Bandsaw, planer, or drill press?

[Terry Thillemann]

I decided to start a home wood shop in my basement so I could build new kitchen / dining rooms cabinets and start some other fun projects in the future.

To get going with my cabinet project, I bought a new Sawstop cabinet saw. I added a mobile base, extra extension wing, router table extension, router lift, and Incra Joinery fence system to it. I also bought a dust collection system, air filtration unit, tons of parallel clamps, squares, saw blades, etc. Lastly, I already had a Rigid 6" jointer.

I'm wondering what power tool to buy next if any at this point. Would a bandsaw make the most sense for resawing to make doors? What about a drill press to drill the hinge cups? Or what about a planer to thin down hard wood or re sawn wood, my jointer can probably double as a planer?

Do I need any of these at this point or can I do without ... I'd also really like to finish a recent rifle build with a nice scope.

My budget is around $1,500.

Suggestions?

[paul cottingham]

Planer and a 14" bandsaw. I would also consider a mortiser. Very useful for making cabinet doors.

[Bryan Cramer]

A Dewalt DW735 lunch box planer will suit a hobbyist well and a maybe a Grizzly 14" bandsaw. A plunge router can do the mortises and a commercial jig for a hand drill can drill the cup holes.

[Terry Thillemann]

Whats the best band saw in this price range?

[Matt Day]

A jointer is not a planer. Jointer makes it flat and square, planer makes it parallel.

Get them all!
Estimates:
Used lunchbox planer on CL (~$200)
Used bench top DP (~$50)
Used 14" bandsaw ($250)

If you've got the coin for a SS I bet you can afford the used machine above, especially if you were planning on buying new machines to start with. Get 3 used machines for the price of 1 new. Search CL often for the deals.

[Jim German]

I don't find a bandsaw to be useful for cabinet making. How do you get your wood? Are you getting it rough from a lumberyard? If so I'd get a bigger jointer and a planer. If its already coming S4S (surfaced on 4 sides) then you don't really need those.

A drill press (or a milling machine!) is a must have for me, but you don't need to spend a ton on one that is serviceable.

What do you plan on doing after the cabinets?

[Robert Engel]

It depends on what you're starting with. Is the wood rough or S3/4S?
When I built my kitchen I found that the savings on S3S vs rough wasn't worth all the milling work.

You can drill the hinge cups by hand, but a drill press makes quicker/better work of it.

You won't need to resaw unless you're making quite thin panels.

Answer: I don't think you need any of them but I would consider a drum sander. I will be very handy for panels, and if you buy surfaced lumber it will have planer marks that need to be removed.

When I built my kitchen I wish I had a drum sander to run everything through before assembly.

[Terry Thillemann]

A jointer is not a planer. Jointer makes it flat and square, planer makes it parallel.

Ok, I seen jointer/planer combo units which look like my jointer. Seeing how it's 6" wide, I wasn't sure if it could also surface the face like a planer would. Thanks for clarification.

I can certain afford the used machines but I typically stay away from used because I have no idea what to check to understand if its good to go, needs rehab, how much it needs, etc. Buying new at least allows me to know its condition, allows me to get started without any issues, have a great looking machine, the machine which has the highest reviews versus one that was a deal, etc. That said, I'm not against buying used I'd just have to do more homework, know exactly what I want, and wait for it to show up. $250 seems very cheap for a band saw, can one of that cost work as well as a brand new $1,000 band saw?

[Terry Thillemann]

I don't find a bandsaw to be useful for cabinet making. How do you get your wood? Are you getting it rough from a lumberyard? If so I'd get a bigger jointer and a planer. If its already coming S4S (surfaced on 4 sides) then you don't really need those.

A drill press (or a milling machine!) is a must have for me, but you don't need to spend a ton on one that is serviceable.

What do you plan on doing after the cabinets?

I've never bought wood other than from the big box stores which was ready to go. This will my first time buying wood somewhere else. I'll have to research where to go for the best quality/price, how I should buy it, etc. After the cabinets I'm probably going to build some more cabinets for a bathroom, perhaps a vanity, and maybe a hall tree. Other than that I'm not sure ... outside furniture, birdhouse, recipe box, end table, etc. I'll have to look through some magazines and see what looks fun and I can achieve.

[Terry Thillemann]

It depends on what you're starting with. Is the wood rough or S3/4S?
When I built my kitchen I found that the savings on S3S vs rough wasn't worth all the milling work.

You can drill the hinge cups by hand, but a drill press makes quicker/better work of it.

You won't need to resaw unless you're making quite thin panels.

Answer: I don't think you need any of them but I would consider a drum sander. I will be very handy for panels, and if you buy surfaced lumber it will have planer marks that need to be removed.

When I built my kitchen I wish I had a drum sander to run everything through before assembly.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to research where the best place to source wood is and how much it costs in its different forms. I figured for the cost of buying surfaced wood I'd be better to surface it myself but perhaps not. I'll have to look into this. Thanks.

[glenn bradley]

I've never bought wood other than from the big box stores which was ready to go. This will my first time buying wood somewhere else. I'll have to research where to go for the best quality/price, how I should buy it, etc. After the cabinets I'm probably going to build some more cabinets for a bathroom, perhaps a vanity, and maybe a hall tree. Other than that I'm not sure ... outside furniture, birdhouse, recipe box, end table, etc. I'll have to look through some magazines and see what looks fun and I can achieve.

The field is pretty wide open in woodworking so you may not be getting a black and white answer ;-) Sticking with the immediate projects of kitchen, bath, etc. I will assume glued-up raised panel doors in typical 'cope and stick' frames for this discussion. This video shows the cope and stick. It uses a plywood panel door but, you get the idea. The cope and stick can be done on the router table (although there are other methods as well).

Your door panel glue ups will be better if you properly mill your lumber. Dimensional lumber from the home center is not going to be particularly straight, flat or true. While it is possible to do a lot of non-critical things with dimensional lumber, raised panel doors would not be on my list of things to use it for. The bandsaw will be more or less important depending on how you want to go about milling your lumber. I start with thicker stock and basically make all my own boards. Other folks start with slightly oversized stock and simply joint, plane, rip and crosscut to length. There is a reasonable amount of discussion on the sequence of these steps.

All that being said, I feel a jointer and planer are a pair, never to be separated. Others have different opinions. Matt clarified an often misunderstood fact; jointers make things flat, planers use that flat surface as a reference to make the other side parallel. If your panels will be less than 3/4" thick (not so common) you can use home center stock and joint, plane, etc. to create your boards for glue up. If you want full 3/4" panels you would want 4/4 or 5/4 stock from the umber yard to yield flat true 3/4" stock after milling.

If you go with a bandsaw suitable for resawing (14" and above with reasonable debate about a 14" being up to the job) you are free to use a much wider variety of stock. This opens up your ability to be more selective about the piece you make for grain appearance, working around flaws and so forth.

So my short answer is, get a planer for sure. Get a bandsaw if you want more freedom and versatility in stock prep and selection. As to the DP, I would want at least a small benchtop if I were going to drill any number of hinge cups. Doing these by hand will quickly become tedious and can lead to irregularities. You can always start with an inexpensive DP to get you through the kitchen. At that point you can decide whether a more advanced DP is in you future or not and you will not be out a lot of money if you decide to upgrade. I would not be without one but, that's me.

Hope this helps ;-)

[Terry Thillemann]

I get 10% cash back for using my Chase Freedom card on Amazon through end of December. I was really interested in a nice rifle scope but wanted to check with fellow wood workers whether I really should be buying any specific tools instead for my needs. I'm sure I'd use the power tools more often than I'd go shooting and making good cabinets is my first priority as I plan to sell the house after I wrap up the kitchen and master bathroom.

I suppose this comes down to whether I will saw my own rough stock, resurface stock, or need to sand slightly rough stock? Am I better off buying hard wood from a lumber yard versus one of the wood working stores?

[Marc Burt]

Since getting a "real" bandsaw (19" Grizzly) 4 or 5 years ago I readily admit I use it far more than I thought I would and much more than I used my previous smaller bandsaw. Having said that I don't think a bandsaw would serve you well for cabinetmaking. I'd go for the planer first then the drill press if I were you. They make jigs to drill hinge cups if need be. I haven't used them but they've been for sale forever so they must work okay or they'd be discontinued right?

I understand your aversion to buying used but I'd suggest keeping an eye out for a used drill press. New ones are ridiculously priced. There's not a whole lot to them so they're a pretty low risk when buying used.

Good luck with your project!

[Marc Burt]

Around here Woodcraft sells wood pretty competitively priced compared to hardwood dealers. There's a small premium but that's to be expected for the convenience and it's not at all unreasonable. This was not the case when I lived in Georgia so it varies. You just have to know your market. Also, don't discount buying online. I've done it several times and haven't been burned yet. It's whole lot easier when it just shows up at your house!

I should add that a big disadvantage to buying from woodworkin stores is quantity. I use them for small projects however for for big projects or buying for inventory you'd clean them out.

[Jim German]

I'm sure I'd use the power tools more often than I'd go shooting and making good cabinets is my first priority as I plan to sell the house after I wrap up the kitchen and master bathroom.

If you plan on selling the house, I would defiantly not be making my own cabinets. A kitchen's worth of cabinets is a huge huge project. Most prosepective buyers aren't going to know the difference between well built, hand made cabinets and generic stuff. You're much better off going to Ikea and getting some cheap cabinets and using your time to make some nice furniture for the new house.

I suppose this comes down to whether I will saw my own rough stock, resurface stock, or need to sand slightly rough stock? Am I better off buying hard wood from a lumber yard versus one of the wood working stores?

A real lumberyard is the best place to buy most wood. If you're looking for some small exotic stuff for turning or specialty knobs or something, than a place like Woodcraft might have more selection. My lumberyard will S3S stuff for you for a small fee ($0.45 per bdft), and they have better equipment than I'll ever have. You'd need to buy an awful lot of wood before the cost to have them do it would pay for the tools to do it yourself. Course I still buy it rough and do it myself.