New (and old) tools

Before one can begin a woodworking project, one needs tools. Because funding for this hobby is limited, I plan to purchase tools on an as-needed basis for the most part. So here's my small family of power tools!

My introductory power tool family

It's probably not too hard to figure out which ones are newer than others. I received the Black and Decker drill (the green one) and jigsaw from my Dad to assist with building our boats, so I've had them for at least 12 years. I believe I made fairly extensive use of them back then, and even now they still perform quite well, so I am quite pleased with them. The grey cordless drill (which is of a brand I've never heard of before) was a much more recent gift which was meant more for light duty work around the house (for example, it worked quite well when I wanted to install a new towel rod in the washroom), but it simply doesn't seem to be able to stand up to more rigorous work. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a much more powerful one (not shown here) for my construction projects.

All of the yellow DeWALT tools are new purchases. For cutting down sheet goods, a circular saw is a must, and almost all woodworking projects require a hefty amount of sanding, so I picked up some power sanders. It may seem like I've become some sort of DeWALT enthusiast, but I promise that is not the case. In all cases, these happened to be on sale at the time of purchase. The sanders actually came as a two-pack which altogether cost the same as what one of them normally costs. So far I have been very pleased with how they feel and their overall performance.

I have heard many woodworkers state how awful it would be to go without a table saw. I admit that I would definitely love to have one, but they can be very expensive. Since I am just beginning this hobby, I figured it would be wise to make sure it is going to stick before shelling out the big bucks, so for the time being I will be going without. For now, I think I have about all I need for power tools to at least accomplish a few simple projects in order to gauge how much I really am going to enjoy this new hobby. It just makes sense to me, no matter what the situation, to test the waters a bit first before throwing a pile of hard-earned cash into the wind.