what tools should i buy first as a basic woodworking tool kit to achieve a good finish for the planter .
Aye Aye Jon... welcome aboard...
startin from scratch ehh..?? if you've any sense you'll quietly walk away now... before the "bug" gets ya.. once established this habit gets to be every bit as addictive as it is expensive... you
have been warned..
That said, ya dinna need every fancy tool in the books to get meaningful results.. all they do is make things a bit faster or more accurate..
As for which tools to recommend.. that's always the hardest question to answer... ye see.. I know it sounds like a cop-out.. but an honest answer (given the info you've provided with your question) is..... it depends... on how much workshop space you have, on whether you want to go hand tool or power tool (although its perfectly fine to use a bit of both too..) and most importantly... it depends on your budget.
Building a respectable collection of tools can put a hellova dent in your bank balance; that kinda expenditure is daft if they're only intended for a few little projects... you might want to have a think about whether you'd want to entertain other projects in the future before investing in tools..
However... I'll assume that having found us and had the guts to post a fair question, you're keen for a fair answer... I'll see if I can counsel you through avoiding some of the mistakes I made when I started out...
Probably the most potent tool you'll buy is the one most used in Charlie's planter project, the router. These things come in more shapes, sizes and guises than you can shake a stick at, with budgets to suit all pockets... Here's the first lesson... cheap routers mainly have one common trait... they suck.!! They're virtually guaranteed to fail in accordance with all 3 of Murphy's laws... worst place, worst time and worst way... much cursing and wailing ensues... If your budget will allow, avoid em like the plague.
If I'd to start over, based on lessons learned, my first router would be a DeWalt 621... it's nice and light for hand held use, plenty powerful for the range of bits that are best suited for hand use, it's price has dropped quite a bit recently too (have a look at D&M tools for example)... but for me, its best feature is its dust extraction... when hooked to a shop vac its the cleanest operating router I've owned... guaranteed to win favor with SWMBO...
Going by Charlie's project notes, it looks like the next most important tool is a saw of some description... Chop-saws, like routers, come in many forms and prices. Their main function is to give you an accurate cut, time after time. If you can afford it, try to get a good sliding cross cut saw. While you probably won't need their full capacity with every project, their extra capacity over ordinary chop-saws makes them a valuable asset. That said, you can make perfectly respectable projects with a conventional chop saw too... but like the router, do your research and buy the best you can.. they'll pay for themselves in the long term...
Cordless drills can be another minefield... the prob with them is that you canna actually see where the difference is between a £50 drill and a £250 one... the main difference being the quality of NiCads used in their battery packs... Good batteries will hold a charge for months on end, bad ones can go from fully charged to flat in a matter of days without them ever being used... That said, with higher voltage batteries and fast charging, you can work around these limitations a lot better thesedays. Things to look out for are capability and weight; ideally you'd want a high voltage drill with every trick in the book, nicely balanced in the hand, and it should weigh next to nothing... unfortunately it isn't that simple... Again, you need to do some research here... go visit your local tool store and pick up a few, ask the store assistants if you can try them with a battery pack fitted to gauge their weight; a drill that's too heavy for you can cause you to tire quickly... find one that feels right, suits your needs and fits your budget...
The thing I'd recommend most for now however isn't tools, its information... Right now is when you need to make the most of the informed choices you'll make re tool purchases... you'll need to read up on techniques for joint construction, develop a feel for styles you're comfortable with and use that to guide which tools you buy and in what order...
Last piece of advise (before this post turns into a book)... questions... dinna be shy to ask... each and every one of us here was a rookie at some point... each of us needed to ask some seemingly dumb questions... the only rule to remember is there aint no such thing as a dumb question if it prevents a mistake or an accident... don't be shy to ask...
