Skil 30-Piece Router Bit Set with 1/4-in Dia Shank $49.98 + Free Shipping reg. $99 @ Lowes

Here's my advice for beginners: Any experienced woodworker can tell you the cheap tools are worth less than nothing. Thing is, lumber is more expensive than tools these days. Say if you buy a router that's not very precise, you will have to go through test cuts and waste a lot of lumber for a project, or ending up having very unstable/dangerous joints. I have two excellent routers, a Festool and a Makita. I rarely use them. A lot of time, it's easier to use a plane or sander to make adjustments after a cut - not frequently because my saw is precise.

Realistically, I think a lot of people are like my father: he bought the tools and started imagining projects, and never touched the tools - which I'm sure saved him a few fingers. Not a bad thing to buy cheap tools in this case.


IMHO, the cheapest ways to get some useful furniture or home improvement projects done is probably a high quality plunge saw (Festool, Dewalt, Makita) and a Kreg pocket hole jig and hand drill, which will total about $500 new, assuming you're all cheap like me. Plus, you aren't likely to lose a finger doing it. Extra money goes to jointer and planer. The jointer might slice a piece of your finger off, but that's better than chopping off.

I still have all ten fingers because I mainly use hand tools. A few stitches on my thumb due to a dull chisel, that's it!