Hi I have the pleasure and opportunity to set up a shop in a job training program at a junior college. We are going to be next to a framing studio and will support their work and a hardscaping class’s work too but should have some of our own classes long term. I have a healthy but not unlimited budget but not a ton of space (about 1800 sq. feet). I am hoping to purchase two sawstops, and am thinking about setting one up with their sliding table, a panel saw, a helical head planer (hopefully 20″) and 8 or 12″ helical head jointer, a 14 and 20″ bandsaw, 2 lathes (I know almost nothing about turning). a drum sander, a disc, spindle, and belt sander, a stationary grinder and probably a tormek station, a router table, and 2 or three chop saws on moveable shop build stations. Feel shapers are too scary for novices. Obviously there will be benches and plenty of hand tools. We are not college of the redwoods trying to train the top artisans in the country. We are trying to train people to get jobs in construction and want quality tools that will last and that can take some abuse from novices. We’ll have three phase power. Also as you can imagine, safety is paramount. There will be dust collection with a cyclone outdoors. All things being equal, we’d prefer to buy American but I don’t it’s 1h00% obligatory. The architects are asking me to get them tool specs to start planning the dust collection etc. Any help in terms of models that are good or bad for learning, have better safety features etc. would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone knows if any companies like General or Oliver have discounts for schools that would be great.
Thanks
Rob
Replies
Rob,
Check out SAWS, Society of Architectural Wood-shop Supervisors. They are a Yahoo group. Great group of lab professionals like yourself, tons of experience and information, folks from all over the world.
t.j.
HI TJ
Thanks, Had not heard about them and have been looking for something like them. I cannot find them on google. Do you have a link or something that could lead me in teh right direction? I copied and pasted name.
Thanks
Rob
Plan on many students activating the Sawstops flesh-sensing technology. One school I attended charged everyone a one-time, refundable sawstop activation fee. Some got refunds — others didn’t.
My first day of shop class at the Bronx HS of Science in 1980 started out with math. (Sadly, Bronx Science no longer has Shop)
Mr Mosher, the only teacher in the building walking around in flannel and wearing a beard that could stop a truck, had us all take out paper & pencil and pointed us at what was written on the black (actually green) board and started reading as he walked around the room:
Tablesaw blade:
10" diameter, 40 teeth, 3500 RPM. Stock feed speed 4" per second.
Human reaction time: 1/2 second from when you feel something to when you begin to react. (He tapped a student on the head as he walked behind him)
The question:
If you run your hand into the blade how deep will the cut be and how many teeth will pass through your hand before you can pull it out? (He told us to remember to carefully pull our hands straight back)
After we ALL got the math correct he unplugged the tablesaw, bandsaw, jointer, and planer and put lockouts on the plugs.
My quick answer to the math is 1167 teeth, 2" into your fingers. Someone who's better at math can tell me if I'm wrong.
That tells me two things - touching a spinning saw blade with your fingers is a very, very bad thing. And, the SawStop technology, which reportedly retracts the blade with only one tooth contacting your skin, is truly awesome.
The sawstops are a good product. We have them at a school I already teach at and fortunately have gone through very few of the brakes. I used to teach for the cabinetmakers' union and in one group had twelve students with a total of 111 or 112 fingers in the class, not counting mine. I am more interested in quality issues of newer machines that could go into a school shop. Novices will be using them.
American made, will last multiple lifetimes in a school shop: Look at Northfield. Tannewitz for bandsaw if you want some variety. You said you had a heathy budget. These will probably strain it (if they don't bust it). But to my knowledge the only remaining manufacturers of "heavy iron" last forever machines.
Yes, in the other shop I teach at we had an old Northfield, probably 50-75 years old that we got rid of when we got sawstops (too much of a risk not to have that technology in a school setting.) One thing I know very little about and could use a point in the right direction are lathes.
Hi Again
Still working on preliminary list to get to architects. Another need is a variable speed floor model drill press. Don't think the students will willingly change belts and gears thus the variable speed. Any recommendations? And again a lathe recommendation would be huge. Thanks
If you visited older woodworking schools in Canada, you would invariably find General 260 wood lathes with mechanical variable speed . Since this is for learning the basics and there isn't much to a lathe, it could still be a good choice on the used market. Budget wise, a lathe is only a fraction of the investment to get into wood turning, accessories, tools and sharpening equipment will raise the bill.
Thanks Gulfstar. I looked at gGeneral lathes and we may order them. I don't get to use General Tools often but have liked what I've seen of theirs over the years. The phase I am in now is designing the space for the architects so really looking at size of machinery, electrical and dust collection necessities, etc. In the US for a school it would be very difficult to buy something used as we are so worried about lawsuits etc. We probably won't be in the space until fall 2023.
Thanks
Rob
North American made lathes that would match or exceed General would be Oneway lathes and accessories.
I own a Oneway 1640 and it is a great lathe. I have the outboard bed extension which allows for large diameter turnings as well as the inboard bed extension which allows for longer turnings (have used it for lots of custom newel posts, balusters, etc which sounds up your alley for light architectural work). Very versatile in this set up. Oneway is a Canadian company. If you want made in US check out Robust lathes. I don’t have any experience with them but have heard they are every bit as good as Oneway. Lathes are funny things. They all spin things around, but the ergonomic set up from one manufacturer to another can be very different.
Thank you John and thanks again Gulfstar. These lathes look nice. There are some lathe specific classes at a night school not too far from me and since I have barely turned since junior high school, I will probably take a refresher course there. These lathes look nice and made in North America is a good thing too. I am waiting to see what they say about origin of machinery.
Thanks again
Rob
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