What bench tools beside a t/s router and jointer/planner make a good shop?

A band saw and drill press come to mind. pkennedy

-- P Kennedy Crossville, TN

I would second Kennedy’s choices, both are very usefull in my shop. Maybe Santa can bring you one for Christmas.

-- Wayne

I use the oscilating spindle sander all the time.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

I can’t live without my 6” edge sander. I have the Delta osculating one but Powermatic makes a cheaper one.

Miter saw and router table are my thoughts.

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com http://www.ProjectWoodworks.etsy.com My Stuff for Sale! http://www.zazzle.com/christopheralan PWW Shirts and Gear!

12” bandsaw or a nice jigsaw. Or both : )

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Cool choices – I may have to flip a coin between the band saw and sander. I have a hand jig saw but it sometimes developes operator trouble (:> and not having to scrub with sandpaper really appeals to me. But I would like to be able to sand small pieces – is that possible on an oscilliating sander?

I never really thought about a drill press and probably won’t be doing any lathe work.

-- DavidP - still count on my fingers and toes - not for math, just inventory!

Drill press is a nice thing to have. I use it a lot more than I thought I would when I first got it. And much as I want an ocsillating spindle sander, I just use my drill press with a sanding drum.

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com http://www.ProjectWoodworks.etsy.com My Stuff for Sale! http://www.zazzle.com/christopheralan PWW Shirts and Gear!

Christopher is right on with the miter saw! How did I overlook that!?

A drill press can be outfitted with a small sanding spindle, giving you two tools in one. I sand some pretty small pieces on the spindle sander – it keeps my thumbnails short!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Coming from a cabinet maker… if you get a miter saw. make sure you get a good one. I use my drill press for sanding small pieces and you can always get a cheap drill press. I also invested the money and got a PC orbital sander. Works great. If you are going to make your own doors, I suggest you check out www.pricecutter.com for router bits. maybe a router table? I recently fabbed one for my shop. don’t know how I ever lived without it.

-- I came, I saw, I pondered...

Bandsaws are great, if you’re planning on resawing. Curves can be just as easily cut with a good jig saw, like a Bosch or Festool. Drill presses are very useful for forstner bits, as well as mortising with a fence and brad point bit. If you plan on doing lots of resawing, I think a drum sander is the perfect mate for the band saw.

Don’t forget hand tools! A good set of chisels ()maybe 1/8”, 1/4, 1/2, 1”), a good block plane, a medium shoulder plane, etc… are really necessary tools.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Thanks to the wood workers in this space I ended up with a 10” bandsaw and a belt/disc sander to go with my t/s and jointer/planer.

Now I have a new question – the bandsaw has a miter guage but I think it really needs a fence for rip type cuts. Any suggestions on making a fence? I have been just clamping boards but the table top is only about 12” sq.

-- DavidP - still count on my fingers and toes - not for math, just inventory!

You can find a lot of free plans for jigs ect. at WWW.FREEWOODWORKINGPLAN.COM such as http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-plans/bandsawing/bandsaw-resawing-guide/
You can spend a lot of time at this site.
Good luck.

-- R K SP8 "The 10 Commandments are NOT multiple choices"

Congrats on the bandsaw. You will be pleased with what it allows you to do.
I like all of the other ideas above, but being 60 myself, I purchased a drum sander this year and wonder how I ever lived without it before. It really cuts down on the manual sanding, helps me dimension my lumber more accurately, lets me make my own veneer, and has greatly reduced the knotted neck muscles I had before! I purchased the Jet drum sander, as it is open on the left side, making it capable of sanding twice it’s width. I don’t like the way the sandpaper goes on the drum, but other than that it has been a workhorse.

-- Rich in Richmond