14 Power Tools for the Home Shop
Want the thrill of building it yourself? These "big guns" help the handy homeowner tackle just about any job
With a lot of gusto and a healthy bit of caution, step into the world of power tools. You’ll be amazed at the professional results of your projects.
There are so many tools for so many uses. Picking the right one for your project is half the battle, and learning to use it is an accomplishment to be proud of. I find that my favorite tools are the ones given to me by my father. I watched in awe while he worked, and I appreciate the knowledge he has passed on to me. It came in handy in my fine arts studies with the big floor machine tools.
These 14 common shop tools are the big guns. Safety gear is required, as is an understanding of how the tools work and their potential dangers.
Related: 20 Tools Every Homeowner Should Have
There are so many tools for so many uses. Picking the right one for your project is half the battle, and learning to use it is an accomplishment to be proud of. I find that my favorite tools are the ones given to me by my father. I watched in awe while he worked, and I appreciate the knowledge he has passed on to me. It came in handy in my fine arts studies with the big floor machine tools.
These 14 common shop tools are the big guns. Safety gear is required, as is an understanding of how the tools work and their potential dangers.
Related: 20 Tools Every Homeowner Should Have
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!
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.
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.
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.
Shop power tools on Houzz
Shop power tools on Houzz
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Tell us: What tools do you dream of?
More: 20 Tools Every Homeowner Should Have