Sold Power Tools, help me spend $1200 Wisely

[Brian Sommers]

I know I want to get a Veritas Low Angle Jack Plane, but should I get the extra 2 blades or for now just keep the one that comes with it?

I have to be careful, becuase I want a good Bad Axe Carcass saw and at least one good Disston rip saw, I would like to get a cross cut panel saw as well.

I don't know where to go... I just want to make sure I spend the money wisely and stretch it as far as I can, but I have learned, that I want to buy once and be done with it.

I want to get three nice Ariou Rasps, I think, or maybe I should forget that until later?

I have good markers, knife, etc. I would like to get a good Rob Cosman dovetail saw...

Any advice would be great, thanks.

[Brian Holcombe]

The Auriou rasps are really nice, I actually have three of them, two tapered half rounds (one coarse one finer) and a rat tail. Great to have, come in handy on the regular.

[Frederick Skelly]

1. I know you said you weren't sure, but I'd still think about the kind of work you might want to do and use that to prioritize the purchases. For my shop, rasps and files get a lot of use. So I bought Iwasaki carving files and plan to buy 2-3 Aurious. But you might not use rasps as much, so might delay that purchase and buy the Badaxe instead. Likewise, if you plan to do alot of dovetails, that DT saw might be a good buy - otherwise defer it and buy bigger saws that help you dimension your lumber first.

2. I've learned (the hard way) that things go better for me if I buy only a few key items, then save the rest to buy what becomes obvious that I need (or need more of). For example, I'd buy the LA Jack without extra irons - you can buy those later if you need them. (And trust me here - I've bought several hand tools just because I wanted them - I'm as guilty of that as anyone else. But they don't get used as much as I expected.)

3. Other general use items to consider if you don't have them include good squares, good rules, a few good chisels, good brace and bits, sharpening stones, LV planing stops, clamps. Depending on the work you do, consider wooden dado planes, wooden rabbet planes, LV small plow plane, etc.

Let us know what you end up deciding to buy. Good luck!
Fred

[steven c newman]

This might be fun to sit and watch.....shall I pop some popcorn now...or later?

[Phil Mueller]

I agree with Fred, you can always get the minimum now and add later as you need. Not sure what you plan to build, but for what it's worth, here's a list of the saws and planes I recently used on my last few projects; a hall table, saw till, and a split top sawbench:

Saws: crosscut, tenon and dovetail backsaws, panel rip, fret, coping
Planes: BU jack, smoother, block, shoulder, router

As mentioned above various chisels, rules, squares, dividers, marking knives, sharpening. I will note, I found it much more convenient when I got my second and even third marking guages...

[Paul Sidener]

Rob Cosman makes a very nice dovetail saw, but over priced at $250. Lie Nielsen makes a dovetail saw that is equal to the Cosman saw, for half the price. With that change it's like you just got an Auriou rasp for nothing.

For the LA jack I would get one extra iron, the toothed iron.

[Prashun Patel]

I would get one carcass saw and skip the extra blades for the la jack. Do u own chisels? Rasps are great but if u plan to do more cases than sculpting then they could be less useful than smoothing cutting or joint fitting tools.

I guess, what do you want to do?

[Brian Sommers]

I want to make things like decorative boxes, small furniture (bedside and chair side tables) small hanging shelves for the kitchen etc. I have a hankerin' to try a chair as well someday. I want to make a high back type of "office" chair for myself out of wood or at least try.

But for now, small tables, small bookcases, end grain cutting boards, etc.

I use the sandpaper method for sharpening and that works well for me especially now that I can have that permanently set up at a separate sharpening station now that I have room! I do want to get the Veritas honing guides, I need all the help I can get.

I want to make sure I get good saws to break stuff down and be able to true up a piece of lumber, I'm hoping to be able to do that with my LA JP. I would like to get a good Disston rip and cc panel saw. that will cut what I have in half I'm afraid.

Good tip on the Lie Nelson saws. I do want to get a good Bad Axe Carcass, I've always wanted one of those and I figure I can't go wrong with that one.

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

I agree with getting the LN dovetail and buy a rasp with the difference. I have the LN and it's a nice saw, but one day I'll get the bad axe stiletto.

[steven c newman]

You could take the short drive over to The Dungeon Shop...and get a feel for how some of these hand tools feel, and operate.....I'm just over in Bellefontaine, OH. Short drive....and yes, we have a lot of Amish people around here, as well..

[Phil Mueller]

Brian, I'll jump in again with my somewhat intermediate experience. Try to think through your first project. Take a small end table for example. Let's say it's 18" square top, 3-4" wide aprons, 2" tapered legs.

All the rough stock can be squared up with the BU jack. Now, I'm assuming S2S/S4S stock.

Top; you'll need a rip saw to cut panels to width, and can use the BU jack to joint the glue edges. You'll then need to smooth the top (BU jack can work), and square it up (rough out with rip and crosscut panel saws, and you can finish both long and end grain with the BU jack).

Aprons; Rip and crosscut saw to dimension the stock, BU jack to square the apron to final dimension, and a rip tenon saw and crosscut backsaw for the tenons. By the way, the BU jack is also an excellent plane for shooting.

Legs; maybe rip saw rough taper and fine tune with BU jack, or BU jack the whole taper. Crosscut saw to cut to final length.

Total; 4 saws, 1 plane. No need for rasps, files, etc. Very doable with your budget. Sure, other planes could be helpful; smoother, block, router, shoulder, etc. But the point is, you can afford to go quality with these minimum tools and still do a fine job on the project.

By the way, if a choice is needed, I'd go higher end tenon (or carcass) as rip, and a lessor cost crosscut (check out the Veritas line...excellent saws, and may fit the need for the smaller work you're planning).

[paul cottingham]

Frankly, you can't go wrong (seriously) with the LV dovetail saw (fine) and the two LV carcass saws. I have cut an awful lot of joinery with those saws. I got a screaming good deal on a Bad Axe sash saw and can't recommend one enough. I would never be able to afford one new (ever) but the deal I got on it was almost embarrassing. I love that saw. Add a couple of good panel saws and you are laughing.

[Stewie Simpson]

Brian; did you change your mind on the Incra purchase.


07-13-2016, 7:36 AM Thread: Getting ready to build a router table. questioning how much is to much?

by Brian Sommers


What I would really like to have is the Incra LS fence system and the Incra lift and all of those Incra goodies.

I realize that it will set me back about 1100-1200 US bucks.

[Mike Holbrook]

If you are price conscious you could go with Iwasaki rasps. I have half a dozen at least and use them more than my Auriou or Gramercy rasps.

Japanese saws are a bargain and you can usually replace the blade if you ever wear out the hardened teeth. The bowsaws made my Tools for Working Wood and WoodJoy are also very nice and can do the work of several saws by simply switching blades. Replaceable saw blades can save more than the cost of the saws too. Sharpening saws requires more tools and another skill set.

I love my Veritas LAJ but the custom Veritas planes can be used with or without a chip breaker and you have a choice between the #5 and the #5 1/2.

Chisels are also a very versatile tool.

[Brian Sommers]

I'm leaning toward the LN panel saws. Rip and xcut.
then the bad axe 12" carcass

then the la jp and a router plane and honing guide from lv