Do we have/want too many tools?

[ErnieM]

Lately I've been having thoughts of buying a drum sander, and spending more than a little time convincing myself that I really need one. It got me thinking about my mentor, Paul Kennedy, who built beautiful harpsichords with very meager equipment. For years, he got by with a rickety old Craftsman table saw, a dinky old drill press, a lathe that needed urging with his hand to keep rotating, and a cheap router mounted into an even cheaper router table. It took me a few years to convince him to buy a planer, and I still can't figure out how he managed to work at such a professional level without one. He built his first instrument while living in an apartment in NY city - using the floor as his workbench. He still uses the same rickety machines he started out with so many years ago, although he does admit that the little lunchbox planer he bought was a good purchase.

I learned almost everything I know from this man. Like him, my stable of machinery is modest but adequate for my needs. Would bigger and better machines improve the quality of my work? I constantly read posts of fellow woodworkers lusting after $3,000 bandsaws, $600.00 random orbit sanders, table saws that are hot-dog friendly, etc. and I admit to indulging myself in these fantasies from time to time. Then I think of Paul, and wonder if my occasional tool lust is simply a way to convince myself that I could be half the craftsman he is if only I had the proper tools. Maybe I don't need that drum sander after all.

Any thoughts?

Ernie

[Charlie]

Ernie, I have had a shop for over 40 years. I've never been much of a hand tool person. I like to turn on switches. My power equipment has always been used, new 70's era Craftsman, whatever I could get on the cheap. All of this equipment served me well and made me a lot of money over the years. But, a few years ago I decided to replace most of the old equipment or purchase additional equipment, just because I could and wanted to. Grizzly planer, table saw, shaper. Jet drum sander, edge sander. Powermatic lathe. Rikon bandsaw. Delta drill press.
Has my craftsmanship or project quality improved? Probably not, but it sure is a lot more fun. It's nice to turn on a machine and not have items vibrate off onto the floor

If you would like a drum sander (I could never live without mine) then purchase one. Life is too short. Enjoy it while you can.

[ehpoole]

Now, now, let's not knock the idea of hot-dog friendly tablesaws. I mean, you all have no idea how rough hot-dogs have it with everyone wanting to take a bite out of them. If you are a hot-dog then this is a cruel world, so the idea of at least one tool that is not eager to take a bite out of you is a thought you truly relish. It was many a frank discussion before the CPSC finally decided to play ketchup and make hot-dog safety a priority in this dog-eat-dog world of ours.

Now, in all seriousness, I'm a lot like you and I would love to have a 22-44 or 26" (or thereabouts) drum or belt sander added to my collection. Obviously, for most woodworking they are just a luxury item that takes some of the tedium out of finishing. However, they can be indispensable if you need to make thin veneers (thinner than can be safely thickness planed).

So, maybe the question should not be whether or not you could get by without it -- you obviously already have for a good many years. The questions should be: can you afford and and will it make your woodworking more enjoyable? If that question is yes and you have a place for it, then perhaps you should. If you look to the Neander's for inspiration, it is clear that many of the power tools we all take for granted and think of as indispensable are really just modern day luxuries that make our life, and hobby (or profession for some) more enjoyable.

[stave]

I reflect along those same lines. Compared to most carvers I have a very small collection of gouges and all my routers and sanders are antiques. When I started teaching classes someone asked me where I purchased my sharpening equipment and I could not remember as it was over 20 something years ago.

I think it is all in what you are used to and the skills you have to get the most out of what you have. Moving fast is not always best and carving to me for the most part is a meditation...hard to get that when you are whizzing along or machinery is ringing in your ears. Don't get me wrong...I will buy something if it makes work go easier (getting old and lazy in some ways) or makes the work better.

In your case and having seen pictures of your work...it's hard to imagine a piece of equipment that would make it any better.

Stave

[cskipper]

I am fortunate to have LOML's tools available, plus a very helpful sawyer in Mooresville. When I still had good knees it was considerably easier to work with the floor being a work surface. I don't bend quite that easily anymore (actually bending down is easy, it's the getting up that's difficult). Having some better tools can make wwing more enjoyable. Essential, probably some aren't. I'm not working so mostly we don't splurge anymore.

[CarvedTones]

This particular purchase is something that would likely make certain parts of your work go faster without any loss in quality. I like what Sam Zygmuntowicz is quoted as saying in The Violin Maker - you start caring more and more about less and less. I don't think sanding flat boards to a specific thickness is one of those things. Look at it this way - if the sander lets you make one more instrument in your lifetime than you would have if you didn't have it, the world will be better off for it. Is that justification grandiose enough for you? Yes, the old masters did it without any power tools. But only because they weren't available. Just think how many more Strads there might be if there had been a Woodcraft in Cremona...

[Larry Rose]

I could get rid of at least half or more of the tools in my shop and not miss them. Having said that, woodworking and the tools involved is my hobby. I don't play golf, fish, go to ball games, hunt, care for fast cars, boats, airplanes or many of the other pasttimes we all do but I get a lot of pleasure from my shop and the tools. What price can you put on your peace of mind? I say go for the sander. I've got one that isn't used all the time but when it is it's sure nice.

[Sandy Rose]

I could get rid of at least half or more of the tools in my shop and not miss them.

I can help you out with that!!!

[pviser]

Thank you, Ernie, for your insightful comments. I share many of your sentiments. Recently, my work has evolved more into hand tools and the use of these tools in the quiet of my shop is an almost Zen experience. A sharp chisel, ahh...what can beat it? Even so, good machines have their role, particularly in the earlier stages of a project preparing straight and flat pieces of wood with the planer, jointer, and table saw. Again, thanks for your post.

[scsmith42]

Hi Ernie; thanks for your thought provoking questions.

Speaking for myself, I find that tools and equipment are enablers. They enable me to do more things myself, in less time, and without having to pay someone else to do the work for me.

In some ways, it comes down to "The Journey" versus "the destination". A woodworking journey can be the satisfaction that comes from using hand tools to flatten a board, it can be the satisfaction that comes from using hand tools to craft the joinery, or the satisfaction that comes from seeing your artistry and craftsmanship in it's final, finished form.

You can choose to use equipment to handle the jointing and planing, yet still enjoy the "journey" portion of the joinery. Or, you can use equipment to speed the entire process along, yet enjoy the finished product. It just depends.

In my own instance, I like to have choices, so I have both hand and powered equipment, and on each project I can choose which option that I prefer.

[SteveColes]

I could get rid of at least half or more of the tools in my shop and not miss them. ....

My problem is that I don't know which half I could so without

[FlyingRon]

My sig pretty much says it...

[Vetteman9956]

Hey Steve, whichever half you decide, I will gladly help you out in disposing of the other half.

[Pop Golden]

Dang it Vetteman! You beat me to the punch. Well Heck! If there's anything left between you two let me know.

To paraphrase Will Rogers: I never met a power tool I didn't like. (Please note that this quote is also attributed to Old Norm.) I can understand Norm's point. He picks up the phone, calls Porter-Cable and says "I'de like a new router" and they send him a dozen. This guy doesn't change bits he changes routers. What a deal! Were do I sign up?

Bill "Pop" Golden

[LeftyTom]

Too many tools? Heresy!