Advice on tools to buy

[Mutley Racers]

Hello all. I hope you're well.

I am new to the site so forgive me for any mistakes I make.

I am after some advice on tools to buy. I am a Plumber who is getting into wood working as a hobby and and occasionally at work (installing kitchens etc). My wood working tools at the moment consist of a dewalt 1/2 router, scheppach plunge saw and an evolution mitre saw. Oh, and a dewalt cordless jog saw. Apart from my dewalt gear I want to upgrade. My main types of work will be built in cabinets for my home, cutting studding and ply sheets at work. Idally I would like a good mitre saw and table saw, possibly one unit? A router table, plunge saw and decent planer. So any advice is most welcome.

Regards Lee

 

[deema]

For what you describe I would suggest a track Saw will be better than a table Saw for handling sheeting unless your looking for a large panel Saw. If your pockets are deep, Mafell, Festool and Metabo will ensure you have top quality equipment. My personal preference for tools are Mafell, Metabo and Fein, but that's just me!

 

[Roughcut]

I've had a 10" sliding Evolution mitre saw for about 5 years, and once it's set up and checked with a small accurate square it will perform as good as a mitre saw three times the price (although dust extraction is poor).
So I've never seen the point in upgrading.
Festool Track Saw does what it says on the tin, and accessories are widely available.
I would also recommend that if you don't want or need the MFT to seriously consider a parallel guide system (commercially available or DIY version).
This will make repeatable cuts accurate and fast.
Also a Festool Domino, Biscuit Jointer or Dowelling machine are a worthwhile consideration for building cabinets etc.

 

[MikeJhn]

MFT?

Mike

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't neglect good quality marking out gear.

 

[memzey]

As far as hand held tools go, I've found the most frequently used and appreciated gear I've bought to be the least sexy and exiting; good quality cramps and decent marking out gear. They will always stand you in good stead and be used in virtually every project whereas the snazzy biscuit jointer and whatnot might collect dust for ages between run outs. Not saying that what works for me will invariably be the same for you but I thought it worth sharing nonetheless.

 

[Mutley Racers]

When you say marking out, can you expand on which hand tools you are referring to?

MET, I have tried to figure out what stands r but not been able. Sorry

I am a beginner at wood work and as wonder I g if anyone could recommend books on cabinet Making. I would also like to attempt to build my own windows at some stage so advice on would be good. You tube channels, which should I suscribe to.

Again, thank you for taking the time to reply to my thread.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

http://www.waterstonesmarketplace.com/b ... &hs=Submit

Marking out - decent quality squares, rulers (straight edges) and spirit levels. The better combination squares are good, but you need to spend some dosh. The cheap ones are garbage. I've a yellow Stanley which is accurate but is either lose or locked on. If you get lucky you can pick up M&W engineers squares on car boots.

MFT = http://www.axminster.co.uk/festool-mft- ... ies-702780

 

[Mutley Racers]

Wow, now that seems like a funky table... does it only work with festool gear?

Thanks for the links to the books

 

[craigybaby]

If you are fitting kitchens e.t.c then a dewalt flip saw is the best tool for the job,Evolution mitre saw are ok for cutting rough timber like studwork but when you are cutting things like Mfc and gloss finish cornice and pelmet then a more accurate saw is a must.
Bosch Planers are the best in my opinion but dewalt are close, the only reason i say the bosch is better its down to the weight of the machine as the Dewalt are a lot heavier.
I would not buy anything else bosch like the cordless drills as they are only good for light use, the jigsaws by bosch used to be very good but over the years the Dewalt series blinds them for everything.

Makita circular saws are my preferred saw,cordless drills i use Dewalt 18v and i have a twin pack 10.4v set that are fantastic for furniture fitting and are suprisingly powerful.

i have been a site joiner for over 25 years and these are my own opinions but other people have their own opinions, my own belives are you get what you pay for,a friend of mine buys cordless drills from argos for £30 a time, he buys one every 8 months or so but i have had my dewalt 10v set for 4 years that cost £150.

Hope this helps

 

[Mutley Racers]

Hi, thank you for your advice. I was actually thinking about a flip saw but was not sure what people thought of them. Are they as good as the single versions? I have most of the dewalt 18v xr range and love it. My planer is a cheap triton.

My planing is not the best to be honest. It certainly takes some practice trying to release pressure towards the end of cut and to be able to plane flat rather than an angle.

What are your thoughts on router tables? I would like to make some of my own mouldings for my built ins etc so would like one of these.

 

[Mutley Racers]

Another thing I would like would be a decent portable dust hoover. One that could possibly do dust from grinding as well as wood.

 

[MikeJhn]

What are your thoughts on router tables? I would like to make some of my own mouldings for my built ins etc so would like one of these.

The first thing you are going to be told is build your own, fine if you have the time, but personally I bought one of these:

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/pp+june-sale+ ... omo=DK2080

Lots of variants around at about £150.00, but the fence is not up to much and the dust extraction is not the best, but then even the expensive ones have limitations.

Mike

 

[Mutley Racers]

I have looked into building my own but I am not at that stage yet to get it all precise. The one above looks ok but people were not sure on this site in 2013. I kind of want something that is going to be very accurate and will last

 

[MikeJhn]

Any router is only as accurate as the amount of time you take to set it up. If you go more expensive you will need to add your own or shop bought router and lift to enable above table bit changes, we are talking upwards of £600.00, the one above has that all built in, and when you decide you need better you can sell it off on e-bay, but it will give you a head start for not much outlay, I have moulded picture frames, skirting and architraves on mine without a problem, not up to cabinetry work, but you do get what you pay for.

Mike

 

[Mutley Racers]

When you say 'not up to cabinetry work' what kind of cuts do you mean? Regards

 

[MikeJhn]

Very fine work, linen folds, accurate fine detail work on large panels.

Mike

 

[craigybaby]

The dewalt flip saws are excellant,they did bring a new version out that had wheels attached to the main body it also had a new type of motor, my mate bought this one and had more trouble with the motor than what it was worth.
The original one is still available as new cost around £600 but will last forever if you look after it, you can get them second hand off Ebay for around £300.

Stay away from the new type mitre saw that has a little table saw on the top most are garbage and cost a fraction under the flip saw.

 

[Mutley Racers]

Ah it is a difficult decision to make. They do seem very practical but the depth of cut at 45 degree's is only 32mm I believe when in table saw mode. I cannot find many YouTube videos on the dewalt either. Are you on about the 743n?

 

[Mutley Racers]

Very fine work, linen folds, accurate fine detail work on large panels.

Mike

Wow, looked up the linen folds and that is intricate work. Amazing. I don't think I would ever want to do that.

Can you give me an idea of the kind of stuff you do with yours to inspire me? I did read you had an mv12 router in a table, which table is this?