shop tool checklist

[Ron Bott]

I'm planning my new shop layout and trying to plan for all current tools as well as future tool purchases. I'm looking for a checklist that would list all power tools and hand tools in a well equipped woodworking shop. Anybody know where I could find one?

[David Hostetler]

While it is far from complete, this checklist is along the lines of my shop setup. There are items on the list I am missing, and I KNOW I missed stuff to put on the list.

This started out as a list from Wood Magazine, and took on a life of its own... You do NOT need everything that is on this list to do fine woodworking, but a LOT of this stuff does make the job nicer, and easier...

Saws:
Table Saw (10" is the accepted standard, but larger and smaller models are on the market).
Band Saw
Scroll Saw
Compound Miter Saw (A 12" Sliding compound miter saw has the most capacity, and replaces the function of a Radial Arm Saw as well.)
Radial Arm Saw (assuming no sliding compound miter saw, OR circular saw and cross cutting guide for cross cuts).
Circular Saw
Jig Saw
Reciprocating Saw
Hack Saw
Rip Saw
Crosscut Saw
Japanese pull saw (Fine and coarse tooth configurations)
Back Saw
Dovetail Saw
Coping Saw
Table Saw General Purpose Blade
Table Saw Crosscut Blade
Table Saw Glue Line Rip Blade
Table Saw Stack Dado set
Compound Miter Saw Crosscut Blade
Proper assortment of band saw blades according to your project types.
Circular Saw, jig saw, recip saw blades according to the tasks needed.

Sanders:
Oscillating Spindle Sander
Edge Belt Sander (Ridgid EB4424 is both a spindle and belt sander...)
Disk Sander or disk sanding attachment / work rest for lathe.
Wide drum Sander / Thicknesser. While these are commercially available, I see a LARGE number of these that are shop built. There are kits, plans, and writeups on how other people did it all over the 'net.
Quarter Sheet Sander
Random Orbital Sander
Detail Sander.
Belt Sander
Rubber Rubber Quarter Sheet Sanding Block
Hand Detail Sanders
Assortment of sanding sponge profiles and grits

Making Holes:
3/8" Variable Speed Reversible drill. One with a keyless chuck and clutch system are priceless additions.
1/2" SDS Rotary Hammer. Not so much for woodworking, but for holes needed to anchor woodworking articles to masonry such as brick, concrete etc...
Drill Press with proper woodworking table / fence for setting up stock orientation for accurate repeatable drilling.
Brad Point drill bit set Ti coating.
Stanard drill bit set Ti coating, no brad point (for the occasional metal work...)
Countersink set, Ti coating.
Spade bit set
Forstner bit set. Similar to router bits, start with as big of a quality set as you can afford, and build up from there.
Hole Saw Set. Bimetal sets wear better, and run cooler.
Plug Cutter set.

Shaping Tools:
* Single-cut mill bastard file
* Round rasp
* Flat rasp
Triangle rat tail file set
Cabinet scraper and hand scrapers
Utility knife
Planer
Jointer
#4, and #6 bench planes.
Low Angle Block Plane
Assortment of Card Scrapers
Wood chisels 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1-1/4" 1-1/2". These don't need to be top of the line, but throwaways aren't a good idea either. Stanley Fat Max, or Irwin Marples chisels give great performance for not a lot of money.
Router table, or table saw router wing extension.
Router. Multi base are better than single base, and 1/4" collet is fine, 1/2" collet is better. And this is one of those tools that several are much better than one. (You can keep one set up for one type of cut, and another for a mating cut such as dovetails, and work without having to reset your router all the time.)
Router bit assortment. A large assortment set is a great starting point. I personally have the MLCS 66 piece 1/2" shank set, and have expanded from there.
Router templates / jigs for tasks such as dovetails, box joints, circle cutting, edge guide, sign making etc...
(* These files / rasps are often found in 4 in 1 files).

Fastening and driving:
Air Compressor
Finish Nailer
Brad Nailer
Framing Nailer
Stapler
Pin Nailer
16oz claw hammer
8oz finish hammer
Hardwood Mallet
Rubber Mallet
3# hammer
Nail Set

Measuring Tools:

Torpedo Level
Framing Level
Combination square
Sliding bevel
Marking gauge
Framing square
Engineer's Square
Protractor
Assortment of draftsmans triangles, curves, and templates
Steel tape (10' or 12')
Folding rule
Compass
Scratch awl
Caliper (Metal body, either digital or dial type)
Carpenter's Pencils
Fine Point Mechanical Pencil
Makers Mark / Branding Iron to sign your piece

Joining Tools:

Screwdrivers (straight, Phillips)
Doweling jig
Pocket screw jig
Bench vise or clamping system
Bar AND pipe clamps. Minimum 6 each 6", 12", 24" and 36" bar clamps, minimum 6 each 3/4" pipe clamps with 4', and 6' pipe segments.
Handscrews (Min 4 10"
Band Clamps (Min 6)
C-clamps
Spring Clamps.
Slip-joint pliers
Needle-nose pliers
Diagonal cutters

Safety & Maintenance:

Face shield and / or safety glasses
Hearing protector
Respirator
Sharpening stone (dual-purpose, coarse/fine)
Well marked, wall mounted, Workshop rated fire extinguisher.
Large, well stocked first aid kit

Health and Environmental:

Dust collector, hose, and fittings. Optional hard plumbing system.
Pre separator for dust collector.
Wet Dry vac with 2.5" hose, fitted with HEPA filter, pre separator such as a Thien Cyclone, or Dust Deputy, on a mobile cart.
Ambient Air Cleaner. Shop built or commercial. 1 micron filtration or better. (Shop Built using MERV 8 filters will achieve that).
Heating and cooling appropriate to your space and environment.

Workbench:

Proper Woodworking Workbench. (Your specific needs will vary).
Bench Dogs
Quick Release Woodworking Vise.
Quick Release End Vise.
Bench Dogs
Holdfasts
Bench Hooks
Planing Stops
Board Jack
Router mat, or better yet, Bench Cookies. (Recent item from Rockler, these things are COOL!)

Woodturning:

Lathe. A 12x36 Jet or clone is a great starting point.
Basic lathe tool set.
Bench Grinder and sharpening jig.
Roughing gouge set (sometimes you can get away with using a HUGE roughing gouge, to remove material FAST...)
Versa Chisel set
Bowl turning set
Bowl sanding tool set and sandpaper
Chuck, jaws, screw center.

[Rod Sheridan]

I'm planning my new shop layout and trying to plan for all current tools as well as future tool purchases. I'm looking for a checklist that would list all power tools and hand tools in a well equipped woodworking shop. Anybody know where I could find one?

David gave you a great start, however my shop looks more like this.

- combination jointer/planer

- combination sliding saw/shaper with power feeder

- hollow chisel mortiser

- 17" bandsaw

- 17" drill press

- Oneida Cyclone

That's it for the machinery.

I have many handplanes, about 6 handsaws, two eggbeater drills, a brace, and a corded 1/2" Milwauke drill.

I have a Makita jigsaw, and circular saw as well.

Lots of chisels, bevel edge, mortise, swan neck etc, as well as carving gouges.

Marking gauges, rulers, squares, precision straight edge, marking knives, pencils etc for layout and measuring.

Clamps, about 30 Bessey K bodies of different sizes, 8 X 3" C clamps, many F type clamps.

My wife also has a lathe, turning tools, chucks, faceplates etc.

Many types of drill bits, forstner, brad point, saw tooth, auger, jobbers length metal bits in fractional, number and letter sizes.

Sharpening equipment, waterstones, a bench grinder, a belt grinder with many different grit belts, cone charpeners for hollow chisels, auger files for auger bits.

Boy, I didn't realize that I had so much stuff.

Your shop however will depend upon what you make, I don't own an electric router for example, yet I have a wood router plane.

Regards, Rod.

[glenn bradley]

I know you are after a laundry list so you can set your priorities but the responses will vary as much as the person does. I won't run all of mine down but, in some sort of order, a person setting up a machine powered woodshop might want:

<< disclaimer; this list in no way is meant to indicate a superiority or inferiority of any alternate list. Yes your Festool was worth all that money, yes some sort of hand tool would do that much better, yes your time is valuable so use a powered saw, etc., etc., etc. >>

Dust collector, eye and ear protection, good basic safety habits.
Tablesaw or Bandsaw
Planer
Jointer (or planer sled)
Router(s) they're like rabbits.
Drill press
Sander(s)
Chisel(s)
Hand plane(s)
Cordless drill driver
Circ saw for breaking down sheet goods if you're going to do that
All manner of measuring and marking paraphenalia

OK, I've spun off in some random blathering direction. In a nutshell, decide what you want to do and look around to see if you have anything to do that with. If not, go get one. While out getting "it"; don't pick up some other "thing" you just know you're gonna use "someday". These items just clutter up your space. Wait and make sure you really need one . . . Have fun!

[Duane McGuire]

Something you don't need is an air compressor. But I'm sure glad I have one in the shop. The most valuable accessory for the compressor is a pin nailer. Great for cabinets. Always in use when making a quick one-off jig.

[John A langley]

what ever you do buy the best you can, I would first buy TS 10" is good,stay a way from the contractor saw #2 a good 10 or 12 miter saw # 3 joiner #4 thickness Planer these 4 will be the heart of your shop.

Dust collector
compressor Go for big

Routers 3 1/4 hp at least 2 -1 For the Router Table
Routers 1 or 1 1/2 hp
Trim Routers
air drills, air sanders, air nailers no batteries to die (why you went big)
you never stop buying hand tools.

[Jim Becker]

A "well equipped" shop varies by the woodworker and what kind of woodworking they tend to do. While the "big three" (Jointer, Planer, Table Saw) typically anchor most shops, they are not necessarily all included in every shop, for example. There are also choices available more affordable now, such as J/P combos, that might influence shop layout.

One thing that I will tell you...from experience...is that one's shop will evolve over time, too. "Stationary" doesn't mean a tool will always live in a particular spot. And flexibility/mobility should always be a major consideration. It will insure you can adjust for both material handling and project size, optimizing your space for the needs you have "today". That doesn't mean everything has to be mobile, but having the ability to move lesser used tools into a "tool corral" off in a corner somewhere makes for a lot more space for assembly and finishing.

[Mike Cruz]

David, you have WAY too much time on your hands.

It would have been much easier, and less time consuming to say this:

Go get a Grizzly catalogue. Go buy one of each... and in some cases, multiples.

[David Hostetler]

I have a few lists that were built a long time ago. Copy / Paste doesn't take much time...

[Kent A Bathurst]

....what ever you do buy the best you can....

Bingo, John. Even if that means waiting a bit to raise the funds. Don't take delivery of Model A, and then spend the next four years thinking about the Model B you did not buy.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Something you don't need is an air compressor. But I'm sure glad I have one in the shop. The most valuable accessory for the compressor is a pin nailer. Great for cabinets. Always in use when making a quick one-off jig.

Pin nailer is 2d most valuable accessory, IMO. Blow-off nozzle is #1

[Ron Bott]

Thanks for the list David, just what I was looking for.