14 Power Tools for the Home Shop
by Susan Stieglitz · 14 photos · 28 comments
Compound miter saw. The nickname for this is a "chop saw" — it chops your lumber across the grain. Used for an infinite number of projects, it can tackle things like baseboards, crown molding and trim, and handles a 2x4 easily. It's used to make accurately measured cross cuts, angle cuts and bevel cuts. Think big: You can frame a house with this tool!
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Battery-powered drill. A powerful cordless drill comes in handy when moving around the job site. While drilling holes drains the battery quickly, the drill can handle many screws with a single charge (such as when installing drywall). Some models have a clutch and will stop automatically before you strip the screw head, unlike a power screwdriver with a cord. To keep your work flowing, keep one battery charging while you're using the other.
Power Tools
Circular saw. More often called a Skilsaw, this workhorse is portable and has endless uses. It cuts softwood, hardwood, concrete, stucco, wood, glass, ceramic tiles, brick and metals. Cut your wall openings, holes for skylights, wood beams, plywood and tops of fence posts with this tool. Be sure to use the correct blade for your project. Blade types are steel, high-speed steel (HSS), diamond, carbide-tipped and abrasive, and each has its own ability.
Power Tools
Jigsaw. Lightweight and maneuverable, a jigsaw's strength is how it cuts curves and makes plunge cuts. It can cut holes in counters for sinks and small precise holes in cabinets for electrical plugs, and it's ideal for craft projects requiring large scrolling or fretwork designs.
Power Tools
Table saw. Whereas a chop saw "chops" small pieces of wood across the grain, a table saw "rips" lumber lengthwise along the grain — and can make some chop cuts and angle cuts as well. Set the depth and angle of your blade, and push the wood through, using an adjustable guide to help you feed it straight. While you shouldn't attempt sheets of plywood on this, it is portable and can be used on the ground, a workbench, or even a set of sawhorses.
Power Tools
Sawzall. It requires some strength to manage this beast, but it's great for quick-and-dirty cuts for wood, metal and drywall removal. Like the name says, it saws all, even through nails. When that wall has to come down, this tool can help. But remove the electrical first!
Power Tools
Palm sander. One of many in a family of sanders — including random-orbital and belt sanders — the palm sander is infinitely faster and more even than digging in with a block and sandpaper. It has a bag to catch the sawdust but still puts out a lot of dust — everywhere. But sawdust is your new friend, right?
Power Tools
Planer. A planer shaves thin slices of wood off to make surfaces thinner, flatter or smoother. Houses shift with age and temperature. If you have doors that don't fit or windows that won't close, this tool is much faster than trying to sand it down by hand and more gradual than cutting with a saw. It also cuts corners off wood, scribes, and can remove thick paint or varnishes when you don't want your sandpaper gummed up.
Power Tools
Air compressor. Powerful bursts of compressed air supply energy for many tools and applications. Even a small one like this model can pump up bike tires, manage delicate paint airbrushing, blow sawdust from tight spaces, and manage strong pneumatic tools such as finish nail guns, staple guns, wrenches and sanders. A pneumatic nail gun sets tiny finish nails instantly without awkward hammering or dents on the surface of your project.
Power Tools
Band saw. Cutting curves on thick wood is the strength of the band saw, one of the safer power tools to master. Wood is pushed across the blade on an adjustable table. Straight and bevel cuts are also possible. Wood can be stacked to cut several pieces at a time in the same shape, and pieces can be recut thinner and thinner with ease.
Power Tools 101
Router. The extremely versatile router has a spinning bit that works as a blade for finishing edges, shaping, cutting holes, and making contours and grooves. Details like a raised panel or dovetails on cabinets are possible with a router. The wide variety of bits can create almost any kind of precise finished edge for molding trim, as well as cut circles and make mortise holes, dados, rabbets, bevels and rounded edges.
Power Tools
Multimaster tool. Used for sanding, scraping, cutting, sawing and polishing with a high degree of control, this hand tool won't tear your arm off. It hasn't been around for ages like the other big guns listed here. Your father or grandpa never had one of these. (It might be a good gift for him!) Used by professionals or hobbyists, it's versatile and manageable, though the blades can get expensive.
Power Tools
Work light. Although it isn't really a power tool, a high-intensity work light is helpful at night or in low-light situations. Good lighting makes for more accurate work, but beware: One of the hazards of working at night is tripping over the darn thing.
Power Tools
Work radio. Supply music to your project site with a cordless radio that uses the same battery pack as your drill. Music makes your long projects hum along and sets an upbeat tone to your work environment.
Tell us: What tools do you dream of?
More: 20 Tools Every Homeowner Should Have
Power Tools
Tell us: What tools do you dream of?
More: 20 Tools Every Homeowner Should Have
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However, it's also cool to not necessarily own these tools yourselves, but share them with neighbors or through a collective workshop - that way you can be more environmentally friendly by not keeping at home tools you'll use only a few times in the year, and may lay your hands on better quality, heavy-duty tools.
Enjoy your diy projects!
I wouldn't have thought of it, but radios really are an indispensable tool, aren't they?!
Also, a tip for when using a power sander: many, like the one above, that have a little attached dust collection bag will also accept a shop vac (another indispensable & affordable diy tool) hose, which when attached eliminates almost all of the dust that gets in the air. And many shop vac manufacturers sell dust filters specifically for this purpose.
This is such a helpful list!
One can do a lot with only a small subset of the tools on this list, but using the right tool for the right job sure helps!
Hubby has all but the Table Saw (but our neighbour has a massive one that we have used on occasion) but my personal favourites though 'not big guns' is my Dremel Tool with many attachments, my Black and Decker Sanding Mouse and a rechargable Screwdriver.
Footnote: As my husband's hobby is restoration of old cars and is well equipped in that field, our neighbour (who is a Carpenter by Trade) and him accommodate one another when necessary.
A contractor's "chop saw" has a blade that stays vertical (most can pivot for making angled cuts, but the cut is still vertical) and is a lot cheaper than a compound miter saw. It's only purpose is to chop off the ends of lumber.
A "compound miter saw" has a blade that not only pivots but can be tipped to one side or the other for making funky shaped cuts with a double (compound) slant to them. It is what you need to make crown molding cuts.
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I'd ditch the bandsaw from the top 20 and add a set of pneumatic nail guns and staple shooters to go with the compressor. I avoided them for a long time, because I have "bad wrists", but a handyman let me try his.
No kickback and much easier on the hands than a hammer.
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Every handyman NEEDS a voltmeter for double-checking whether that circuit is live or not!
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A multi-tool is essential for remodelling because you can do things like precisely slice through door molding to make room for a taller baseboard, slide the metal-cutting blade under flooring and molding to cut through the nails, cut through a pipe you can't get a hacksaw behind ... really useful.
Yes, the blades cost money, but the time you save is amazing. My next purchase will be another multitool so I won't have to stop and change blades so much.
They vibrate, unfortunately, so they aren't the most comfortable things to use.
Still, it's daunting... thank you for this article Susan! I love how you used pictures of your own, well-used tools and not stock pictures of brand-new items!
Get a compound SLIDER mitre saw. Just a little more expensive and will let you cut much larger lumber.
Amen on the nail guns. Finish and framing. Will save you a ton of time and will do a better job.
Amen on the safety gear. Glasses, gloves, ear plugs, and sun screen. First aid kit with tweezers, etc.. Keep it handy. Will save you time when the owies happen.
If you're doing more than a bathroom, buy (rather than rent) a tile saw.
Save a ton by buying 'occasional' tools on Craigslist. Only lightly used, though, and only AC powered.
Battery powered tools should come with li-ion batteries. Same brand (and batteries) for all cordless tools.
Worm-drive circular saws, although may last longer, no one except framers are going to wear out a direct-drive type that is lighter and easier to use.
For a shop tool I found a 30 y/o Shopsmith mk V that looked like it had about 12 hours of use in the PennySaver, it was 1987 .
Also, the Paslode finish nailer (no air compressor, no cord, no battery) is a joy to use.
Agree with others that if you invest in a compound miter saw, make it a laser-guided, sliding compound model.
Safety first: long hair tied back, shatter-proof glasses, good quality ear protection, push-sticks for table saws, proper clamps and braces on a proper workbench. Jist sayin.