Introduction
A workshop is just a bare space without some essential tools. If your woodwork shop is new, or you’re thinking of ways to amp up your woodworking efficiency and speed, you need to get some specific tools. These tools are powered and manual alike, and you’ll find them really handy during your different projects. Find out more about these tools below:
Top 8 woodworking tools for every DIYer
Here are some of the best woodworking tools to make the job easier for handymen at all levels:
Jointer
Your work will often require you to level skewed and uneven surfaces, and nothing does the job better than a jointer. This tool is specifically designed to enable you to flatten wooden surfaces, and the results are nothing short of artistic and perfect.
You can decide to go for high-end jointers that run on electricity or the basic, manually operated ones. Expect ease of use, higher efficiency, and incredible speed from the premium models, but know that they'll be expensive and require more maintenance down the line.
Router tables
If your woodworking involves light cutting and shaping - which it obviously will - you will definitely need a router table. This power tool will allow you to draw patterns and grooves on wooden pieces with great precision using its built-in router bits. Some high-end router tables will even work on materials like steel and plastic.
Some router tables are stationary, while others are portable; either way, they are pretty easy to handle. However, you'll still need to exercise some caution to avoid injuries.
Table saw
Think of a table saw as an upgrade to the basic hand-held saw. Table saws offer more precision and ease of use than their predecessors, and they've become quite common in professional workshops today. While they're most commonly used for cutting wood, you can also use them to create cross-cuts and dado cuts. Furniture work often requires precision cutting, so prepare yourself by getting a table saw today.
Bench Vise
In simple terms, a bench vise grips objects and keeps them in place so that artisans can make precision cuts and patterns without movement. This tool will come in handy when you're sawing or drilling - operations that require the wood piece to stay in place.
Bench vises typically feature jaws made of wood or metal, with the metal units considered stronger. However, metal jaws are covered with wooden material so that they don't mar the pieces.
Wood lathe
Before any woodwork finish can be considered perfect, you have to make sure it is perfectly shaped, and nothing does that better than a wood lathe. A wood lathe shapes wooden pieces by cutting or sanding off the redundant parts by rotating them around a blade or cutting tool. They'll particularly come in handy when you want to create ornamental or cylindrical pieces like baseball bats, lamp posts, vases, or spindles.
Biscuit/Plate joiner
Most artisans are not convinced that they need biscuit joiners. However, we recommend that you get one. These woodworking tools, as their name suggests, are used to join two wooden pieces together and they come in different sizes and blade depths. The biscuit joints created by this tool are so strong that they are considered alternatives for mortise and tenon joints. The most common application of biscuit/plane joiners is attaching two wooden panels to form a tabletop. However, we're sure you'll find other uses for them over time.
Summary
When you have essential tools in your workshop, it'll be pretty easy to work efficiently and create exceptional pieces. Of course, the tools mentioned above are only some of what you need, but they are an excellent place to start. Hopefully, you'll take our advice and equip your workshop with them.
