narrow tape measure. You will wrestle with the tape measure every time you pull a measurement over 4 feet.

2. Drill and Impact Driver – You can get away with a drill only, but once you have the drill and driver combination, you will wonder what you ever did without both of them. There are corded drills and cordless drills. The corded drills are typically more powerful and never run out of juice. For large drilling projects, a corded drill is a must have. However, for the average woodworker (such as me), I go exclusively with the cordless drill and driver because of the convenience factor. The new lithium ion batteries on the drills make the cordless drills much lighter and give them better battery life with less charging time than older nickel–cadmium battery (NiCd battery or NiCad battery) cordless drills.

A lot of drills have a clutch adjustment near the chuck that can be adjusted to slip at a certain torque. This is very handy if you are working with soft materials and do not want to damage your wood by over tightening your screw. Most chucks now-a-days are hand tightened and loosened. This is awesome because it is so fast. I can quickly change my drill bits with my hands and no special chuck bit. Older and bigger drills may still have a chuck, but I would choose a hand tightened chuck for ordinary woodworking projects. There are hammer drills which are great for drilling through concrete or masonry, but they are not used in woodworking.

What is an impact driver? Well, think of the impact wrenches used to remove the lugs from your tires. It is that in a smaller version used to drive screws. The impact driver usually looks stubbier and smaller than the drill and has a quick release bit with no chuck or clutch. I wasn't familiar with an impact driver until about 8 years ago and I absolutely love it now. It can drive long screws deep into hard wood with very little rotating force applied to your hands. You don’t need to have super strength anymore to drive long screws into wood.

I LOVE my Makita 18 volt drill/driver combo! It costs around $200 . 

3. Hammer – There is no need to have a super nice hammer. I don’t use a hammer very much unless I’m building something rough such as storage shelves, a shed or framing a wall. Because you don’t want to harm the wood, I usually use either a drill or an air compressor with a finish nail gun. You can use a hammer and finish nails to join pieces together or to fasten trim to other pieces, but it vibrates and bounces quite a bit and if you are not extremely careful, you could damage the wood. If you do use a hammer to nail finish nails, drive the finish nail nearly flush with the wood and then use a nail set to slightly countersink the nail and prevent damage to the wood (just don’t let the countersink slip off the nail head and damage the wood). Don’t buy a hammer with a milled-face (usually the heavier and longer framing hammers) as this will dimple the wood. Get a hammer that you can comfortably handle without a lot of strain. I do use my hammer quite often for pulling nails, separating wood, adjusting wood, etc. A must have for the wood shop.

4. Circular Saw – The circular saw is one of the most versatile tools in the wood shop  It often hear it referred to as a Skil saw. You can do many project with only a circular saw. I use it quite often to make rip cuts to plywood and cross cuts to studs and other dimensional material. You can quickly and easily adjust the blade depth and adjust the blade bevel. It is portable and can be carried around the work area very easily. Instead of bringing the material to the saw, you bring the saw to the material. This can save your back if you are making repetitive cuts on large sheets of material. The only drawback is that the circular is not as accurate and clean as the miter saw and the table saw. It is good at a lot of stuff, but it is not the best at anything. This is a must have tool for the woodworker (and just a normal person)!

I do have some recommendations for the circular saw. A lot of the common circular saws have the blade on the right. This is harder to see and follow your cut line or chalk line when you are cutting. The circular saws that I prefer have the blade on the left side of the saw. These are what we used for framing houses and they are longer and heavier than the standard right sided saws. The left side blades usually have a very powerful worm drive (although Makita offers a Hypoid Saw that is lighter). 

The battery powered circular saws often feature the blade on the left side, which is nice. I have used several of the battery powered saws and I don’t recommend them as a need-to-have. They are very convenient, but they don’t offer the power you need for repetitive cuts and they are usually the same price as the high quality corded saws.

4. Compound Miter Saw – The compound miter saw (often called a chop saw) is a must have for any woodworker. There are tons of options for the compound miter saw and they range from basic to advance. The most basic level range from $100 - $200 and perform the necessary functions offering the ability to turn the saw 45 degrees in each direction and bevel the saw up to 45 degrees in one direction. Most of these basic saw also offer a laser guide, which is awesome. With these basic saws, you can cut materials up to about 6 inches wide and about 4-6 inches tall. This will work great for standard crown and molding and most miter and bevel cuts needed for your woodworking project.

The nicer saws offer many more features such as a 12 inch blade for deeper and wider cuts, a slide for long cross cuts, a dust collection bag, a taller and expandable fence, a large table base, table base extensions, higher clearance for taller cuts, bevel cuts to each side and wider miter cuts (beyond 45 degrees), and more accuracy. I have the Bosch 5312, a high end compound miter saw, and I absolutely love what it can do. I can make wide cross cuts on 12 inches materials with the slide, cut materials about 6 inches tall, and make extremely quick adjust to the bevel and miter because it has “stops” at the most common angles.

5. Table saw – The table saw is a must have woodworking tool. As with the compound miter saw, there are tons of options ranging from basic to advance. The most basic table saws range from $100 - $200 and perform the necessary functions to make the majority of cuts. The higher end table saws offer a bigger table, a fence with measurements, a more sturdy and accurate fence, a larger blade for deeper cuts and the ability to tilt the blade. Some table saws even offer an automatic brake that stops immediately if it senses contact with a body part, a very nice feature if you are worried about the safety of the tool.

Nice-to-Have
1. Clamps – Clamps are one of those things that you can never have too many of. There are so many clamps out there and they are all great for specific things. You can get bar clamps, spring clamps, face clamps, clutch bar clamps, corner clamps, C clamps, etc. I use my clamps all the time as an extra hand. It’s great to hold your wood in place anytime you are using a handheld power tool. I probably have 20 clamps and I still need more sometimes. I would recommending starting with at least two bar clamps at least 12 inches wide. You will be surprised at the many uses you find for your clamps as you use them.

2. Air Compressor – The air compressor is a must have for the avid woodworker. I use my air compressor primarily to power pneumatic nail guns. There are all sorts of air compressors on the market for a wide range of uses. The common woodworker doesn't need the large, powerful compressors available.

3. Nail Guns – There are several nail guns for several applications. The most common nail guns and staple guns for woodworkers are 18 gauge nail guns (often called brad nailer), which typically shoots 5/8 inch to 2 inch brads, 16 gauge nail guns, which typically shoot 1 inch to 2 ½ inch, and a staple guns, which typically shoots up one inch staples. Pneumatic nail guns are extremely fast and easy. I often use my even when I am joining materials by other methods such as wood gluing, Kreg Jig, mortise and tenon, or biscuit. The nails are not as strong, but they hold the materials in place until the glue dries. I bought an air compressor combo kit because it is so much cheaper than buying the tools all separate. 

4. Speed Square and Builder’s Square – The speed square is one of my most used tools. It is only a few bucks and I use it all the time. I primarily use it to draw perpendicular cut lines and making sure everything is square and true. You can also use it to figure out angles and draw angled lines. You can also use your speed square to draw lines parallel to an edge by holding your pencil at a measurement on the speed square and pulling the speed square along the edge. Speed squares come in a variety of sizes, but I would recommend the 7 inch square.

I also use a builder’s square quite often. I use it as a straight edge probably more then I use is as a square to draw straight lines and make sure everything is square and true. I use it to see the depth of my bit on the router and check the projection of my blade on my table saw onto wood.

5. Jig Saw – A jig saw is a nice to have on some projects and a must have for other projects. I use a jig saw for nearly all of my curved cuts on materials thinner than 1 inch. Because the jigsaw goes to the material, it is perfect for cutting curves on large sheet goods. The bandsaw is limited because it can only work with materials that can be brought up to the saw and used on the table, but the jigsaw can work on any size material. It is a great started saw because it is less intimidating than other saws and it is light, portable and easy to use.

6. Kreg Jig – The Kreg Jig creates perfect pocket holes for pocket screws. After a nail gun, it is probably the fastest way to join two pieces of wood together. The screw create a very strong joint that can be glued if desired. I use the Kreg Jig all the time for concealed joints. See my article on a Kreg Jig.

7. Router – The router is a nice-to-have and a must-have for some projects. They come in many forms, some of them handheld and some table mounted. A lot of them can be either table mounted or handheld. I personally have a table mounted and a handheld router and I use the table mounted router exclusively. I guess the handheld router offers some flexibility and convenience, but I have been able to make all my routers with the table mounted router. Most decent table routers are around $100. These router can do the edging and profiling needed for nearly all of the projects. I also have a shaper (which is just a large and high quality router) that can be used to do deep routers including raised panel doors with rails and stiles.

8. Combination Square – The combination square is similar in function to the speed square, but you can adjust the ruler guide along the handle. There is a dial in the handle that can be loosened to adjust the ruler and tightened to hold the ruler in place. This is great if you want to quickly mark a line a certain distance from the face or edge of some wood. This is perfect for marking lines perpendicular along an edge. It also adjusts to get in tight spaces that a speed square doesn’t fit. I use mine all the time to mark a line where I need to nail. I hate having nails missed and a guide line prevents missed nails. I would recommend the 12 inch combination square for most common tasks. Please buy one. After you use it a few times, you will thank me!

9. Band Saw – A band saw is great. It is called a band saw because the blade is a in a band and rotates around. A band saw is used for curved cuts and tall cuts. It can do something a jigsaw can’t because it can make very tall cuts. It is also easier to hold the material and move it around rather than to hold the saw. I use my band saw for all curved cuts on materials that can be brought to the saw and lifted up (for large sheets, they just don’t fit up on the band saw table.

 

10.Random orbit sander – A random orbit sander is a handheld sander that has a circle disk at the bottom with sandpaper. It orbits back and forth in a random motion. I love my random orbital sander. It is very powerful and works great at creating a uniform sanded surface. It can accept a variety of sandpaper grit and it seems to work very fast. The downside is the round shape makes it difficult to get in square corners and it definitely wears out your hand after holding it for a few minutes. One the plus side, it builds up those forearm muscles.

11. Level – A level can be used for a variety of reason but it is most often used to check the level and plumb (vertical level) of a surface. I use my 4-foot level all the time to mark cut lines on sheets of materials. The bottom side of my level provides a smooth, straight line perfect for making straight lines on materials. Plus, you'll need a 4-foot level if you are trying to hang anything on your wall.

 

12. Chalk Line – A chalk line is great for marking lines on surfaces longer than 4 feet. I use my chalkline for quickly marking rip cuts on plywood sheets. It is also very handy if you only have one person because you can hook the end piece to one side of the wood and string the chalk line to the other side. It works best with two people.

13. Drill Press – A drill press is a very handy tool for making precise holes to precise depths. It often features adjustable speeds and an adjustable platform to work around. The nice thing about a drill press is you can do more than just drill. There are several other attachments that make it a versatile machine.

Luxury-to-Have
1. Planer – A planer is a luxury to have tool for woodworkers. The planer is able to shave off a very thin amount on wood to give it a nice flat surface. This is great for rough lumber and for creating a nice, smooth wood surface. The drawback is that it usually is only 13 inches wide, so materials wider than that would not fit in the planer. If you buy materials that aren’t already surfaced, a planer is a must. However, for the typical DIYer, a planer is not necessary for basic projects. I have the Dewalt DW735 planer and have been very happy with it. It has two speeds for rough and finer planes. It has a six-inch depth capacity and 13-inch wide capacity. My favorite feature is the built-in material-removal gauge in the front that tell you the amount you are taking out (width of the cut) and the recommendations for the width of material you are feeding through. You can easily adjust the height with the turn-wheel. The drawbacks are that it is extremely heavy and it shoots woodchips everywhere if you don’t have it hooked up to a dust collection system.

2. Reciprocating Saw – A reciprocating saw, also known as a Sawzall, is a handheld power tools used to make rough cuts to lumber. The blades very in size and depth and are commonly used to cut a variety of materials. As a framer, these saws were very useful to make cuts to wood that was in tight spots or directly adjacent to other materials where other saws couldn’t reach. However, I don’t use the Sawzall very much with my woodworking projects because it leaves a very rough and hard to control cut. Unless you are just making a rough cut, there are other, more precise tools that work better for building furniture.

3. Dremel – Dremel has a lot of multitask tools that can really be useful for a variety of tasks. They have come out with a ton of cool tools that can do a lot of functions. They have a rotary tool (Dremel 4000) with tons of attachments like cut off blade, sand paper, drill bit, etc.; a small saw tool (Saw-Max) with different types of blades for different materials; a Trio Rotary Tool kit with a different style grip than the Dremel 4000; and an Oscillating Tool Kit (which personnally I think is the coolest) that can do plug cuts!

4. Scroll Saw – A scroll saw looks like a miniature band saw. The difference is that the blade moves up and down instead of in a circle like a band saw. A scroll saw is typically used for shorter pieces of materials and is a favorite for woodcrafters who work with materials less than 1 inch. I don’t have a scroll saw, but I remember my mom always using one to cut out the wood Christmas decorations and holiday decorations. The height of the scroll saw is usually much smaller than band saw. The blades are very thin and are excellent for making extremely tight curve cuts. Sheet sander – A sheet sander is a little less powerful than a random orbit sander, but its square shape makes it ideal for sanding those square corners. There are also triangle shaped sheet sanders that make it perfect for getting in tight corners and tight angles. This is a nice to have if you are sanding a lot of wood.

 

5. Disc Sander – A disc sander is a cool to have tool that makes sanding quick and easy. I love to use my when I need to trim 1/16 to 1/8 inch off a piece of wood. It is also nice to smooth a small surface completely flat. I love it to found radiuses on small pieces of wood. I simply hold the piece of wood up to the disk and rotate it in a constant motion. It works great to create a nice uniform shape! (note: the picture shows both a disc and belt sander)

6. Shaper – A shaper is a router on steroids. It has a larger shaft to use bigger bits and is much more stable. A shaper is needed to create the raised panel doors.

7. Biscuit Joiner – A biscuit joiner is another option to join wood together. It is extremely fast and creates a strong joint between two pieces of wood. It is great for edge to edge butt joints that are glued together. The joints provide a perfect pocket for the biscuit and glue and create a strong joint. It’s great to have if you are joining boards together for tabletops or similar projects.

There are literally hundreds of other tools that can be used in woodworking. Please leave a comment and tell me what tools are your favorite and why! Also, any I missing any must-have, nice-to-have or luxury-to-have tools?