Necessary Tools

My circular saw is my most used saw and my top tool after a power screwdriver.

I bought a table saw a few years ago and used it a couple of times. Last weekend I gave it away to Good Will. So don't be tempted to get the table saw. It is really only good for splitting long pieces of wood.

May seem obvious, but I'll ask anyway. You have a lawnmower, right?

Sawsall. The name is indeed descriptive. A circular saw is what you would need if you intend to build something, but if you are just talking about maintenance, you are probably better off with some kind of reciprocating saw.

Table saw is handy, not for just cutting long pieces of wood but for me, i was able to use it in many other ways because i didnt have a jig-saw, circular saw, a router at the time. A good table saw is a must, since the lower end ones are just that - lower end. Plus table saws take up a space, of at least a 3'x3' floor space.

Miter saw is good for cross-cuts and angles.

It depends on the projects your going to do. I use my table saw a lot. I now have a router, circular saw, sawsall, jig-saw, and a miter saw.

Air nailer - a finishing nailer and/or a framing nailer. Air compressor and various air tools.

Circular sander palm sanders are helpful along with a Dremel roatary tool. Consider getting a grinder, both a hand held and the kind that can be mounted to a work bench.

A shop vac of at least 6 gallon capacity is great for clean ups.

A battery powered drill of at least 18volts with an extra battery.

Then if your going to do your own yard work, consider getting a blower/vac and a weed wacker are handy.

A portable generator for projects away from electricity. That's not a must have though.

I wasn't much for power tools or building until we bought our house. Then slowly that all changed.

What kind of projects do you plan on doing?

I think TheFreak covered all of the bases.

Maybe include a pressure washer to wash off the car or home exterior?

SawsAll is pretty handy. I prefer all power tools to have a cord. I hate it when batteries run out. I know, it ain't hightech, but if I listened to the kids they would have me buying a Wi-Fi claw hammer.

A Sawzall looks like a good tool, that might be the way I go.

Mark: No, I don't have a lawnmower, I hire a guy to do that for me :)

Oh, so you do have a lawnmower.. :)

Personally, I wouldn't hire someone to do that for me.. I like mowing the lawn.

Dremel rotary tool or similar.

DD: Can you point me to a site that explains what a Dremel rotary tool is used for? Even their own site doesn't give a very clear explanation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dremel

A Dremel is a multi-use rotary tool for small applications. There are many ways to use it, such as for cutting, sanding, polishing, carving, drilling, etc.

The wikipedia entry for the Dremel links to some good information. I've used it for cutting plastic and hardened steel, for polishing various small metal items, for shaping wood and plastic, and I've rounded the edges of wood with the router attachment. It's versatile, as they say.

Dremel tools are very handy but they are not heavy duty. They are basically toys and suitable for craft purposes. I do use them on construction, mainly to cut through wall board or plaster on lathe. For those jobs, a Rotozip is more appropriate and can be had for fairly cheap on ebay. I use rotozip bits in my dremel to cut wallboard or lathe on plaster. They seem to have about 4x the useful life as the Dremel rotary cutting bits.

The thing about dremel tools are they gouge you on the accessory and attachment prices. You should just get one of the big accessory packs even if you don't think you'll use all of the sanding and grinding wheels. It's just so much cheaper per piece that way. Also, I've seen new dremel tools on ebay go for more (including shipping) than you can buy one for on Amazon.

I can't really make recommendations not knowing what exactly you are doing. I have a table saw, but I play around with cabinetry and furniture so it's a necessity for me. Same goes for the router table. You probably won't need those. Don't buy a circular saw until you know you need one. Same goes for most tools. When I bought my house, no less than 3 neighbors upon first meeting told told me to ask if I ever needed to borrow a sawzall. I think a lot of people buy those things for one job and then never use them again. To me, a sawzall is basically a demolition tool with little use in construction/maintenance. Granted most construction starts with a bit of demolition beforehand.

You said you have a power drill. AC or battery powered? One recommendation I have is to get a battery powered drill. Black and Decker makes one for under $30 with a torque adjustment, I got mine on sale for $20 and it is more than sufficient. To go with it, get an acessory kit which has all the drill bits, driver heads, hex heads, etc. in one case. I got a B&D FireStorm accessory kit for about $20 +-$5. That's the most used and most useful tool I have. I reach for that thing nearly daily. I don't like the slow, battery powered drills for serious drilling. Low RPMs will shorten the life of your drill bits. That being said, I still use it to drill holes quite often.