Up until about a year ago, my woodworking projects could best be described as "bash it together of 2x4 and 16 penny nails, and hope it holds up long enough." Around a year and a half ago, I started building a deck. I quickly learned the advantages of, say, measuring first, or buying higher quality tools.
And I started reading woodworking forums. This was crucial.
But I started noticing something: whenever someone asked about two tools, the most expensive was invariably recommended. Here's a personal example. I asked about three bandsaws. The Harbor Freight model, a Porter Cable, and a Ridgid. After the current discounts, they were all going to come to around the same price -- about $220. The most common vote was for the Grizzly, a $525 saw, and one that wasn't on my original list, because I couldn't afford it. People asking about inexpensive table saws are told "You need to buy the most expensive saw you can afford."
OK, look. I understand. More expensive tools are, almost always, more efficient tools. Frequently they're also safer tools. But many of us can't afford to spend a thousand dollars on a table saw, or even five hundred dollars on a band saw. We need to know where we can economize, and where we're really going to regret it later.
In this website, I hope, among other things, to post some reviews of less expensive tools. I'm not a master craftsman. I'm not an expert woodworker. I'm just a guy who enjoys playing with tools in his shop. All my reviews will be from that perspective. If you're a professional woodworker, you'll probably disagree with my reviews a lot of the time. But if you're someone like me, I might be able to save you some money.
No comments:
Post a Comment