I Need advice on tool purchases

[Nova]

A jointer will give you a straight edge to put against the fence to start with. Ripping on the table saw will then give a uniform width.

[Lew Hodgett]

Don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket.

Buy as the need arises.

1) Invest in a good set of 10" saw blades(24T rip, 50T combo, & 80T finish)

2) Build jigs. Buy a couple of sheets of 9 ply(1/2") & 13 ply(3/4"), then build some sleds, if you don't have them.

3) An 8" Dado set. It gets more use than you imagine.

4) A bench top planer. (there are work arounds for a jointer, but not a planer).

5) A good ROS, I have a Bosch 3727 and wouldn't leave home without it.

6) A Fein Multimaster. The damn thing is VERY addictive.

7) A 3 HP router suitable for permanent table mounting.

8) Clamps, clamps, clamps.

Of all the things above, having material on hand to build a quick jig will save your rear end more times than everything else above, IMHO.

Have fun.

Lew

[NoOne N Particular]

I am not offering any advice here, but merely asking a kind of follow-up question. Several people have mentioned the planer and while not necessarily recommending one they have talked about it usefulness. But it seems to me that since Andy has mentioned things like cabinet work, furniture, and blanket chests that one of those drum sanders could prove to be very useful. I have not built large pieces like that, but I have built smaller projects that made me think how sweet one of those things could be. I also think that if I had a lot of good wood that needed to "planed" that a drum sander would be preferred to a planer. especially if the wood had some sort of figure that may chip out during planing.

The two negatives that I see to this are that the sanders are a tad pricey and dust collection would not be an option. It is also more money than Andy said he had to spend, but I'm sure his arm could be twisted enough to stretch the old budget a little. :-)

Wayne

[Leon]

Well if you are in a confined area an air cleaner or collector is a must. I have been able to use a 7' x16' door and a fan at my back to take care of dust. ;~)

[Leon]

That sucks. ;~) Mind got one of those clear plastic storage drawers. I'm just waiting for the day I suck up the remote control.

[Leon]

[Leon]

Good observation however for general planing the drum sander is going to be way expensive as the sand paper will not last as long as the knives will stay sharp. The sander will be very slow by comparison and many many passes are necessary to remove typical amounts of wood and the passes are about half the speed when going fast, as a planer goes on slow. That said, a drum sander is a great tool to use after the planer for reasons you have mentioned about tear out and if you make a lot of your own veneer. As you pointed out, the drum sanders are pricey but about the same price as a similar sized planer. My 22/44 sander was about the same price as my 15 stationary Delta planer. Unless I was working strictly with small stock for small projects I would not consider a drum sander over a planer.

[Tanus]

I think that's the best piece of advice I've seen on this topic.

When I started thinking about seriously getting into the hobby, I set up a wish list at a few stores, including Lee Valley. It was tough with LV especially because there were so many things in their catalog I felt I needed and didn't want a behemoth wish list. Even with my pared down list, I found that as time went on, the original "must haves" were eliminated and replaced with other things that looked more applicable to the things I was doing and my skill level, which changed my perspective considerably.

In the last few years, I don't think I've bought anything that I haven't used, but each item has been on the list for a long time, waiting for the real "need:" for it and available cash.

[Andy H]

What did it cost you to build this air cleaner? Ive been looking at building one of them for some time. Where do you get the squirrel cage blower?

By the way, Im leaning toward a triton router, forrest blade, PC brad nailer and Dewalt planer. I think these would all be put to use fairly quickly.

Thanks, BadAndy

[Andy H]

Lew Hodgett wrote: Snip

On the list

On the "later" list I have one, not too thrilled with it though

On the list (well a 2-1/4 HP anyway)

I have a couple, will buy as needed.

That is pretty good advice! There have been many times when I didnt build something because I didnt have the materials on hand to make a jig.

Thanks so much for everyone's feedback!

[B A R R Y]

Yup!

The jointer will straighten the edge that goes against the TS fence, as well as set the edge to a perfect angle referenced from a face. If the edge riding against the TS fence has a curve, or the board has a bow or crook, the edge you'll get off the blade will be less accurate.

Also, properly prepared stock is far less likely to kick back.

A jointer will also flatten a face.

[J. Clarke]

You might want to take a look at the Ridgid AF2100. 250 cfm for a hundred bucks. While they tend to be denigrated by some of the tool snobs and Borg-bashers, Ridgid stationary tools are actually pretty decent performers for the most part. Replacement filters can be ordered direct from Ridgid for about 32 bucks for the set of 2.

[Puckdropper]

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

*snip*

I've had good luck with HF C clamps. Might as well save some money and buy several there.

Puckdropper

[Renata]

-snip-

Have you tried the Freud Glue-Line blade?

Renata

>

[Leon]

No, no need to.

[Swingman]

"Renata" wrote

I have one, as well as three Forrest blades (WWII's and Chopmaster) and I do like it. I use FGL mostly for ripping thick hardwood stock for making panels.

Although I don't think the cut surface is any better, the Freud Glue-Line Rip does rip thicker hardwood stock more effortlessly than the combination Forrest WWII due to the set of the teeth.

I could live with either one, but if I have to do a lot of ripping I grab the Freud.

[Pat Barber]

You will end up with a "pretty nice" cut "maybe" but it may or may not create a straight board.

A table saw will only create a board with equal distance between sides "if" one side is straight and against the fence during the cut.

Bill wrote:

[Bill]

Thank you for your reply Pat. Barry's explanation explained how subtle things could go wrong. I definitely did not realize how many factors came into play. I may have to get by with my smoothing plane for a while...

[ROYNEU]

Hi Andy,

If you buy your wood finished 2 sides and straight lined you will probably not need a planer or jointer to soon. As soon as need to edge glue boards you really need a jointer. As soon as you buy wood rough or need to thin a piece of wood down to less of a thickness you will likely need a planer. But if you are to give your cabinetry work any shape you will really need a band saw. Now there are work arounds to all of these pieces of equipment but they are all going to slow down your work. Larger pieces of equipment make the process go faster. You have to decide how much you need to speed up each process.

The other part of this is when you start doing this stuff for money the more of the money you keep for yourself the better off you will be. If you are paying the mill to do most of the work it may or may not be financially benefitting. Buying rough lumber and milling it yourself for the original cost of the equipment and the cost of blades and sharpening will likely pay you in the end. All of this is dependent of how much work you do. The cost of the equipment is amoritized over many jobs to justify the cost before it starts paying you. So weigh these thoughts in relationship to the work you expect you will do.

Roy

[Chip Buchholtz]

: Thank you for your reply Pat. Barry's explanation explained how subtle : things could go wrong. I definitely did not realize how many factors came : into play. I may have to get by with my smoothing plane for a while...

You can joint an edge using a router in a router table, or a table saw.

far as I know you can't joint (flatten) a face without a jointer. I >think< I understand why you can't flatten a face on a planer, but I don't understand why they don't make planers that can also flatten a face.

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