Who I am: A computer-controlled machine with a router bit that can move in 3 dimensions.

Why I’m useful: I can cut, carve, drill, and mill woods/plastics to make fully custom items (furniture, signs, sculptures, etc.) in hours instead of weeks.

Who I am: An essential woodworking machine for making cuts.

Why I’m useful: I can do a wide range of precise, straight, and repeatable cuts such as ripping boards, crosscutting, dadoes, and rabbets.

Who I am: An essential woodworking machine with a long flat table and an exposable spinning cutter head set into the surface.

Why I’m useful: I get one face and one edge of a board flat and square, which is usually the first thing you do with lumber if you want to make anything precise with it.

Who I am: An essential woodworking machine with a flat bed that carries boards under small rotating blades.

Why I’m useful: Once the jointer has made a flat and square edge, I make your wood board flat, smooth, and uniformly thick by shaving off a thin layer of wood with each pass.

Who I am: A woodworking machine with a rotating drum wrapped in sandpaper.

Why I’m useful: I can “sneak up” on an exact desired thickness (more gently than a planer), make very thin stock, or just add a nice sanded finish to your wood.

Who I am: A woodworking machine with a circular saw blade on a pivoting arm.

Why I’m useful: I make quick, accurate cuts by swinging down in a “chopping” motion, and I can be tilted and rotated to make angled cuts.

Who I am: A large upright woodworking machine with a saw mounted on a track, built to handle big flat sheets.

Why I’m useful: I make it easier to handle and accurately cut large sheets, because you only have to move the sawblade instead of the entire sheet.

Who I am: A tall, heavy-duty woodworking machine with a partly-exposed continuous loop blade, built bigger and sturdier for thicker and taller wood pieces.

Why I’m useful: I allow you to cut bigger pieces of wood or resaw lumber into thinner slabs.

Who I am: A compact woodworking machine with a partly-exposed continuous loop blade.

Why I’m useful: I’m suitable for smaller projects and can handle a wider variety of materials compared to the resaw bandsaw.

Who I am: A woodworking tool with a drill bit that you can move vertically.

Why I’m useful: I drill holes accurately, quickly, and to a controllable depth, which can be difficult to do with a hand drill.

Who I am: A woodworking tool with a stationary, upside-down router bit set into the surface.

Why I'm useful: I can shape edges and cut grooves accurately, repeatably, and safely on smaller wood parts.

Who I am: A woodworking machine that spins a piece of wood on a horizontal axis.

Why I’m useful: I can make round or curved wooden parts such as bowls, vases, or chair legs. Like sideways pottery!

Who I am: A woodworking tool with a spinning disc covered in sandpaper.

Why I’m useful: I quickly smooth edges, square ends, and sometimes even shape curves.

Who I am: A woodworking tool with a spinning cylinder covered in sandpaper.

Why I’m useful: I quickly smooth all sizes of concave curves, which can be tedious to reach by hand.