Setup for a beginner - really long shopping list

[Val]

Thank everyone for their inputs!
Yes billw, it is true that I don't plan to continuously rip sheet materials, but I sort of wanted to grant me the possibility if that ever happened. For example, I was thinking of that possibility when rip cutting rough sawn timber or using 2.5m sheets to make a cleat system in the cabin, and I thought that at that point I could've used the table saw.

After what Jerome and Padster said, this afternoon I had a look at plunge saws and track setups, and I have to say that I am now considering this possibility having seen some interesting setups with regard to repetitive cuts and rip cuts on narrow wood. I also had a look at some of the Festool/Makita/Bosch plunge saws and they look really good, and at some multifunction tables - I particularly liked Sauter's Vario bench, even though I think it's a little bit too gimmicky.

 

[Padster]

I recently purchased the Bosch, had never used a track saw before but now wonder why I’d never found this earlier. I checked lots of reviews and would’ve liked a Festool or Mafell, but felt the Bosch was the best I could afford and I liked the rail system and way it connected...I have to say I’ve not been disappointed.

Our own member @petermillard has some great videos on track saws & MFT‘s including the Sauter. Personally I have built my own and use Benchdogs and am very happy.

HTH

Padster

 

[sometimewoodworker]

With regard to the track saw, do you use a jig to make repeatable precise cuts? in your opinion, how precise is cut made with a plunge/track saw and a series of tracks joined with a connector compared to a table saw.

I use the Festool TS55 with shorter rails (1400, 1010, and 2 x 800) and the Betterly guide when joining them so that the alignment is perfect, I have a TSO jig for quick right angle cuts and the parallel guides for repetitive precise pieces, as narrow as 5mm as wide as 1364mm and as long as your sheet.

If you have the space (you don’t) a table saw for moderately sized pieces is far better than a track saw. I do have the space in my 7.5 x 11.5 workshop if I rearrange things a bit. As I was an early adopter and got the bits when first available there are a couple that I would change if buying today

I would NEVER use anything but a table saw with a sliding carriage (don’t have one, far too spendy for me) if I had to cut a 1220 x 2440 x 10mm and up (not for thinner either) sheet on a table saw. I didn’t enjoy my trip to hospital after my only serious woodworking accident (incident) 45 years ago and using any other kind of table saw for sheet goods is like dancing with an alligator, yes you can do it but you have to be extremely careful not to get bitten and it’s never a pretty sight or an easy job.

FWIW my older main mostly portable power tool list is
TS55, OF1400, Elu MOF96, Rotex150, DTS400, ETS150/3 Domino, MFK700, CXS, HL 850, Trend T11, Makita LS1212, Original Mini CV06 Cyclone, Workshop supplies drum sander, & WoodRat. Don't have don't want list: MFT some pictures are at Jerome And Nui
I have a few more now. I’ve added a couple of routers an impact driver and a belt/disk sander. i’ve got quite a few more things like a table saw/plainer, planer thicknesser, bandsaw, drills, compressor, half a dozen spray guns, a few nail guns & staplers and a lot (but never enough) clamps

PS my workshop is about 85 square metres so that’s why the table saw would easily fit.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

some multifunction tables - I particularly liked Sauter's Vario bench, even though I think it's a little bit too gimmicky.

All multi function tables have a huge drawback in a workshop, none of them are stable on their own legs. So on a value for money basis the all score high on the cost point and low on the value point.

Peter Millard used his on a substantial base and for commercial use so got his moneys worth and it’s perfect for him. I would never use it enough and can do most things it can on my workbench with the hole grid. YMMV

 

[Ttrees]

What good is a track saw when building guitars?
A good bandsaw is the ultimate luthiers machine, and for everything else that is behind the scenes like making benches and general stuff, it'll do all you'd ever want that a tablesaw could.
A small one will be noisy and a PITA and won't rip stock like what you'd expect from a TS.
The only thing missing might be a router or two.
A few hand planes will do the job for surfacing timber, unless you're making batches of guitars, like twenty at a time.
I had a quick look around for instructional videos, on making electric guitars with mostly hand tools and nothing jumped out at me.

You might be better off requesting a link for a video series or two to get an idea of a sensible shopping list from a luthiers forum like the OLF, or MIMF to name but two.

You say time is your greatest commodity, and have the idea that power tools speed up things.
This is true, but you still need the hand work first,
I'll give you an example, since you seem hell bent on power tools...

You cut out your shape of the template for your guitar parts using a turning saw (strange looking to some, archaic looking saw with rope to tension blade) or a bandsaw, and refine with spoke shave and scraper or with sander.
Flush trim bit on the router will do the rest.

This leaves you with very little amount of material to remove, and now you're intending to learn to use hand tools with no room for error.
Doing things by hand will give you feedback, and experience with the tool you need, and you hopefully will have learned the don't do that again's doing the roughing work, before you go past your line.

Going back to the impression of being in a rush, which I get from your posts,
say you do buy all those powertools.
With the budget you are giving yourself, I struggle to see how you would honestly see value on those tools after an hours use.
Value... as in your greatest commodity.
That attitude many get from a cheap tool with a screaming universal motor, which could die at any minute, is of...

It'll be grand, sher I have seen the tools limitations and already have outgrown it...
I aint spending time working on this machine, as i have a proper machine coming on Wednesday.
and then something goes BANG....
Which cheap, get you by powertool, will it be?
You have a shed full of things not seemingly good enough to warrant time on making parts for, it could be any of them you have an accident on, and they all could break at any moment.

Let's hope it wasn't involving your hand, as you spent lots of time making the machine safe to use, including making custom guarding for specific things,
and making sure everything including the tool itself will stay put,
even though you're getting a new one on Wednesday.

Make your mind up about what you actually need, rather than want for time saving reasons.
The super dangerous router is the only tool that you would find reasonably necessary, and/or a drill speed wise.
Truss rod slots, pick up cavities, fretboard radius jig use, binding etc..

Everything else hand tool wise for a simple design electric guitar
will be more than quick enough, unless you're making large batches of them.

Another difficult proposal of having to learn how to use another tool, the hand plane with minimal feedback/room for error.
The spiral cut from a rotary tool like a planer or thicknesser will need to be cleaned up with a hand plane afterwards, if you want a better joint, like one would for a guitar.
And guitar sized blanks are about the minimum dimension you could work on with one, and with shorter blanks comes more opportunity to encounter planer snipe for example.
You could prep enough for two guitar blanks at the same time, but if using exotics
becomes an issue with waste from longer stock having the opportunity to warp and become unusable for your purpose.

Somebody here gave away a Jet pillar drill for free recently.
I bought mine for cheap, you don't need to spend a whole lot on one.
As I said I won't give any advice on routers, and all I can say is
you'd be mad to use one without ever using a hand plane first,
(which MAKES you understand "flat" and have a really good grasp of using various reference)

Learn some skills on youtube by watching, just for starters...
The English woodworker, Paul Sellers, David Charlesworth (a personal favourite)
Phil Lowe, Mitch Peacock, Heritage woodworking, Wood by Wright, Renaissance woodworker, Rouden Atelier, Chris Tribe, Rob Cosman instructions only and skipping sales pitch of everything, he's getting ridiculous. older stuff preferred of his, as well as old stuff from Frank Klausz, or even Roy Underhill for a bit of get it done in a few minutes, fun.

Look on this forum for favourite youtube channels in the search.

No point in looking at skills for fitting kitchens, and debates on which domino is best, if you're wanting to do something a lot more similar to cabinetmaking.
Different equipment and techniques entirely, like a brain surgeon and a hairdresser might both work with heads.

All the best
Tom

 

[altennis]

Although there is some overlap there are a lot of specialised luthier tools either to make life easier/quicker or more accurate. You can build an entire acoustic guitar by hand and there are some who still do this. If you plan to only build one or two and have the time then this could be a good option. There is a really good book on classical guitar construction by Roy Courtnall that will take you through this.

If you are interested in video tuition, O'Brien guitars have a number of very good video series on how to build and use more power tools.

If you are time limited there are some power tools that you will want that speed up the process quite a lot. Depending on the timber you buy (you can get prepared blanks) I find the most useful power tools for electric guitars are:

Large drum Sander - allows you to thickness 400mm wide body blanks as well as thicknessing thinner parts.
Router - pretty essential
Bandsaw - allows you to rip timber to size and rough cut body.
Pillar drill - might be able to get by without but useful for removing excess from control and body cavities before routing and drilling for tuners.
Sanders - a good random orbit (look at Mirka) as well as a spindle or combination belt and spindle (look at Triton)

In addition to those you would need tools to cut the frets and do the fretting and if an electric guitar soldering iron etc. You can buy CNC templates cheaply on line if you don't want to make your own.

 

[Ollie78]

Many have made good comments above.

Buy what you need when you find you need it.
Hand tools first, don't skimp on chisels and sharpening stuff or marking and measuring.

Don't be afraid of second hand machines and tools. You can save a huge amount of money.

Ollie

 

[Sideways]

Val, from his own introduction, is detail oriented and a planner.
You have an end game in your mind, I totally get that.
However, woodworking is a a journey. Some practical experience is basic and essential. It will probably influence your plan.
I would continue your research and planning, while I buy those hand tools that are essential to finishing your work whether you have the power tools or not.
Please don't be in too great a hurry to shop. Space is one thing we never have enough of. It's easy to spend (fill) your space on storing tools and machinery and that will make your hobby less enjoyable as you wok around too many obstacles.
If you can afford it, buy the essential hand planes, chisels, marking tools etc in a good brand. If you make a wrong decision here you will be able to resell them for a good part of their cost.
A tracksaw and a (1/4") router will be pretty safe bets too and save serious time.
First project = build your own bench. It's the woodworkers right of passage
Most of all - it's a hobby and a way to stay sane. Do whatever you enjoy !

 

[JoshD]

Val, I started out in 2018, so have the benefit in offering advice of having not so long ago of having been where you are now, although my main interest is furniture not instruments. I started off with hand tools (plus electric drill), pretty much learning on my own by playing around, trial and error. I enjoyed the hand tool work, but found that some things were just too slow and exhausting so I decided to add machinery in 2019. For some things I bought old cast iron stuff (Wadkins AGS10 table saw, Startrite SD310 planer/thicknesser, Meddings pillar drill), but I have a good quality new mitre saw (Bosch GCM12GDL), an entry-level bandsaw (Charnwood B250) and also use power tools such tracksaw (Festool) and routers (now have two handheld and one in table).

Here's what I learnt along the way:

1) Hand tool work is much nicer: no noise, and the mess is easier to manage (sweeping up shavings vs dust extraction system); but beyond a certain scale you need machinery and/or power tools.

2) It's hard to overstate the super-accuracy that's required for cabinetry. That's not because you are necessarily working to a high tolerance on the finished workpiece---usually you aren't--- but setting up to cut your joints requires that you start with perfectly true stock.

3) I spent around £600 each on table saw and planer/thicknesser. Whether you buy old or new I think you struggle to get super accuracy at this price point; you certainly need a lot of fettling if you want it. For example, after a decent amount of practise, and with the addition of accessories such as Jessem stock rollers (see My Wadkins Soupdish and Jessem Stock Roller Safety) as well as home built stuff such as infeed and outfeed tables my table saw technique has improved massively, and I am now getting variation of ~0.25mm in rip cuts: OK for crude work, but for fine stuff really that's just the starting point, because, perhaps surprisingly, with a straight edge, a try square and a handplane you can do way better than that, if you really want to you can get to +/- 0.05mm (BTW straight edges, squares, calipers are all invaluable measuring tools). 18m after purchase I'm still fettling the table saw trying to get accuracy and safety. As for the planer/thicknesser, the planer is OK (but only with good blade maintenance), but the thicknessing is abysmal, with the thicknessing table sloping >1mm from one side to the other ...

4) I'm pleased with my hand tools (eg, old Stanley no 6 with Veritas PMV11 iron, Ice Bear Japanese chisels, various Japanese handsaws, Veritas marking gauge), but what I've mostly learnt from my machinery is what I should really have been looking for when I bought the machinery .... so I guess I'll do better if there's ever a next time! The exception is the Bosch GCM12GDL which is a quality item.

5) More than any other tool, the table saw is dangerous, and the more that you want to get out of it the more you need to understand those dangers and decide your strategy. For example I'd love to feel confident using it for dado housings and rebates but this is where safety considerations really become prominent. A tracksaw can do a lot of stuff the table saw can do including dado housings and rebates, it's much more manageable for large panels, and it's less dangerous.

So I guess my central message is that you have to regard the hand tools and machinery as augmenting each other. IF you have time and patience I'd recommend the exercise of truing up a piece of roughsawn wood with handplane, straight edge and marking gauge: the sequence is FEWTEL (face, edge, width, thickness, end, length); aim for say final dimensions 300x50x25 +/- 0.25 but perfectly straight and square when held to the light. It will give you huge confidence when working with machinery.

Lastly don't forget about humidity control: if your workshop is too damp your tools will rust, kiln-dried wood that you store will dampen and swell and then warp on drying ...

Good luck!

Josh

 

[OldWood]

I come from a different perspective from many of the contributors here and in my late 70's with a lot of experience behind me - total old cottage re-structuring, furniture making, metal work, plumbing, electrical - I think I speak from a position of reasonable standing.

I will admit to looking at your original post and thinking the basic where is this guy coming from. I will certainly join in the general voice of learn the basics of hand tools first - including how to sharpen them where appllicable. Machines can do things faster but rarely better.

How often do I go into my fully equipped workshop - no I don't have a track saw nor an MFT - and just pick the plane or chisel to trim a bit of wood. How often do I disregard the fact that I have a powerful table saw, planer, bandsaw and so on and just do it by hand as it is quicker, often more accurate and a better finish.

I am not of the opinion that throwing money at power tools is really the best option for the amateur unless you are deep of pocket and a bit of a geek about the tools - unfortunately your extensive list rather suggests you fall into both camps and expressing of the opinion that machines will solve your lack of skill, which they won't.

In realism the amateur has many tools that sit on the shelf from one year end to the next and rarely get used; I totally agree that when that need arises they are the go-to tool and quickly solve the problem. On that basis I regard their lifetime as effectively infinite and there is little point in spending expensively to buy a professional grade tool, other than it might - and I will add in here "in the right hands" - perform better.

So I have no difficulty in looking at tools from Aldi/Lidl. The tools I use most are the tablesaw for basic ripping, so it is not a 'good' one, a half decent old bandsaw, planer/thicknesser (a refurbished old one), a pull mitre saw from Aldidls, homemade router table. My battery tools are all low cost, and so on.

Buy when you need and look realistically at whether you you need to pay big bucks.

I cannot say that I have never found fault with that philosophy, but I am struggling to remember if it has ever let me down.
Rob

 

[PeteBowen]

Have you considered the noise? Neighbours can get very unhappy at the high-pitched shriek of a router at night and over the weekends or if your compressor fires up at 2am.

I designed for this in building my man-cave by putting 100mm rock wool in the walls and ceiling and facing the doors and windows away from the boundaries.

 

[Val]

So many replies, thanks everyone! All this shared knowledge is absolutely invaluable to me.

It seems like I have a lot to think about, so I'll spend some time reviewing my course of action.
Hopefully I'll post less beefy threads in the future

 

[TomGW]

I agree that being in NI doesn’t make it any easier for buying tools and equipment. At least prior to Brexit, Axminster delivered to NI without any surcharge, even for large workshop machinery. Locally, the ‘Woodshed’ is a good and friendly supplier of Record equipment.
Buying secondhand can be difficult, particularly for something like a bandsaw which seem to be snapped up immediately on Gumtree.
I have a portable bench saw and chop saw (both Rexon) that I intend to sell, if you would be interested. I have upgraded both so these are surplus, although the bench saw is very handy if I need to take it somewhere.

 

[Hornbeam]

Woodworking is a bit of a journey and what you buy depends on what you want (or think you want) to make, how much time you want to commit and how much money you want to spend.
At the start of this process I dont think anybody really knows what they are setting up for and what they will really want.
Machinery and power tools can make things a lot quicker including mistakes and accidents
Cutting up large sheets on your own is hard even on a small proper panel saw I wouldnt want to do it on a small portable saw. A tracksaw is much easier and probably just as accurate. I use a standard hand held circular and a 3metre aluminium channel section I have gauge blocks so I can set up from a line and know which side I will cut
A bandsaw will do everything else but much of this can be done with a hand held jigsaw.
The hardest part of furniture making is planing and thicknessing. I managed for 10 years by hand but would recomend a good 10 inch planer thicknesser
On workshop layout. If you have the bench in the middle it eats space. Do you need 900mm wide?
Buy fewer and better quality tools. If you buy cheap you will soon find the shortcomings and wish you had bought better. Buy the best you can afford and the pain of having spend too much soon disappears and you will then enjoy the benefits
Ian

 

[Spectric]

That's a lot of machines. I admit I use a few, but you really need to play around with hand tools first because machinery doesn't generally get you to the finish line they just make a short cut.

Can understand this, good idea to get an appreciation of the material you will be working with, wood can be a real pain compared to say metal or polymers. I believe what happens is that you want to get into woodworking and start making things so you have something to show for your effort, the problem is you lack the skills & experience so you try to work round this by buying machinery in the hope it can offset the skills shortage but it never fully delivers, you need to walk before you run otherwise you just spend a fortune on the wrong tools. I partially started on this journey before putting the brakes on, wrongly thinking that these days all tools are powered but you can never get away from handtools. When I got to a point where nothing I had could solve the issue I then looked for the right tool. My purchase journey was Bosch mitre saw, table saw, Kreg router table, Dowelmax, Woodrat, Bandsaw and recently a Domino 700.

 

[Sachakins]

Found a 0.3 micron filter FYI.
https://www.axminstertools.com/hepa-filter-for-t-2000ck-1hp-cyclone-505089

 

[Peterm1000]

Different equipment and techniques entirely, like a brain surgeon and a hairdresser might both work with heads.

All the best
Tom

Love it! That sums it up perfectly. You have to know what you are wanting to make before you buy the equipment.

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

Although there is some overlap there are a lot of specialised luthier tools either to make life easier/quicker or more accurate. You can build an entire acoustic guitar by hand and there are some who still do this. If you plan to only build one or two and have the time then this could be a good option. There is a really good book on classical guitar construction by Roy Courtnall that will take you through this.

If you are interested in video tuition, O'Brien guitars have a number of very good video series on how to build and use more power tools.

If you are time limited there are some power tools that you will want that speed up the process quite a lot. Depending on the timber you buy (you can get prepared blanks) I find the most useful power tools for electric guitars are:

Large drum Sander - allows you to thickness 400mm wide body blanks as well as thicknessing thinner parts.
Router - pretty essential
Bandsaw - allows you to rip timber to size and rough cut body.
Pillar drill - might be able to get by without but useful for removing excess from control and body cavities before routing and drilling for tuners.
Sanders - a good random orbit (look at Mirka) as well as a spindle or combination belt and spindle (look at Triton)

In addition to those you would need tools to cut the frets and do the fretting and if an electric guitar soldering iron etc. You can buy CNC templates cheaply on line if you don't want to make your own.

Good list of tools here and exactly what I have in my workshop to build and repair guitars. A decent scroll saw is good for intricate pieces too. A dust extractor will be on your list, I bought Lumberjack Shop Vac and is great for the money (£100)
The best router IMHO for what you are doing would be the Bosch 600 palm router, and a Dremel router base is great for inlay work.
Learn to use and maintain a good plane and a set of chisels. I very quickly learnt that power tools are overkill for a lot of Luthier work.
Best bit of kit too is a guitar makers vice. Stewmac does one that works out at about £220 with customs, VAT and freight but I bought an identical one (albeit green) from Dictum in Germany for €107 all in!
Loads of great videos on You Tube, but a load of bad ones too
Enjoy

 

[PeteCo]

Here's my view as someone who is focussing all their woodworking on building guitars, having only started building about 15 months ago. Ive now got a pretty decent view of what's worthwhile and what's not. I'm on my 6th guitar - all have turned out very well and are just as playable as high-end branded guitars I own.

Essential tools :

1) Good quality 1/2 and 1/4 routers - you will need both to do all the key routing operations - Ideally you need to set up a good sized router table. I have a Trend T11 mounted in a 40mm thick solid worktop with a Trend router plate. You will need a variety of good quality router bits for template routing, truss rod channel cutting, surface planing and body rounders. Ive had great results using Wealden bits.
2) Table saw - to do initial dimensioning and cutting of blanks for bodies and necks ( unless you want to pay a premium for prepared blanks. I use a DeWalt 745 and its easily good enough - especially of you make your own jigs for it as you go along. A precise sled is useful to make.
3) A good quality and large bandsaw - essential for cutting out body shapes, headstocks and various other operations like trimming necks and fretboards before template routing.
4) A planer thicknesser for dimensioning body blank (halves), necks and neck laminates and fretboards
5) A good oscillating spindle sander for shaping and smoothing bodies and headstocks, and useful for dimensioning neck laminates with a suitable jig. Also for shaping Tele-style neck to headstock transitions . I use a cheap Von Haus one, which you can find under several brand names. Its Ok for now.
6) A very good quality steel straightedge - Veritas etc
7) Good measuring tools - Steel rules, Digital calipers, small Engineers squares, accurate protractor like the Inca one.
8) Very good quality drill press - don't skimp on this - preferably search for an old engineering machine like a Fobco, Meddings, Startrite etc. They are a joy to use and guarantee accuracy that will remove a great deal of stress drill bridge post holes, string thru ferrules , headstock tuner holes etc.
9) Digital angle measure - great for checking neck angles etc but also for setting up your table and band saw very accurately. I use a Trend one.
10) A ton of clamps - you will use more than you think. On my lastest build I used 16 clamps to glue up a maple cap to a Korina body. You need sealmess joints between body and cap.
11) Spraygun set up ( I haven't bought mine yet pending my imminent move to a new place with a better workshop)
12) Extraction / good dust mask / vision and hearing protection - machinery creates a lot of noise and dust and some guitar making woods are very bad for you - I found out the had way early on, through allergic reactions !!
12) Fretboard radiusing jig for a 1/4 router - unless you make your own or use radiuses sanding blocks.

I hardly every use a track saw, sliding mitre saw, circular saw. Just not needed for guitar work IMO.

You will need to make a lot of jigs and templates unless you buy them at inflated prices.
Plan on using a lot of 15-18mm MDF. The table saw and bandsaw will be your fiends here.
You will need a lot of superglue - buy superglue glue in bulk packs online.

Handtools - despite all the heavy lifting with machinery there is no substitute for great hand tools and some are essential for guitar building.

1) good hand planes for unrivalled surface finishing.
2) Scrapers for awkward to reach surface finishing and cleaning up
3) Shinto rasp, Iwasaki rasps etc for neck shaping, and body contouring
4) Carving gouges for contouring arch tops, PRS style tops and LP carved tops. See Ben Crowes crimson guitars video on the best sizes to use.
5) Fret files - for fret end dressing, fret crowning, Chris Alsop is a great source. Also Hellfire guitars do some budget but good stuff. GluedtoMusic and Guitars&Woods are also good suppliers I have used.
6) Fret cutters
7) Fret hammer or drill press arbour to press frets into fretboards.
8) Micro mesh polishing pads for finishing frets
9) Good quality screwdrivers for control plates, pick guard screws etc
10) Lots of double sided tape - get exhibition tape or use the tasing tape and supergluing;ue trick - both work well, I prefer the masking tape and glue approach to affix router templates to the wood. Its reliable
11) Fret rocker, string action gauge, feeler gauges for setting string action and cutting nuts.
12) Nut files - expensive but worth it if you are going to build more than a few guitars.
13) Japanese hand saw
14) Fret slotting saw with 0.022in kerf or similar. Flynn's Pax saw is good.

Theres probably loads of other small stuff that I can't recall just now, but feel free to drop me a pm if you want any more info

good luck.
Pete

 

[Val]

Here's my view as someone who is focussing all their woodworking on building guitars, having only started building about 15 months ago. Ive now got a pretty decent view of what's worthwhile and what's not. I'm on my 6th guitar - all have turned out very well and are just as playable as high-end branded guitars I own.

Essential tools :

1) Good quality 1/2 and 1/4 routers - you will need both to do all the key routing operations - Ideally you need to set up a good sized router table. I have a Trend T11 mounted in a 40mm thick solid worktop with a Trend router plate. You will need a variety of good quality router bits for template routing, truss rod channel cutting, surface planing and body rounders. Ive had great results using Wealden bits.
2) Table saw - to do initial dimensioning and cutting of blanks for bodies and necks ( unless you want to pay a premium for prepared blanks. I use a DeWalt 745 and its easily good enough - especially of you make your own jigs for it as you go along. A precise sled is useful to make.
3) A good quality and large bandsaw - essential for cutting out body shapes, headstocks and various other operations like trimming necks and fretboards before template routing.
4) A planer thicknesser for dimensioning body blank (halves), necks and neck laminates and fretboards
5) A good oscillating spindle sander for shaping and smoothing bodies and headstocks, and useful for dimensioning neck laminates with a suitable jig. Also for shaping Tele-style neck to headstock transitions . I use a cheap Von Haus one, which you can find under several brand names. Its Ok for now.
6) A very good quality steel straightedge - Veritas etc
7) Good measuring tools - Steel rules, Digital calipers, small Engineers squares, accurate protractor like the Inca one.
8) Very good quality drill press - don't skimp on this - preferably search for an old engineering machine like a Fobco, Meddings, Startrite etc. They are a joy to use and guarantee accuracy that will remove a great deal of stress drill bridge post holes, string thru ferrules , headstock tuner holes etc.
9) Digital angle measure - great for checking neck angles etc but also for setting up your table and band saw very accurately. I use a Trend one.
10) A ton of clamps - you will use more than you think. On my lastest build I used 16 clamps to glue up a maple cap to a Korina body. You need sealmess joints between body and cap.
11) Spraygun set up ( I haven't bought mine yet pending my imminent move to a new place with a better workshop)
12) Extraction / good dust mask / vision and hearing protection - machinery creates a lot of noise and dust and some guitar making woods are very bad for you - I found out the had way early on, through allergic reactions !!
12) Fretboard radiusing jig for a 1/4 router - unless you make your own or use radiuses sanding blocks.

I hardly every use a track saw, sliding mitre saw, circular saw. Just not needed for guitar work IMO.

You will need to make a lot of jigs and templates unless you buy them at inflated prices.
Plan on using a lot of 15-18mm MDF. The table saw and bandsaw will be your fiends here.
You will need a lot of superglue - buy superglue glue in bulk packs online.

Handtools - despite all the heavy lifting with machinery there is no substitute for great hand tools and some are essential for guitar building.

1) good hand planes for unrivalled surface finishing.
2) Scrapers for awkward to reach surface finishing and cleaning up
3) Shinto rasp, Iwasaki rasps etc for neck shaping, and body contouring
4) Carving gouges for contouring arch tops, PRS style tops and LP carved tops. See Ben Crowes crimson guitars video on the best sizes to use.
5) Fret files - for fret end dressing, fret crowning, Chris Alsop is a great source. Also Hellfire guitars do some budget but good stuff. GluedtoMusic and Guitars&Woods are also good suppliers I have used.
6) Fret cutters
7) Fret hammer or drill press arbour to press frets into fretboards.
8) Micro mesh polishing pads for finishing frets
9) Good quality screwdrivers for control plates, pick guard screws etc
10) Lots of double sided tape - get exhibition tape or use the tasing tape and supergluing;ue trick - both work well, I prefer the masking tape and glue approach to affix router templates to the wood. Its reliable
11) Fret rocker, string action gauge, feeler gauges for setting string action and cutting nuts.
12) Nut files - expensive but worth it if you are going to build more than a few guitars.
13) Japanese hand saw
14) Fret slotting saw with 0.022in kerf or similar. Flynn's Pax saw is good.

Theres probably loads of other small stuff that I can't recall just now, but feel free to drop me a pm if you want any more info

good luck.
Pete

This is exactly what I was looking for! thank you very much Pete, I'll send you a message with a couple of questions