What tools?

[ZendoDeb]

What tools do folks use?

Should I invest in a decent table saw or a miter saw for the cabinets?

Jig saw? drill press? belt sander? Do they need to be "good" or will the cheap one I already have get the job done?

Kleg jig, or simple doweling jig?

A lot of people are building beautiful cabinets. While I don't think I can do that, I don't want the finished product to look bad.

[Woodbutcher]

All those tools will be good to have if you have the money. If dollars are tight I would go for a medium quality table saw, a sabre saw, the belt sander and the Kreg pocket cutter. You can do most everything with those basic tools. Have fun building the cabinets, you'll do fine!

[kennyrayandersen]

What tools do folks use?

Should I invest in a decent table saw or a miter saw for the cabinets?

Jig saw? drill press? belt sander? Do they need to be "good" or will the cheap one I already have get the job done?

Kleg jig, or simple doweling jig?

A lot of people are building beautiful cabinets. While I don't think I can do that, I don't want the finished product to look bad.

Yes, get what you can afford. A good table saw is the heart of the shop. You can do most everything including making simple raised panels. A router is pretty useful as is a drill press. If you have those you can do a lot.

Next level is either a pocket jig or biscuit cutter. I know the pocket jigs are nice – especially for cabinets, but overall I think I personally would choose the biscuit cutter – a little slower for cabinets, but IMHO you can do more general wood working with a biscuit cutter. Also at this level I’d say is a cutoff saw (power miter) which makes making trim, cabinet facing etc. much easier than having it stick way out on the table saw (unless you have a sliding table, but let’s not go there at $1000). Anyof the good ones are probably OK (DeWalt, Porter Cable, etc.)

Level 3 would be a planer and a jointer so you can dimension your own lumber. You can also save some money because rough wood is a bit cheaper than planed; otherwise, you are buying dimensioned lumber (probably ¾ inch).

[Jst83]

What tools do folks use?

Should I invest in a decent table saw or a miter saw for the cabinets?

Jig saw? drill press? belt sander? Do they need to be "good" or will the cheap one I already have get the job done?
Kleg jig, or simple doweling jig?

A lot of people are building beautiful cabinets. While I don't think I can do that, I don't want the finished product to look bad.

Table saw and miter saw ,you can buy resonably priced ones. As for quality, I built mine with the tools I have and nothing is top quality . Some have built with out table saws and miters I've never used a Kreg or dowel jig on my camper, it's whatever you're comfortable with you can make work.

[Michele]

The only tools I used were a jig saw, a miter saw and an 18v drill...none of which were fancy or expensive.

[aggie79]

I need to issue a caveat here. I am not very far along in my first build so I don't have the wisdom of those on the forum that have built several teardrops.

I'm with Michele and am going to take a contrarian view here. I too don't think a table saw is necessary. I have one, and use it for other things, but I haven't used it on my teardrop. I typically use a circular saw with an edge guide instead.

About purchasing tools - I don't want to start a brand war, you may want to try purchasing refurbished tools - new ones that had something wrong initially that has been repaired. These brands - Porter Cable, Makita, Bosch, Rigid, DeWalt, Hitachi, & Milwaukee are generally considered the most-heavy duty. A lesser priced alternative for the casual hobbyist would be Craftsman and Ryobi. The least cost alternative would be Harbor Freight.

Corded versus Cordless - I am a big fan of cordless, but they are expensive and don't have the power of the corded models (except for some of the higher voltage lithium ion tools.)

My 2 cents worth.

[stomperxj]

I agree with a lot of the post alredy. A table saw and a router are the two tools i have used the most on my project. A good quality cordless drill is a huge asset too.

[PanelDeland]

I am a professional Maintainence mechanic.So a lot of what I am about to say is from experience in that field.Tools are required to build things or repair them.The better quality is great if you need to make a living with them but even then every tool is not used for every job or all the time on most jobs.Perfectly good cabinets can be built with a handsaw, miter box and a few clamps.They will not be as fancy as ones built by the guy with all the trick tools aided by the bells and whistles,or they may be if he is a wood carver.The biggest difference is in the time it takes to build something.Also,owning a tool does not make you a master at using it.Craftsmen spend years using a tool and seldom learn all of the tricks to make it do everything.Think of it like the box you are sitting in front of.You can do almost any type of spreadsheet, word processing,money management,legal document,online business etcetra on a computer.How many do you know how to do?
Learning to get the most from a tool and learning good layout procedures will probably pay off more than an expensive tool.And some days I just want to enjoy the process.I'll use the hacksaw rather than dragging out the portaband,I'll use a cordless drill instead of setting up the drillpress to bore a few holes.Sometime it's like traveling"the journey is as much of it as the destination"so " the process is as important as the product"
Just my feelings on the subject of tools.
BTW, I have quite a few tools that I have no idea what all they are capable of,my trusty adjustable jaw hammer is one

[RichAFix]

I do a lot of woodworking, I have a lot of tools. I use most of them often. Do you need fancy tools to get fancy results, absolutely not. One of the first tools in my shop was an inexpensive table saw. I did a lot of great projects with it and learned a lot about what I wanted in my next purchase. I did eventually purchase a better table saw, but only because the time it took to set up the old one was beginning to be a problem (you start doing jobs for people and you find that you have to be able to make things happen faster). There is nothing that I couldn't do on my old saw that my new saw does, it just took longer to set it up. Buy the best you can afford, but more importantly learn to use what you have safely and to its fullest. You will find many tools that the best isn't needed and many that you wish you would have spent more. My advice, buy good quality blades and bits. Those can always be used if/when you upgrade and that is the most critical part of any tool. The best tool with a bad blade will always give a bad cut.

I originally bought that first table saw because a friend was getting rid of it cheap. I was hooked. I then bought a couple other misc. tools and got more hooked. I then got a part time job at a woodworking tool store and got even more hooked. I then started buying every tool my check would allow. I then found I couldn't afford to work at the store anymore as I was spending more than I was making and I didn't have enough time for woodworking. It is addictive, be careful.

[Mark McD]

I own the best tools money can buy. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing unless you know how to use them.

While I'll admit quality tools help produce good work the best tools are not always necessary. Spend more money on the tools you plan to use the most. Buy cheaper tools ,like Harbor Freight, for tools you won't need on a regular basis.

Here's a partial list of tool brands and types I use and recommend:

Porter Cable or Bosch routers
Delta or Powermatic tablesaw
Bosch or Milwaukee jigsaw, have both, prefer the Bosch , but like the Milwaukees' blade release better
Hitachi compound power miter box
Delta bandsaw
Makita framing saw
Skil wormdrive saw
Bosch cordless drills
Milwaukee sawzall
Kreg jig, don't bother with a doweling jig, they're too complicated to use, let alone for a novice.

I'm not suggesting you run out and buy all of these tools, I'm simply giving you my experiance having spent the last 25 years buying, breaking,losing and abusing tools. These are the tools I use and recommend.

A tablesaw is not absolutely necessary. I have a huge tablesaw with outfeed tables and rollers, etc, but I still use a straight edge guide, about $20, to cut full sheets of plywood to manageable sizes so I'm not killing myself since I work alone most times.

[Esteban]

A table saw is the power tool I've used the most. It's very helpful to cut customized sizes of wood. One of the very best tools, one I made, is a big 4-1/2' x 10' work bench on wheels. It's a back saver. I use it both in the garage and out in the driveway on nice days (when I make sawdust). A battery driven drill has been very useful (I have several). Have often used a Kreg pocket hole tool and a cheap Harbor Freight biscuit cutter for joining wood. A luxury tool was an air compressor. A pneumatic narrow crown staple gun is a time saving, fun tool, to use. A Ryobi disc sander gets used most days I work on the teardrop. A router has been very helpful for cutting and shaping a side pattern, the walls and doors. Will use it much more when it comes time to make cabinets. Hammers, screwdrivers, tape measures, level, straight edge, 4' aluminum T square, files, chisels, sandpaper, extension cords. An old office chair on wheels with the back removed to work sitting down and to scoot around. Good lighting. Help from friends now and then. T&TTT has been invaluable. Steve Fredericks Building a Wooden Teardrop Trailer CD, printed out in a loose leaf notebook, in the workshop, with my own notes. Andrew's teardrop plans and tongue strength information in the Design Library - thank you very much Andrew. Going to some gatherings to meet teardroppers and see teardrops. Teardrop owners who say climb in and lay down to see how you like it. Steve Tripp's Index. Joanne's Desert Dawg website. The Hall of Fame. Raka.com epoxy. A gallon of Titebond II to refill the little bottles. The DelCity electrical parts catalog. Amazon.com. UPS. A credit card. A comfy warm bed to dream at night about teardrops - sometimes problems get solved, or a good idea appears, in a dream. Mike and Chell. Aunti M's thirst for bubble oil and pictures. Madjack's sage advice. A digital camera. A computer. The Internet. Warm enough days to work outside. A garage. A sense of humor. A chair to sit in to rest and contemplate. Pencils. Sharpie pens. Blue painters tape. The world wide, growing, community of teardroppers.

What was the question? I seem to have gotten into a teardrop stream of consciousness.


edit. How could I forget clamps? Lot and lots of clamps.