Yet another tool I NEED

[Karl Brogger]

I've been kicking around getting a automatic dovetailer, and I stumbled across this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxVjfV1GgY

I've been selling more and more dovetail drawers to other shops, it'd be nice not spending entire days at a time with a router in my hand.

[Bill Huber]

I've been kicking around getting a automatic dovetailer, and I stumbled across this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxVjfV1GgY

I've been selling more and more dovetail drawers to other shops, it'd be nice not spending entire days at a time with a router in my hand.


I was going to get 2, one for box joints and one for dove tails but the I notices that the dust collection was not very good so I guess I won't.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Neat machine.....

[Eric Larsen]

That is a sweet, sweet machine -- assuming you don't need a PhD in Computer Science to program it.

[Roger Newby]

I'll bet you're going to need some PHD (Piled Higher & Deeper) money to get that in the shop.:eek:

Roger

[Gene Howe]

Do they make a bench top model?:D

[Phil Thien]

It is interesting that the video doesn't show any of those joints going together. Just sayin'. :D

[Don Bullock]

Something tells me that SWMBO will say no to one of these.:(

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I think I could find the space for one of those...

[Thomas Pender]

I know they say if you have to ask you cannot afford it, but this machine looks like something we could all use, but probably not afford :(. Still dreaming is what it is all about and who knows, instead of buying a new truck, tractor, or something else wonderful, perhaps something like this. Of course, you would almost have to go into making things that have drawers in a big way and that would require other expensive machines to keep up with the productivity this machine would require to be justified ;). Yet another slippery slope, like buying good hand planes.

Heck, I talked my wife into buying land in the Shenandoah Valley and then because we have the land a new F-150 4x4 truck to get things done, and my next item is a Deere or Case tractor. Why should this machine be any different?

Karl - thank you for a really neat thread. It has been fun to watch and I mean that, I watched the whole thing twice.

[Karl Brogger]

I don't know too much about what they cost, I just started thinking about this a few days ago. Laguna has one that isn't a CNC model and thats $14k. Really that's not bad considering the speed that you can turn things around in. I could probably get it back into the black with zero growth in less than 4 years.

I figure it takes me on average 45min to produce a dovetail drawer. so if I have a job that requires 60 drawers, thats 45hrs to get them from a pile of wood to a finished, (but raw), product. Sadly machining isn't the greatest amount of time. Tall drawers, where I have glue up panels eat up most of that time. If I didn't ever have to glue any panels up for the drawer I could probably get that down to 20mins. Anywhere you can save time though!

Once in a while I cut everything perfect and only have to put a clamp on a couple of box's. That's nice when that happens. Same set up, same material and the next set doesn't go as nice.:mad:

[glenn bradley]

I love watching those but don't know that I would enjoy having one. The George Jetson method of woodworking kinda takes the fun out of it. They are fun to watch though ;-)

[Mike Heidrick]

Drool. :)

But that DT machine got me looking at ShopBots!!! MAJOR Drool!

[Andy Bardowell]

Hmmm... how to sneak it into the shop, the dogs would probably bark at it and give me away the buggers.

[Karl Brogger]

I love watching those but don't know that I would enjoy having one. The George Jetson method of woodworking kinda takes the fun out of it. They are fun to watch though ;-)

Fun for me is collecting a check though. It ceased being fun a long time ago.

[Andrew Joiner]

Karl,
I like your thinking. I had a shop in St. Paul MN years ago so I know your area.

Could a CNC router be used for dovetails? You could buy one used cheap now. You could handle big stuff and dovetails with one machine footprint.

Of course learning to program it would take awhile. Now may be the time to get into it.

You said" Laguna has one that isn't a CNC model and thats $14k. Really that's not bad considering the speed that you can turn things around in. I could probably get it back into the black with zero growth in less than 4 years"

For 14K you can get a used CNC router.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Making drawers, is like making doors. I can buy them cheaper. There are plenty of suppliers who can make up your dove tailed drawers. I build the box, and face frame, and order the drawers / doors.

[Karl Brogger]

Making drawers, is like making doors. I can buy them cheaper. There are plenty of suppliers who can make up your dove tailed drawers. I build the box, and face frame, and order the drawers / doors.

I haven't done doors for another shop yet, but I do plenty of drawers for other companies. It fills in the slow times, and when its busy it usually just means working a couple of long days to stay on schedule. My prices are competitive with the some of the other suppliers locally. There isn't alot of profit in it when I sell them to other shops either. My theory is that if I don't make money on it, somebody else will. So why not? At the very least I'm taking food off of somebody elses plate, even if it isn't paying the greatest. I'd make doors too if somebody ever asked.

[Don Morris]

That at least four steps above my pay scale. Add this to that "craftsman" thread that went through here last week.