Setting up a woodworking shop beginning with absolutely nothing. Go to and get the first full year of Woodworkers Guild of America Premium for only a dollar and forty-nine cents.
If I lost every tool I own and needed to start over from scratch, this is precisely how I 'd rebuild my woodworking shop. Starting with simply $100 and working up to a complete expert setup. In this video, I walk through the important woodworking tools I 'd purchase initially, where to conserve cash, and when it deserves investing in higher-end devices. Whether you're a novice setting up your very first wood store or a knowledgeable maker seeking to optimize your workflow, you'll find out how to build a functional, effective, and inspiring woodworking area without squandering time or cash.
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★ TOOLS/ MATERIALS ★
Miter Saw:
Miter Saw Blade:
Miter Saw Stand:
High End Miter Saw:
Compact SawStop Tablesaw:
High-end Tablesaw:
Tablesaw Blade:
Low End Miter Gauge:
Luxury Miter Gauge:
Wen Bandsaw:
Rikon 10-301 Bandsaw:
Big High-end Bandsaw:
Bandsaw Blade:
Wen Drill Press:
High-end Drill Press:
Brad Point Drill Bits:
Forstner Drill Bits:
Wen Belt/Spindle Sander:
Wen Palm Sander:
Disc Sander:
Spindle Sander:
Drum Sander:
Random Orbit Sander:
Dewalt Planer:
High-end Planer:
Wen Jointer:
High-end Jointer:
Decent Combination Square:
My Favorite Tape Measure:
Trim Router:
Plunge Router:
Router Table:
Router Lift:
Beginner Router Bit Kit:
Dust Extractor:
★ ENJOY MORE ★
I Bought ALL The Wen Tools:
How to Make a 2×4 Workbench for Less Than $100:
How to Make a Tablesaw Station:
★ ALL THE LINKS ★
Music by Me:
T-Shirts/ Books/ Sticker Labels/ Strategies:
My Other YouTube Channel:
Making It Podcast:
Woodworkers Secrets Revealed – Click Here to Discover the #1 Woodworking Resource!
Luv the time & thought you give to the art direction of your videos …
One of the areas I’ve always struggled with is how to actually set up a shop. Not which tools to buy, but how to organize the space for a good workflow. My garage is a hot mess and it’s frustrating to work on projects because I’m always tripping over stuff. Now that you have a clean slate to work with, that would be a helpful video for a lot of people.
I agree that having a good layout is important. I also learned that my shop took me years of use and moving things around before I finally discovered what that layout was. I tried to change it a few years ago, and had to go back, because it was already the right layout. I would recommend watching some shop tours, lay yours out in a manner that seems like it may work, then adapt to actual use over time. I think a shop is a constant state of upgrade. I hope that’s helpful.
Great comparison video.
A little trick on the HF aluminum clamps, a piece of 3/4 ply wood shoved down the center will help drastically strengthen it
I sent your Wen video to a friend setting up a new shop. I’ll be sending this one too. Thanks Dave!
Really helpful video cheers! Agree that a mitre saw is a great first tool, but rather than buy a stand, a great beginners project is building a stand for it… maybe with flip up wings on one or both sides, depending on space 🙂
Another fascinating video presented in your infectious manner. I agreed with 99% of the video, but I had 2 issues about blade selection. For the sliding miter saw, I highly recommend a blade made for that type of saw. They have a negative hook angle to improve the cut while “pushing” the saw across a wide cut and also to reduce the chance of having the saw climb out of the cut and remove your arm. I use Freud blades and that exact blade you recommended for the SCMS is the one that almost caused an accident. After some research, I discovered the hook angle thing. In a non-sliding chop saw, the hook angle doesn’t make any difference. The other issue is the combination blade for the TS. Maybe I got a bad one, but, my $80 Freud combi blade makes very rough cuts. I sent it to Ridge Carbide for flattening and sharpening, but it’s still rough. I have relegated it to cutting pressure treated wood for outside decks, etc. Also, the HF f-style clamps are great, but longer ones can flex. So I only use the 6″ and 12″ lengths. Otherwise, sequencing, thoughts, reasoning, philosophy and everything else makes good sense to this long time woodworker. Thx.
If you are going to be doing mitered trims upgrading that miter saw to something like one of the basic dewalts would definitely be high on my list personally. Although if you’re just using typical woodworking and not doing a lot of trim outs on your projects I doubt it matters like you said.
I don’t trust sliding miter saws especially cheap ones because the sliding mechanism will deflect and make your cut out of square.
Measuring is way underrated. The frustration and cost of measuring blunders can kill a new wood workers ambitions, as it nearly did mine. A few basic rules (WEN has great ones), and a few more things helped a lot to avoid frustration save some rework costs
Every woodworker would probably approach this a little differently. What would you do if you were starting from scratch?
From the start? Find a cheaper hobby
@MakeSomething at the start, I found I didn’t know which tools and equipment I would enjoy but I thought I needed the best or most expensive (that I could afford at the time) to be able to enjoy them. I was wrong. Borrowing tools first to see if you vibe with them is a good way to start. I borrowed a mitre saw and realised I just got along better with that than a table saw. So I invested money into that and am really happy I did. I never borrowed a multi-tool but thought I better splurge to keep it the same brand. I haaaaated it. The noise. The vibration. It puts me off wanting to pick it up. Should have bought a cheaper one and kept it hidden for those once or twice a year jobs.
At the end of the day, you’re going to gravitate towards the parts of the hobby that you enjoy and ignore the rest until you can afford to make it more enjoyable. Spend the minimum to figure out if you have the bug then enjoy diving deeper 🙂
Great list, don’t forget about estate sales. I’ve purchased a lot of upgraded equipment at them.
Estate / Garage sales are great for consumables too. I’ve picked up full cans of spray paint, spools of solder, wires, all sorts of things, and they usually go for a dollar or even less.
@Warshipmodelsunderwayexcellent point.
Very informative & instructive video David! I set my wood working shop up around thirty years ago. Have no idea what it cost me back then but it was the best investment that I ever made because it allowed me to enjoy making things for all of these years. 👍👍🔨🔨
Thinking about how I set up my shop, I would bump a track saw way up the list, in front of the Table Saw. Most of my earlier projects were about shop infrastructure, and thus a lot of plywood was used. With the miter saw and a track saw you can build a lot.
As an aside, with 3 bandsaws…well you are not in Jimmy DiResta territory, but let’s say you have the travel brochures for it… 🙂
AS I’m sitting here watching this I got to thinking about how long have I been watching this guy and how many changes have I seen him go through. I remember when you where the Drunken Woodworker doing wood worker video reviews. I have seen a lot of changes.
Great video! The beginner mind is a great place to go back to no matter how many years of experience. Us tool junkies have a habit of tool perfectionism, we can’t do said project unless the gear is just right. No excuses, get out in the shop and build!
Pawn shops can also be a good source for good used tools. I got my DW735 from a pawn shop about 12 years ago for $200, at a time when they were running about $750 new, and used on Craigslist was usually at least $400.
I’m only a minute 45 into this video and know I’m going to really enjoy the next 18 minutes because you acknowledge there are multiple tools to accomplish same tasks and that told selection is a combination of what you regularly make, your working preferences, and your budget. Even when you have a variety of tools, you don’t always do the same task the same way, like typing a board. Most days I use my table saw, some times the bandsaw especially I wood is not straight enough for the table saw. Some days, nothing beats using my century old Disston handsaw. They all get the job done
I bought the Rikon 10″ bandsaw at your recommendation several years ago and have been super happy with it. Looks like the price has gone up about $150 since then, but it’s still totally worth it. And Menards carries it in stock, so it’s easy to get. I also buy a couple more f clamps every time I go to my local Harbor Freight. Easy way to build your clamp collection. Thanks for sharing!
Track saw and a MFT style workbench, would be my goto. It’s not as fast and precise as a table saw, but it saves on space and has a lot of utility. But it really boils down to the work you do.
I like the way you put this video together. I started my woodworking journey 13 years ago with a used miter saw and a used sander. Already had a drill. It cost me $50. I was gifted a stack of lumber (all disassembled pallet wood, nice pallet wood) and a workmate table that had been customized with a larger table top with dog holes. I have grown quite a bit in my woodworking skills, goals, shop size and tools. I have found that looking back I was happier buying used tools first before buying new ones. As I look back I can see that when I bought a tool used first… I was able to learn what I did and didn’t like about it. That gave me a much better perspective on what I wanted to look for when I bought the tool new and spent more money.
Once gaining that knowledge…. I wish there were things that I would have made a priority to spend more money and get a better one. The first being the table saw. Better marking and measuring gadgets would be another. Router table would be one as well.