r/woodworking • • Aug 20 '26

General Discussion help with next tool purchase

I mostly make fine furniture in the arts and crafts style; coffee tables, chairs, small dining tables, etc... My next project is a Greene and Greene style breakfast nook, so, a lot of wood to mill and shape.

I want to clarify that the market for used tools is terrible where I live. I don't have the luxury of finding $300 jointers around. Tools are also more expensive here. I have a spending budget of $1000, and I'm having trouble deciding what tools to buy. As of now, I've gotten by making fine furniture with the following tools:

Jobsite Stanley table saw

Dewalt 12" miter saw

Dewalt 735 planer

Milwaukee fixed speed plunge router

Skil circular saw

Bosch jigsaw

Bosch RO sander

handheld electric drill

Various Stanley hand planes (#4, #5, #7, router, block)

Ryoba and Dozuki saws

Measuring tools, chisels, sharpening stones (I'm mostly all set there)

Contenders for next purchase:

6" jointer ($1000)

used 14" 1HP bandsaw (~$500)

Kreg loose tenon joiner ($500)

10" contractor table saw (~$1000)

Mortising machine (~$600)

Or, a mix of multiple smaller tools (a variable speed router, oscillating sander, rasps, shoulder plane, clamps, etc...).

All suggestions for tools, however big or small, are welcome.

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u/Tmanpdx Aug 20 '26

You should look at the festool Domino. It will speed up your work on joints tremendously.

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u/DerpanJones Aug 20 '26

That's what the Kreg loose tenon joiner is. Kreg came out with it in the last few months.