Jeff Mazur wrote:
I've just started into woodworking as a result of being fed up with
dealing with contractors doing so-so work in my home for a lot of money.

My first project is putting up craftsman style moldings in our upstairs
bath. I've chosen to mill my own wood from rough-sawn pieces, which
yielded wood savings enough to pay for my used Ridgid lunchbox thickness
planer and my used Craftsman 6-1/8" jointer. This has turned out to be a
good beginner project as I am learning something I believe is pretty fundamental.

So, first a question: I'm finding that used power tools are a pretty
great deal, especially hobbyist-grade, since so many hobbyists only use
them lightly, or even abandon the hobby before long. Are there any
modern tools, new ones that are new to the marketplace that are
must-haves or really-great-to-haves? Sawstop comes to mind as a good
example, IMO. Others?

Second question: I have a secondary interest, beyond just building things
from wood, in building wooden things by hand - using no, or very few,
power tools. Does anyone in the group with experience in old-timey
woodworking such as this have thoughts or advice? Just to be clear, I'm
no reactionary - my interest is in the charm and tradition in the
pursuit, not because I think power tools are evil - I think they're
great. But I'm drawn to this, as is my son, with whom I'm taking up this hobby.

Thanks for your attention, I'm having fun with this so far. At 53 it's
very cool to learn new things and feel like a kid again

If you want cutting edge technology and quality, SawStop is at the top of
the list and so is Festool brand power tools. Festool is pricey, 2-3 times
more expensive than well known quality tools but very well thought out and
the pieces integrate well with each other. Festool power tools could
actually replace or eliminate the need for larger stationary power tools.
Festoolusa.com