ShopAndTools

This page shows the tools I have for my home shop. It's down in the basement with very limited space. Since we moved into this house in May of 1999, I have been adding tools to my shop when projects requires or just could not pass some very good deals. The list of tools basically follow the timeline of my three years of woodworking.

This was the first ever table saw I owned. It was a decent saw for what I paid for (~$400). It has some nice features that many people enjoying using it. I won't repeat them here. After a year or so, my woodworking skill had out grown the saw very much that I could no longer make the cuts I wanted. And the biggest problem was with the alluminum table top, it leaves black streaks on every piece I cut. I wonder why other table saws don't use alluminum for tops. So I sold it and upgraded to a DeWalt DW746.

After the table saw, my immudiate need for the projects - bookcase/shelf and mission style bed was a mortiser. So I got the Jet mortiser. It is a nice tool to have if you make many Arts and Crafts style furniture like I do. I used it to make 132 mortises on the queen size bed that you can view in my other woodworking project page. It came with 3 hollow chisel bit 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2'. So far, that's enough for me.

The last thing you want to do is to be left in the dust. Safty is most important thing for every shop. For a small shop like mine, 1HP is plenty power. Jet's DC-650 works forever. Did not have any problem so far. The remote controlled air filteration system was added recently. It is nice to have.

I bought this Jet 6" jointer after I made the mission style queen size bed. I always wonder how I did that without a jointer. It's a nice tool to have that makes straighten rough lumber much easier. Another thumbs-up for Jet.

When I was making the night stands to go with the bed frame, I wanted to have dovetailed drawers with cedar sides like the Michaels furniture. I got this simple dovetail jig from Harbor Freight Tools for $45. There are 5 worthless bits come with it that burn everything it touches. Anyway, it's just a jig that let you cut 1/2" half blind dovetails. You can get other tamplates, but I saved my money for a better thing. I made a total of five drawers with this jig and it has been collecting dust since then.

This is a Sears professional router table. At least it is called that way. I didn't know if it is because professional woodworkers use it or used as professional router table. Anyway, I had only used a few times before I gave it away to make room for my other tools. You could make a sliding dovetail on a 2X4 with it, but other than that, you want to use something better.

DeWalt biscuit jointer is a nice tool once you hook it up with vacuum or dust collector, otherwise it will make a mess on every cut. If you have the bag attached, you need to clean the dust port after every slot or it will clog up. It's cheaper than the Porter Cable 557, but that's enough for what I will ever do with a biscuit jointer.

Another nice tool from DeWalt. Make it even nicer, I paid only $50 more than the retail price for a brand new one less box and manual. DeWalt sent one copy to me free of charge. Again, the dust collection is the only drawback on this otherwise perfect cutting tool. Smooth action and accurate cut are all there is to make it stand out.

So far, this is the cheapest and also the worst tool among the DeWalts I have. It cuts to the left and I have to wear face shield to keep the dust from being blown into my eyes by the blower. And they call it a feature. What do you know? The only thing I like is the handle and balance. May be one day I will replace it with a Bosch or a bandsaw.

Got it as a birthday/X'mas gift in 2000 when Amazon had promotion deal. It came with dusthood, extra set of cutter and $50 rebate. It is a super nice tool to go with the jointer. Many times it can provide finish cut that no sanding needed. It is very loud, I guess it's just common for this type of tools. 4" port on the dust hood is very handy for hook up to dust collector. 2-1/2" adapter is also included.

I wish that I had this nailer when we were finishing the dining room, living room and two bedroom floors. I had to hammer those nails and set them with a nail setter by hand. This is a very nice tool for doing the trim and moldings, besides I got it at a great price - $150 for brand new in the box. Amazon has it for more than $220. For that price tag, it does not come in a hard case like Porter Cable nailers, nor a 1/4" adapter for the hose. The leather wrapped handle does feel good though.

DeWalt 3"X21" belt sander. The only reason I got this sander was that it was on sale at Lowe's for $88. It is a good tool for what it does. Nothing fancy. But there are definitely room for improvement. Folks at DeWalt need to buy a Porter Cable belt sander to check what's out there. A better dust collection (hook up to vacuum, etc.) is the most desired on this sander. It feels up the bag pretty quick. Got the sanding frame ($45) for it, but yet to try it on. And they don't make the accessories cheap.

This is THE floor nailer you want to use when installing your new floor. It is just a very sweet tool that will give you beautiful result. I happen to find one used at $400 which I thought was a very decent deal compare to $570 from Amazon. A few times the nail was not all the way in and I tried to pull it out, if it was less than 1/4 of its length, I could do it. Otherwise, I would end up breaking it instead of getting it out. That's how good the holding power is for the nails this nailer uses. Still a lot of life left in this one. It's a keeper I think.

For the table saw, I finally upgraded to DeWalt DW746 after a couple of months research and a decent deal to come by at local store. You can check out the review on this saw or click on the picture at right to see my setup.

Internet is wonderful for people to get great deals on tools. Here is an example. I really don't need a scrollsaw at all. But one day I was reading the messages on Badger Pond woodworking forum and learnt people were getting a very good deal on this DeWalt scroll saws. The price for the saw itself has been $399, and $75 for the stand.

Lowe's had them marked for $199 with stand included. That's a heck of deal to pass. So I called local Lowe's stores. One of them had one in the back and I told the guy to hold it for me. After work, I rushed down there and picked it up. It is a very nicely built tool and works very smooth and quiet compare to my other woodworking tools. So far I have made some arm support pieces with 1.5" thick cherry for the two Morris chairs I made. I am very pleased with the results.

Well, good tools need good accessories to go with. You will be amazed how many crappy stuff out there that want your hard earned money. For example, you would never want a DeWalt series 20 blade in your table saw. It's like put Firestone tires on your SUV. Well, may be it's not a proper analogy. But you get the idea - avoid them like plaque. Same with dado set. If you want to make decent dados in your projects, get the best you can afford. No wobble type, no Chinese made from Harbor Freight Tools. Even it's $30, you would kick yourself for that. The more important and fun thing for me to get these accessories is not only that they are the best I can afford, but also they are the best deal I can find. So the items below are what I have for my shop. Don't be jealous when you see the prices I got for thses things.

Also I got various brand new Systi-Matic saw blades for $28-$45. They are
1620S 30 teeth 10" glue joint rip blade
1430S 80 teeth 10" plastic cutting blade
2513S 66 teeth 12" teflon coated blade
2510S 80 teeth 10" teflon coated blade
Also there are a few DeWalt Series 60 blades that I got brand new for less than $35 each.