Andy H wrote:
Hi Gang,
Heres some background. I work in my garage(SHOP!!) and I have a
nice 50" Jet TS and an old Dewalt RAS and crappy ryobi router.
Lately I have had delusions of grandeur, thinking about doing some
more serious side work. I have a commission to do 7 small carts and
another to do an entertainment center. These are from the same client.
I am in a position to invest in the shop a bit and I can justify
about $5-$600. Im thinking of getting a 2hp Dust collector (Shop Fox),
a Triton 2-1/4 HP Router, and a forrest WWII blade.



I would put a good router at the top of the list followed by the dust
collector. In my shop the most used tools in order are roughly:

Dust collector (because I use it with everything)
Table saw
Router
Drill press
Band saw
Jointer
Planer

Forrest blades are indeed terrific, but there are some other excellent
saw blades which are slightly less costly.

Honestly I wouldn't want to do much woodworking without a pretty full
complement of equipment. I don't put many hours on the jointer and
planer, but I wouldn't want to try and work without flat and squared
stock. I've never seen store bought "S4S" stock which is actually flat
and square.

John