Woodworking

Start with a project and buy just what you need. You can spend a lot of money on tools and then discover your interests never have you use that tool. Try to stick with the tools you have and master them before buying a new one. So pick a project that can mostly be done with tools you have, and then buy only the one tool you need. Of course this must be balanced - if you really need something made now buy the tools as needed and you will have them, but if you have a choice do projects within the abilities of your current tools.

Your wanted tool list isn't bad - you should have it. However the point isn't to go buy them. The point is to watch local craigslist, auctions, and such to see if something on the "someday" list goes on sale cheap. You should know enough about the tools to have a good idea of what you will take used. There are some great 60 year old tools out there for cheap that work better than anything you can afford new - but they don't go on sale everyday, and some of them need significant work before they become great again (are you willing to do that work? Machinery restoration is a fun hobby but it isn't going to make furniture so it might not be for you). Thus you should know what to look for in a used machine to decide if a deal is the right one for you.

Some comments from a man with a fairly complete if very compact wood shop:

=Band Saw=

I don't have one band saw, let alone two. I've gotten by with curved cuts using some combination of a jigasw, coping saw or router. Unless you have a VERY large workshop, I would go with a single band saw and change the blades for the operation you're doing. A larger floor-standing band saw will have more throat (distance from the blade to the pillar) which will make it easier to move stock around when doing scrollwork. As someone else has suggested, consider a scroll saw in place of a second band saw.

=Miter Saw=

Miter saws are convenient but not necessary; your table saw with a miter gauge and/or crosscut sled can do every single thing a miter saw can and probably better. I have a small one set up, and I use it less and less, I'm thinking of reclaiming the bench space it sits on. The only REAL thing a miter saw is The Best Choice for is cutting crown molding, it's difficult to set that weird miter up on a table saw.

=Circular Saw=

You didn't mention it, but a circular saw is a must have. I use it for rough cutting rough stock; I get a 10 foot 1x6 from my sawyer that I'm going to make into a small table, I'll rough it to size with a circ saw before S4Sing it. I actually have two of these and I use both. Hint: get a speed square to use as a quick and easy crosscut fence.

=Drill Press=

Get a drill press before a mortising machine. To channel my favorite cooking show host, Alton Brown, a mortiser is a unitasker, a drill press is multifunctional. I use my drill press not only to drill precise holes, but it's also my spindle sander, you can get sanding drums to chuck into a drill press and they work fine. You can also get mortising attachments for a drill press. And there is no replacing a drill press for punching precise holes. That said, if you're doing a lot of mission style furniture with through mortises, a mortiser may be worth it. Word on the street is the benchtop models are little better than the drill press attachments, you want a floor standing model.

=Router=

I have three. I have a cordless trim router that does the majority of my freehand work, I have my "old" router, a Kobalt that comes in a shockingly cheap yet shockingly good router table kit you can get at Lowe's which is assigned to dovetail jig plus anything I need a freehand full size router for duty, and a Bosch router which is currently on router table duty in a Bosch router table I use a router table A LOT. I do the majority of my mortising on the router table: With an up cut spiral straight bit, plunge in, push forward, plunge out. Do that in a few passes to get to full mortise depth. If required or desired you can square the ends of the mortise with a chisel. I have also done tenons on a router table but I do them on my table saw now, with a shop-made tenoning jig. There's little call for a spindle shaper these days outside of professional cabinet shops because of how far router tables and bits have come; I have a panel raising bit for my router which is truly terrifying.

=Sanders=

I've got my father's old handheld belt sander and absolutely never use it. I forget it's there some of the time. I use my two random orbit sanders for practically everything. On occasion, you need to get into tight corners or something, which is where a "palm sander" or "mouse sander" that has the clothes-iron shaped foot comes in handy. Quarter sheet sanders (what some people call palm sanders or finish sanders) do the same job as a random orbit but worse, don't bother. You may also want a stationary disc/belt sander, and a drum sander or sanding drum for a drill press. There is also no getting around the need for a sanding block.

=Dovetail jig=

I own the Porter Cable one, which is very cool. I'll give you a BIG hint if you buy this model: There are TWO manuals for it. One of them is the typical owner's manual that tells you how to do the basic stuff, there's another one that's available on the website that's basically the advanced class that teaches you how to do all kinds of cool stuff like make wooden hinges, different patterns, use different bits, etc. If you get the Porter Cable dovetail jig, GO GET THAT SECOND MANUAL. Hell, if you get ANY dovetail jig it's probably worth a read because the techniques can probably be adapted.

=Chisels=

Meh, for a mostly power tool shop, get a good set of bench chisels in a range of 1/4" to 1" and a couple old crap bench chisels from a garage sale and call it a day. You're going to do most of your actual work with power tools, so your chisels will be mostly for cleaning up, squaring mortises if you so desire and occasional finessing. I've chopped mortises entirely by hand with my hardware store Stanley bench chisels, you don't need bespoke mortising chisels. What even is a "flushing chisel?" If you want to trim something flush, use the flat of a bench chisel. Or a...

=Hand plane=

For a power tool shop, I recommend owning a bench plane and a box plane. You'd be amazed how often they come in handy. I recommend going to Lowe's and picking up two of the three Jorgensen brand planes they have on sale there; the "supposed to be a Stanley #4" bench plane and one of the two block planes. I don't think you need to pick up both block planes, I own both and I use the smaller one way more often. So often you see woodworking youtubers filming in front of a rack of hand planes and chisels, and in a power tool shop it's just not necessary; you've got a jointer, a thickness planer and a router.

=Sharpening gear=

For your chisels, plane irons, marking knives etc. you're going to want some sharpening gear. Me? I'm a diamond plate guy, but I'll let you go on your own road of discovery here.

=Set-up blocks=

I've seen some woodworkers buy machinist's gauge blocks for use in setting up things like fences. I think that's kind of overkill; there's an inexpensive equivalent made for woodworkers available, search for "woodworking setup blocks" for them. I don't know what to do without mine.

=Clamps=

Conventional wisdom is pipe clamps are cheap but functional, parallel jaw clamps are expensive but great. Well, for the past couple years I've been using pipe clamps that I bought at Harbor Freight for like $12 and black iron pipe I bought from Lowe's. I recently bought some Jorgensen parallel jaw clamps. The parallel jaw clamps are more expensive...by $3 per clamp. I've got $3 per pipe clamp in labor just going to two stores and assembling them.

My recommendation is to buy one or two pairs of parallel jaw clamps, and use them in pairs as the basis for your panel glue-ups. All the other clamping you do on that panel, plus any other ordinary clamping duties, can be done with cheaper F-style clamps.

That said, rent a warehouse out in Industrial zoned land, preferably one with a rail siding to store your clamps in, that'll get you started. I literally don't know what to do with all my clamps and I've only got like 40 of them.

You may love that style and have every intention of only doing that style, but you will likely need/want to make something of a different style.

Consider a scroll saw instead of a second band saw. They can do tighter turns and save you having to do more work to get the edge to the line. An oscillating drum sander can be a huge help for finishing curves that bandsaw can't get at, but a jeweler's saw can also make the curve.

A drill press is really great if you need to drill a hole or make plugs, preferably one with a tilting bed and fixtures for clamping.

Mallets, both wood and rubber.

However many clamps you think you need, double or triple that. Consider getting the ratchet strap type clamps, they can be really awesome for some glue ups where you can't put calls on the piece. Clamps are a great gift idea too.

Get a router and then buy the plate and make a table router, but having a hand router and a table router would be more convenient.

Your list could have ten things in it or 500. Perhaps you should order by necessity.

I would put things like miter saw, jointer, dado blade at the very bottom of the list, and move table saw, router, and planer to the very top.

I am pretty happy without a miter saw but with a decent table saw sled. I really like having a drill press, though. I'd also figure out some way to at least get a part-time router table; For most operations, I just like that workflow better than holding the tool.

I'd also say a mortising machine is very much a luxury, especially if you do get a drill press and a nice selection of chisels. Speaking of chisels, I assume you have a mallet you like?