Basic Power Wood Tools

Power wood tools make life for the woodworker much, much easier. Wood hand tools are great, but the work goes much slower and the energy needed to use them is greater so you tire faster.

Most woodworkers start off with a good selection of hand tools and as their projects become larger, more involved or just because they want to work faster and save time, the wood tools that purchase tend to be the more power driven type.

The most common power driven tools run on electricity, have a cord and are plugged into a wall socket. Other types of power driven tools run on batteries, ie cordless drills and screw-drivers, or gasoline as in large outside saws for sawing lumber. For my woodworking projects, I generally prefer the corded electric tools because I have a hard time remembering to keep the batteries charged.

My two most used and useful power tools are my small portable power saw and my portable power drill. I use these two pieces of equipment on each and every woodworking project. They are indicative. When buying these tools for yourself, look for good quality tools that make it easy for you to change blades or bits and that can be used for extended periods without heating the housing to the point where you can not hold on to it any longer.

Other power wood tools that I've found very useful are:

– Quality Table Saw Of all the stationary woodworking tools, the table saw is probably the most useful. Use it to rip, square, groove, miter, join, and shape your wood. It should have an adjustable blade and a motor that starts smoothly with little vibration and that is heavy-duty enough to cut through dense wood. Do considerable research prior to buying your table saw as there are a number of factors such as safety considerations and ease of use that could make life with your table saw enjoyable or frustrating.

– Circular Trim Saw A versatile tool that can be very dangerous if used incorrectly. They can be used to make cross-cuts (across the grain), rip-cuts (with the grain), and / or depth-cuts (set the blade to cut to a accuracy depth). They can be hand-held or stationary.

– Scroll Saw This saw has limited uses but it's very handy for making small cuts, circular cuts, cutting name plates, etc. The blade brakes easily so you have to go slow and be gentle with the turns that you make. I've found this saw to be most useful for doing intricate inlay work. But even with the scroll saw, you do not want to cut too close to your outline. Leave an edge that you then work down with a sanding tool to get the most precise fit.

When using any of these tools, it's important to wear protective eye gear.