G'day from Crib Point

G'day all, my name is Tim and I'm from Crib Point, a small seaside village down the south east corner of Australia, I've joined this fantastic forum because I want to get serious about woodwork. The smell and feel of wood has been in my blood from childhood when my dad worked in the timber mill across the road from where we lived in Heyfield, Gippsland and I used to watch and help him knock things up in the shed. Anyhow I did not end up going to trade school as we moved to the city and life took on another direction but the interest in woodwork has stayed with me and I have built many things, dog houses, chook houses, fencing, decking, sheds and so on, all these things I have done with minimal tools, a small circular saw, hammer and chisel, usually working on the ground with home made jigs and stuff and just knowledge I have picked up from watching others. I work now as a handyman, which I love, different jobs and different people keeps life interesting, I'm fortunate in that I have a good set of hands and can see plans and concepts in my head and am a pretty good problem solver. Now however I find I am increasingly taking on more complex jobs and would like to produce fine quality furniture and stuff. I believe I have done my apprenticship with hand held tools so its time to tool up a bit. I'm lucky enough to have a small amount of spare cash at the moment (HA, doesnt happen very often, believe me) So Im seeking advice from all you chippies as to which way to go. A router and planer are already on the list but am having trouble deciding on one more major item which is as far as the money will go for now. A table saw or a compound mitre saw? I have checked out the triton 2000 work centre, very impressive but feel as though for cutting large pieces of wood I can still use my circular saw and guides on a bench top, but for cutting complex mitres perhaps a quality compound sliding mitre saw may be better. I also feel as though I can make my own table saw, wont be as good as a triton but would be good enough for ripping long pieces etc. What do you all reckon? am I heading in the right direction or am I in gaga land? I have purchased cheap tools in the past and believe it is a wast of time, usually inacurate and unreliable. My little 5 inch makita saw I have had for over ten years and was second hand when I bought it, it has done a phenomenal amount of work, often cutting stuff it was not designed to do like ripping long pieces of hard wood, it struggles but wont die. I recently bought a brand new 7 1/4" makita magnesium which has introduced me to the world of effortless cutting, ooh I'm in heaven, just love it. So any tools I buy will probably be Makita. Since I live by the sea my other passion is fishing, we have a small fibreglass boat and often spend all day on the water catching mostly gummy sharks, snapper, whiting, flatties, squid and many others, home cooked fish and chips with salad and potatos from the garden is something everyone should experience, although fish and chips from the shop will never be good enough ever again. Anyhow, thanks for listening and look forwad to hearing from all you wise heads and contributing to this amazing forum, Cheers to all.

Skydog,
.
Welcome mate. I know Crib Point quite well. Used to launch my TS at Stoney Point a few years back. Have a friend who lives there, so I make occasional visits.

On the matter of equipping a workshop, let me make one crucial observation. Put a good quality bandsaw high on you list. I started with a radial saw, less said the better, have a high quality saw bench with sliding table but the most used weapon is the bandsaw. Once you learn how to use it you will find it the most versatile cutting tool you have. Not just my word. Mario Rodrigese ( hope I got his name right) in FWW made the same comment. Too many people look on it as a crude roughing out tool, but with the right blade (and they are cheap enough) and a little practice it will do wonders. In these tough times gathering info is cheaper than making mistaken purchases.

Jerry

G'day Tim and welcome to the forums.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

You willl find plenty of sage advice here along with the odd bit of wit and humour.

Hi Tim and welcome, I too do a lot of building maintenace work between furniture projects. As Jerry said, a band saw is a very handy item in the workshop, untill you own one you probably don't know how much you would use it. I also love my Makita compound sliding mitre saw, both get plenty of use. I also have a small table saw that one day I will upgrade, these saws save a lot of time. I also have a 15" 380mm stand alone thicknesser so between the saws and the thicknesser cutting and recutting your own timber for jobs saves a lot of money. Almost all of my machines are secondhand or from really good sales, ebay and the like, I set my workshop up for less than half price, all good quality so age is not that big a deal.

Enjoy the forum and use it like a good reference guide.:U

Tim...welcome from across the big pond!:2tsup:

Thanks for the welcome everybody, looking forwad to my time on this forum. I've been doing a lot of research on the appropriate tools for my shed and have included a band saw which is something i have not considered before, more confused now than before haha

Hi skydog and welcome. Did you pause during your introduction? :) Makes it a bit easier to read if you break long posts into paragraphs. Nice to have you on board.

oopsy, silly me, will try to do better in the future John, must be that damm beer again:doh::roll::D