Setting up a woodshop... Need Advice

[zoony]

Make that 3 people. My dad is installing hardwood floors in my house for me and pretty much all I do is open the packs of floor, set the pattern and be his gopher. I did pull the baseboards off without cracking them (this is a MAJOR accomplishment for me) and pulled the nails out of them. He does all the cutting. I can do basic things around the house, but nothing major, like installing a skylight.

IMO it's attitude. When you get into construction and things like that you realize pretty quickly that it's not rocket science.

Ever been to a jobsite and spent any time with the folks building a house? LOL- not exactly rocket surgeons . I figure if they can do it, why not me?

Now there are some things I wouldn't try to tackle myself- things that do require advanced knowledge like trying to fix structure or something that requires very special tools (like bending aluminum, etc.). And then some things are so cheap to have done it's not even worth doing yourself, like installing guttering.

There are some great books out there that you can use as a reference- but most importantly you have to realize that you CAN do this stuff.

[ChocolateCitySkin]

zoony thinks that you should spend more. actually, the table saw was under $400, the slide miter was $450, the planer $399, finish nailer $100 and the joiner $175. You're not going to get much cheaper that that for decent quality. Stay away from the Black and decker stuff, it's junk. I have a lot of dewalt tools and the only complaints that I have are about the sawalls and the 18v batteries. I have a few "Ridgid" and Bocsh tools, and they seem to be well made.

You're talking about quite an investment. Are you sure that you're going to use this stuff? Also deciding on the tools that you want, look in pawn shops for some them. I've gotten great deals on next to new tools for half price or less.

my friend and i had a nice long discussion today... pawn shops i think definitely are the way to go... i do feel bad knowing that i'm buying something that was obviously stolen from a contractor.

and yes i do think i will use it... designing things is my passion and i really want to build a portfolio and hopefully get into large scale public works eventually.

this is just baby steps though. i'm somewhat perturbed with the market bottoming out i can't get into architecture (cuz there are no jobs). so i just want to keep my skills fresh and go about on my own for a little while and build up my resume. maybe eventually get my AIA accredition or not...