What to buy first?

[abokolor]

I am a RAW rookie to woodworking. In fact, I have yet to build something! (I'm glad I found this site!) I have the space of about half of a standard two-car garage to begin to design a small, simple workshop to work in. I'd like to start out with purchasing a table saw and a battery-powered drill. I'm told that Duwalt is the best brand. I can't afford Duwalt. I want to buy a product of each of these two items that is of good quality at a reasonable price. Not cheap and not expensive....sort of a middle of the road. I saw a 10" table saw at Lowes made by Delta for $200???? Any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Also I live in the south part of Houston and I'm looking for clubs or classes to attend. I can't find any!!!

TIA

[woodmannie]

Hi, and welcome to w.w.
The clubs I can't help you with, sorry.
The saw and drill, maybe. The saw you saw, no pun intended, is called a bench saw. It has direct drive motor/blade setup. They are good if you are not doing precise work. Don't think they are useless, I have a pro-tech and it has done decent work for the cost (100 bucks). Delta is a good quality tool but if you can swing a little more, they tell me a Royobi 3000 is well worth the cash. I too have a limited space, my shop is a wopping 10'x20' shed. That's why I got the Pro-tech to begin with. It was ok for a while, but now I'm looking at Dewalt's cabinet saw. It's a little costly @ $899, but it seems well biult and I have yet to hear anything bad about it. As for the drill, I'm a Dewalt fan on those. I've had one for several years and it's still alive. Fell of a roof once and didn't hurt it at all. B&D make a firestorm, think that's right. Hear they're decent. Bottom line is, Get the saw first, best you can afford (you'll be glad you did), then go for the drill. Maybe a corded drill would be better to start with. The cost less but have more torque/power. Something to chew on. Hope I helped. And good luck.

[Scott E Pace]

Woodworker's Club of Houston
2118 Eaglerock Drive
Houston, TX 77080

Club History: text

Meeting Times & Location: Second Saturday of the month, 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., 6400 Bissonet, just west of Hillcroft, at the Bayland Community Center

Meeting Agenda: Welcome, club business, show & tell, open forum, program

Other Information: Members get a monthly newsletter mailed to them and can use our video/book library. There is also a tool library where members can check out a tool for personal use for a minor fee. We also take field trips and get good discounts for bulk
purchases.

[Boyce]

You are correct that you need to by a table saw. Many people start out with a bench top saw, but as a previous poster stated, you can't get too precise unless you get a contractor's saw. Many people start out with a bench top and then, when they're sure this is the hobby for them, upgrade to a contractor saw ($450-$800).

I think the only problem with upgrading is that you don't really know what you can do until you have a quality saw. You might do better to continue to read everything you can, but don't actually get started until you can get your hands on a contractor TS.

If you want to save money, buy a low-end drill/drill press or even a band saw, but not a TS.

I am fairly new at this (just less than a year), but I think I've turned out some high quality furniture and the main tool I use is my table saw. I also read everything I could before I got started. If you have a chance, you can see a few of the projects I've made at:

http://www.members.home.net/boyce-sandy/woodshop.html


Good luck.

Boyce

[Sonny Edmonds]

Are you sure you want to venture into this insanity? LOL
Welcome to the asylum.
A good TS is what you will need. Scour the info here. There is a lot.
Oh, you want to see what my cell looks like?
http://home.earthlink.net/~sonnypie/
I am FUBAR.
Welcome to woodworking!!
Sonny