My new tools

[Mike W.]

Im sure this isn't a gloat since I didnt come by any of it luckily or for bargain basement prices, but I feel good about it anyways.

The tax man and bonus man were good to me and my wife this year and I decided to make a decent tool committment so I could start making some serious sawdust. I have spent (or will have by the end of tomorrow) a pretty good chunk of change on some new tools. Here are the tools Im picking up tomorrow:

Ridgid 6 1/8 In. Stationary Joiner -

22114 Table Saw - SD208 8" Stacked Dado

And these are in the mail:

Forrest WoodWorker II 10" Saw Blade -

12" rule set - Base, Dial Indicator, Caliper Combo pk to help with saw adjustments - a few other odds and ends tools I've been meaning to buy.

I'm also going to get a Dust Collection system for my basement shop as soon as I decide between the Delta AP400 and the Harbor Freight 2HP model. I will be throwing a review of each of the tools on my up and coming website when I get to work with them some.

If anyone has any of these and has any pointers about them or 'gotchas' to watch out for I'd appreciate hearing from you. SWMBO has commissioned me to build a furniture quality cabinet for her scrapbooking supplies so Im gonna have to master the new tools pretty quickly.

Thanks. Mike

[B a r r y]

May they all work safely and satisfactorily for you.

Have fun!

Barry

[David Lankford]

Mike,

Have fun with your new tools, but take the time to learn to properly adjust them as it will improve your woodworking and your enjoyment of the tools.

David

[loutent]

Hi Mike,

Cool - it's really exciting to get some decent tools to work with. I recently upgraded to a new TS, so the feeling is fresh in my mind.

You will use the TS more than anything else, so like others have said, take a few days to tweak it to "perfection". It will save time in the long run.

Although I have a couple good Freud blades including their SD508 (which is great), I would like to get the WWII someday soon. Another great blade to have in your arsenal is a melamine/plywood blade - again, I have the Freud. Eliminates tearout.

The DC is a real good idea too - makes it more fun to work without having sawdust all over the place, especially if you work in a basement shop (as I do). Another model for your consideration might be the Penn-State models (I have the DC-10) which services 5 blast gates with no problems. Around $200 IIRC.

Anyhow, enjoy, have fun & be safe (don't work with power tools when you're tired!)

Lou

[Steve Knight]

[Doug]

Be careful about knocking the new line of Craftsman table saws. They've gotten excellent reviews in at least 2 mags. lately, and great reviews from post sites from their owners. I want the new hybrid model myself!

Steve Knight wrote:

instructions.

[Mike W.]

Got the 22114 home. Called a buddy to come over to help get it out of the truck, into the house, down the stairs, and into the basement shop.... wish I would have called 2 buddies. After freezing outside getting everything I could get out of the packaging on my own and breaking my back getting this sucker into the shop I'm happy.

I realize that some folks (hint Steve K.) are not fond of Craftsman so I wont take it personally. :-) 6 months ago I wouldn't have even thought of buying a Craftsman, but after all of the positive things I have read and seeing the saws I thought long and hard about it. I was really close to buying one of two others... the General International 50-185 and the Ridgid TS3650. I'm sure I would have been very happy with either... especially the General. The General would have required a 105 mile drive, and a definite blade purchase (which I did anyways, but like having the 'cheaper' one for free to use on crapwood). There was more than one time that if a HD 'salesperson' would have talked to me to discuss a discount I would have probably had one of them in the back of my truck. Im glad I didnt buy one, though. I kept hearing about arbor issues and a wobbly base - both of which could be fixed, but I wasnt digging the thought of fixing something before I even used it. And, to be honest, I like the hybrid style of the Craftsman. It suites the home shop pretty well. So Im not apologetic about buying it. I'll let you know if I still feel this way after I finish assembling it and get to making sawdust.

Thanks.

> Freud SD208 8" Stacked Dado

[Steve Knight]

Ya I just fawn over reviews. I wonder who pays those advertising bills???? time will tell.

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:56:06 -0800, the inscrutable Steve Knight spake:

Yeah, and isn't putting a Forrest blade on a Crapsman saur considered HERESY? One can taunt the WW gods only so far.

[Bob G.]

===============

I still own a few older "Craftsman" Machines...and have over the years tossed my share of "Crapsman" machines in the dump ...and I do share Steve Knights opinion of any machine the was made after 1970-75 ..

BUT there may be some hope..... Just sems to me that maybe just maybe some bright MBA sitting in the corporate office realized that Sears has stores located so close to a bi-zillion customers that selling a "new" machine that was comparable in quality to the Major brands may just over time (do MBA's think in years or ficial year quarters) become a profit center...

As it is now when I look in the for sale section of the paper I do not even stop one milisecond IF I see the word Craftsman in the ad...

Bob Griffiths

Bob Griffiths

[Mike W.]

Oh well. Let the taunting begin.

:-)

[Patriarch]

"Mike W." wrote in news:8iuRd.33962$ [e-mail]:

Larry's role in life is to help us see the absurdity of some of our strongly held opinions.

One of my strongly held opinions is that God has a well-developed sense of humour.

Enjoy your new saw. Put whatever color of sawblade in it that you choose. Just don't be posting any kickback or accident stories here!

Patriarch

[Mike W.]

me thinks I don't have enough money to keep up with you.

Hopefully over the next half century I can replace these lower echelon tools one by one for the tools that you big guys use, but for now I'm hoping they do well for me.

Mike

[Mike W.]

Thanks....

But if I do get injured with kickback wouldnt it be (hopefully not 'wont it be) just stupidity on my part? Couldnt I still get stupidity credit for it instead of blaming it on the saw? Do the more expensive saws have some sort of anti-kickback Karma that I didnt consider as one of my qualifications? :-) lol

Seriously though, I know, as well as anyone who has purchased anything less than a 'unisaur', that I didnt get top-of-the-line. I just think top-of-the-line for me is different than top-of-the-line for others. I mean, I didnt go buy a Ford F250 diesel, dually because I wouldnt be doing anything where I needed it... sure, it would haul the heck out of the 4 sheets of 3/4" oak ply I might be hauling without even sputtering, but an S-10 will too. It seems the same on the saws. I wouldnt spend $1400 on a saw just because its the best saw... I dont need the best. I just need one that will do what I need for a good long while.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Thanks.

[DL]

I have always been a believer of buy the best you can, and you only have to buy once, but that's easier said than done. My next tablesaw (in the next 6-9 months) will be a 5HP Powermatic Model 66, but 10 years ago when I bought my current tablesaw, that wasn't even a remote option. The 1.5 HP Grizzly contractors saw I have has cut a ton of wood for me. I put the Forrest Woodworker II on it and the turned steel pulley's with link belt. Is it as accurate, easy to use, and powerful as I want in a saw, well no, but it also hasn't stopped me from doing a lot of woodworking.

Seems to me that it would be much worse not being able to do any woodworking at all waiting on a supreme machine. Looks like you investigated and bought the best you can afford and are comfortable with. Now the learning and fun begins.

Enjoy,

David

[Patriarch]

"Mike W." wrote in news:6YwRd.33994$ [e-mail]:

Speaking as one who bought a Unisaur two years ago, I KNOW the line goes further up. But I chose what I wanted, spent my bonus money, with my wife's approval, and am happy with the saw. I hope you're happy with your purchases as well.

Regarding the accident - two things:

1) Please try your best not to have one 2) Please try your best not to make a bloody big deal about it here, unless there is a learning to be had, should one happen. It only encourages everyone to tell of the time when someone they knew/heard about/are did something dangerous/stupid/life threatening/fatal. I donwannahearaboudit.

Patriarch, whose weekend seems to be replacing the master bath shower, from the floor joists up. Joy.

[Silvan]

One of these days I'm going to put a WWII on my Crapsman saur.

[Steve Knight]

I still only have my jet contractors saw. it is about 10 years old. with the right blade a forrest woodworker II it rips 8/4 tropicals just fine. though I bet if I cut domestic woods it may drive me nuts (G)

[Larry Jaques]

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 22:49:40 GMT, the inscrutable "Mike W." spake:

So solly.

Those of us who were bled and screwed by Searz, Inc. don't soon forget it. And others who have purchased Crapsman WW tools have horror stories, too, including the infamous ARHA feature on their routahs. Do a Google search on the subject if you want an eye-opener, Mike.

(AHRA = Automatic Random Height Adjuster)

[Mike W.]

I have to say that I'm so far pleased with the saw. I can't speak as if I have been using a Unisaw for ten years, but this saw is waaaaay nicer than any that I've gottent the opportunity to use. That includes some of the mid-range contractors saws. It passed the nickel test on the first try. It operates very smoothly. The only thing that needed adjusting was the fence. It was a slight amount out of square. I made the proper adjustments and it is awesome now. The deflection that I noted on the display models must have been from poor setup because the one I have is rock solid.

I did notice a ridiculous difference in the tear out of some oak ply between the blade that came with it and the Forrest WWII. I can see already that it was $90 well spent. I haven't put the Freud Dado blade on yet, but that should happen some evening this week.

I built 2 sleds, one for true-ing up edges and a large panel sled. I noticed (a little late) that what I thought was 'square and plumb' on some S4S from the borg wasn't actually square and plumb... so I'll be doing a little redo-ing after I get the jointer out of the box and setup. I used the s4s for the fence on the large panel sled... so everything I cut with it is just a smidge off. I will fix it after milling a true fence.

All in all, after one weekend, about 10 woodworking hours, I am 110% pleased with my purchases. The 22114 is far better than I expected and I think I will be happy with it for a while and the Delta AP400 dust collector does an excellent job of keeping the shop clean.

Thanks.

> Freud SD208 8" Stacked Dado