Advice on choosing machinery - Grizzly

[eric buggeln]

Hi, My name is Eric Buggeln. I am a home re-modeler from CT looking to expand my business to custom cabinetmaking and woodworking. I would eventually like to get into furniture making on a hobby level. I have a two car garage which has to be shared at night with a Nissan Murano.

Right now it consists of a Dewalt 745 table saw with Rousseau Table Saw Stand and out feed and is well tuned. I also have a Dewalt 12 inch miter saw with homemade extension wings with Kreg scales and stops. These ride in my box van everyday and would be used in my wife's spot. I have an Incra LS Positioner fence and Triton 3 1/4 HP router with Woodpeckers table on homemade base. I have lots of Festools which travel with me and live in the garage including two MFT's which take up the most space. I also have a Kreg Klamping Table.

With the portable table saw and extra long Festool tracks, I can size up panels just fine and although I would love a nice big saw, there is no space. I would like a jointer, planer, bandsaw, drill press, and dust collection. After drawing up on graph paper it looks like I could fit all these machines in and just have to do a lot of moving when I wanted to use them.

I have come up with a list that seems like I could achieve and begin saving for. What are peoples thoughts on individual machines and how that might work with what I already have, for what I want to do? Thanks eric

G0490X - jointer
G0453Z - planer
G0457 - bandsaw
G7943 - drill press
G0703 - dust collection

[Mike Heidrick]

Hi eric. Welcome.

Have you considered purchasing a combo jointer/planer? The jet might even be cheaper than the Griz and it would save you some space.

I visited a shop last weekend that was the same - 2-car and had a car parked in it nightly. The owner used the storage rack lifts to lift his EZ bridge setup to the ceiling above where his garage door is. I am thinking maybe you might have some stuff that could be folded up and stored this way too to make some more room.

Constantly moving your equipment may mean you have a need for a lot more flex hose to your DC which may require more CFM than the DC you have chosen can deliver. Check out the book Wood Shop Dust Control and see if it helps you size your collector.

Your bandsaw is only $70 cheaper than the G0513X2B and on a mobile base they will both take about the same amount of room.

Maybe look at used bandsaws and drill presses as well.

Good luck.

[Todd Moody]

I'm sure you will find lots of posts re: the 490 & 453 around the forums. I purchased both of those late last year. The relevant thing I can comment on is that the built-in mobile bases are so very handy. My basement shop area is rather odd shaped and I find myself rolling the equipment around quite a lot.

I was also curious about the 703 DC but eventually decided to bite it and pulled the trigger on a ClearVue. The 703 is fairly new and I've seen almost no posts on it thus far. If you plan to wire it 220v, keep in mind the 220v mag switch is another +$90 or so. When I checked in January, both the DC & the switch had long ship times.

Good luck.

[Van Huskey]

G0490X - jointer
G0453Z - planer
G0457 - bandsaw
G7943 - drill press
G0703 - dust collection


Welcome!

The jointer and planer are well received by those that have them here, the spiral cutters will save you money in the long run.

I agree that looking at The 513 series bandsaws might be wise considering the money.

The DP might be a little limiting and might look for a 17" like the Jet.

There are a LOT of approaches to DC and some time in the shop forum might help you see the possibilities.

Overall Grizzly are fine machines but doing at as a business might warrant thinking about moving up either with better used or new machines, though a lot of people make a living off the back of Grizzly tools.

One thing I don't see on your list is a sander for panels, look at the Performax/Jet open end drum sanders for an entry level, they are much better received than the Grizzly/Delta open end drums sanders. I only mention drums since you are listing a budget setup, a 37" wide belt would be ideal. I wouldn't want to do cabinets without a wide panel sander, well unless I was subbing out the doors which you may well plan.

[Greg Portland]

Consider a combo machine like the Woodmaster that can be used as a planer, moulder, rip saw, & drum sander. If you are doing a lot of cabinet work then making your own trim may be worth a lot of $$$. You can find the medium-sized one used for ~$1k-$1.5k.

[Van Huskey]

Consider a combo machine like the Woodmaster that can be used as a planer, moulder, rip saw, & drum sander. If you are doing a lot of cabinet work then making your own trim may be worth a lot of $$$. You can find the medium-sized one used for ~$1k-$1.5k.

Really good point and made me think of something else. If I were doing mainly cabinets a shaper and power feeder would be MUCH higher on my list than a band saw. Make sure the shaper has a large table so you can easily mount a feeder.

[Greg Portland]

If I were doing mainly cabinets a shaper and power feeder would be MUCH higher on my list than a band sawAgreed. The Woodmaster moulder can do some shaper profiles (rail / stile, etc.) up to 6" log cabin siding but a shaper+powerfeed would be faster and easier to setup. If you are mainly working with sheetgoods then a drum sander may not be required. Consider the following:

- large dust 5HP collector
- 5HP+ tilting shaper + power feeder (note that tooling is $$$)
- jointer/planer combo machine

-> At this point, you may want to price out a used combo machine (minimax, Felder, Hammer, etc.) and see what it would cost relative to the individual machines + selling your current table saw. You would need to check dimensions for the fit in a 1-car garage area (should work, although you wouldn't be able to work while the car is in there). With the shaper, you may be able to run a side business selling trim & custom mouldings to other contractors.