Woodworking requires that you have the right skills but also a lot of tools. Although you can do everything with manual tools, power tools will save you a lot of time. Hand-held or portable power tools are cheap and easy to use. The basic power tools for woodworkers are the drill, the router and the sander. Stationary woodworking tools are generally associated with workshops but some stationary tools can also be used at home.
Stationary woodworking tools are more powerful than handheld tools, and they free up your hands. But stationary machines are often expensive and many of them take up a lot of space. The only handheld tool that does not have a more powerful stationary counterpart is the router. The wooden router is a very versatile tool.
For home use, you have a couple of interesting stationary woodworking tools. Here are the most important.
If you are doing a lot of sanding, a stationary disc sander or combined disc and belt sander can be a very good investment. Portable disc sanders have only a small disc, otherwise they will be difficult to control. That is not a problem with a stationary disc sander. Note that a combined disc and belt sander is a compromise. If you need really good sanders, you’d better buy one disc sander and one belt sander.
The lathe has been around for a long time. Simple lathes were used already in the ancient Egypt. It is the best tool for woodturning. Since woodturning allows you to create really beautiful wooden artifacts, it is a popular hobby. Lathes come in all possible shapes and forms, the small models are often reasonably priced.
Bench grinders are not really woodworking tools but they are very versatile. For woodworkers, a bench grinder is very useful. It is the best tool for sharpening bits. Drill and router bits must be kept sharp. Needless to say, a bench grinder can be used for much more than just sharpening bits. Most bench grinders are small and relatively inexpensive.
Jointers and planers are excellent tools for rough wood. They are used a lot in professional workshops but the smaller models are cheap enough to justify them for home use. Sometimes the terms jointer and planer are used for the same device. But a jointer is used to straighten edges while a planer is used to produce a flat surface. Just to complicate things, you also have combined jointers and planers. Jointers and planers are often expensive but they can save you a lot of time.
A drill is an indispensable tool for woodworkers. The stationary version of the drill is the drill press. A drill press lets you bore holes much more accurate than a portable drill. Of course, a drill press can be used for more than drilling.