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I recently moved and have a much bigger shop now. I am looking at selling my shopsmith (cause it is really old) and go to individual tools. I already bought a table saw, and was wondering with a bandsaw, jointer etc, how big and expensive should I go. I have been eyeing the new Porter Cable tools at Lowes because they are fairly cheap and Lowes gives a military discount which makes it cheaper. I am only a hobbiest, so I don't need profesional stuff, so would these be sufficient. I am trying to think of times when I would want to re-saw something bigger than 6". I only do electrics right now and rarely find wood for the tops that doesn't already come bookmatched or ready for thicknessing etc. If I end up building acoustics (which I plan to do next year when work slows down) will I need to re-saw, or just buy sets ready to go? I would like to get a drum sander, and the shopfox overarm pin router, so the more I spend on a band saw etc the less I would have for that, or the longer I would have to wait. Also, any recommendations on drum sanders, I need at least 13" to fit electrics through it, but would like one big enough for acoustics when I go that rout.
thanks

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

I would look close at your budget, stretch a little, do it over time. A 10-20 drumsander will be fine for your kind of work (two passes).

Mike

Unless you can get quite a bit of money for your ShopSmith, you might consider keeping it to 'dedicate' it to single use.
It would make a nice variable speed drill press, I think (or lathe, or....)
You could build for quite a while without 'needing' to resaw wood, though it does seem tempting when you see a 'bargain' at the lumberyard. A 14" bandsaw would be fine for everything else, so no need to look at a larger bandsaw. (And plenty of folks have resawn with a 14" saw, with skill and fine-tuning).

A drill press and thickness sander would be at the top of my list.

Cheers
John

John: I would not worry about resawing your backs and sides at this point in time.A good 14 inch saw will suffice very nicely. Much more important to take the grunt work out of taking backs,sides,and tops to thickness. Thickness sander, home made if your handy. Lots of info on the web and the MIMF in particular in regard to this subject.Also think about a laminate trimmer. Drill press and then a joiner. Also you don't need to have all the toola at once to get started. Good luck.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I have all kinds of routers, laminate trimmers etc. I was using the Shopsmith and accessories for my drill press, jointer, bandsaw, tablesaw, and I even have the overarm pin router for it, but since mine is a 1963 model it doesn't work well with the pin router (table flexes too much, you need the newer shopsmith with the support legs). I also have 13" planer. If I sold the shopsmith with everything, I would then need the drill press, bandsaw, jointer etc. I don't really need the pin router, but they are way better IMO than a router table (which I also have). I think I might keep the shopsmith just for the jointer and bandsaw for a while and keep my eyes open for descent used ones. A guy at work is wanting to sell his Jet 22-44 drum sander, he hasn't said how much he wants for it yet, but if it is a good price I think I might get that right now and probably a drill press as the shopsmith isn't great at that. The shopsmith has been great considering I only paid $200 for it, but being old and abused isn't quite up to the task anymore, just not sqare. Bandsaw and jointer are still fine though.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

If you can get it for a decent price, buy it!
If the Shopsmith will do as a bandsaw, you could dedicate it to that.
You can get serviceable Chinese drill presses for not much money, though a good used Delta/General would be my choice- if I had a choice.
I don't use the jointer that much for guitar stuff, though it's handy.
My father-in-law had a Shopsmith which I used a few times. I admire the organization/discipline of folks that use them- it drove me crazy as I was always needing to switch to a different machine.
BTW, the unused accesssories for the ShopSmith will probably sell on eBay, if you are 'into' that .

Cheers
John

I will say this about bandsaws. I have had the same DoAll vertical bsaw for almost 20 years. It has a 20" throat, 2 speed motor with varible speed and a blade welder. It is big and heavy. Set it up 1 time when I first bought it and use it all the time and frequently change blades from 1/4" to 1". It is by no means a cheap machine, but I bought it used and have had a manufacturing shop for a bit over 30 years so it was easy to justify buying it. I have never, ever, had a problem with it and can not even relate to the problems I read about on this forum. Would not sell it today for what I paid. I bring this up because there are a lot of business going out these days, especially in manufacturing. If you have the time and patience to go to auctions, check used machinery catalogs and the local Craigslist, you may get lucky. Good Luck

Tim

Just a reminder on pricing that 22-44, at least for a little while, is that they are on sale new for $1099, free ship. Somebody figured out how to get it under $1000, shipped, using ebay and Bing cashback. Wish I had thought of that! Its a monster to ship, so local pickup and a darn good price will be required, I think.

If you are digitally inclined, a CNC is nice to have. I use mine for thicknessing (no drum sander needed), jointing, neck carving, inlay, fret slotting, rosette inlay, preparing brace stock, jigs, and a bunch of other stuff.

Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

I have been on a tool buying spree for the last year or so and have purchased mostly from craigslist.
Got a Jet 18" bandsaw on there that lists for $1400 for just $500 and it was used only twice!
Also a delta 1 1/2 horse dust collector brand new Lists at $450 for just $100
Or the floor model delta drill press like new for $100 I think lists around $500
And I got a jet 6 x 89 Edge sander for $400.

I see good deals on bandsaws daily!

Cheers!

I am a huge fan of craigslist tools. You can find some pretty good deals if you are patient and get to know who is selling what. I got my jointer that way, 50% off. Same with scroll saw and Delta mini bandsaw. Another place to watch is Amazon's Gold Box deals (sign up for info & updates). Just picked up that Hitachi CMS for $84 shipped. Two other places to watch are SawMillCreek Deals & Discounts forum and Woodnet.net "Free Classifieds". Woodnet is a great source for old, popular machines and wood.

Mike

Wes,
Great job with your deals! I've gotten some good deals too, but not as good as yours.
Ed

Wes, I have to ask, what is up with your avatar? It just seems weird to me... Has it been photoshopped?

Mike

I believe that may be Joe Piscipo shopped on.mt

any 14 inch band saw that can be modified to accept spacer blockes for wider ripping.

thickness planner...home made...easier than building an axe

drill press.

laminating router.

loose the jointer...unless your gonna be doing other types of cabinetry work

the Padma has owned a 4 inch up to a 24inch jointer and every thing in between and the truth be known, as far as luhtiering is concerned, they were all a pain in the ask me no questions.
They take ups floor space and cost money that is better spent else were. Then you gotta pull the blades and sharpen them and reset the tables and set the blades...Like are we luthiers or millwrights?

Besides if you know what your doing, you can joint with a table saw and clean it up with an iron....thats a plane iron...a #7 or an 8 will work just fine.

thats my take on machinery.


blessings
the
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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+1 for craigslist. Nearly all my tools come from there. Great deals to be had if you are patient and know what to look for.

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Tim

Craigslist gets my vote.

18" Jet bandsaw for $600 with several new blades in the box and the roller base with Incra fence system.(sold the fence system for $275)

1942 Delta Unisaw $140 Best deal of all. (17 miles from my house) Big induction motor. Click it on and it goes whoosh then near silence. So vibration free and the old trunnion has only 1.8 thousands run out. New specs 5 to 8 thousands.

Delta Uniplane $100

Delta over arm router...like new $450

Performax 22 44 with extra belts $400 (The best part...1.7 miles from my house)

RBI scroll saw $400 with extra blade holders and a a box of blades..all sizes. Been used twice.

10 HP single phase 3 cylinder 2 stage compressor, 120 gallon tank with electric bleed off, 1 year old $1400...new $4,000


You have to watch craigslist morning, noon, and night. Be prepared to hop in the car and go look art something at a moments notice. Some times the people don't have a clue as to what something is worth. Neither do they know what it is. The Delta Unisaw I picked up for $140. The ad read, "Very old, very heavy, cast iron tablesaw". I called and asked the brand name. He didn't know, he just wanted it gone from the garage. The trip could have been a goose chase and it could have been junk. Been there done that before.

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"Try to be the person your dog thinks you are."

http://sites.google.com/site/bertsguitarshop/

$400 for a Performax 22-44??? That's a deal!!

Yeah, you gotta get to know the Craigs List personalities... too many "professional" sellers that IMHO are taking advantage of people. I look for the "one offs" who are just trying to clear out some space and have no idea what they are selling (or could care less).

Mike

Mike Its an Iphone program called photo booth. My girlfriend made it in that program and sent it to me.
In the program you have all of these black and white photos you can put someone's face in. Its hours of fun.

I like my planer (20" Griz). I love my jointer (8" Delta). I could live without them, but so what?

If I had a forge, I think the axe would be easier than the planer.

I like the idea of cleaning up a joint with an iron--a clothes iron, that is. Steam out the dips, press it flat. Put it back before the spouse notices.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I am not going to get that Jet 22-44, he wants too much for it. It is one of the closed stand ones that costs more to begin with, I don't think he is going to find anyone to buy it unless they are hard over on getting the closed stand. Oh well. I will just save some money and keep my eyes on Craigslist.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

It was a steal of a deal. Since it was located so close to me I was at his place within 20 minutes after the ad appeared. It was a Peformax "Pro" as well. Driving back to the shop I was giggling to myself. I tried it out and discovered that it was not working correctly after making a few passes. I went online found the assembly instructions. Pulled it all down noticed it was assembled incorrectly and re-assembled it and noticed he had also changed the pully on either the drum or the motor. (Can't remember which) I changed it back to stock adjusted it and now I can take wood down to .050 for a face overlay. I guess he got rid of it thinking it was bad.

_________________
"Try to be the person your dog thinks you are."

http://sites.google.com/site/bertsguitarshop/