Official Luthiers Forum!

I have the opportunity to purchase a bundle of power tools, but I'm not sure which I'll get the most use out of and/or are worth the money and space they will take up to have around. Included in the bunch are:

-Scroll saw
-12 1/2" bench planer
-4 1/8" bench top jointer
-Oscillating spindle sander
-Bench top drill press
-Router/table combo

I've already decided to bite the bullet and buy a large band saw and a floor standing drill press, so assume that I'm starting off with those two tools already in my shop. Out of the above, which tools would be the handiest/most useful to have around for lutherie? I think the router/table is a no-brainer, but I'm not so sure about the rest. If I bought the jointer, would I get much use out of the bench planer? Does the large drill press make the bench top model redundant?

Also, all of these tools are Craftsman brand. They seem to get decent reviews on line, but as I understand, they're a step down in quality from some of the other name brands I've been looking at. If anyone who uses or has used Craftsman tools could shed some light on this, that would be greatly appreciated. I can get a good deal on the lot, but if there are better options out there, I'd rather pay more for quality tools than have to go through the headache of replacing inferior stuff because I wanted to save a couple bucks.

Thanks for all of your help!

Craftsman tools are not bad. I have been repairing guitars for 20 years as a semi- professional (I had a day job) and am just now looking to replace what I have for better quality stuff. I have a 40+ year old band saw, table saw and radial arm saw, all Craftsman that have served me well. I do lots of other things except build guitars so the table saw and radial arm saw are much handier for other things.

So, not top quality but not bad either.

Bob

I don't think there's much use in a bench top jointer, not if you want to do top and back seam joints.

Most of us live without planers I think.

If you have a stand up drill press, why another little one?

We use an oscillating spindle sander for lots of little things...

There's no mention of a tablesaw, which I find indispensable, so much so that we bought a second so we don't have to share...

I might disagree a little about the bench top jointer especially if it and be set up properly. It can be a real time saver.
Yes, it's not indispensable.
And I use a handplane for jointing anyway.
But I find my little 6" bench top machine time saving, for example for fretboard preparation, squaring up stock for necks (especially when laminating them). getting one edge of the sides straight, putting square edges on bracing after splitting brace stock, and preparing top and back joints before handplaning. I find it worthwhile to pull it out.
Yes they can all be done by hand, but if it's reasonably priced and doesn't take up too much space, why not?
BTW, I've managed without a tablesaw for 5 years (only a bandsaw), but have succumbed. Getting a Proxxon, basically because I'm fed up of slotting fretboards by hand.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Here's a bit of a different point of view.

First you need to define where your interest is and try to anticipate where your interest(s) may be in the future.

For me I'm a one trick pony.... I was not a wood worker before building my first guitar and beyond a stinkin bluebird house for Link.... I'm not likely to make anything but guitars. That's where my interest is, has been, and likely will remain in that I know myself pretty well...

You are a new builder I assume and as such you have not yet found your stride with a number of builds under your belt so that you can know exactly how to build a guitar and more importantly how YOU will build guitars.

All of us here love guitar building or we would not be here, I think.... Just the same all of us may do many things differently including but not limited to the tools that we use.

Some folks love table saws, I no longer own one and never used the one that I got rid of for guitar building anyway.... It was a huge space-suck and catch-all wanting to dominate the middle of the shop. So off it went - good riddens.... Mind you YMMV.

Regarding the list of the bundled tools:

-Scroll saw: Don't have one and don't use one for guitar building

-12 1/2" bench planer: Ditto, not how I build

-4 1/8" bench top jointer: No need for one here either

-Oscillating spindle sander: Bingo - I have one of these and use it often

-Bench top drill press: A drill press is important to how I build and mine is a lousy Crapsman bench top that does the trick for me

-Router/table combo: What's a router table? I do use laminate trimmers but no full size router or table here either

So you can see that if I was offered this bundle I would have zero interest in so much as I don't use nearly any of these tools for how I build.

Now you may come to use many of these things when you arrive at your own style of building but you can't know that yet.

Regarding Crapsman..... My table top drill press has too much runout and is from when I was a new builder and did not yet understand that good tools are important and that one can, with some effort, purchase tools that not only may last the rest of our days but may also be a pleasure to use for the rest of our days too. My list of what these brands are does not include Crapsman....

You will have expenses with guitar building that you may not have considered yet such as environmental conditions for your shop. Lutherie is very unforgiving if we do not maintain RH (humidity) control, let me rephrase this, if we do not maintain strict RH control in our shops. Your new instrument can crack and warp and self destruct if built with out consideration for RH. Proper temps are needed for glues and finishes to cure and also play into the RH equation as well.

For many just getting the RH thing squared away can mean constructing a dedicated shop with insulation, vapor barriers, AC/heat and humidification. My shop cost me about $5K to build and I built it myself. Besides guitars it was the only thing that I have ever made beyond trouble and reservations....

Anyway my point my friend is that you may find that you purchased things that you won't use, reduced your working capital needlessly, and ended up with stuff that was not your first choice anyway for quality, function, value, etc.

I would use all those tools except for the scroll saw for the way I build.

I just started re-sawing and am looking for a thickness planer to true up the previous cuts for the next re-saw.

A bench top jointer would be very nice to true up some cuts for finer tuning.

Would love a spindle sander, shaping molds etc.

Have a small drill press, use it for many tasks, jig building etc.

Use my router table all the time. Pattern/mold building, head stock shaping, truss rod slots, jig building.

Also use my table saw all the time. It's a Bosch contractor saw.

I have small 10" band saw that gets lot of use and an 18" that gets occasional usage but wouldn't part with either.

I remember a task or 2 where I wanted a scroll saw but found another way to get the job done.

I would LOVE 2 thickness sanders with 2 grits. Can not live without my current homemade thickness sander.

Also want one of those horizontal belt sander with the really long belts.

Ahh...also have a mini mill which is awesome for bridges and head stock work. Actually wouldn't buy one tomorrow but I already had one and find many uses for it for guitar building.

I see that I mentioned jig building more than once. That's something to also think about when buying tools. Building guitars may indeed require very few but I find having a tool sure beats not having it when you need it.

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Thank You and Best To All

I grew up around a large well equipped wood shop, while you can come up with a work around for just about any situation a table saw is the most used power tool I have. Fret slots, fingerboards, kerfing, braces, necks, backs, sides, tops

I'd rather buy one or two quality tools than a group of mediocre ones that will end up getting replaced.

Though I have yet to finish my first guitar, I started out as a box maker, so I did a lot of resawing and table saw work. Gives nice options for when you find nice boards at the big box store or lumber yard.

If you buy a table saw, here is something to keep in mind: some years back, Craftsman used a narrow miter slot in their tables, my best guess is for marketing reasons. Point being, if you want to add a jig later on, such as a tennoning jig or anything else that rides in the slot, it will not fit a Craftsman table saw unless it is a Craftsman brand. Not sure about their other tools, but that sure cuts down on future options for buying nice accessories. Personally i dislike such tactics. Not sure if they still do it, but I would be leery and check such before investing.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

A jointer and planer would be good to have if you make up your own neck billets from lumber. Although, I have managed to do just fine squaring up lumber with a table saw, jack plane, and thickness sander. Also, the jointer would be useful for jointing top/back edges for glue up, if it is properly set up, with sharp blades. But a well tuned jack plane works just as well, or a router/straight edge set up.

An oscillating spindle sander is indispensable for the way I build. After being spoiled with my big Jet JBOS-5 I would not want to use a smaller cheaper spindle sander.

I see no use for the other tools you listed. It was good that you got a floor drill press. I am using a bench top and it doesn't quite have the power for certain operations.

I find a router table to very useful. I have used it for routing binding ledges on archtops and pegheads, radiusing braces, trimming fretboards and bridges, making body forms, and I even use it to cut dovetails on necks and bodies. And other uses too numerous to mention.

I stared with a scroll saw and then added a table saw. I did so much with that scroll saw until it died, that I'll replace\repair someday. Since it is no longer working, I've been using the band saw I added. From your list, I'd love to add a spindle sander to my shop. I use my router table all the time. It is an extension to my table saw. I'd like to get a dedicated one, but this one has worked for me, and I have worked around its limitations enough that it is a regular stop in my building process. Of course if I upgrade my table saw, I then need a new router table. Its a slippery slope.

What I've seen since I started is that as tools become available I can always figure out a way to use them. Right now there is a Joiner I'm itching to buy and have thought of many ways to use it that certainly would change the way I work. Mainly for that one I'm thinking Necks and solid body blanks.

Start looking now for a thickness sander. Its a life changer.

I had a tabletop harbor freight drill press that worked OK. It drilled holes but was a pain to adjust. I found a 1940s 17" drill press at an auction, purchased it and restored it. This thing is amazing and is one of my favorite tools. The bands saw was one of the same situations, but I still need to do some work on it to get it where I want it to be for our type of tasks.

Old tools are great. If these are older Craftsman tools, don't worry about quality. If they are newer (lots of plastic), check them out first. My big complaint about newer Craftsman stuff is it is marketed just a step above what it actually is as far as power and function. The same tool in a different line will probably have a stronger motor, but may not be marketed that way. The bigger pieces are certainly better than the lower dollar ones, but each is its own tool and needs to be looked at individually rather than as a whole. Also check parts availably\pricing.