Reddit mentions of Oshlun MTM-CS 12-Inch Combination Square Set

Here's what I would buy if I were equipping my garage workshop on a budget from scratch today:

• Table Saw - Unless you go for hand tools, this is the absolute core of your shop. Do not buy a new saw for less money than this under any circumstances, because it's false economy and you'll soon outgrow it. You may wish to buy a cheaper used model, in which case you should shop for a Craftsman 113 (aim for a belt drive rather than direct drive) on Craigslist. Spend up to $150 and plan to build or buy a better fence in the first year, which will bring you up to roughly the same capability as the new saws.
  
• Drill and Driver - You need a drill anyway. Everyone does. This is nothing fancy, but it's a tolerable set that should last a hobbyist quite a while, and both batteries and extra tools are cheap. Grab a set of drill bits and a few impact-rated screwdriver bits, or a fancy combo set of both.
  
• Miter Saw - Indispensable for cutting long pieces. You may eventually wish to get a big 12" sliding monstrosity to make wider pieces easier to work with, but you can also do that with a table saw. I suggest an inexpensive variant of the most basic type of miter saw to start, so you've got a good foundation to work from but don't have a ton of sunk cost if you upgrade later.
  
• Circular Saw - You'll use this for breaking down sheets of plywood bigger than your table saw can handle. You can also use it as a stand-in for the table saw for the first few projects. I'm recommending a lightweight cordless model for convenience during these simple, short tasks, but if you work with thick materials you may eventually want a powerful corded one as well - I've got a cordless and then a monstrous 15-lb worm drive saw for heavy duty use. If you just want to split the difference right off the bat and have one tool that's okay for everything and not great at anything, get a basic corded one.
  
• Jigsaw - For cutting curves and small notches. Make sure you get one with orbital motion, but other than that you can go pretty cheap on this because you won't use it that often. However, buy top-of-the-line blades; I really like Bosch blades.
  
• Router - This is a very capable middle-of-the-road router. You'll eventually want to add a plunge base, and might add a lightweight trim router to make edge profiles more easily. You can get accessories to expand on this, or you can eventually dedicate it to a router table and buy new for those other things - the variable speed motor on this is ideal for table use.
  
• Sander - This is the most general-purpose sort of sander, although it's a little on the aggressive side for final sanding. Just hand-sand where you need more finesse until you know what other sanders you might want.
  
• Combination Square - Use this for laying out cuts and holes and stuff.
  
• Speed Square - That blue book will show you tons of neat tricks with this square. Mostly you're going to use it as a short guide for the circular saw, though.
  
• Tape Measure
  
  Edit: Looks like that's about $1,100.00 depending on your local tax rate and how much of it you can slip past untaxed. That's steeper than I expected, but it's also an entire barebones shop for less money than the table saw I really want.

In addition to saftey goggles, Allen wrenches, an edge finder and indicator, a square set like this.

Very useful if you ever need to set things at an angle. I would try to find a better set, but thats the general idea.