Need tips on running 230 in detached garage
I would not hesitate to run EMT conduit the whole way, and for a very good reason: Alterability given that the wood shop is a finished space. 

You're in a wood shop.  You have things arranged the way you'd like now, but you may decide later you'd like to rearrange, or add something else.  Add a circuit? Pop the covers off, pull 2 wires, punch em down, badabing.  

And I like EMT conduit because over on the unfinished side, it provides physical protection without question.  Sched 40 PVC is limited in its ability to provide physical protection.  

Also, if you're drilling holes through joists to accommodate the wire or conduit, EMT lets you get the most through the smallest hole - up to 4 circuits in a 1/2" EMT pipe.  With wood shop tools that even allows a couple of 30A/#10 tools.  

I think 12 AWG is a good idea. I own 11 colors of stranded 12 AWG (just found blue-red at the Habitat for Humanity store) and none of 14 AWG. I need the colors for circuit disambiguation, much much much more than I need to save small coin on my few circuits that can be 15A.

There is one circumstance where you can put #14 on a 20A breaker (or #12 on a 30A) - but this is not a case of undersizing wire (you'd never do that). For certain motors, you are allowed to use the correct and proper size of wire for the motor, then up the breaker to avoid startup trips. To qualify for this, certain motor calculations are required.