Green Machine(s).....

[Jim Barrett]

My 3 General machines arrived this afternoon.:D I have been busy uncrating the 15" planer, 12" jointer and 10" table saw. The crating on these machines was unreal, needed a crow bar and big hammer to get the crates open. The GREEN color goes great with my new pvc flooring I installed this past week. The flooring is very cool, but very expensive....I have been vasilating for months on buying the flooring, at $3.45 sq foot I could have bought a lot of wood, or some more tools. Oh well I really like the way it turned out, really brightens the shop up. :) I will be busy this weekend adjusting and getting the machines set up. One big problem is getting the 1,000+ lb jointer off of the dual pallets....need some muscle, unfortunately there are no rollers on this baby....;)

Jim

[Tim Morton]

Has the voting closed for "gloat of the year"? If not i think you are seriously in the running!!! Very Nice. Maybe just paint green and white checkboards on the pallet and call it done? :cool:

[Paul B. Cresti]

Jim,
I agree this has got to be one of the best gloats I have seen! Congratualtions! Now do tell, is not the fit and finish, along with build quality, on the Canadian made General the best you have ever seen?

[Don Selke]

Congratulations:
What a dream shop, hope you send pictures when all the tools are ready to go.

[John Shuk]

Drool,drool,drool,drool!

[Jim Barrett]

Paul,

I am really blown away by the fit and finish of the machines so far. For grins I laid my 6' Starret straight edge across the table saw and it was dead on every which way I could think of. Can't wait to start buidling again, My list has grown considerably.

Thanks all,

Jim



Jim,
I agree this has got to be one of the best gloats I have seen! Congratualtions! Now do tell, is not the fit and finish, along with build quality, on the Canadian made General the best you have ever seen?

[John Miliunas]

Dang it, Jim! Some serious gloat material there! I'll bet your list involves a bit more than just a couple picture frames!:D Congrats and have fun with the new toyls!:) :cool:

[Scott Parks]

Jim, I see a huge negative to this story.......




Cleaning off all the cosmoline!

(Oh, wait, after reviewing those fine machines again, I don't see any cosmoline?)



Nice haul! You'll enjoy many years of sawdust from those machines:)

[Bart Leetch]

Jim

I only live about 30 miles away maybe we could get together sometime.

Freeland isn't far from Oak Harbor.

[Jim Barrett]

Hey Bart,

Sure I'll give you a shout when I have the machines running and you can come by and give em a test drive:cool:

Jim

[Jim Barrett]

Scott,
So far the cosmoline has not been bad at all, nothing like my MM 16 bandsaw, now that had some serious cosmoline.
Jim

[Scott Parks]

Scott,
So far the cosmoline has not been bad at all, nothing like my MM 16 bandsaw, now that had some serious cosmoline.
Jim
Aggh, choke... cough... cough... MM16! You're killing me here! (green with envy)...:cool::cool::cool:

Can I move in? To your garage, that is! Is there heat? The pvc soft enough to sleep on?....

[Mark Singer]

I can't "up-gloat" that! No way! You should add my General 24" sanding dream drum sander though:rolleyes:

[Gary Sutherland]

WOW!!!

I'd really enjoy seeing some overall pics of your shop when it's all set up.

Gary

[Jim Barrett]

Sorry Scott,
BTW I have excellent heat in the garage, stays 55 degrees during the winter, I tweak the heat to bring it up to 60ish. The pvc is not bad, much better than the cold grey, stained, cracked concrete:cool:

Actually I sold my MM 300 Smart and replaced with the General machines. I was able to recoop all of the cost of my 300 Smart (strong Euro) so I was able to purchase all of the General machines and the majority of the pvc flooring with the money from the 300 Smart. Delivery was very reasonable, General delivered for free to a local freight company and I paid for the delivery from there, couple hundred dollars including a lift gate truck.
Jim

[Jim Barrett]

Mark,
Will definitely give the General drum sander a good look when I am ready for one, the GREEN just looks to dang good:D
Thanks,
Jim



I can't "up-gloat" that! No way! You should add my General 24" sanding dream drum sander though:rolleyes:

[Frank Pellow]

The machine look very good in your shop Jim. In particular, that looks like a very serious jointer.

Did you really purchase the tiles with colour co-ordination to General Green in mind?

[Rob Russell]

Nice set of machinery! Why did you decide to go from the combo to separates with a non-sliding table saw? Did you consider MM's partial combos - saw/shaper and j/p? Just curious.

[Jim Dunn]

Jim,

What are you using for dust collection? Those machine match the floor very nicely, but do tell, that's not why you chose the Generals' is it??

[Jim Barrett]

Hi Frank,

I hate to admit it but I did buy the tiles with the General Green in mind :o The other tile is a light grey, matches the Delta belt/disc sander I have:cool:

Jim



The machine look very good in your shop Jim. In particular, that looks like a very serious jointer.

Did you really purchase the tiles with colour co-ordination to General Green in mind?

[Dan Mages]

OOOH! Those are some spiffy tools! I especially like that aircraft carrier!

Dan

[Frank Pellow]

Hi Frank,

I hate to admit it but I did buy the tiles with the General Green in mind :o The other tile is a light grey, matches the Delta belt/disc sander I have:cool:

Jim
Hey, that's not a bad thing. :D I bought some Festool green paint awhile ago to paint "racing" stripes on a box that holds the guide rails.

[Jim Barrett]

Hi Jim,

Right now I have 2 dust collectors; a Jet DC 1200 CK and a 2hp Oneida Cyclone. There is a story behind both purchases :eek: but I won't get into that right now. My plan is to keep the Oneida, now that I have the machines I want. Still need to install the duct work. BTW I will be selling Jet DC, it is a very nice unit :) Still have the original boxes it shipped in....

Jim







Jim,

What are you using for dust collection? Those machine match the floor very nicely, but do tell, that's not why you chose the Generals' is it??

[Tyler Howell]

Great set up Jim, Love the floor:cool:

[Jim Barrett]

Jim,

What are you using for dust collection? Those machine match the floor very nicely, but do tell, that's not why you chose the Generals' is it??Jim,
Why I chose the General machines....I had a General 350 TS some years ago and really liked the fit and finish. When I decided to go back to a North American TS I had no doubt that it would be a General. The other machines 12" jointer and 15" planer are imported by many different distributors. They are Taiwan machines supposedly built to General's tight tolerances. Took a quick peak at the jointer tables, look very good, but I will give it the once over with my Starett 6' straight edge today and see how things line up. Another major reason for the all General line-up was the "free" freight from General, excellent deal. I actually purchased the machines from Eagle Tools in LA worked with Jesse and Raul, great guys.
Jim

[Jim Barrett]

Hi Rob,

Yep I know, seems like most people want to upgrade to a European slider :confused: My suggestion is to actually use one before you buy. Just not MY "cup of tea" Lots of woodworkers have them and love em. I could never get used to the combo set up, seems like something was always in the way. Did seriously think about the slider and J/P combo...decided to go to something I was more comfortable using. I know Paul C went from a similiar set up that I now have to a Minimax slider and J/P and he loves it. To each his own, that is why we have choices, eh?
Check out this thread for more:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=14054

Jim



Nice set of machinery! Why did you decide to go from the combo to separates with a non-sliding table saw? Did you consider MM's partial combos - saw/shaper and j/p? Just curious.

[Bart Leetch]

Hi Frank,

I hate to admit it but I did buy the tiles with the General Green in mind :o The other tile is a light grey, matches the Delta belt/disc sander I have:cool:

Jim

Its my understanding that sawdust & tile can be slippery under foot, what has been your experience?

Whats in your wallet er on your shop floor is green. :D :D :D

[Jim Barrett]

Its my understanding that sawdust & tile can be slippery under foot, what has been your experience?

Whats in your wallet er on your shop floor is green. :D :D :DHey Bart,
The only "sawdust" I have on the floor right now is from uncrating the machines. Once I have the duct installed the Oneida should take care of the majority of sawdust :cool:
Yeah, lots of my wallet went into the shop floor! :rolleyes:

Jim

[Mark Singer]

Jim,

I bought a lot of stuff from Jessie at Eagle...including my General sander and my Agazzani bandsaw. As you probably know he is a MiniMax dealer as well. Great guys! I sent my freind Reeves Callaway (cars/golf/wine) to them...he loves to tinker and he bought an Agazzani Bandsaw and a bunch of Festool stuff. He will probably by more with the major expansion I am doing to his home and workshop.
I agree with you on the seperates...I could never get used to changing combo Machines either. Unless your running a lot of sheet goods on a production basis a sliding table doesn't really make sense ...for me anyway. With experience there is a certain user /machine dialouge and familiarity that takes place with a fine cabinet saw and it is in concert with building furniture and fine cabinets abd casework....I have the Powermatic 66.and I have the Oneida 2 HP cyclone...very happy, I sold my Jet 1 hp DC right after...we are on similar tracks! I think you are setting up a great shop, with great potential ....enjoy and Happy New Year!

[Ted Shrader]

JIM -

DAAAAANNNNNGGG! CONGRATULATIONS! What a haul. Be careful to keep all those iron surfaces clean and dry to keep the drool from leaving rust spots. Man, what a great day!

Be careful of your back when muscling all those things around getting them set up. You don't want to be out of comission and not be able to use them.

Again, congratulations,
Ted

[Paul B. Cresti]

Jim,

I bought a lot of stuff from Jessie at Eagle...including my General sander and my Agazzani bandsaw. As you probably know he is a MiniMax dealer as well. Great guys! I sent my freind Reeves Callaway (cars/golf/wine) to them...he loves to tinker and he bought an Agazzani Bandsaw and a bunch of Festool stuff. He will probably by more with the major expansion I am doing to his home and workshop.
I agree with you on the seperates...I could never get used to changing combo Machines either. Unless your running a lot of sheet goods on a production basis a sliding table doesn't really make sense ...for me anyway. With experience there is a certain user /machine dialouge and familiarity that takes place with a fine cabinet saw and it is in concert with building furniture and fine cabinets abd casework....I have the Powermatic 66.and I have the Oneida 2 HP cyclone...very happy, I sold my Jet 1 hp DC right after...we are on similar tracks! I think you are setting up a great shop, with great potential ....enjoy and Happy New Year!
Mark,
I bought my B-24 from Jesse also about 5 years ago. He is no longer a MM dealer I believe. All MM machines are now sold through the direct company down in Austin.

I do not want to start a holy war but.. a slider is also great if not better for solid stock too. As you said, we all have our own preferences.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

[Jim Dunn]

Jim,

LOML got me the Jet 1100ck for Christmas, like it alot. However in an earlier thread I posted that the canister is wobbly on it's three legs. Does the 1200ck have this wobbly problem? Looks like the legs would eventually crack if the unit is moved alot.
Have e-mailed WMK Tool about this problem also and am awaiting a reply.

By the way my floors are concrete grey. I'm using that color as bait for a Uni-saw :)

[Jerry Olexa]

Jim. I'm green w ENVY.. Great Tools AND shop. Didn't know you had hit the lottery..Enjoy your new toys..err tools.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim......WOW!

[Jim Barrett]

Hey Jim,

I remember when I put the unit together I thought the "legs" were kind of flimsy. But I have not had any problems with it though I do not move it around to different machines, it stays in one place. Pretty sure it is the same frame as the 1100ck.

Jim



Jim,

LOML got me the Jet 1100ck for Christmas, like it alot. However in an earlier thread I posted that the canister is wobbly on it's three legs. Does the 1200ck have this wobbly problem? Looks like the legs would eventually crack if the unit is moved alot.
Have e-mailed WMK Tool about this problem also and am awaiting a reply.

By the way my floors are concrete grey. I'm using that color as bait for a Uni-saw :)