New Shop with questions

Hi all;

We just bought a new house with a 20 x 30 detached shop, that has the following Craftsman tools:

10" Table Saw (113.298843) 6 1/8" Jointer/Planer (351.227240) 10" Compound Miter Saw (315.212100) 15" Drill Press (113.213151) 12" Band Saw - 2 Speed (113.248321) 6" Grinder (319.190622) Sander/Grinder (351.226760)

It also has a Craftsman Whole Shop Dust Collector (9-29964) attached to a Craftsman 16 gallon shop vac (113.177060)

So, I am as happy as can be :)

There is also lots of room for my father's 10" Radial Arm Saw (113.29461) that he is giving me.

Now for the questions

1) Should this be a gloat? (grin)

2) I seem to recall from my days as a lurker that there could be a problem with static electricity and basically home built DC's - would this system need grounding? (As far as I recall, this involves running a bare wire down the DC's tubes?

3) Does anyone else have this table saw, and if so, have you updated the fence, or does it work fine for a beginning woodworker?

4) The front rail on the table saw is wider than the rear rail - did the previous owner forget something, or is this normal?

I will probably have many more questions, but I think we can leave it here for now.

Reply to
Karl Mitschke
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Sure. Go for it. A new shop (especially 600 ft^2), even with crapsman tools is better than no shop.

No.

Had one similar to it. Upgrade the fence. Take a look at the Vega or HTC (Bies clones for a little less money). Also check out the Biesemeyer website

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and look at the scratch-n-dent section (I can't remember exactly what it's called, but you get the idea).

Are you talking fence rail or are you talking about the amount of cast iron before and after the blade? The fence rail question would be moot once you've followed the instructions in (3) above.

If the table saw is the ubiquitous sears table saw from the '50s through the '90s, the table (minus side extensions) measures about 27" deep, and is a monolithic block of cast iron. Nothing to bolt on or leave off.

If your saw isn't of that variety, please ignore the foregoing.

Reply to
LRod

No. Technically it's a neener. Which is not to say that you are not justified to be tickled pink with a new shop.

No. Explosions of home shop dust systems are an urban myth.

I had one. I found that an upgrade to a Vega fence was a worthwhile investment. But use what you have for a while and see how it works with your skill level and project needs

I don't recall how if there was a difference. If the fence locks in place, then it's fine.

-Steve

Reply to
Stephen M

You know, Elrod, I'm resisting the urge to overreact here. Here we have Karl posting to share his excitement and good fortune in a way (gloat or neener) that is generally accepted and encouraged, and you sieze the opportunity to call everything in his shop "crap". Was that really your intent? Did I miss the subtle humor?

Tom

Reply to
tom_murphy

Regarding #4, I think this is normal if your fence is at all shaped like an upside-down T. Slide your fence to the extreme right or left, and I think you'll have an 'A ha!' moment :)

Reply to
John Girouard

Well, I thought I included enough good information for him that a little wreck phraseology wouldn't hurt. I will say that having had each of those tools (with the exception of the miter saw and the sander; you can verify that on my webpage) plus others, I can speak with some authority, and much of that experience does not rule out the appellation.

So, Karl, if you took offense at my paraphrasing of the brand name of your shop tools, as is the custom here at the wreck, I apologize. Actually, I apologize whether you took offense or not.

Except that the fence on the saw (if it's like mine was) is crap, no matter how anyone feels about it.

Reply to
LRod
2) Oh no!!! Not the dreaded DC question again. I'm afraid you ask this question at you own risk.

1) I think you should gloat, grin, neener and HAAAA! Congradulations.

Any chance you'd like to adopt. I have a tool dowry.

Reply to
rickluce

I am NOT going to comment on the machines... You will learn soon enough which will satisfy you...But at leats you have a GREAT jump start into the owwdworking hobby....

I wanted to comment on that shop vac Dust Collection Sytstem... I think it is the small 1 3/4 or 2 inch tubes with small plastic blast gates... Not sure... But if it is...you got a good central vac system . and a pretty darn poor Dust collection system...

I run 2 Dust collectors in my shop... a small 1 HP Penn State unit and a 2 Hp Grizz unit...

PLUS I have that Sears System .. which I have running around the walls and straight down the center of my ceiling with branches with drops... . This was installed as a vaccuming system..not as a dust collector... and as such it works great...I can pick up a single 8 foot hose and reach every square inch of my shop without dragging the shop vac a single inch...and the vac is enclosed in a box which keeps the noise down ...

BUT as a DUST Collection system... it is honestly about as useful as a very dull saw blade....yea it does something but it does not do it well ... I tested it against both my real DC's and while it does "suck" better ..it sure does not move much air ...dust particles are floating around an inch from the pick up point and are not removed from the air...

My other comment is that IF I were to sell my house I honestly beilieve I would sell my shop "complete" rather then try to transport my machines and set up shop again...easier just to start from scratch and do it my "revised" way... Never thought about giveing a young guy a head start in woodworking...

Bob G.

Reply to
Bob G.

Karl Regardless whether it's a "neener" or "gloat", YOU SUCK!! :))

A detached shop....nice - ENJOY!!

Nick B

Reply to
Nick Bozovich

Hi Karl,

Regarding the fence being wider at the front than the back, my mid-90s craftsman is the same way. For some reason, they made them with about a 5' wide fence on the front and only about a 4' one on the back. It doesn't make any sense to me since the fence has to lock on both the front and back rail so you can only go out as far as the back fence. I'm still using the stock fence and it works OK for me (not great but OK). My only real complaint about this saw is the splitter constantly comes loose and binds up.

Lance

Reply to
Lance Spaulding

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