For my birthday, I have the opportunity to buy a piece of woodworking equipment in the $500 price range. I already have a good tablesaw, planer, router table, shopvac, and a Shopsmith 510 multifunction tool (drill press, disc sander, lathe, bandsaw,poor table saw, etc.).
I have the little Shopsmith 4″ jointer, but note I said little. I don’t want an 8″ jointer, (too big for my little garage), but I would like to have the General 6″ jointer with the 55″ long bed. I’ve also looked at the Performax 10-20 which would be great for final (and small) dimensioning of all of the figured wood I have.
I like to make small things, such as boxes, clocks, etc. with figured wood. My jointer and planer tear it out. The performax would be great to remove the final 1/8″ of wood w/o the tearout.
The 6″ jointer would enable me to make some bigger things that would make my wife happy. I read in Fine Woodworking where a man made a sled for running wide stock through his planer and using it as a jointer. What tool would you recommend?
Sonrise
Replies
14" band saw............... best bang for the buck. Once you have one you'll wonder howyou got along without it. Rikon has a good one
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Sonrise; I have the 6in GI jointer with the 55in bed, and I can highly recommend It. It's very well constructed. The fence is versatile,while still being strong and accurate. The table micro adjusts beautifully, and was dead accurate right out of the box. You can get this machine with the front mounted crank wheels or the side mounted jack. I went for the crank wheels, and I'm glad I did. This machine has loads of power, and is still very quiet running.
I use my jointer a lot, and I could,nt imagine WW without this machine.
Have fun shopping. walker1
Sonrise,
Since you have a small jointer and your projects are small boxes, seems to me like you should go for one of the other items: a bandsaw or the drum sander. Now, leave it to me to muddy the water here! I feel strongly about both since I have both of them.
One: I do a fair amount of resaw, so I got a good (G0513, 17") bandsaw. Using figured wood, it's great to get as much mileage as possible from it. So here's a vote for the best bandsaw you can afford.
Two: To get better mileage from resawn wood, you gotta cut thinner veneers. Enter the drum sander. I have the Performax 16-32 and have no problem sanding to 1/16" or a little less.
Now that I have both, it's hard to understand how I got along without either of them.
In your situation (building boxes) I'd go with the bandsaw. You can take 4/4 lumber, resaw it and wind up with at least 3/8" stock, thick enough for small boxes. If you need thicker stock, you can resaw a 1/2" thick piece and still have 1/4" to use for the bottoms.
Good luck!
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Mensa Member
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Second vote for the bandsaw!
It was my fifth major tool purchase and it should have been my 2nd (after the tablesaw)
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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band saw!
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Sonrise,
I couldn't quibble with the collective wisdom of the folks who recommended the band saw - I'm enjoying my new 14" with riser block. That said, I've been coveting the Performax 10-20 for some time. As Bill said, it's excellent for veneers, but I've also seen David Marks use his drum sander for final thicknessing even on thicker pieces rather than a planer. In the final analysis I doubt you could go wrong with either the band saw or the drum sander.
Good luck, and congratulations on the windfall!
Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Thanks for the input regarding which tool to buy. I'd love to have a new bandsaw, but since I already have that works (not as well as yours for sure), i decided to not upgrade that yet.
I ordered a new General 6" long bed jointer. As I thought about it more, it would enable me to make some furniture for my wife, rather than just small things. I figured I'd better do that so that she would be happy with my tool purchase. That way I can get a Performax next year, and maybe a good bandsaw. I look forward to those items.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my new jointer. When it comes in.
Sonrise
$500.00
Sounds like you already have what you use most often..
I'd spent that money on the 'little lady' as a suprise for puttin' up with your shop! Dinner and a small 'gift' for her being so nice to ya!
Just me!
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