what are the must have basic tools ?

Well, I would want a miter saw for the wood railing (I think). I have used a table saw to cut things like that but it isn’t as easy on a table saw. I would like a table saw for the cabinet work. You really need it to rip stiles and such. Then again you can buy precut stiles and use the miter saw to cut them to length. I like a jointer to clean up the edges after ripping but it you buy precut stiles then most of that problem is over. I used a fine tooth saw blade before I got a jointer. It made pretty smooth cuts. I have a friend that built cabinets for years professionally. He cut his stiles with a good blade on his table saw and then had a jig that held them while he run his belt sander over them. Then you will want a good sander. the cheap sanders don’t turn the high RPM’s that the good ones turn. It just all depends on how much you have to spend. Good tools are a good investment. Inexpensive tools are usually not such a good investment.

hell Grandpa how are you Sir thanks for reading and taking the time out to reply to my post. Well im doing the Railing first . Im heading to home depote this am as we speak and price the material and tools that i think i might need. as of right now i have a dewalt jigsaw , and cheap inpack drive and a drive . im going to be quickly replacing those drives with some more qulity tools. i also have a skil warm drive saw my baby im about to buy 2 more warm drive saw. one for when im out on the field working doing construction building houses and the other two one will be for spare home and the other will be just for fine work and thats it. i didnt inform you guys that my father is a general contractor and he knows a bit of fine carpentry but he and i are the same he is a slacker as i am so i rather learn on my own and acquire tools of my own as well . his tool selection is not to my liking either and i rather invest in my own tools so i dont have to ask anyone to borrow.

I’d think about what sort of cuts you need to make. The wood railing would suggest a mitre saw, as Grandpa says, but depending on your budget, how much space you have to store tools, and how much you expect to use tools in the future, you could do it with anything from a good hand saw (not a cheap Home Depot push saw, but a good pull saw or a high end (ie: Glen-Drake) push saw) to a track saw.

I’ve got the Festool TS55 track saw with the older MFT table because I have a relatively high tool budget, but little space to store things. It lets me do most mitre cuts with a little setup (although with limited depth, I can only get to just shy of 2”), and is awesome for dealing with sheet goods, like you’d be doing with the medicine cabinets and vanity. In fact, my brother-in-law has the really nice SawStop cabinet saw with the big table in his shop, and I’ve seen him and his sons turn to the Festool for doing cabinets like you’d find in vanities and entertainment centers, because moving the saw is much easier than winging around the big sheet of plywood.

But the track saw (DeWalt and Makita also make track saws that are compatible with the Festool rails, and Eurekazone makes a rail system that you fit your circular saw to) needs some techniques for ripping and other cuts that you won’t learn from the woodworking magazines, you’ll have to read the specific forums or discover them for yourself.

So that gets wood cut, what else are you planning for the bathroom furniture? Are you going to make your own doors? If so are they going to be raised panel rail and stile, solid wood, painted? The former suggests a router table setup of some sort, you’ll probably need some good clamps, you might want to be able to cut mortices and tenons which you can do with everything from a router to a router table to a tablesaw to more exotic tools.

And, of course, sanders… Maybe you need to lay out a few more specifics: What styles do you like? Are you planning on clear finishes over plain wood, stained, or painted? Do you tend towards carpentry or woodworking? How much room do you have to work in? What comes after these projects?

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/

Dewalt mitre saw and Porter Cable Wood Router. Thats my opinion, but of course I’m not totally familiar with the specifics of your project. Also, as someone else mentioned, determine how often you will use the tools in the future. That may also help in determing how much you spend on these tools. Good Luck!

-- bestwoodrouterman, http://www.bestwoodrouterreviews.net