# First post and new shop setup



## MrDJC (Jun 15, 2020)

This is my first post. So, Hi everyone. My name is Dennis. My house has two garages. A large 2 car garage on one end and a single car on the other end. I want to convert the single into a shop. It measures 13' X 22'. I do mechanical work in the big garage and saw dust and mechanical work doesn't mix. I have a 67 MGB I restored and maintain. I have very few woodworking tools at the moment. Hand tools, a router, sander, circular saw and jig saw. My first power tool will be a miter saw. I ordered a Dewalt 779. It should be here in a few days. Then I can start on a bench and workstation. I'm still not sure what to do for a table saw yet. That's a big purchase. So my current project will be the shop itself. What are the most useful tools to get first? I already have a drill press. My interest is cabinet, simple furniture, maybe toys and little projects. Start simple and as skills and tools get better, who knows. I haven't had a chance to go though any of the forums here yet, but I'll be looking at work benches and tool storage etc..


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## mel52 (Sep 4, 2017)

Welcome to LJs. You will learn a lot on this site. Most of the people on here are willing to help. You will be better off if you have a good sense of humor tho. Stay around long enough and you will know what I mean. Mel


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## ac0rn (Jan 31, 2020)

Yes, welcome to LJ. 
A worktable with a vise or clamps. As you stated- Start simple and as skills and tools get better…...I would hold off on the purchase of big machines for awhile. After you have had several splinters, and mastered some hand tools, if you are enjoying yourself then expand.
Enjoy the journey.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

Glad you joined us. About getting started. Your on the right track, small projects first, but down the road your going to need a table saw. Do your research and buy the best you can afford. I met a very wise man years ago who offered me a simple piece of advice that has stood the test of time. "You buy a cheap tool you buy it many times, you buy the best tool it lasts you a life time."


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Welcome. If also getting a tool collection going, let the need to keep making help choose the next tool. Fitting out the new shop can give you a bunch of projects to accomplish for that, from cabinets/storage, to jigs, and possibly even a few home made tools.

Enjoy yourself.


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## tywalt (Dec 13, 2017)

Great advice so far and I agree with it all. If you just bought a miter saw… you're going to want a shop vac soon. They are notorious for making a mess. Many people have a dedicated vac/collector on their miter saws for this reason. Tons of info on dust collection on this site and all over the net. If you're just getting started, it can get a bit overwhelming. For <$100 you can pick up a decent shop vac at the local big box that will at least get you started. If you don't get a vac yet, get a respirator (probably would get one anyway) to wear when making dust.


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

Welcome to LJ's.

Of course, there are alternatives to every power tool. But I think most would agree that a table saw is a near must. I for example, do not have a miter saw. I've only used a borrowed one doing some work at my daughter's house cutting a bunch of baseboard and trim. In the shop, I can do anything that I would use a miter saw for with my table saw. Point is, we all have different needs, wants and workflows.

Some guys will say a jointer is a necessity, others (like myself) don't need one often enough to justify the space it needs. There are ways to get the job done, less conveniently, with things like planer sleds and table saw jigs.

I have found a thickness planer to be very useful. It is pretty much a necessity if you want to work with rough sawn lumber.

While you've mentioned having some of these tools, I'll mention this for completeness.

I'd say a circular saw is close to a must have tool. Quite handy for breaking down sheet goods in your driveway or cross cutting long boards to manageable lengths. Of course, if you have a miter saw station that is setup to allow for cutting long boards, you wouldn't need one for that.

A track saw might allow you to get by without a table saw. At least concerning working with sheet goods. Though, I still think there are some cuts you just can't do without a table saw; like ripping boards accurately.

Hard to image NOT having a router. A smaller trim router may be more useful than a larger router. Many people have multiple routers.

I've gotten by without having a band saw, but this would be a must-have if you want to do any significant resawing. Though again, you can do this to some degree with a table saw if the board isn't too wide. I'd have a band saw if I had the room. My shop is a converted single garage bay (~12' x ~24').

And well, clamps, no such thing as having too many clamps.

As for most other power and hand tools, I'd let the project needs drive the purchase.

Inevitably you will buy some tools you will use more than you ever imagined, others you'll wonder what you were thinking. A lot of this will come down to what you prefer using. Like using a router versus a table saw to cut dados. Miter saw vs table saw for crosscuts.


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

You never want to start with tools. You should start with projects, and buy tools as you need them.

If you have a long term objective project in mind, you can keep an eye out for used tools on Craigslist/Facebook marketplace, but if you start with tools you probably won't buy what you actually need.

There's also a lot of ways to do things, and this describes some tools more than others. For example, you can do everything a table saw does several different ways, but there's really only one other way to do what a planer does, and it's extremely difficult and labor intensive.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

With your space limitations, a table saw will be in issue.

You might consider a "table sawless" shop that is built around a track saw.


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## MrDJC (Jun 15, 2020)

Thanks for the replies. As Jonah mentioned, start with projects. We bought this house 3 years ago and a number of projects have come up. I had a "shop" several years back. I had a Delta contractors table saw with a Biesemeyer fence, a router table attached to it, an Incra miter gauge and a collection of blades. My favorite and most used tool. A band saw, and a few ather tools. We moved into a townhouse and I sold a lot of it. BIG mistake!! I kept my hand tools. I still hove the Bosch router and its accessories, Circular saw, saber saw, orbital sander and a pin nailer. I still have my chisels and couple of block plains. A small collection of clamps. And some other misc. stuff. We retired and bought this house and now I have room for a shop again. It's an odd house, it has two garages. I large oversize two car garage on one end and a single car garage on the other. I do my mechanic work in the big garage. And have it set up so I can work on engines and stuff. I have a 67 MGB I restored. Wood work and mechanic work in the same shop doesn't mix. I been wanting to do this for awhile and this last week I cleaned out the little garage. A clean slate. I've seen some pretty cool small/one car garage shops on Youtube. I ordered the miter saw cause I have some trim work and some cabinet repairs in the house and build some benches in the "shop". I want a nice table saw, a contractor or hybrid. I look at the job site portables and I think I'll regret it in the long run and I should spend the money and get a big table saw. Yesterday I got the last of the stuff out of the garage and hosed the floor down.


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

Concerning a table saw and size. Don't assume a contractor saw is smaller than a cabinet saw. At least in terms of depth. The motor hanging off the back of contractor saw sticks out pretty far. I have a similar size shop and have a 36" SawStop PCS cabinet saw. I have the ICS mobile base which allows my to rotate the saw in place. If I want, it is easy for me to push it up against the wall.

Other things are to locate a table saw near the large door. So, that when you need to rip long boards, you can just open the door for more infeed/outfeed room.

I also have a flip-up outfeed table that I can drop down out of the way, when I need the room.

I have my planer mounted on a cabinet with locking casters. So, I can roll it wherever I want, including the driveway. My previous drill press was on a rolling stand as well. This kind of mobility helps a lot in a smaller space where you just can't afford to have all the room you need on all sides of fixed machines.


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## MrDJC (Jun 15, 2020)

The table saw will be one of the biggest purchases. I had my my old contractor saw on a mobile base and I could move it out into the driveway. I was looking at Grizzly's last night. The G0690 was looking good to me. I'm having an electrician coming out on Saturday to see about running 220 volts into the garage. It shares a wall with the laundry room that has a 220v outlet so I'm hoping it'll be fairly simple. I like the idea of casters so things can be moved out when needed and tucked away when not.


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## Moshannon (Jun 20, 2020)

Welcome. Newbie myself. Always looking here for advice.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

After buying a table saw first and a bandsaw later, if starting over I would reverse that. Look for used tools to stretch the dollars. I bought 3 machines new, and 14 used. I have a 16×22 shop, with a couple machines stored in the garage the shop is attached to. All on mobile bases for easy change out to what I need to use. If that 240 receptacle in the laundry is for your dryer, it is probably 30 amps. It won't run the dryer and a machine at the same time. If you need a new power run to the panel, go for a new sub panel in the shop. It will pay for itself over time.


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## MrDJC (Jun 15, 2020)

The 240 in the laundry room is not used, we have a gas drier. So I was hoping to hijack it. I figured I'd remove the receptacle and blank it off. I been watching CL and FB market for machines, They don't seem to come up very often, around here anyway. Most of what I see look pretty rusty and worn out and missing parts. I saw the DW735X on sale and ordered one. I'm still agonizing about how much to budget for a table saw. I want it to be a one time purchase.


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## JimH3000 (Jun 20, 2020)

A table saw is the workhorse of my shop. And ever since I discovered and built a table saw sled, it's even more valuable. Other useful tools are my miter saw, router, and circular saw. Sometimes I use my jigsaw and orbital sander. I also have a Japanese pull saw (inexpensive) which has been incredibly useful.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

A DeWalt 746 table saw is great. I have one with the built in left side sliding table. It was before riving knives we're standard . I am sure to stand out of the line of fire. I do see them come up for sale in good condition.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Welcome to LJ. I like the idea of starting with projects then buy what you need to get the job done (better, faster, safer) you pick the reasons. I got a miter saw & compressor/nail gun when I installed crown for example. I started with garage sales (got tons of clamps that way) then replaced those tools once I could afford quality. You may want to consider a stand for your miter saw. I put my stand on a platform that is on casters. That way I can move it around. In a small shop you may need to move things a lot. I have 2 1/2 car garage for my shop, but if a hurricane is coming I need to get my pick up and wife's car in the garage. (I have to crawl out the window of my truck but it works!)


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## MrDJC (Jun 15, 2020)

I have a table saw on the way. A Grizzly G1023RLX with a mobile base. It looks like a lot of table saw. I have an electrician coming out to pull 240v into the garage next week. It'll be a dedicated circuit. The DW735 showed up. I ran a couple of boards through it to test it. It does a nice job. I'll put it on a mobile cart so I can tuck it away. One of the first things I want put together is a router table. I'm not sure what router plate I'll use yet. I built a little bench for the drill press the other day. I dont have a layout for the shop yet, I figure that will evolve as I get all the machinery and benches.


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