The three of them. Sure they are nice to have but you can make quality work without them as well. A good drill guide, palm router and jigsaw will do the job for a beginner hobbyist.
4 days ago (edited) | 28
Funnily enough the first machine I bought was a Bandsaw and the second a Drillpress. I never regretted it. That was 20 years ago and I still use the same 2 machines I started out with.
4 days ago | 6
As a person that cannot cut a straight line, jigs and guides are crucial. As a person that mostly works on cars, I wish i had a drill press but bit guides and patience gets the job done
4 days ago | 0
I think the tool in my woodshop that can be skipped is the jointer. There are several ways to accomplish the same task using different tools. That said, if I had to choose from the list my choice would be the router table. I say this because I have never bought a router table but have made 2 of them out of a trim router and 3/4” ply
4 days ago | 6
Some people get a carried away with router tables. I've got an extra base for my dewalt cordless attached to a piece of Baltic birch that I clamp to a bench, it's been my table for years
4 days ago | 0
I would probably recommend a Track Saw instead of a table saw. I think the new offerings from Makita, Milwaukee, even Kreg offer a huge benefit to a new woodworker. They offer a good bit of safety and a huge amount of portability to a new woodworker that may have limited space. Honestly, the Drill Press is another probably-not-needed tool, as you can get drill guides for handheld drills that again offer portability and functionality at a lower cost, and smaller space requirements. I do actually find a router table to be one of those things you just can’t replicate with other tools.
4 days ago | 0
Couldnt do without my track saw, have a band saw and jointer/thicknesser and rarely use them. Sold my table saw as I always ended up using my track saw.
3 days ago (edited) | 0
I’m a beginner that has all three. I inherited my great grandfather’s 1930s drill press. If I didn’t own I don’t know if I would have bought. The bandsaw is mostly a toy at this point, I’ve experimented making some compound cut figurines. Plans for projects that will use it though. Router table gets a lot of use. Mostly been using as a jointer at the moment, removing the edges from construction lumber. And pattern routing. I plan to start experimenting with different joinery methods soon
4 days ago | 0
I'd say either the router table or the band saw equally. A trim router will do 99+% of what you need a router for as a beginner. And, I still have not NEEDED a band saw. A scroll saw, jig saw, curcular saw, or a table saw will work great for most anything.
4 days ago | 0
The band saw isn't necessary at the beginning, but can be very useful, the router table is a fun build and you can use your current router. The drill press can be substitued by those drill guides that take less space and cost less
4 days ago | 2
All 3, imo. I tell my young nephew, you need something to measure with, mark with, and to cut with. Start with a circular saw, speed square and some pencils.
4 days ago | 0
As far as I’m concerned a router table is a fixture, not a tool. You can make one with plywood scraps in an afternoon.
4 days ago | 4
You can Jerry rig a plunge base router to do 70% of what you use a drill press to do. Get a nice plunge base router and router table and make a good router sled with a super flat surface. You can do good-enough-for-now jointing and milling with a good router and table saw. Make the jigs and you might just end up with a table saw and several routers doing 90% of the shaping you ever need to do. The other machines are nice to have, but if you have a shoe string budget they have to wait. I think to top three power tools are drill, table saw, sander. Then see what you need. I think a router should be near the top, maybe edging out that planer for edge detail and some joinery. After the planer and router maybe then consider a miter saw, and if you can't afford one, get a decent circular saw. Skil has a good 15 amp saw for a budget, better than Ryobi right now, and you can make jigs and do math to get the angles you want.
4 days ago | 0
I bought a bandsaw for building my first electric guitar. I figured that I would use it very little but over the last few months I've done more cuts on it than any other saw I own. Bandsaw boxes are a lot of fun btw :)
4 days ago | 0
Oof who voted for band saw? Honestly embarrassing. What a absolutely goated tool. Safer than a table saw, and truly way more versatile. A beginner will go so much further with a band saw and a hand plane than they would with a table saw.
4 days ago | 2
731 Woodworks
Which woodworking tool would you tell a beginner to skip — at least for now?
4 days ago | [YT] | 95