Minimalist: 3 Essential Power Tools for DIY Projects
When you are starting out, it’s hard to know what to buy, especially when you are not quite sure what projects will spring up in the future. There are many types of power tools on the market, not to mention the brand options, the power options, the overall sizes of the tools, and lastly, the price ranges are all over the place.
Few Tips:
Think Utility
What tools can be used for all sorts of tasks? Can this tool do the job of other tools?
Think “Family”
There are benefits to sticking with a brand family, i.e. multiple tools can use the same batteries, thus reducing your expenses
Research Dependability, Ease of Use, and Availability
You want something that is made well, especially when it comes to your safety
Easier to use tools can be safer and more fun; complex tools can be frustrating to figure out and potentially cause you to dislike your project or even walk away altogether
The more available a brand or tool is, the more likely you can find support for the tool, i.e. YouTube, blogs, articles, sales experts, experienced contractors, etc.
The three power tools I would start out with are:
Circular Saw
Power Drill
Router
Circular saw: Circular saws can cut across the grains (cross-cut) of lumber, like a miter saw. Good miter saws typically start at $400 and go up, where as circular saws, range from $50-$200, higher prices typically include the batteries. Not only can a circular saw make cross-cuts, but it can also rip material. Ripping a board means you are cutting along the grain, typically in long strips. This type of cutting is similar to what you would do with a table saw, which also starts around $400 and can go much higher. One circular saw can do both types of cuts at a bit more affordable price. The benefits of the larger saws are fences and ability to cut angles and straight lines easily. A circular saw relies on your ability to move it in a straight line. Don’t panic! There are many accessories out there that can help you cut straight lines with a circular saw, and some accessories help you cut at those 45 miter angles.
Check out my YouTube Video:
Ryobi Circular Saw w/o battery
RYOBI 18-Volt Cordless 5.5 inch Circular Saw Combo Kit with a 4Ah Battery and Charger
BORA edge guides - Help you cut straight lines
Kreg Saw Guides - Helps you rip- cut straight lines
Cut Miter angles with this Guide - BORA Guide
Power Drill: This is the most used power tool in my projects. Whether you need to drill holes or drive in screws, a power drill can do it all. Most of the time I have a drill bit in my power drill and use my impact driver to drive in the screws. An impact driver can be fun to use, but there are times it has too much torque for what I need and it actually causes problems. A power drill has variable power and speed settings that allows you to change them based on what you are doing. When you are drilling a hole, adjust the power drill to the drill setting, and increase its power setting. When driving in screws ,adjust the power drill to 14 or 16 and change the power to low (1).
Many times, you can find power drills and circular saws in the same brand family that use the same batteries. Sometimes, you can even find bundles for power drills, circular saw, and batteries.
Ryobi P1816 18V Drill and Circular Saw Starter Kit with Two 1.5Ah Batteries and Charger
Router: Routers are not the easiest power tool to get used to, but they have many uses once you get comfortable. I have 4 routers at the moment, but I was able to get by with just 1 router for a couple of years.
Why 4 Routers? - I have different uses for them
Left: Triton TRA001 15A 3-1/4 HP | Right: Performax 2HP Variable Router
My first router (on right) and my most recent acquired router (#4 on left) - are larger horse power routers. My first router was one of medium-low to medium quality routers, and it does a good job, plus it came with a few accessories. The latest router is higher quality, with more safety features, and nicer accessories- I won this router at a Rockler shopping event. Both of these routers came with a plunge feature that allows the router to dive into the material in the middle versus having to come in from a side. This is great for into material using stencils (for letters) or using router templates. Both of these routers can handle 1/4” shank bits and up to 1/2” shank bits. Most smaller routers are only able to handle the little bits, i.e. trim router and the router that is currently in my router table. Bigger bits accompanied with more horse power can help remove material faster without straining the motor.
Router #2
I have a router permanently mounted in a router table. The router tables gives me a fence to control cutting lines as well as depth. It is a pain to remove from a the table, so I leave this one alone.
Router 3:
I have a trim router that is smaller in size and easily fits in my hand. It is ideal for going around edges to give a round-over or a chamfer look. It isn’t quite powerful enough to do REAL cutting.
If you do not have a planer or jointer and wanted to make something flat, you can rig up a jig to remove any material above the lowest point. This is a common use for routers when working with live edge wood to create river tables.
Routers can also cut grooves into boards similar to a table saw with dado stack blades. Table saws plus dado stacks normally cost around $600. A router with a straight cut bit, plus an edge guide, can do the same work for hundreds less.
For just starting out, I would go for a higher horse power one that can do a bit of everything. It is bigger and heavier when doing trim work, but the accessories will help you out. You can flatten material, use stencils, cut dados, round over edges, cut grooves, etc. with this type of router.
My first router: Performax® 2 HP Variable Speed Plunge & Fixed Base Router Kit which sells for $130 on Menards.com at the time of this post. It has a lot of great features for the price.
Don’t forget, you can use the same Bora edge guides for the circular saw and the router.
