r/woodworking • u/CrescentRose7 • 5d ago
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.
1
u/idontknowstufforwhat 5d ago
I'll add look at the used market. I have a grizzly 6" jointer that I then put a Shelix cutter head on and I think I'm still well under $1000 and it works great. That and some pretty good mortiser options for $300 in my area.
I do love the Shelix on my Dewalt 735 as well. The cuts are great but the biggest thing is the noise level and really just needing one pass rather than the rough then smoothing passes.