Guide · Tool kits and first tools

Woodworking Power Tools: The Three Families and What Each Tool Does

Power tools are easier to understand by family than by catalogue. Handheld tools are taken to the work; benchtop machines sit on a bench; stationary machines stand on the floor and the work is taken to them. This guide sets out what each common woodworking power tool is for, how it is powered, which specifications describe it, and where its own guide is. It recommends no brand and ranks nothing.

Written by: BenchRoot Editorial
Published: 15 October 2026
Reading time: 4 min
Level: Beginner

Plate —Three families of woodworking power tool. Handheld, where the tool goes to the work: drill-driver, circular and track saws, jigsaw, router, random-orbit sander. Benchtop, small machines on a bench: mitre saw, benchtop table saw, small band saw, benchtop planer, drill press. Stationary, where the work goes to the tool: cabinet table saw, floor band saw, jointer, lathe, dust collector. Any family can be corded, cordless or air-powered.

Three families

A handheld tool is carried to the work: it suits large sheets, work fixed in place and jobs away from the shop, and its accuracy depends on a guide, a fence or the hand. A benchtop machine sits on a bench or stand and brings some of a stationary machine's repeatability in a smaller, lighter form. A stationary machine stands on the floor and the work is moved past it; it is the most repeatable, and the hardest to move. The same job can often be done by a tool from each family — a straight cut by a circular saw on a guide, a benchtop table saw or a cabinet saw — so choosing a family is about the size of your work and your space as much as the job.

The tools and what each is for

Common woodworking power tools by family
Tool	Family	What it does	Specifications that describe it	Its guide
Drill-driver	Handheld	Drills holes and drives screws	Chuck size, clutch, speed ranges, battery platform	Drills
Impact driver	Handheld	Drives screws and bolts with rotary impacts	Bit holder, torque, speed	Impact drivers
Circular saw	Handheld	Straight cuts in boards and sheets	Blade diameter, cutting depth, bevel range	Circular saws
Track saw	Handheld	Straight, clean cuts along a guide rail	Cutting depth, rail length, plunge action	Track saws
Router	Handheld or in a table	Edges, grooves, dadoes and joinery	Collet size, power, fixed or plunge base	Routers
Random-orbit sander	Handheld	Smooths flat surfaces	Pad size, orbit diameter, dust extraction	Random-orbit sanders
Mitre saw	Benchtop	Crosscuts and angled cuts to length	Blade diameter, crosscut capacity, slide or fixed	Mitre saws
Table saw	Benchtop or stationary	Rips, crosscuts and sheet cuts on a table	Blade size, rip capacity, riving knife, fence	Table saws
Band saw	Benchtop or stationary	Curves and resawing	Throat width, resaw height, blade length	Band saws
Thickness planer	Benchtop or stationary	Brings boards to an even thickness	Width capacity, depth of cut, cutterhead	Planers
Jointer	Benchtop or stationary	Flattens a face and squares an edge	Bed length, width, fence	Jointers
Drill press	Benchtop or stationary	Holes square to the table, to a set depth	Swing, quill travel, speed range	Drill presses
Lathe	Benchtop or stationary	Turns spindles and bowls	Swing, distance between centres, spindle thread	Lathes
Dust collector	Stationary or mobile	Captures chips and dust at the machine	Airflow, port size, filtration	Dust collectors

BenchRoot's summary. Each guide explains what its specifications mean; the maker's manual gives the figures for one model.

How power tools are powered

OSHA's hand and power tool booklet classes power tools by power source: electric, pneumatic, liquid fuel, hydraulic and powder-actuated. Woodworking tools are almost all electric, with compressed air for nailers and staplers.

Corded. OSHA's booklet says an electric tool needs a three-wire grounded cord in a grounded receptacle, double insulation, or a low-voltage isolation transformer, and that a tool is never carried by its cord.
Cordless. A battery tool belongs to its maker's battery system. DEWALT's drill manual, typical of such manuals, says to recharge only with the charger the manufacturer specifies and to use only the battery packs designated for the tool, because others can create a risk of fire or injury.
Air. Pneumatic tools need a compressor and hose; their pressure and fittings come from the tool's manual.

Rules common to every power tool

OSHA's booklet sets out precautions that hold for any power tool: guards and safety switches stay fitted; the tool is disconnected before servicing and before changing blades, bits or cutters; the work is secured with clamps or a vise so both hands are free; a plugged-in tool is not carried with a finger on the switch; and the manual is followed for setup and accessories. For workplaces, OSHA's standard requires portable saws to have guards above and below the base plate, the lower one returning automatically, and a switch that stops the saw when released. Shop-wide practice is in woodworking safety rules, and eye, hearing and breathing protection in woodworking safety equipment.

Where to go from here

Which tools to own first is answered by woodworking tools for beginners, which starts from the work rather than a list.
How to judge one model against another by its documented specifications is in choosing quality woodworking tools.
What to build with a given tool is mapped in woodworking projects by tool.
Hand tools, which still fit and finish most joints, are mapped in the hand tools guide.

Safety— Read the manual first

Every power tool's manual sets its own guards, accessories and limits; read it before the first cut. See woodworking safety rules.

Before using a new power tool

6 checks

Its manual read, including guards and accessories
Corded: a grounded cord or double insulation, and the cord undamaged
Cordless: only the maker's designated batteries and charger
Guards and switches fitted and working
Work clamped so both hands are free
Power disconnected before any blade, bit or cutter change

Sources

The three families and the table of uses are BenchRoot's synthesis; the specifications named are the ones each tool's own BenchRoot guide explains, without values. OSHA's booklet and standard are cited as workplace rules and good practice. No product is recommended or ranked.

1.
Hand and Power Tools (OSHA 3080). Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002.
Used for: Power tools classed by power source — electric, pneumatic, liquid fuel, hydraulic and powder-actuated; tools fitted with guards and safety switches; electric tools with a three-wire grounded cord, double insulation or a low-voltage isolation transformer; never carrying a tool by the cord; disconnecting before servicing and changing blades, bits and cutters; securing work with clamps or a vise; avoiding accidental starting; following the manual.
2.
29 CFR 1910.243, Guarding of portable powered tools (Code of Federal Regulations text). U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration; published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2024.
Used for: Workplace rules for portable power-driven saws: guards above and below the base plate, the lower guard returning automatically, and a constant-pressure switch.
3.
DCD777 Cordless Drill/Driver instruction manual (English). DEWALT.
Used for: One cordless tool maker's rules: recharge only with the charger the manufacturer specifies, and use the tool only with specifically designated battery packs, because other packs or chargers can create a risk of fire or injury.

About this guide

Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.