It's been a while since I've been here, Ive been hanging out in the previously mentioned woodworking forums. I'm slowly turning my small garage into a woodworking shop, so I've been spending a lot of time reading about tools. I'll list some of the ones I've bought recently.
I bought a craftsman table saw last year. It was on clearance for $350 (to make room for the new hybrids they are currently selling). I used this saw a couple of times, and I was so frustrated, I let it sit for months. The rip fence is horrible!! A couple of months ago, I replaced the fence with a Biesemeyer. The difference is amazing! The fence is extremely accurate, and is a pleasure to use, of course it should be, since it cost nearly as much as the saw. I also bought an aftermarket miter gauge (incra 1000se), so crosscuts are very accurate as well. I now have about $800 into this saw, and I am now pretty happy with it. If I could do it over again, I would buy a better saw for probably not much more, but I will live with mine as it is. Definitely get a TS with a T-square fence (Biese or a clone), they are worth it. A cabinet saw may be better, but for home use I think a contractors saw will work fine. If the cost of a cabinet saw is too much, so is wood that will require one.
Last year, I also bought some other cheaper tools trying to outfit my shop quickly. Some I have been happy with, others are just not very good.
Delta benchtop drillpress - I don't use this often, but it has performed well when I have used it.
Delta benchtop belt/disk sander - I just tried this for the first time a couple of days ago. I wish I would have tried it when I bought it, I would have returned it. It will sand, but it doesn't take much pressure to stop it. I wouldn't recommend this one at all.
Firestorm 14.4v cordless tool set (drill, circ saw, sawsall) - I returned this the same day. I cut 3 2x4s with the circ saw, and the battery was dead. The drill didn't do much better. I don't think I will ever buy a tool with the name Firestorm on it again. Very disappointed.
Dewalt 18v cordless drill - When I returned the Firestorm set, I decided to try Dewalt. The set was way out of my price range, so I just bought the drill. This is probably my favorite tool. It just works great! With the 2 batteries it came with (not the real expensive ones), I never have to wait for a battery to charge. It takes about an hour to charge, and I haven't been able to drain one in less time than that (or even close for that matter). I would recommend this drill without hesitation, it is a great tool.
Bosch jigsaw - If I used a jigsaw as much as a cordless drill, this would also be a candidate for my favorite tool. No complaints at all.
Hitachi 1/4 sheet palm sander - I'm not sure if I like this one or not. I can't figure out how to fit a 1/4 sheet into the clamping springs. The paper is just a little bit to short to reach. If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong, please let me know. I will reserve judgement on this tool until I figure out if this is just user error.
Skil plunge/fixed router - This works well, I have it mounted in the router table extension on my table saw. I have never tried the plunge base. I plan to build a router table next year, and I will probably put a bigger router in that table. I will leave this one in the TS as a backup. I would not recommend using a table saw extension router table as your only router table. Don't get me wrong, it will work OK, but even though I have a very small shop, I will make room for a dedicated router table. It takes a while to get the router set up. If you need to make a cut on the table saw, you have to tear down the router setup. Maybe with good planning, this wouldn't happen very often, but I wouldn't know anything about that.
Overall, the Skil seems to work fine, and it is under a hundred bucks. Not bad.
That's all the power tools I can think of from last years purchases. Now on to this years purchases. I will give my opinions on these tools, but keep in mind that I have not used these very much. I am full into the acquiring stage at the moment, and that leaves little time or room in the shop to actually use the tools. I am almost finished with the drywall in the shop, so hopefully I will get everything set up soon, and put this small fortune of tools (at least on my limited budget
) to use. I will try to come back and update this if my opinion changes with more use. Some of my tools have not been used yet, and some of them are not assembled yet. I will list them so you can check them out if you want. I've read a lot of tool reviews this year, so I hope my purchases were more informed than last years.
Grizzly 6" jointer - Still only partially assembled. I've read a lot of good reviews on this one, and I think it will be a good addition to my shop.
Grizzly 8' grinder - Still in box
Grizzly Benchtop Oscillating sander - Just got this yesterday. I tested it with a scrap piece of 2x6. It seems to work well. It is probably a lot less powerfull than other sanders, but it is a lot cheaper than others that I have seen. The base is plastic, but feels sturdy. With very limited testing, I am happy so far. I will be happier after I clean up the mess with the shop vac. The shop is being drywalled, so this test was done in my dining/game/entry room. I wouldn't try that if you are married though
I have read a lot of good things about Grizzly, and they have been great to deal with so far. I plan to buy a 14" Bandsaw from them next year. I would definitely check them out.
There is more, but I need to sleep. This post got a bit long. If this is usefull to anyone, let me know, I will post some more. If not, I will get back to reading about arcade controls
Paul