Tools

Tablesaw:

The heart of the shop is the tablesaw. Remember that you want one with at least 2 hp and a good rip fence. A
good contractor's model is recommended. Be prepared to spend about $500-$600 for one. Sears sells one
with a Biesmeyer T-square rip fence for about that price. It is a good unit and is as close as your nearest Sears
store. Your local Home Depot or tool store should sell Jet. These are good also and have a good rip fence.
The Delta brand is okay, but the rip fence is not as good as the others, and is a little more expensive, but the
quality is good. For my money, I would mail order my tablesaw from Grizzly. They advertise in most
woodworking magazines. Check out the links section for their website. They have a large selection of very
good saws and other tools at a reasonable price. Catalog is free and service is great!

Saw Blades:

I can only recommend one manufacturer of saw blades. That is Forrest. These blades have no other
comparison!! Do not waste your money on cheaper blades. Order the Woodworker II blade at the same time
you buy your tablesaw and install it. Forrest advertises in most magazines and most good woodworking stores
carry them. These blades are so sharp, the edge they leave is mirror smooth and does not require joining to finish
it up. In fact, with the proper techniques, you can forego a jointer to prepare stock with these blades. These
blades are not cheap (about $100), but well worth the investment. I also recommend their dado set. This is THE
ABSOLUTE BEST DADO SET ON THE MARKET BAR NONE!!! There is absolutely no chipping in any
material from plywood to the hardest hardwood. Again it is not cheap (about $300), but again there is no
comparison! As your workshop grows, buy their other blades for your machines.

Router:

Since you will start out with one router, make it a good one! I recommend the Dewalt 3 hp variable speed plunge
router. It is a little pricey, but can do any routing job. This can be your only router. It has enough power and the slow
speeds required for swinging the large panel raising bits to make doors in your router table, and has the plunge
capability for other projects. I also can recommend Porter Cable routers also, but if I only had one router, the
DeWalt is the one. You can save some money by buying it through mail order.

Router bits:

I recommend buying these through mail order houses like Cascade. The bits are good quality at a good price. They
sell starter sets and door making sets that I recommend for the best bang for the buck. I highly recommend 1/2"
shanks for ruggedness. Do not buy 1/4" shank unless you have no choice for the design (like some small bits)

Drill/Driver and Jigsaw

I recommend a cordless model with a keless chuck. Panasonic and DeWalt make good ones. The Panasonic model
has the fastest charging times. Buy a combination contersink/pilot drill for predrilling screw holes. Buy a good set of
wood drills in a set. I recommend the Bosch variable speed "Clic" jigsaw. It is a reasonably priced hi-quality tool.

Surface Planer

I recommend the 12" Makita portable surface planer model 2012. It is a good quality tool that produces very good
finish. It also comes with carbide blades and an extra set of blades. It is a little pricey, but well wrth the expense.