How many and what types of tools do you have?

[JimD]

Though it would be interesting to see what some of us are working with in the tool area.

Since I asked I'll list mine first.

Contractor saw

Scroll saw

Bench sander

Miter saw

Drill press

Belt sander

Roto zip

Dremel tool

Router

Would like to add a planner and a drum sander as soon as room permits, and I still need to up grade my air filtering system. I'm going to add another scroll saw and another router latter this year.

Jim D.

[dananne]

Without some size given, some of those tools could be a little to big or small. Size helps determine work ability. But what you list is about right for most home shops. I think that a lot of home shops change the tool lineup as the work they undertake changes. I have gone from large stationary tools, all floor mounted to small portable tools. The only ones I have now that set on the floor are the wood lath and the bandsaw. The wood lath will spin 12" dia inboard and 80" dia outboard, 36" between centers. An old Delta. The bandsaw is a copy of the 14" JET, and has turned out to be an excellent saw. 4 speed Central Machinery. I also have 3 routers, one in a table, a 1"x42" and 8" Grizzly sander, a home made wirebrush and buffer, 8". A 6" bench grinder. A 1/2" drill press that I got a longer column from the muffler shop for. Oxy-Ace bottles and torch. K-Mart 10" bench top table saw. Central Machinery 10" sliding miter saw. (That is a good tool also. Be careful and pick out the one you get if you can) A Penn State 12" planer. A 3x24 belt sander, both battery and 110 hand drills, skil saw - 7 1/2", and and assortment of other portable power hand tools. I use the router in the table to joint boards with when needed. The table saw is for ripping cuts only now. The miter saw does all of the cross-cutting. Things like the portable sabre saw will do what the others won't do. I most likely have many more tools than I will get a return on but I will pass most of these on to kids and grandkids so the money they have cost me is well spent. I can build just about any pice of furniture with these that you can think of. Better tools might do a better job but then again it is tthe craftsman rather than the tools that determines to output. Dan

[StuW]

When I retired I hadn't yet done any woodwork other than a short class I attended from the San Jose public school adult education program.

I moved to Texas, bought some property with my daughter and built a shop next to her house. I'm in the process of building my own house on the other side of the shop.

My shop has:

2 table saws. one is a contractor's saw the other a 10" Grizzly.
1 12 1/2" planer
1 6" jointer
1 12" bandsaw
1 16" scroll saw
1 router table with router and 2 portable routers
1 grinder
1 belt/disc sander
2 orbital hand sanders
1 compound sliding 12" miter saw
1 drill press (table mounted)
1 large compressor with 3 nail guns (for building the house)
2 circular saws
a wall full of hand saws, chisels, drill bits and other misc. tools.

All in all it's a pretty well stocked shop. I don't have any turning equipment, however, and no plans to get a lathe. As yet I haven't used my scroll saw.

There are a couple of pictures of my shop on my website:
http://woodentreasures.net

[Dave]

Over the last 25-30 years I have accumulated a lot of tools. We have a house next door to us that we did use as a rental, but we got tired of the hassle, so about 4 years ago we converted into a workshop. As big as it is, it isn't big enough, but they never are. It could stand higher ceilings too, but I have heat, air, running water and a bathroom and I sure couldn't afford to build one that has everything this house has, so I have no complaints at all. Here is a list of what I have as best as I can remember.
Shopsmith-Mark V Model 520 (Upgraded from 510)
6" Jointer
Dust Collector
12" Planer (stand alone)
Grizzly- 15" Bandsaw
14" Floor Model Drill Press
2 in 1 Air Stapler/Brad Nailer
RBI Tools- 20 " Hawk Scroll Saw
26" Hawk Scroll Saw
Craftsman- 10" Radial Arm Saw
2 Routers
14" Lathe
4" Belt Sander
Jigsaw
Various Hand Tools and Power Tools
Delta- Dust Collector
1" x 42" Belt Sander
10" Table Saw
Porter Cable-6 1/2" Left Handed Circular Saw
7" " " " "
Black and Decker- Several Cordless Drills and other Cordless Tools
10 " Miter Saw
Mouse Sander (One of my favorites)
Mega Mouse Sander
There are a lot of other various necessary hand tools and a Campbell Hausfield air compressor. You know, things like hammers, chisels and the like.
In addition to woodworking projects I also built new homes and did remodeling for nearly 20 years which is one reason I have for all the tools. But I will admit that I have tools because I love to use them.
Some of my tools are fairly old. My radial saw is over 20 yrs. old and my Shopsmith over 10 yrs. old, but they work just as good now as they did when they were new.

[JimD]

Dave

I’m enviousWe have a house next door to us that we did use as a rental, but we got tired of the hassle, so about 4 years ago we converted into a workshop. As big as it is, it isn't big enough, but they never are. It could stand higher ceilings too, but I have heat, air, running water and a bathroomReason? I’m working out of a 10 X 12 shop that’s a converted storage shed. Got plans to build something bigger, but that will have to wait a while longer. Being in South Texas I actually work outside under a shade tree about half the time. Guess that makes me a “shade tree” woodworker. :D

Jim D.

[dananne]

I just had to reply when you described your setup. Mine is under a shade tree also. My work bench is a picnic table. Holes for pins when I set the saw or whatever on it to keep them from sliding around. Need to clean my junk up. The building is a 12 x 20 that was built to hold the stuff from a 12 x 30 storeroom that was costing $75 a month. About $1600 for materials. Will try to send a picture when I find out more.

The picture is under "General - How Big is It ....". I still am unsure of what I do wrong when adding a picure. I think it is just too big a file. Dan

[Ron Scalf]

My collection of tools range from antique to new. With my dad and both granddads having been carpenters I have a lot of old hand tools that belonged to them. Stanley planes, wood chisals, tenon cutters, etc.
Power tools: Craftsman table saw (early 50's)
Craftsman 10" Radial Arm (mid 50's)
Delta 14" band saw
Delta 10" sliding/compound miter saw
1930's drill press with taper chucks (1/4, 1/2, 1")
16" scroll saw
13" Delta planer
Delta dust collector
Craftsman 4"x24" belt / 7" disc sander
Craftsman 5 HP air compressor
2 Skill saws (1 angle drive)
1/2 drill, 3- palm sanders, 2- 1/3 sheet sanders,
3 sabre saws, hand power plane, 4 dremal tools,
Ryobi 18 volt drill/driver - 5" cutoff saw
2 Craftsman 12 volt drill/drivers

My shop is in my garage. It is 32' x 34'. From April thru October it is all mine. November thru March I loose part of it to my wife for her van (darn it). All the big stuff is mounted on wheels so I can move them in & out as needed. I have most of them set up so I can connect the dust collector. I built a 12x12 shed but that has become my wood storage & drying area. I buy most of my wood from a local saw mill (first cuts from squaring a log out.) so it is green and requires air drying. Since most of my projects are outdoor items I only need to get them down to around 20% moisture content.

[Steve Rogers]

Where to start,
Craftsman 10in table saw
Shopsmith with all the attatchments at least all there were when it was new in 1952 it looked much larger when I was 7
Drill press floor
Drillpress bench top
Delta plane
Craftsman jointer
Delta scrollsaw
2 routers
Fordom tool
Makita panel saw
Craftsman skill saw
Milwaukee drill
DeWalt drill
More hand tools than I can count