Woodworking Power Tools
Jointer
Having wood boards that are nice and
flat makes the job so much easier. A
jointer has one job to do. It is to make
things flat. Different from a planer, a
jointer can straighten wood in a way
that removes bows and arches and
deliver an entirely flat plank.
It is recommended to use the jointer
as a preliminary wood treatment
before feeding it to the planer. It sets
the foundation for everything that
comes later on and it is one of the
most valuable tools in the workshop.
Surface Planer
One of the several tools you will need
if you are going to mill and square
rough lumber. The surface planer has
one further function, and that is to
reduce the thickness of the board. A
surface planer can also be used as a
thickness planer, as well as a surfacer.
There is a set of blades in the middle
section of the planer and a set of
rollers at the edge. The wood gets
grabbed by the rollers and the blades
skim off materials as it gets passed
through it. If your plank has some
curvature and bow, it is recommended
to use a jointer before using a surface
planer to get wood down to the exact
thickness that you want.
Drill Press
If you have a lot of wood drilling to
do, a drill press is a perfect
companion. It will drill at an angle
that is exactly perpendicular to the
board, and you will always get
straight holes whether you are
working on one hole or a thousand.
Drill presses have a variable speed
control, and the drill bits can also be
swapped with smaller or larger tip
forceners. Those are difficult to do
with a portable drill machine. One
significant advantage of the drill press
is that the tips can be exchanged with
a great variety of bits, like using a
round drum sander bit to sand wood.
This makes the drill press a versatile
power tool that does more than the
mundane task of drilling.
Wood Router
The router is hands-down the most
versatile power tool in the workshop.
It is a semi-portable device that can
easily be guided by the hand. Routers
can be used to hollow out wood and
make cutouts with extreme precision.
Its usage extends further than
woodworking, as routers can also be
used on almost any material, from
plastic to aluminum cutting.
Radial Arm Saw
It is used to cut tons of wood, and it
does so very quickly. The radial arm
saw is as accurate as the user using it.
It is, however, not the most accurate
power tool even by the most expert of
hands for cutting wood. What is
excels in, is cutting a lot of wood very
quickly, faster and less tiresome than
portable saws. Radial arm saws are
quickly becoming relics of the
woodworking industry, mostly
because of security concerns and
advancements in circular saws (see
below) making them just as
convenient for cutting wood. Even so,
it is a handy power tool to have, and if
you have the room in the shop, then
the radial arm saw can make a nice
addition. Bear in mind that extra
caution should be observed while
operating this device.
Band Saw
It is a versatile woodworking power
tool. It can be used to deliver all sorts
of contours and wood forms that few
other tools can. Despite using it for
accurate and artistic crosscuts, the
band saw is also handy when sawing
lumber into small pieces. It is one of
the most popular power tool in the
lumber mill.
Compound Miter Saw
The compound miter saw is another
power tool that comes in handy when
working with wood. Especially if you
need wood cutting at an angle. The
compound miter saw can skew to any
angle you want to deliver the perfect
angled cut. From making frame
corners to simple dicing wood in half,
the compound miter saw is an
incredibly powerful and easy to use
wood cutting tool.
Power Drill
There are three types of power drills.
Regular drills, hammer drill and
impact drivers. Power drills can be
portable and battery-powered, but
they also come with a cord. Regular
power drills are used in both
residential and commercial, so they
are very versatile power tools. If you
are using a regular power drill for
business purposes, make sure to get
one with a high voltage and power.
Hammer drills offer more force. The
bit goes back and forth which allows
you to bore easily through concrete
and other solid materials with relative
ease. Impact driver power drills work
on the same principle as hammer
drills, but with less force. It is a
particularly handy power drill when
drilling through thin metal sheets and
sturdy plastic.
can cut and dice wood with an
extreme level of precision.
Bench Grinder
The bench grinder, as its name
suggests is a fixed grinder. It is used
mostly for sharpening tools quickly
and easily. It is also easily
maintainable, as all you need to clean
the grinder is a diamond dresser or
metal brush.
If you have a lot of tools to sharpen,
the bench grinder is a handy tool to
have in your arsenal. Alternatively,
you might want to consider a belt
sander that also comes with a disk
grinder. This does the job of
sharpening tools equally well.
Circular Saw
The circular saw is an indispensable
device and one of the best
woodworking tools out there. It is
used for crosscutting wood and is it is
quite easy (and fun) to operate.
You can easily and quickly replace
the saw for one adapted to the job you
are doing. Once you get used to using
the circular saw, it will accompany
you everywhere.
It has a small learning curve, as the
hardest part of operating the circular
saw is learning how to use the
measuring gauge. Once you do, you
