What machine tool to help me best?

[GrinAndBearIt]

Thanks ... yup, think I might wait on the nail gun. Anyway, thinking about it, I find it quite therapeutic smacking a few nails in by hand now & again ...

Good tip re: extraction - hadn't thought of that. We have a central vacuum system, very powerful, so hopefully might be able to link that up somehow to that kit.

 

[EightyTwo]

I bought a big(ish) 2nd hand extractor off eBay for about £50. It was brilliant until the mice over-wintered in the bag!

I don't know how well your built-in vacuum will handle sawdust before the filter gets clogged. The Triton bucket works pretty well at separating the dust before it reaches the vacuum but you can now buy cyclones that you fit on a tin and they look pretty neat... search the "Your Projects" forum and eBay for "Dust Commander".

A good set of ear defenders or ear plugs are worthwhile if you're doing a lot of sawing, especially indoors. A couple of hours in that sort of noise level leaves you feeling like a rung out dishrag (and it's not good for you, either!). And a decent dust mask if you're sawing MDF - the dust is toxic.

It's a shame you live so far away - I could have given you a demonstration!