Was in OSH today and saw a Craftsman router table WITH the router for $99!! Looks like pure junk, made you know where of course. Could this possibly be a safe, useable, capable tool? Could it last more then two weeks? Maybe it was a dream I had last night, woke up screaming. Say it ain’t so Joe. Next there will be an 18″ band saw for $199, all plastic other than the blade and motor.
KDM
“… Buy the best and only cry once………
Replies
dukeone,
One of my customers bought a similar tool, a cheap shaper from grizzly expcting to use it on this one job and no more, it's now well over two years old used on nearly every job and accepted.. (please note I didn't say liked.. If you have ever used a big shaper this thing is a pure POS compared. However it's light and easy to bring inside a home and use. with care he can get acceptable use out of it. His used router bits rather than shapper cutters.
This guy is diferant, he builds multimillion dollar high end homes. His tablesaw is a cheap off brand tabletop with an expensive set of blades that I'm sure cost three to four times what the saw cost more than a decade ago. It sits on a beautiful custom cabinet that holds the saw and all the accesssories. I mean someone should put this in one of the magazine articles. It's that nice, dovetaild corners with contrasting black walnut and maple . The workmanship really just screams at you.
The cheap table top shaper and expensive bits, his hand planes are all Lie Nelson's. all of his tools are this strange combination of ultra cheap and ultra fine.
nothing about his work is cheap or shoddy...
Frenchy: I'm still a beginner in woodworking but spent my working life in industry (electrician) where everything was heavy duty. I'm sure if my W.W. skill level was up there with my skills as an electrician I'd be able to do journeyman level work with lesser tools but I just have a visceral reaction to "junk" tools. Interesting that your costumer gets by with such tools but his hand tools and blades etc. are all first class. There must be a lesson in that. KDM"... Buy the best and only cry once.........
dukeone,
His idea is that good quailty steel is critical on cutting tools the rest is just window dressing. For example his fence is a big aluminum chunk of angle about 12 feet long. he clamps it in place rather than tries to use the fence that came with the saw.. He's got a whole collection of spacers that combined add up to 12 inches. Wider than that he just measures and sets that chunk of Aluminum where he wants it..
Many ways to skin a cat...."... Buy the best and only cry once.........
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