Woodworking Tool Kit - Suggestion/Critique

[EricM1990]

Hello Everyone,

New garage owner posting because I am in a somewhat rare position. My old circular saw died on me last week. Leaving me with one functioning powertool, a drill. And I have a whole garage to build custom furniture for. So I need a roadmap to procuring all the tools i might need as i go through this. I can (sort of) afford Festool and other premium lines but am having a hard time justifying it even for something like cabinet work. And I'm wasting too much time watching youtube videos on tool reivews.

What I need from the group is to tell me if I've gone too low in searching for the obvious point of diminsihing returns? Even if I end up taking on relatively complicated furniture work. E.G. - you don't think the Skil table saw is good enough, even at that price. No matter how thorough in set up, my junk won't stay true and my projects will be mishapen nightmares. You say i should go with DeWalt or some other brand. Or you think a miter saw is worth it for a hobbyist in their garage even though in every instance i can think of I would prefer a table saw? When you invest so much time into research it's fun to discuss it every once in a while. And if you're reading this you're probably bored like me

Background/Usecase: All basic handtools/clamps/vices already owned. Shop in the garage (obviously). Decent rough carpentry skills for age cohort (millenial), had good primary school training. Taught by framing a house. Weak in metal fab and woodworking that ends with a serious finish. Bulk of future work should be furniture making

Some things to think about:
1) Try to focus on diminishing returns on money spent. You think some one should spend more? What do we gain for that extra spend? Or Vice Versa. Force us to talk specifics
2) No suggestion of used equipment. Yes obviously some things are big and costly enough to maintain and you should buy used and can go premium if you can
3) I'm willing to way overpay for measurement tools. Guilty. Not going to make anything that requires that level of precision. Don't care

Thank you and happy new year!!

Link and Snip Of Spreadsheet Below, can click OEM Links from there
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...yFsB5E_F3Ru2WDStCyRkceQNXUfRs3L7w-wWC/pubhtml

 

[MushCreek]

My Ridgid 10" table saw has been rock-solid for years. Home Depot was dumping the cast iron models (half price!) when Ridgid came up with a granite table model. I see used ones pretty cheap. Likewise, I bought a Ridgid 12" sliding miter saw on sale. I bought a used Ridgid stand, which makes it easy to store and move around. I use the miter saw a LOT. I also use a 14" bandsaw a lot, but that depends upon the kind of work you want to do. I strongly recommend a drill press if space and money allow. BTW- all of my tools (except the mill and metal lathe) are on casters, and can be moved around. Not only saves space, but you can move them to accommodate oversize work pieces. I like to move my table saw and miter saw out on the driveway when weather permits.

The Bosch jigsaw and router are excellent choices. Since I bought a Milwaukee M18 cordless sidewinder, I never use my corded saw. I built my whole house with cordless tools. I've never owned a track saw; I use a clamped straight edge and a circular saw to break down sheets of plywood. I built all of my kitchen cabinets with that set-up.

I use long straight edges/rulers a lot. A 72" will cover a lot of ground. I also have decent machinist-type scales 6", 12", 18", 24", and 36". I'm a retired tool maker, so I have a lot of tools that wood workers don't.

This company has very reasonable, very accurate squares in a variety of types and sizes: https://taytools.com/kinex-din-875-...903Fum2cfpt4LkBUc#product_information_details

I use a 12" aluminum speed square a lot, also.

My stationary belt sander is a 6X48 Powermatic. It's a beast, and I use it to grind on metal as well as wood.

Are you planning on getting a planer? I have an ancient 12" Parks that I rebuilt. The place I get my hardwoods is very reasonable, but the lumber usually needs to be planed. Some places will custom plane to size for a fee.

I don't have a central dust collector, which is why I work outside a lot. If I did more wood working, I'd get at least a basic one.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Personally, I would (and did) take a different approach. Pick a project you want to tackle and buy what you need to get the job done. If you are talking about building shop grade workbenches, shelves, etc, a cordless drill, cordless circular saw, and an 8' clamp on saw guide will be about all you need. If you want to build items requiring angles other than 90 degrees, buy a good powered miter saw. You will probably find that many times you need a 2' level more than a 4' level. Than tackle another project and adjust tools as your skills develop and your interests change.

 

[snickers muncher]

I also have a Ridgid 10 inch table saw. The heavy cast iron top really cuts down on vibration and noise. I have a 12 inch Dewalt sliding miter saw, but usually just use the table saw and a miter gauge unless it's a long piece.

The only suggestion I'd make it to get a metric tape and combination square as well. I found it much easier to make drawers using mm instead of fractions of an inch.

 

[EricM1990]

My Ridgid 10" table saw has been rock-solid for years. Home Depot was dumping the cast iron models (half price!) when Ridgid came up with a granite table model. I see used ones pretty cheap. Likewise, I bought a Ridgid 12" sliding miter saw on sale. I bought a used Ridgid stand, which makes it easy to store and move around. I use the miter saw a LOT. I also use a 14" bandsaw a lot, but that depends upon the kind of work you want to do. I strongly recommend a drill press if space and money allow. BTW- all of my tools (except the mill and metal lathe) are on casters, and can be moved around. Not only saves space, but you can move them to accommodate oversize work pieces. I like to move my table saw and miter saw out on the driveway when weather permits.

The Bosch jigsaw and router are excellent choices. Since I bought a Milwaukee M18 cordless sidewinder, I never use my corded saw. I built my whole house with cordless tools. I've never owned a track saw; I use a clamped straight edge and a circular saw to break down sheets of plywood. I built all of my kitchen cabinets with that set-up.

I use long straight edges/rulers a lot. A 72" will cover a lot of ground. I also have decent machinist-type scales 6", 12", 18", 24", and 36". I'm a retired tool maker, so I have a lot of tools that wood workers don't.

This company has very reasonable, very accurate squares in a variety of types and sizes: https://taytools.com/kinex-din-875-...903Fum2cfpt4LkBUc#product_information_details

I use a 12" aluminum speed square a lot, also.

My stationary belt sander is a 6X48 Powermatic. It's a beast, and I use it to grind on metal as well as wood.

Are you planning on getting a planer? I have an ancient 12" Parks that I rebuilt. The place I get my hardwoods is very reasonable, but the lumber usually needs to be planed. Some places will custom plane to size for a fee.

I don't have a central dust collector, which is why I work outside a lot. If I did more wood working, I'd get at least a basic one.

I have no issue with Rigid, I didn't realize their 10" was so close in price. I will definitely consider that along next to the Skil if and when the time comes. I see some others in my research but most of them are costing much more than 400 for the 10" now. The circular saw that died was a Rigid...But it was a little under 20 years old. Also have one of their shop vacs I'm pleased with

There will I'm sure be periods where I don't use these tools for half a year easily, i travel a lot for work. I do not want to maintain batteries if avoidable. While I have not used a cordless circular saw yet. It makes sense in 2025 for the batteries to be able to provide more consitent and higher throughput than a cord. But without a full committ on a battery platform the costs will be ridiculous

Understood on the solid square. Kinex are claiming slightly tighter tolerances than PEC but cost loss. I've see that brand around. My primary fixed blade is from TRC Knives....A Czech firm. I have some decent rulers already. Will buy appropriate meauring tools as I go. Adding Kinex to the list of makers I should check for a good value buy.

Planer i will purchase if I can find a decent used one used. For now will use jigs and table saw to plane when needed.

I too will try to follow the "work outside when you can" philopshy of dust management. Can always jerry rig my shop vac if needed

Thank you very much for your response. Adding this info to my notes

 

[EricM1990]

Personally, I would (and did) take a different approach. Pick a project you want to tackle and buy what you need to get the job done. If you are talking about building shop grade workbenches, shelves, etc, a cordless drill, cordless circular saw, and an 8' clamp on saw guide will be about all you need. If you want to build items requiring angles other than 90 degrees, buy a good powered miter saw. You will probably find that many times you need a 2' level more than a 4' level. Than tackle another project and adjust tools as your skills develop and your interests change.

I should have made this more clear. I have the "priority" rankings. Only 1 is a buy at any moment you want. Everything else is bought depending on project. What i'll end up doing though is going wild for each project or spending hours and hours researching instead of building. With this spreadsheet if my project has a need, i can just reference this and avoid paralysis by analysis. The upgrade path is already decided or very close.


Yeah i've gone my whole life with the set up you're describing. Drill and a circular saw is plenty for very rough work you do occassinoally.


But I'm transitioning to a phase in my life where finish and everytrhing being square and flush matter much more. It's not just me slapping together what I need irrelevant of what it looks like any more unfortunately....

 

[EricM1990]

I also have a Ridgid 10 inch table saw. The heavy cast iron top really cuts down on vibration and noise. I have a 12 inch Dewalt sliding miter saw, but usually just use the table saw and a miter gauge unless it's a long piece.

The only suggestion I'd make it to get a metric tape and combination square as well. I found it much easier to make drawers using mm instead of fractions of an inch.

They are comparable prices and I'm a Home Depot guy. I wonder why this Rigid saw isn't on the list with the other budget contenders. Odd
While I didn't have it on my list it is now

And that makes sense with fine work how metric eventually becomes just less cumbersome

1/128 is unweildy

 

[EricM1990]

Key is here

Plan is not to buy all this day 1

 

[LOW1]

Of course you have entered a deep dark hole Which can make the Snap On truck look reasonable. But since you are already there buy a 52 inch sawstop table saw with a router table. Other than having to pay too much for it they are great

Buy better sanders. Bosh are great.

Look for an old craftsman drill press in good shape. They are tanks

Cordless jig saws are where it’s at. I have a Dewalt but I am not sure that it is the best. Corded Bosh are very nice.

 

[zimman]

Wherever you buy your tools and I really don't care where, develop a relationship with the store, manager or person you can relate to, or trust. Oddly enough, I like my local ACE hardware. Jamie owns one of the best stores I've ever set foot in and he's got almost everything. Tools are a bit pricey but they send me coupons that get the price to a acceptable place. Always have a resource you can shake hands with. I have one at Harbor Freight also. She's a master customer service genius. LOL
Zim

 

[EricM1990]

Of course you have entered a deep dark hole Which can make the Snap On truck look reasonable. But since you are already there buy a 52 inch sawstop table saw with a router table. Other than having to pay too much for it they are great

Buy better sanders. Bosh are great.

Look for an old craftsman drill press in good shape. They are tanks

Cordless jig saws are where it’s at. I have a Dewalt but I am not sure that it is the best. Corded Bosh are very nice.

Ok so the internet seems split on these orbital sanders. Everyone seems to think the Bosch are great except the power output. So does it just feel great because it's well built? Or well built and under powered? Relative to alternatives

I was going to get the dewalt and then realized I would probably very very rarely bring down the speed so went Crafstman. Other than the variable speed they seem to be the same

The Makita is seen as a good all rounder and seems to be the third option. People like it's ergonomics according to my notes

I do think a jigsaw makes a lot of sense to be on battery but i think I'll use it so rarely would prefer a cable. Probably the tool i'm most likely to want on a battery behind a drill/driver

 

[EricM1990]

Wherever you buy your tools and I really don't care where, develop a relationship with the store, manager or person you can relate to, or trust. Oddly enough, I like my local ACE hardware. Jamie owns one of the best stores I've ever set foot in and he's got almost everything. Tools are a bit pricey but they send me coupons that get the price to a acceptable place. Always have a resource you can shake hands with. I have one at Harbor Freight also. She's a master customer service genius. LOL
Zim

This is good advice, but I think the harbor freight/ace management make that easier than the others. I have met multiple harbor freight managers who were clearly actively trying to build a relationship. Ace they aren't so active about it but will help. The big box stores I've never even had anyone say they were a manager to me.

I'm in the Chicago suburbs and actually have all the major chains but Lowes in a 3 mile radius. I've got Ace, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Menards and we had a Sears for a long time. Lowes is a bit further. I only prefer Home Depot for power tools. I like major brands for power tools. Hand Tools, Williams or harbor freight depending on if I need nice or not usually

 

[EricM1990]

@MushCreek

My reply is stuck in moderator approval. I think because i quoted you and there was a link. My posts keep getting put on hold. Copy pasting what i sent below

"I have no issue with Rigid, I didn't realize their 10" was so close in price. I will definitely consider that along next to the Skil if and when the time comes. I see some others in my research but most of them are costing much more than 400 for the 10" now. The circular saw that died was a Rigid...But it was a little under 20 years old. Also have one of their shop vacs I'm pleased with

There will I'm sure be periods where I don't use these tools for half a year easily, i travel a lot for work. I do not want to maintain batteries if avoidable. While I have not used a cordless circular saw yet. It makes sense in 2025 for the batteries to be able to provide more consistent and higher throughput than a cord. But without a full commit on a battery platform the costs will be ridiculous


Understood on the solid square. Kinex are claiming slightly tighter tolerances than PEC but cost loss. I've see that brand around. My primary fixed blade is from TRC Knives....A Czech firm. I have some decent rulers already. Will buy appropriate meauring tools as I go. Adding Kinex to the list of makers I should check for a good value buy.


Planer i will purchase if I can find a decent used one used. For now will use jigs and table saw to plane when needed.
I too will try to follow the "work outside when you can" philopshy of dust management. Can always jerry rig my shop vac if needed
Thank you very much for your response. Adding this info to my notes

 

[zimman]

This is good advice, but I think the harbor freight/ace management make that easier than the others. I have met multiple harbor freight managers who were clearly actively trying to build a relationship. Ace they aren't so active about it but will help. The big box stores I've never even had anyone say they were a manager to me.

I'm in the Chicago suburbs and actually have all the major chains but Lowes in a 3 mile radius. I've got Ace, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Menards and we had a Sears for a long time. Lowes is a bit further. I only prefer Home Depot for power tools. I like major brands for power tools. Hand Tools, Williams or harbor freight depending on if I need nice or not usually

My ACE handles Milwaukee and Craftsman. The franchise owner is a good man and works his *** off. He's there 24/7. I'm sure somewhere in your area there's a small store you can work with. But, if not do the best you can. LOL
Zim

 

[MushCreek]

Because I'm a retired tool maker, I tend to work in decimals rather than fractions. Rather than thinking in terms of 3/4", I view it as .750" If I had been brought up on it, I would probably use metric.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

I should have made this more clear. I have the "priority" rankings. Only 1 is a buy at any moment you want. Everything else is bought depending on project. What i'll end up doing though is going wild for each project or spending hours and hours researching instead of building. With this spreadsheet if my project has a need, i can just reference this and avoid paralysis by analysis. The upgrade path is already decided or very close.


Yeah i've gone my whole life with the set up you're describing. Drill and a circular saw is plenty for very rough work you do occassinoally.


But I'm transitioning to a phase in my life where finish and everytrhing being square and flush matter much more. It's not just me slapping together what I need irrelevant of what it looks like any more unfortunately....

I think you missed my point - if you have a spread sheet for tools to buy in the future, you have already gone down the rabbit hole of paralysis by analysis. By the time you get to the future point where you need a tool on your spreadsheet, the market will probably have changed and your preferred item may no longer be the best choice. Best of luck to you.

 

[tarbellb]

Pick your cordless brand first- these days everybody puts out a decent product, find a price point and type of tools that fit *

* I know you mentioned Festool, plenty of hype, and they earned it.... about 20yrs ago. Lots of companies are doing similar quality now


Start with a good work environment ie benchtops, work island, storage, and good lighting
--------------------------------
If you are serious about woodworking, grab a track saw, drill + driver combo, quality sander, vacuum, clamps, palm router, and miter saw.

Go cordless where you can except big stationary tools like miter saw, table saw, planer, etc...

Table saw- save your Festool money and grab a Saw Stop or this benchtop if youre comfortable

Palm routers can do a lot of work before needing a full size

Miter saw, go tried and true 10" Dewalt slider

Circ saw, cordless is nice, or grab again a tried and true Makita 5007F

Grab a really good sander and dust extractor with on/off outlet built-in, you WILL be doing a lot of sanding

Lots of clamps, parallels are getting cheaper

Decent bits and blades will improve everything too


Good luck

 

[alinc100]

Don't forget about used, vintage equipment. I don't know where you are but in SE Michigan I can buy a vintage Delta Unisaw for about $400. It will outwork any of the $400 saws at Home Depot.

 

[legenddc]

I've ordered a few PEC blemish squares from Harry Epstein and been happy with them.

What tools you need really depends on what you want to make. If you're going to make bookcases or cabinets, I would make a track saw a higher priority than a drill press. If you want to make fine furniture from rough lumber, a planer and jointer should be a higher priority, along with dust collection.

Not sure what you intend to use a bench grinder for as most woodworking tools are sharpened by hand. I bring my cordless jigsaw with me to the lumberyard to cut boards that are too long to fit in the car. I also typically use the jigsaw to break down boards before running them through my jointer and planer.

You might enjoy this series of articles from Wood Magazine about building out a shop over a year.

Whatever you get, don't forget PPE. A good respirator, safety glasses and rated hearing protection are needed when you're making sawdust.

 

[BigMike782]

The best I can tell you is that I have been working on equipping my shop for 30+ years.
I have been lucky in inheriting some tools.....my dad's Delta bandsaw and lunch box planer. Other things I started with what I could and moved up. Table saw, started with a Craftsman store return, moved to a smaller but older Craftsman, upgraded it to 220 for more power then I finally found my holy grail....a single phase Delta Unisaw. Some I fell azz backwards into. I found my Powermatic 100 planer in the scrap yard. It was scrapped by a public school. I watch FMB even if I don't need something. Sometimes I find something that is an upgrade or I can flip to help pay for an upgrade.
To me some of it depends on what you want to do and your skill set and work with that THEN move up to more complicated projects and add tools or upgrades as you need them.

 

[jar944]

Because I'm a retired tool maker, I tend to work in decimals rather than fractions. Rather than thinking in terms of 3/4", I view it as .750"

Decimal inches all the way.

These are woodshop tools:


OP: Sanding takes more time than you expect, whatever you can do to make it more effective and less time-consuming helps.

 

[legenddc]

OP: Sanding takes more time than you expect, whatever you can do to make it more effective and less time-consuming helps.

This. I'm at roughly 27 hours of sanding on my latest project. It's been so long, my wife is trying to convince me to go get a 6" Festool sander.

 

[jar944]

This. I'm at roughly 27 hours of sanding on my latest project. It's been so long, my wife is trying to convince me to go get a 6" Festool sander.

I'd buy the Mirka if I was buying today, but the ETS ec 150/5 has been good to me for 10 years.

 

[EricM1990]

I think you missed my point - if you have a spread sheet for tools to buy in the future, you have already gone down the rabbit hole of paralysis by analysis. By the time you get to the future point where you need a tool on your spreadsheet, the market will probably have changed and your preferred item may no longer be the best choice. Best of luck to you.

Well i have, but to break out the solution is to make a plan

Not just fall into the same hole on the next tool. You seem to be suggesting i just get over it. Which i could do but isn't going to happen hahaha

 

[EricM1990]

Don't forget about used, vintage equipment. I don't know where you are but in SE Michigan I can buy a vintage Delta Unisaw for about $400. It will outwork any of the $400 saws at Home Depot.

100% agreed

But need to find what i want new. Used may not be available or logistically possible when i need it

 

[EricM1990]

I've ordered a few PEC blemish squares from Harry Epstein and been happy with them.

What tools you need really depends on what you want to make. If you're going to make bookcases or cabinets, I would make a track saw a higher priority than a drill press. If you want to make fine furniture from rough lumber, a planer and jointer should be a higher priority, along with dust collection.

Not sure what you intend to use a bench grinder for as most woodworking tools are sharpened by hand. I bring my cordless jigsaw with me to the lumberyard to cut boards that are too long to fit in the car. I also typically use the jigsaw to break down boards before running them through my jointer and planer.

You might enjoy this series of articles from Wood Magazine about building out a shop over a year.

Whatever you get, don't forget PPE. A good respirator, safety glasses and rated hearing protection are needed when you're making sawdust.

Understood on the planer and jointer, but i have ways to square things up with a table saw and some sort of router jig. And I have access to a planer and jointer it would just be logistically a pain. Cost is too high but when i find some nice used ones for sale will go

Bench grinder is for reprofiling blades quickly. Just gotta make sure I don't ruin the heat treat. I may not have many power tools but I have a lot of bladed implements. Can also clean up/polish tools. Having something cordless to rip bigger boards i will need, i only have a sedan

Those articles look great, bookmarked, exactly what i'm looking for

I also need to procure a nice respirator

 

[EricM1990]

The best I can tell you is that I have been working on equipping my shop for 30+ years.
I have been lucky in inheriting some tools.....my dad's Delta bandsaw and lunch box planer. Other things I started with what I could and moved up. Table saw, started with a Craftsman store return, moved to a smaller but older Craftsman, upgraded it to 220 for more power then I finally found my holy grail....a single phase Delta Unisaw. Some I fell azz backwards into. I found my Powermatic 100 planer in the scrap yard. It was scrapped by a public school. I watch FMB even if I don't need something. Sometimes I find something that is an upgrade or I can flip to help pay for an upgrade.
To me some of it depends on what you want to do and your skill set and work with that THEN move up to more complicated projects and add tools or upgrades as you need them.

This is basically my long term plan, assuming i find woodworking useful and I don't transition to just paying other guys to do it all for me.

But as it is right now. I need to know what i'm going to pull the trigger on new. If it's a power tool and it's not hand held used is always going to be the best value if you find the right piece

 

[EricM1990]

Sanding *****. Messaged received.

Will evaluate them based on speed/power as the primary factor. Already was but even more so

 

[Mike65]

Over the years my wife & I purchased a Porter Cable router set w/fixed & plunge bases, Grizzly bandsaw, Craftsman 10" table saw, Delta compound miter saw & a Craftsman RAS. I have several DeWalt drill/drivers, two Makita drill/driver kits, Milwaukee circular saw & a Porter Cable sawzall. We have tried to buy the best we could afford & it has worked for us as most of what we have we have owned for about 15 - 20 years. I like building furniture whether it for in the house, outside, stuff for my woodworking shop or for the garage/shop.

 

[EricM1990]

Over the years my wife & I purchased a Porter Cable router set w/fixed & plunge bases, Grizzly bandsaw, Craftsman 10" table saw, Delta compound miter saw & a Craftsman RAS. I have several DeWalt drill/drivers, two Makita drill/driver kits, Milwaukee circular saw & a Porter Cable sawzall. We have tried to buy the best we could afford & it has worked for us as most of what we have we have owned for about 15 - 20 years. I like building furniture whether it for in the house, outside, stuff for my woodworking shop or for the garage/shop.

I've heard a lot of talk about Porter Cable. Wasn't aware they had an affiliation with DeWalt. Will add them to my lists to check

 

[Notgrownup]

I pick my battles, I can’t afford Festool, I opted for a Delta table saw, a Dewalt miter double sliding saw But for a ci saw I have a old (30 year old) Craftsman one that works great. I have a cheap cabinet mounted drill press and a bigger one that I both bought used. If I had to replace something it would be my Ryobi 9” bandsaw. I want a 14” maybe Jet or Rikon.

 

[BigMike782]

I had need to use my spindle sander. It's an older Delta. The motor would start but then slow. I was short on time(Christmas present) and in a knee jerk reaction bought a Rikon sander. I got it home and unboxed to find that the box had been dropped and the table mounting brackets were bent. I proceeded to disassemble it to straighten the brackets as there was not time to return it for a different one. OMG, cheap plastic part that snapped when you looked at them, bubble gum fasteners that the threads just peeled off of. I got it to work and made do but I am going to see if there is a resolution. I would have to look real close again if I were to buy anything Rikon. The sad part is that this sander and the Jet next to it were almost identical and likely made in the same factory and the Jet was 50.00 more.
I fixed my Delta after Christmas finding a bad capacitor.....10.00 fix.
I have a friend that has a Rikon band saw. I will have to ask him how he likes it......and he is very picky.

 

[f121]

At this price point the cross cutting sled will ****, so you’ll need a compound mitre saw.

Consider a track saw, they are much easier than a small table saw for large sheet materials. I would probably go track saw over table saw in the first instance. Buy roof rails for transporting your sheet materials.

Pick a battery range and stick to it. Adding bare tools once you already have batteries is cheap.

Remember to add dust extraction.

 

[RonnieC]

I’m a little unsure of your intentions. You’re going to build garage furniture which I’m assuming means cabinets and tool stands. For sheet goods and 3/4 surfaced stock your table saw will be sufficient, particularly as you say you are boing to embed the skip table saw in a bench. That overcomes one deficiency of a jobsite saw, that being instability.
A second deficiency is small table area. Embedding in a bench also overcomes this although not the amount of distance from the front of the table to the saw blade. This makes using sleds and other jigs challenging.
You are saying you’ll be building fine furniture after the shop is set up? Here you’ll hit a third deficiency which is power. Furniture making often means using rough stock, often 8/4 or thicker. A jobsite saw can bog down on thicker stock.
I went through the same process, dealing with a Bosch jobsite saw. Now I have a sawstop cabinet saw In addition to a planer and jointer and it is just so much better.

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

I would suggest picking a project and just starting. Then as you try and make whatever item you're trying to build that will immediately tell you what tools you need and what you can do without. Honestly if you use common sense looking at the tool when you purchase it almost all of them are good nowadays. It takes real work to find a really crappy tool. Yes some are better than others and some are better values than others. But that usually will become pretty obvious to you once you're searching for the item you need. Lots of these things are just personal preference what you like that fits in your hand. Some brands do something better than other. So to wrap it up I'd say pick a project and see what tools you need.

 

[EricM1990]

I’m a little unsure of your intentions. You’re going to build garage furniture which I’m assuming means cabinets and tool stands. For sheet goods and 3/4 surfaced stock your table saw will be sufficient, particularly as you say you are boing to embed the skip table saw in a bench. That overcomes one deficiency of a jobsite saw, that being instability.
A second deficiency is small table area. Embedding in a bench also overcomes this although not the amount of distance from the front of the table to the saw blade. This makes using sleds and other jigs challenging.
You are saying you’ll be building fine furniture after the shop is set up? Here you’ll hit a third deficiency which is power. Furniture making often means using rough stock, often 8/4 or thicker. A jobsite saw can bog down on thicker stock.
I went through the same process, dealing with a Bosch jobsite saw. Now I have a sawstop cabinet saw In addition to a planer and jointer and it is just so much better.

Yeah I'm hoping to overcome everything but power with a cheap table saw, i hadn't thought about the distance to the blade but that makes sense. I have seen saw stop makes a compact table saw for under 1,000. Might do that instead, safety i will pay for. But the basics remain the same

I would like to end at possibly making truly fine furniture. But I am a long way from that. Can upgrade the table saw power if and when the need arises. If i was sure, I would just buy all the major tools up front.

 

[EricM1990]

I would suggest picking a project and just starting. Then as you try and make whatever item you're trying to build that will immediately tell you what tools you need and what you can do without. Honestly if you use common sense looking at the tool when you purchase it almost all of them are good nowadays. It takes real work to find a really crappy tool. Yes some are better than others and some are better values than others. But that usually will become pretty obvious to you once you're searching for the item you need. Lots of these things are just personal preference what you like that fits in your hand. Some brands do something better than other. So to wrap it up I'd say pick a project and see what tools you need.

What you're describing is the basic plan. I need to decide on a workbench vision. Then I will do a couple sets of drawers. If those turn out well i'll work on the garage cabinets/wall mounted surfaces.

The excel sheet will just guide me in what tools i can swap with and what brands I want

 

[tyyost]

Reading the replies you already have it looks like most of the bases are covered, I’m all for a full shop setup, but I know that unless you do a ton of similar woodworking projects and just kit up for them there are tools that will sit for long periods of time.

I am heavy in the track saw camp. I have a full sized tablesaw, miter saw, and the track saw does an incredible job of keeping me from doing crazy tablesaw tricks with large sheets. If you are creating any projects using plywood I highly suggest buying one.

The only unique guidance I have is to consider what type of joinery your early projects may use. I used to describe woodworking projects as boxes or tables. Joinery can be as simple as pocket screws, or floating tennons, complex miters, or router/shaper cut joints. I personally seem to do lots of boxes with Dados and rabbets, and usually rout them in plywood and use the tablesaw in solid wood. My tools and accessories are pretty good in that end. Your projects and preference have to drive the tools to some degre.

Finally, as others mentions, sanding *****. This is one of the areas I wish I spent better money on over the years. I still dream of a Festool or Mirka but have wasted too many $$$ on other junk to drop the coin. I keep waiting for the right project but it hasn’t come along yet.

 

[f121]

Finally, as others mentions, sanding *****. This is one of the areas I wish I spent better money on over the years. I still dream of a Festool or Mirka but have wasted too many $$$ on other junk to drop the coin. I keep waiting for the right project but it hasn’t come along yet.

This is one area that’s definitely worth the festool if you can afford it. I’m glad I bought mine before the pandemic price rises, back then it was still a LOT but nowhere near the current craziness. It’s fantastic to use. Dust extraction means you can use it indoors without making a mess and the results are brilliant.

 

[tarbellb]

My Bosch dual action sander is every bit as good as it's Festool equivalent imo

Dust collection ✓
Insane rotary material removal ✓
Smooth orbital action ✓
Robust ✓

New version is the GET75-6N - ~$349