Interesting:
My first table saw..... skill saw ( craftsman ) mounted up side down in an open end box. Built an adjustable box around the top to act as both guard and fence. Pushed the wood through using a push stick. Even then I knew better than to stick my fingers in there.
My first plane: a full 4" x 4" x 24" block of wood cut off from a stair project by a carpenter I knew. Applied 2 sheets of 36 grit sand paper to the bottom and sides of the block and two handles to the top of the block. Placed a 20lb weight in between the handles for coarse removal. Sanded/planed a 6 ft work bench that way as well as a couple of toy chest tops. Worked up a sweat, but I was young, broke, newly married, and it did the job.
My first router table/ shaper: Craftsman Router mounted upside down on a piece of 3/4" scrap plywood with a 1 x 4 fence clamped to the top.
In the words of an excellent craftsman I once knew. Having the right tool for the job is nice, but " You just have to learn to make due"
Now I wonder what I would do with out the toys I have. spoiled, no doubt.
It's easy to forget where most of us started. I remember my first project was an aquarium stand I built with 3 hand me downs: an cheap B&D circular saw that my dad had severed the cord on and repaired with electrical tape, a 1/4" corded non-reversible Homecraft drill and a B&D jigsaw. The drill and jigsaw were so old they had steel housings. (I still have all of them for some reason too) That aquarium stand served its purpose and started me down the slope.
The shop looks a lot different after 15 years of tool accumulation (12 of which we had dual incomes and no kids - so those were particularly fruitful).
There's a big difference between hobbyists like us vs the chap who just needs to bang some Pinterest garbage out to get his wife to shut up.
I agree with the sharpenin' or takin' ya up on a different blade. I started out in a small room in our basement, when I was home. With the meager tools I had. My first ts was a highly used, grossly abused bench top saw. A cheap drill, & a tape measure. But I didn't have a kindly neighbor to offer the use of his tools, or willing to give advice. I learned it a piece at a time by readin', research, readin', & doin'. And lots of customized fire wood.
When I was about 6 my dad put an addition on our house, I remember watching him on the gas stove heating up a brad with the head cut off, chucked up in an egg beater hand drill to drill holes in the oak interior trim so it would not split when he nailed it on.
I would love to own the top of the line woodworking equipment but for now I know the "quirks" of my 30 year old table saw (hand-me-down from my Dad) and I think it's better for me to learn the hard way to do it so I appreciate the projects I spit out even more than if I was using better equipment. It may take me longer to build things but I'm in no hurry. I've learned doing photography that what someone likes is subjective and there's no use trying to change their mind unless they ask.
There are two things about this guy:
1-cheap tools. We can all agree that this can work fine.
2-not sharp. This is dangerous and a waste of time and effort. If he is too proud to use other tools, then just demonstrate sharp to him.
Maybe the blade is running backwards to the feed??
Nice tools is nice. Doesnt mean they have to be expensive. Average age of the work horse tools in my shop is 40 to 50 years. They built good solid machines back then that last and last. It does seem it was easier to find those tools 10 years ago than it is today though.
Speaking of nice tools, today I had the "opportunity" to use a DeWalt random orbit sander. I was away from home helping someone with a project. I had used a DeWalt ROS for many years and was quite happy with it. Not too long ago I bought a Mirka Ceros 5" ROS as a treat. It was expensive but I do a lot of sanding on projects so I thought, why not get a really good sander.
The switch from the Mirka to my friends DeWalt really brought home the difference. I got so used to the Mirka that the DeWalt felt like using a stone hammer by comparison. Both sanders will get wood to the desired smoothness but the Mirka is a pleasure to use while the DeWalt feels more like punishment. No question, I'm spoiled but I like it that way!
At the end of the day, what is nice is to have expendable income, so that if we choose to we can buy nice tools
I remember leaner years when they seemed to exist only on a distant planet.