Sometimes you just get the urge to create something from one of the planet’s most renewable resources. Wood literally grows on trees, after all. If you’re setting up a home workshop, you’ll need to populate it with the tools and gear most likely to give you results in the shortest possible time. That’s where we come in.
If you’re starting from scratch and are dying to build that gazebo you’ve always been dying to gaze at as you sip your coffee in the morning, these are the tools you should have taking up space in your garage. Sorry. Workshop. It’s a workshop now.
Have we forgotten anything? Oh, sure. You can never buy all of the tools. We’ve declined to examine bandsaws, scroll saws, sliding compound saws, mitres… and those are just the saws. This lot should be enough to get your workshop well on its way (for now).
Ryobi Table Saw BT-255L
Hand saws are cool and all but they involve things like ‘skill’ and ‘practise’. If you want to get projects rolling with only minor threats to your appendages, you’ll want a table saw. This Ryobi effort won’t break the bank and offers several cool features. Adjustable depth and an aluminium fence and worktop ensure that projects are cut where you want them. Trimming square, accurate cuts and mitre options for angled work let you do the same work you’d manage with a cut-off saw but allow for far broader sections to be tackled at once. A 1,800W motor handles the actual spinny bit, giving you enough power to tackle hardwoods with the same ease as something like pine. It ships with a blade and push stick in the box but you’ll want to upgrade or add more to your arsenal for increased versatility.
Buy it here | from R4,600
Now add this
Push Stick/Block
You know what’s cheaper than going to the nearest hospital? Not slicing your fingers to bits by putting them near a tungsten carbide-tipped saw blade spinning at 4,250 RPM. That’s the point of the humble push block (you’ll want to use a stick if you’re working with narrow gaps between the fence and blade).
Buy it here | from R80
Tork Craft 80T Contractor Saw Blade
Odds are the table, circular, or mitre saw you’ve been eying ships with a standard blade. Those are decent enough for quick rips but you’ll want something for finer work. More teeth equals a smoother cut, provided you also remember to let the saw spin up to full speed before pushing your wood through.
Buy it here | from R430
Makita Random Orbital Sander M9204B
Unless you’re planning on using planers all the time, sanding is something that has to happen. This is especially true of smaller tasks, which require manual dexterity. But for the medium-to-large project, you can save your elbows by nabbing a sander. These have their issues. If you’re not tempted to have belt-sander races, you’re doing it wrong (and smart). Random orbital sanders sidestep many of the issues of belt and mouse sanders by randomising motion for a more natural finish. This Makita has a few benefits. It’s made by the Japanese power tool masters, for one. It includes dust collection options — sanding is a famously messy task — and the 240W motor will operate at 12,000 RPM when not under load. That’s a lot of elbow grease you’ve just skipped.
Buy it here | from R1,500
Now add this
Face Mask/Respirator
Sanding is hard on the lungs, especially if you’re working with treated woods. Wearing a face mask or, better, a half-face respirator with filters will ensure that you don’t go to bed with a hacking cough and half a sheet of plywood in your chest. Also use one when when the circular saw is spinning or you’re sweeping up your workspace afterward.
Buy it here | from R110
180-Grit Sponge Blocks
No matter how careful your machine sanding, eventually you’ll have to resort to sanding by hand. These 180-grit sanding sponges are an excellent choice for fine finishing work. The affordable price makes them seem attractive at first glance but they’re also consumable and the blocks will add up on bigger projects. Bear that in mind
Buy it here | from R19
Bosch GKF 550 Professional Hand Router/Trimmer
Compact enough to be held in a single hand, this 550W Bosch trimmer is still powerful enough to tackle medium tasks. The motor shouldn’t yank itself out of your hands, should you start too close to an edge. It’s easy to control at speed and under load. The clear base ensures you can see guide lines as you move and it also acts as a depth guide. This unit includes a small parallel fence for cutting grooves or, if you’re feeling precise (and lazy) rebates in your workpiece. Due to its size, it ships with 6mm and 6.3mm collets (the doohickey that dictates the shaft of the bits you use) but you can upgrade to an 8mm collet relatively easily.
Buy it here | from R1,400
Now add this
Tork Craft Trim Top Bearing Router Bit
There’s an almost bewildering array of router bits on the market, each tailored to a certain solution. Make this one of the first that you buy. Handy for running around a template and cutting holes in the middle of a workpiece, it’ll get most of your basic jobs that aren’t on the edge done. If you need a biscuit joint cut… well, that’s a different bit.
Buy it here | R150
Pro-Tech Flush Trim Router Bit
This flush-trim router bit does exactly what it says it does. The bottom bearing allows it to run along the bottom of a guide or workbench, smoothing any jagged edges your saw (or inexperience) might have left along the edge of a workpiece. As with its companion (left), you’ll find this one of the most versatile options, particularly when finishing up a job.
Buy it here | R380
Ingco Cordless Impact Driver Drill
It’s very tempting to just grab the most affordable cordless drill and get out of Builders but you don’t actually want to do this. An impact driver drill, related to impact wrenches, offers distinct advantages for folks looking to do woodwork in their workshops. The smaller body size lets it fit into more compact spaces — if you’ve ever installed a wardrobe, you’ll understand — and the extra torque (285Nm) the brushless motor provides means that you can almost skip drilling guide holes for your joinery. Don’t do that — but if you do, that screw is going in. There’s “please go in”, there’s “okay, come on now” and then there’s this: “I wasn’t asking.”
Ingco’s gear is also high enough quality for actual craftsmen (we asked one or two) and they’ve got the advantage of having the battery systems interoperable. Makita and others offer similar features, intended to lock you into an ecosystem. Decide where you’d like to play before you buy.
Buy it here | from R2,460
Ingco 20V Lithium-Ion Battery
A major source of annoyance is starting a project only to realise that your cordless power tools aren’t charged. Ingco’s got loads of extra battery options, from the humble 4.0Ah replacement here to an entire suitcase full of batteries intended for construction sites. Since the batteries are interchangeable between all the brand’s cordless tools, you can never have too many on hand.
Buy it here | from R700
Square Drive Hex Bits (set)
Once you switch to square bits for your screws, you’ll probably never go back. Provided, that is, you stick to electrical drills. There’s one distinct advantage to square drives (two, if you’re a dick) — the bits are far less likely to jump out when you’re driving them at speed. Philips and slotted drives don’t like the speed or the torque much but square drives? They love that stuff. This set of nine will set you up.
Buy it here | R29 (set of 9)
Mac Afric Semi-Professional 840 W Electric Planer
Okay, fine, we’ll add one more tool. It’s perhaps the least satisfying of its type — you can’t beat a well-sharpened hand plane for zen-like workshop time — but it’s almost as essential as the rest of these options. Buying Planed-All-Round boards from Builders Warehouse gets expensive. Well, more expensive than buying the raw boards and doing it yourself. This is an affordable option that’ll take up to 2mm off per pass. Flattening board tops and edges is always a good idea, even if board prep kinda sucks, and this little guy will let you go from corrugated to a lovely, level expanse in moments. There’s an 840W motor inside and a 110mm width, allowing for speedy preparation of whatever project you have in mind. It’ll also cut rebates (up to 90mm wide) but we’ll let you take that risk. We’ll stick to our old combination plane for that, thanks.
Buy it here | R1,400
