Replies

1. 
   cblouin | Dec 30, 2011 09:07am | #1

   I'm quite happy with the following power planer:

   http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW734-2-Inch-Benchtop-Planer/dp/B0000CCXU6/ref=pd_cp_hi_3/180-6812514-1800268

   Which was about  half the price of the other one. I got a good power planer first because I wanted to mill from rough lumber and bypass the really expensive (and quite limited in selection) lumber from hardware stores. A good hand plane or so is a very valuable asset as well. In my case, I got lucky and found a #5 in the tool chest of my wife's grandfather which is working as new after about 5 hours of cleaning and tuning. I wish that I had a #4 as well. In theory, you could plane rough boards by hands, but the power planer is faster and brings things to thickness (which is very important). 

   It is difficult to get started because money and space can be tight, and it is easy to get wrapped up about what you don't have. I sympathize.

   However, sharpening stones are a must. I got a combo 1000X/4000X from Lee Valley. Practice on an old set of chisels. I also recommend the Lee Valley honing guide to help you sharpen faster and more precisely ( http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=33001&cat=1,43072,43078). Hand sharpening is more important, in my opinion, that getting new gadgets because it is necessary to get good performance from the most basic woodworking tools. 

   You'll need a truing stone later down the road, but this can wait until your stones are starting to lose their flatness. The grinder can be useful, especially if you need to reshape things or sharpen tool in really bas shape. In this case, it is a casual purchase of about $60 (hardly noticeable once you've got paid for everything else before).

   Finally, I made a bench out of framing lumber. Which was a simplified and smaller version of this one (https://www.finewoodworking.com/PlansAndProjects/PlansAndProjectsPDF.aspx?id=2625). Total cost was ridiculously small, I think $40-50 in lumber and $80 in pipes and clamps.

   Good luck, I wish you more space in 2012: this is an even harder problem to deal with than cash to buy tools.

2. 
   RalphBarker | Dec 30, 2011 10:55am | #2

   The shopping list

   I, too, would say yes to both hand planes and a good thickness planer. But, don't forget to include a jointer on your shopping list. You'll need the jointer (or, hand planes) to true up one face on your boards, and to get a good 90° angle on the edges. Once that is done, the thickness planer comes into use to reduce the thickness of the stock to what you want. Remember, the feed rollers of the planer will compress the board flat, then feed it past the cutters. Thus, if you start with a slightly cupped board, for example, you'll end up with a still-cupped board, just thinner, unless you true one side (the side that goes on the bottom in the thickness planer) first.

   Thus, priority-wise, I'd suggest hand planes first, then jointer, then thickness planer.

   Note that a sled can be used with a thickness planer to get a true face on boards, but holding the board and supporting it on the sled gets complicated, and potentially dangerous if not done properly.

1. 
   blopar | Dec 30, 2011 12:59pm | #3

   There are some good suggestions in the previous posts, there is no question that at some point in your wood working journey you will need to be proficient in the use of hand tools. Power equipment can do a lot but there is no better way to sweeten a joint or fit a drawer than the use of a hand plane and chisel. I am a big believer in developing basic bench skills first, learning to plane a board flat and to thickness with a smoothing plane will teach you a great deal and will vastly improve your overall skill set when it comes to power tools. Understanding and becoming competent in sharpening those tools is a skill that will make working wood so much more enjoyable not to mention easier.

   That said, I echo the suggestion of  planes(chisels) , jointer and planer first as opposed to the thicknessing planer first. The jointer and planer work in tandem without one the other is ineffective. It is true that you can joint or flatten a board with a planer and sled but attempting that on a board longer than 3-4 feet is dangerous.

   Good luck!