Are you new to woodworking? If you are, you might be amazed (or annoyed) by all the tools that are available. There is so many “experts” who say you need to buy this or buy that. Some say you need a large selection before even beginning your first project. It is in my humble opinion that you can do a whole lot of woodworking with just three power tools. Those tools are a tablesaw, a router table, and a drill press. Lets take a look at why.

Tablesaw

The tablesaw is an awesome tool that is very versatile. Every shop should have one because if your going to build some something according to plan, you need to cut your wood to size to get started. Sure you can go to Home Depot or Lowes and have them cut your sheet stock, but they wont cut all your cuts . Besides standing in line at the panel saw in Home Depot tryng to figure out whether you need 24 5/8 or 24 and ½ in your head is frustrating at best. No doubt when you get home, you will find out you choose incorrectly and have to start all over again. Having the ability to take your time and cut your stock how you want it is paramount.

Don’t think you have to start with a monster cabinet saw either. You could do a lot of woodworking with a benchtop saw or even a contractor saw. Don’t fall prey to the “Bigger is better” mentality. You can do a good job and learn more than the basics on a smaller saw.

Router Table

The router table adds flexibility to your shop. It’s ability to shape wood can take your woodworking to new heights. Router tables range from very inexpensive to high priced. Keep in mind that you may need to also purchase a good quality router along with the router table. All sorts of projects become “do-able” when you have a router table. Advanced joinery, edge profiles, moldings and dovetails are just a start of things you can do. In addition to the tables capabilities, are the huge availability of books and articles written on the subject of building a router table, working on the router table and router table projects.

I have always said that wood becomes furniture when it comes off the router table. Its easy to get excited about woodworking when you see immediate results that are pleasing to the eye.

Drill Press

It sounds so general, but the drill press gives you amazing accuracy. The drill press can do so much more than just drill holes. Although when you want to, its drills holes with great accuracy. Give yourself a nice collection of drill bits and forstner bits, and you can do a lot of precise drilling. If you use your cordless drill to try and drill a perfect 90 degree hole, it can be pretty frustrating. The drill press gives you the 90 degree accuracy right off the bat. This may not seem to be that big of a deal, but if you use countersink bits, the accuracy is very noticeable.

I personally use my drill press as a sander. You can buy the sanding sleeves almost anywhere and the drill press makes a nice alternative to an expensive dedicated oscillating spindle sander.

You can buy some interesting jigs for the drill press as well. I cant think of one day in the shop, where I do not use the drill press for at least one portion of my work. I am sure you will find the same experience.

If you are looking to add tools to your basic of collection of three, the internet is always a great place to find good used name brand tools for a great price. The key is knowing your prices and how much an items costs new. One of my favorite sources is on Ebay. Ebay has a ton of tools for sale. Look for brand names and auctions that close on holidays (they are bid on less) Another good technique is to look for misspellings of common brands, those auctions rarely get seen and you can find great deals.

Related posts:

• Why You Want A Router Table In Your Woodworking Shop
• Buying Reconditioned Routers
• Cutting Dados on the Router or Tablesaw?