Replies

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 27, 2007 08:14pm | #1

   Sorry.. I should have posted this yesterday. It didn't cross my mind at that time...

   I'm outta here headed to the show. The question I may have to answer when I get home is... "What big box in the back of my truck that says SC jointer on the side..... ahhh.. ahhhh.. that's just an empty box that I found out back of the convention center that I was going to use to store a jointer in somewhere down the road if I ever step up from my 6"... 

   Of course it won't work.. I should have married someone less intelligent that is not so saavy! :>)

   Sarge.. jt 

1. 
   BG | Jan 28, 2007 01:30am | #2

   Sarge,
   You bet...I'm marring for money next time. This lady in the living room, chef in the kitchen, etc. etc. ain't helping my mature hobbies...

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 28, 2007 05:10am | #3

   BG...

   I think the events that lead to marriage vary from one to another.. but I somehow have the feeling that once you sign the contract the events become somewhat universal. NO.. you don't need ............... etc., etc..

   But........ on the other hand, if it was on sale and it was a bargain whether you need it or not! ha.. ha...

   I went looking for an upgrade for my 6" jointer. I was focused on the  8" SC with 75" tables, 2 HP and 5 1/2" x 48" fence @ 475 lbs. Very nice jointer. Very nice! That drill press is very nice also with that 6" quill travel. Split head so you can adjust any slop that might develop in quill travel with one screw turn 20 years down the road.

   But as the world turns.......  I may have some explaining to do as the box seems to weight in @ 750 lbs., is 84" inches long (hoping to commission as aircraft carrier USS Steel City for government subsidies), parallelgram bed instead of dove-tail and gibs, 3 HP. And somehow that 8" grew another 4" in the box. Best I can calculate  8" + 4" = well.... whatever! Mystery of life as how these things happen. 

   But I did stick to my guns and get the 5" x 48" fence as originally planned. OK.. so it's the longest on the market and comes on both models. How would I know that in advance? 

   I suppose that my only defense is it was "on sale". Well sort of. Well.. not really but....  Let's just say I was made an offer I couldn't refuse. Yeah.. let's just say that. That's my story and I'm sticking with it! I rest my case!! ha.. ha...

   Regards...

   Sarge.. jt

1. 
   BG | Jan 28, 2007 05:56am | #4

   Sarge,

   Well, it's been nice knowing you...do you have any details on the funeral worked out yet?  Your in big trouble, especially when she finds out you coulda just bought another 6"model and laid them side by side....clean up the middle with a plane. Maybe if you point out the box from the jointer will save her a ton on a casket?

   Congratulations, it sounds great !! Great  offers just don't come around that often..well, they do but not in Jan., on a Saturday, in Atlanta, downtown.

   I'm still waiting on my first jointer. Recently I had the privilege or replacing my muffler along with the catalytic(sp?) converter...$1450 for 18 feet of tubular steel with a bit of ceramic stuck in the middle. Maybe if I get back the old muffler I can salvage a few hand scrapers and I can sharpen something with the ceramic crumbs...sigh!

     PS. "How would I know that in advance?"...not your best argument. Remember, you've studied they tools for years, an expert on the best value..the same way she knows what's best for her family...ahem! lol

   Edited 1/27/2007 10:02 pm ET by BG

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 28, 2007 07:55am | #5

   Well...  maybe I knew in advance but still a 12" @ $3800 is not a reality at the Sarge house-hold. I won't tell you I absolutely couldn't afford it, but I could never justify it. If I were her I would shoot first and ask questions latter if I told her that I got a 12" that is really more than I need on most occasions and paid that much. The $900 was discussed with a throw in of $225 from my 6" Sunhill toward the purchase. And she is aware that I often double pass on the 6" with a home-made bridge attached to the fence for safety and to attain 12".

   But I dropped by the Steel City booth today to stay hello to the folks I have gotten to know and check out the SC 8" that I would have probably purchased as I am very impressed with that 5" X 48" fence. They didn't have one on-hand but would be shipping them to Redmond & Son (their Atlanta distributor) on Monday.

   So what was going to be a 20-30 minute stay turned into a 4 hour stay as  the review I did on that BS didn't fall on blind eyes. Every time someone came up that was interested in a BS I became the "go to man" as I know the saw's features well and have experience with it by putting a lot of stock through it. Sold 2 BS's and a TS that I knew little about before today but am pretty well versed at this point on most SC products. Just lending a neighborly hand with no personal gain. I had a blast as I enjoyed every minute of going over those BS's for the ump-teenth time at this point with potential customers. 

   Let's just say that with any luck at all, I'll be making a 4 hour drive to pick up a demo jointer in a few weeks with any luck that sits on a showroom floor somewhere in Tennessee. And all is not lost on the home front as I don't have to explain the difference between $3800 and $900 with rebate. The difference got covered with a sale of my 6" jointer for $225 and fun money from the back of my wallet that amounts to about the price of a good push lawn mower at Home Depot. That's not a large purchase under those terms.. that's an investment and my lovely is very savvy on investments.

   84".. Whoa, I may need to purchase accessory tail-hooks (or make my own to cut cost as usual) to keep aircraft from skidding off the end of that run-way, ughhh.. table.

   As the old saying goes, "even an old blind squirrel gets an acorn every once in awhile". The old blind squirrel stumbled and fell right on top of one today:>)

   Regards...

   Sarge.. jt

   Edited 1/28/2007 12:05 am ET by SARGEgrinder47

   Edited 1/28/2007 12:09 am ET by SARGEgrinder47

2. 
   dougmeyer | Jan 29, 2007 11:13pm | #6

   Sarge,

   Good for you, Personally I don't normally fall on stuff, normally I step in it. :)

   By the way, just declare it an assault ship vs a carrier and you will not need to install either arrestor gear or catapults. You will only have to deal with landing choppers and Jump jets on it. Of course being as the Harrier is maybe the most god awfully noise the world has ever seen that could be an issue. But maybe the new F35 will be quieter.  And if you design it to take the F35 maybe England will pay part of the cost as they need/want a new carrier to go with this new aircraft.  So you could maybe get the english members to chip in?

   By the way where in the world are you going to put it? If I put that in my shop I would need to add a new wing. Of course I guess I could use it as a place to park my car on if I put it in the garage. :)

   Doug Meyer

   Remember it is not he size of the tool but who you use it. (or So said an ex girlfriend of mine)

3. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 30, 2007 12:26am | #7

   Howdy Doug...

   Just up for a coffee break from the shop. I was there trying to figure out how to stretch poured concrete walls. The drive-way looks like the best option... ha.. ha...

   Kidding aside, that was my first thought when the subject came up along with do I really need a 12" jointer? Normally no.. but quite often run 10"- 11" stock by making a double pass with an over-head guard on a 6" jointer. So I can handle 12" with a very cautious approach. But I have recouped stock and already glued panels from old building being torn down that had to be ripped down to handle further with what I have. So... now I can make the single pass and handle those occasions that come up that requires more.

   Where am I going to put it as I have a dedicated 900 sq. ft. (former garage.. :>).. ) that is well organized but more or less full now. Ahhh.. behind my drive-under the house ex-garage is a 1/2 basement that is also 900 sq. ft. with 10' poured concrete walls. That's where my wood rack is along with some additional assembly tables, etc..

   So.. as stock comes in my shop, the first stop is the mobile SCMS with extensions to be sized down from 10'-12' to working lengths from my supplier. To the wood rack we go till moisture is right and then to the 84" jointer that will sit length-wise in front of that wood-rack. :>) Normally I won't do any saw-dust task back there to avoid fine particles infiltrating the central heat and air. But the jointer is more attuned to throw off thicker shaving that coupled with a direct hook-up to my mobile DC should present no major problem. I could partisian if off but don't think it will be necessary. At least that's the current plan.

   Trust me.. I wouldn't even consider a 12" under normal conditions.  I can find other ways and have for many years. But the price offered was right.. I could sell it and get a new 8" and TS (my old modified Ryobi junk saw I modified heavily has seen a lot of stock but one day when the motor dies) if the size became an issue. And someday (I fully retire in 2 1/2 years) I hope (hope being key word) to build at least a 40' x 60' shop on a piece of acreage away from the hustle and bustle (traffic) of Atlanta.

   There she blows... if the demo becomes available.. if I decide to make the drive to get it ..  if.. if.. if..... ha.. ha...

   Regards...

   Sarge.. jt

   Edited 1/29/2007 4:31 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47

2. 
   Glaucon | Jan 30, 2007 12:39am | #8

   Sarge,I was also curious about the SC drill press. Had you looked at it? I've heard some good things about it... how does it compare with say the Delta? BTW I use a Grizzly 8" jointer with the spiral head cutter that I find to be quite good...Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

1. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 30, 2007 03:27am | #9

   Glaucon..

   I spent quite a bit of time at the SC booth and got to go over most of the tools with a few exceptions.. drum sander.. etc.. The drill press is impressive IMO. Very solid and it appears that the problem I thought might pop up down the road got thought of before the design went to the assembly line.

   I'm referring to the long 6" quill travel. A major plus, but most presses where someone added the feature, slop develops down the road with that much carry. The SC guys knew that and split the head on the travel shaft so they could add a future adjustment screw on-board. 15 years down the road if the slop does rear it's head, you turn the screw and make it go away. You need to have a look at the press if you're're in the market. Well designed.. heavy, very sturdy and a ton of quill travel.

   How do I feel it compares to Delta? Which Delta, they have a whole fleet on the market ranging from junk to good to try to get at least one in everyone's price range. If you refer to the the top of line as I suspect, keep in mind that the 2 owners of Steel City worked for Delta for many years and know where the mistakes are.

   So.. one reason they left Delta is because two long time employee's of Delta decided that needed changes and new innovations weren't being addressed in a proper fashion. So... the two former Delta employee's decided they could design and produce a better product to meet today's demands.

   When the smoke clears and all things have been accounted for even in the early stages of birth... it is obvious someone knows machinery.. someone has taken the customer's wishes to heart..  and that pair of someone's has signed, sealed and delivered as I see it. The closer I look, the more I am convinced of that!

   PS.. the Griz jointer is an excellent machine also, IMO.

   Regards...

   Sarge.. jt

   Edited 1/29/2007 7:29 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47

2. 
   Glaucon | Jan 30, 2007 03:57am | #10

   Thanks Sarge. I will take a look at their drill press.As for the jointer, I set it up and check the beds for flatness and sag from time to time with a machist's straight edge. I haven't had to adjust it since I mounted the table, In fact I pulled a Homer- (as in duuh!). I set up the jointer and then decided, it'd be kinda nice to have a mobile base underneath it. So I raised the entire quarter ton on a tow chain using a differential hoist (I have steel I beam bearing joists in my basement workshop) and slid the base underneath it. I set it down and anxiously checked the tables for trueness- and they were dead on. I'm not recommending this approach to others, but it was kinda nice to get away with it, and says something about the jointer. I don't miss not having to set the knives either- seems like I'd no sooner set knives on a jointer when I would encounter the world's nastiest knot...Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

3. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jan 30, 2007 08:59am | #11

   That machine is well built, Glaucon. I checked it out at the IWF show here last fall as it's one of the few shows that Grizzly shows up for. Too far to drive to one of their showrooms to look at in my case, so I had not had a close look at the Grizzly line until then.

   I had the 0586 in mine (I don't mind changing blades and I like the cut of HSS's) until I saw the SC 8" deluxe which is basically the same machine but.......

   The Griz is cheaper even after shipping. It has 4 knives as opposed to 3 which relates to about 7000 more cuts per minute. Not over-whelming when both are powered by 2 HP, but an advantage. The Grizzly folks can keep the price right as they have cut out the middle-man to keep the price affordable by keeping everything under 3 roofs and selling direct.

   So.. why would I even consider the SC 8"? Rebate and price negotiation at the local dealer brings me close. The Steel City has a 5 1/2" fence that is 48" long on the deluxe. The Griz is 4" x 38". That edge caught my eye and I wanted it.

   The SC has (as of the new batch of deluxe 8"'s that just arrived last week) a built on board mobile base as there deluxe an industrial  6" and the industrial 8". These are made at a different assembly facility. That makes up another $100 ground lost to the Griz price by not having to purchase one. SC had that facility make the change to add the mobility to avoid having to hunt down a hefty, expensive base to fit under a hefty jointer.

   Interesting what you said about the hoist. If I proceed with this 12" jointer, that's my only concern. The length is around 30" longer than my present 55" 6" Sunhill. I simply could just move a mobile belt sander or mobile spindle sander to my back shop until I use them to make room in the forward shop. Or locate it in the back shop as I intend at the moment. So space is not a concern.

   But at 750 pounds.. a hoist is the only way I am going to get that puppy off the back of my truck alone and onto a waiting base. Even with 3-4 people that's a bear from the height of a pick-up. I am still somewhat hesitant from that point of view as I may move to eastern TN. when I fully retire in 2 1/2 years, but I will most likely will proceed. As I told BG, I don't necessarily need 12".. but it's an investment for that price and better too much than the million times I have come up too little.

   Regards...

   Sarge.. jt

4. 
   Glaucon | Jan 30, 2007 03:18pm | #12

   Sounds like a plan Sarge... but you will definitely need either a hoist to manage it, or the Georgia Tech defensive line to muscle it out of the back of your truck...Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...