Most shops treat power tools as faster hand tools. Faster saws, faster planes, the same job done with less effort and skill. By that logic, the jointer is just a quicker way to get what a hand plane would give you, and the table saw is a hand saw that doesn't get tired.
That framing is wrong, and it's the source of most of the confusion about when to use what.
Power tools and hand tools don't compete. They have different jobs. The moment you understand what those jobs actually are, the whole shop starts to make sense.
Power tools are dimensioning infrastructure. Their job is to take rough lumber and get it flat, square, parallel, and to dimension — the state that hand tools assume when precision begins. That's it. That's the whole job description.
The sequence goes: jointer first, then planer, then table saw.
The jointer flattens one face. Mark it before it leaves the machine. That face is your reference for everything that follows. The planer then runs that jointed face down against the bed and produces a second face parallel to the first. Now you have consistent thickness across the board's length. Then the jointer again, this time for one edge, with the reference face against the fence — which must be square to the table, or the error goes downstream. The table saw rips the second parallel edge from that.
End of that sequence, you have a piece of dimensioned stock. Both faces flat and parallel. Both edges square and parallel. Thickness and width at what you need.
This is called the Three-Square sequence because most people learn it that way, and it works if you understand why the order is non-negotiable. The planer cannot flatten a cupped or twisted board. It references against its own tables and mills the top face parallel to whatever the bottom is doing. If the bottom is cupped, you get a cupped board at thinner dimension. The jointer goes first. Every time.
The table saw is the governing tool in a small shop. It makes more cuts than anything else — every rip, every crosscut, every rabbet, every groove. Which means its setup errors multiply.
Two variables matter: fence parallelism to the blade, and blade square to the table. A fence that isn't parallel causes the cut to drift. That's how kickback starts, or how you get widths that aren't what you dialed. A blade that's out of square produces beveled edges on stock that should be square, and that error lives in every joint built from it.
Neither error is obvious on one cut. Both compound over a full project. A fence 1/16" off and a blade half a degree out of true will produce joints that don't close and panels that don't lie flat. Check both at the start of any session with critical dimensions. Three minutes. Worth it every time.
The bandsaw does what the table saw can't: resawing through a board's thickness, and curves. Resawing is the high-value operation — split a 4/4 board and you have bookmatched panels with grain that mirrors across the glue line. Or thin stock for drawer bottoms. The bandsaw also doesn't burn the cut face the way a table saw can. A sharp blade at the right feed rate leaves a surface that's glueable. A table saw rip with a hesitant feed doesn't.
Here's the principle that governs the handoff: get within 1/32" of the line with power tools. Get to the line with hand tools.
A well-tuned table saw or jointer is accurate to about ±0.005–0.010". A hand plane or router plane is accurate to ±0.001–0.002" in steady hands. Joinery requires the finer number.
More importantly, power tools reference against the machine. Hand tools reference against the workpiece. A router plane sets depth from the wood's face. A shoulder plane fits a tenon to the actual mortise. That ability to reference against the piece itself — not a preset fence or depth stop — is what fitting is. Power tools can't do it. They're not supposed to.
The transition point is when the work shifts from preparation to fitting. Three-Square sequence complete, rips and crosscuts done, stock at dimension. Everything after that is hand tools.
One BC shop detail worth noting: if your shop has been cold overnight and you've just fired up the heat, give the cast iron tables time to reach working temperature before you start. Metal that's been warming while you work may have shifted setup slightly. Twenty or thirty minutes after the heat goes on is enough. Wipe the tables dry if there's any condensation — cold cast iron in a warming shop can get damp, and damp cast iron is a flash rust risk. Paste wax on the tables regularly keeps moisture off and helps stock slide cleanly. Any decent paste floor wax works.
Knowing where power tools end is what makes you fast. A table saw can't fit a tenon. A jointer can't flush a panel joint. These aren't limitations; they're just the boundary. Work to the boundary with machines. Work past it with your hands. That's the whole system.