With all woodworking projects you will need to get your timber roughly to the right size first, then fine-tune it to the exact dimensions, and finally smooth it to the finish that you want. So you will start by sawing the wood, the plan it down and finally sand it to get the finished product.
Now it will come as no surprise to you that there is a power tool available to make each of these tasks faster and easier to complete. So here are the ones that would be my first choice, if I was limited to just three.
Power Sander
1. Band Saw
For sawing your lumber a band saw is a must. You can choose between a horizontal or vertical band saw. The vertical is my weapon of choice, but I know plenty of people that swear by the horizontal. Ultimately it is down to personal choice as they both will do the job. A bandsaw will probably be one of the most versatile tools in your workshop as it can be used for re-sawing, cutting veneers and with practise can be used to shape joints also for curved and angled cuts.
2. Power Planer
A power planer works in the same way as a hand plane, only a hundred times quicker. Instead of using a single blade, the power planer has multiple blades on a cylinder that spins at high speed and planes to the set depth. Once you have experienced one you will wonder why you ever used the same type of hand plane that your grandfather used and probably his grandfather before him too.
3. Orbital Sander
Having got the timber to the right size, you will want to smooth it down to its final finish. To do this you can use a sander, my personal favourite is a Palm Orbital Sander. As the name suggests, it is small and hand held and allows you to get into all those nooks and crannies that a larger orbital or belt sander would not reach.
Another power tool I would suggest would be a router, but would make 4 tools so I will stop there for now.