Power tools
You’ll inevitably want to buy a few power tools to complement your collection of hand tools.
There’s an enormous range available, but most woodworkers will start off with an electric drill. Nowadays you can get excellent rechargeable cordless tools, including a combined drill/driver to bore holes and turn screws too.
Some people also find a jigsaw useful for cutting straight or curving lines, but make sure you get one that’s robust and accurate.
But the power tool of choice is usually the mains-operated router, a hugely versatile machine which can perform a number of grooving, moulding and cutting tasks. You attach one of a wide range of cutters, plunge the body down into the work and move the router carefully along. Again, you need skill to operate it to best advantage: it’s easy to wreck a job with poor technique.
Beyond that, you could go in for a circular saw to cut accurate straight lines through timber or manufactured boards; a biscuit jointer to produce slots in timber where you insert biscuits, little wooden oval shapes used for jointing; an electric sander; or various multi-tools.
