Things you have you use the least?

[Tom Winship]

Started to comment on Roger Chandler's thread but one thing I have that I have noticed in very few turners shops is a jointer.

I think everyone pretty well has the following:
1. Table saw
2. Band saw
3. Drill Press
4. Lathe (Duh!)
5. Some sort of stationary sander (especially in segmenters shops)

I have a jet 6" jointer but actually use if very little. (Didn't use it that much before the vortex passed over me and grabbed me)

Any comments????

[Dennis Ford]

I hate to admit it but my workbench probably tops this list, it seems to be a storage table more often than a workbench.

[Roger Chandler]

Tom,

I use my jointer every time I make a piece of furniture or put together a raised panel for cabinets...........or anytime I do a panel glue up..........I would not want a woodshop without one!

[Peter Blair]

Interesting thread. Before I got caught in the vortex I had lots of tools that I since have unloaded to allow a little more cash for the vortex

Gome are a shaper, a thickness planer, a jointer and a little off subject also nearly new Mig and Tig welding setups.

[Steve Kubien]

The only pieces of equipment in my shop are my lathe, bandsaw and grinder. I have the usual assortment of handheld power tools (drill, router, sanders etc).

Nope, mine is a pretty lean operation (unlike myself).

[Jerry Marcantel]

I use my 6" Powermatic jointer almost every time I start a new turning. It's used to smooth the flat so when I take it to the bandsaw to make a round, the piece will lay flat and not cause any binding on the bandsaw. When not actually using the jointer under power, I use the fence as a backstop for locating the center of half log rounds... I also use it to get a good straight edge so when I cut my blank on my miter saw, the ends end up pretty square...... I think jointers and lathes are meant for each other..... A match made in heaven...... hehehehe......... Jerry (in Tucson)

[John Keeton]

I have a full flatwork shop and just could not consider getting rid of anything. With a barn full of walnut, cherry, QSWO, and curly maple, I keep thinking someday I will build another piece of furniture or two!!:o

[charlie knighton]

my table saw with handmade outfeed table is my finishing station, my bandsaw/outfeed table is my sanding/centers/odd misc stuff station

lathe, chainsaw, grinder, maul, splitters

[Tom Winship]

What is funny is that the Jet 1236 Lathe and the jointer are the only tools I have that I haven't updated (until today. Jet 1642-2 is in order process).
Bought the 1236 in 1996 because I was building a table with turned legs. That is about all I used it for until the last year.

[David DeCristoforo]

Sometimes the thing I use least is my brain. At least the part of it that keeps my mouth shut....

[Thomas Canfield]

Tom,

A jointer is something that you need when you need one. I sold my 8" DJ20 before making my move due to downsizing my shop size, but I am now looking for a deal on a 6" to have when needed ( and a need is coming fast). Like you, I have turned to turning more, but still like to do some flat work and a jointer and planer are both real handy to have considering the condition of most of the wood available.

[Roland Martin]

I haven't had a jointer for 8 months or so and feels like I lost my best friend:(. I'm also keeping an eye out for a replacement. The one tool I have that I never use (why do I keep it anyway?) is a 30 year-old Craftsman router that's about as smooth as a skidder!

[Jay Rasmussen]

I would have a rough time without my jointer for flat work. I think I’ve used it on almost every project I’ve done.
Lathe work maybe not as much but too early to tell. Nice thing about the jointer due to its shape it doesn’t take a lot of square footage.

[Greg Just]

I have an old jointer that I don't use much of anymore since I got into turning. I a good old machine that I will keep as it was free. I have an old drill press that would make a better boat anchor and I never use it. Not very flexible so I use my newer Delta DP.

[Reed Gray]

I started out in flat work, and have just about everything I need for basic furniture. I still use them from time to time, but not nearly enough. Don't think I will sell them though.

robo hippy

[Jamie Donaldson]

My jointer, planer, and tablesaw have been under tarps on the other side of my shop for about 20 yrs. but I can't bring myself to part with them, just in case.....! Actually, I rolled out the tablesaw last week to make a modification to a friend's horse show organ enclosure, to make even more portable. I made the original in 1989 for his Hammond X66, and now he's down to a new compact Hammond, not much more than a double keyboard with all kinds of electronic sound capabilities built in.

[Jim Underwood]

Sounds like I should get my jointer set up correctly and start using it for bandsaw prep. I've destroyed several blades with slightly uneven chunks of wood thinking they were flat enough....

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have a lathe, tablesaw, sliding mitre saw, bandsaw, scroll saw, router & table, and a jointer. Couldn't live without the jointer.

[Baxter Smith]

Seems like that could be a long list lately. Probably at the top would be the powermatic mortiser I picked up on Craigs List a couple of years ago(about the time I turned my first bowl). Barely used and a great deal! Something you have yet to use can still be a good deal can't it?

[Neil Bosdet]

I'm surprised. When I took my first woodshop course in grade 8 (very long time ago), my shop teacher told us, in his opinion, the jointer was the most important tool in the shop. When dimensioning wood, you can't do anything with it until you have a flat surface and a square edge. Certainly this doesn't necessarily apply to turners but even if you don't agree that's it's the most important, it's definitely important. I use it almost everyday.

I have a very complete shop with most every tool known to woodworkers. I use them all. I was actually thinking about this recently. I use almost every tool I have on every project. Well, with 2 exceptions. I have a mortiser that I don't use often and I have a scroll saw that I never use.

[Dan Forman]

My jointer gets a lot of use - it's just behind and to the right of the lathe, the perfect spot to set turning tools, chucks, and whatnot. When I do use it for it's intended purpose, it always takes a while to clean it off, and clear out the wood that seems to mysteriously accumulate around the base. I certainly wouldn't willingly part with it.

Dan

[Ryan Mooney]

Sometimes the thing I use least is my brain. At least the part of it that keeps my mouth shut....

Haha, I was thinking that if you asked LOML she'd say the same thing about me.

As far as real tools, the hollow chisel mortiser has languished with little use for the last few years (considering ditching it now that I have a slot mortiser attachment for the jointer but hard to part with a tool :D) and I don't use the shaper as much as I probably ought to.

[Rick Markham]

I actually want a combination jointer planer, while my flatwork has been virtually non existent, there's a series of turning incorporated furniture I NEED to build. I will have a complete little shop then. besides if I get a big enough one, it will be more room to put more turning related stuff on, my tablesaw/router table is getting pretty crowded :D

[Kathy Marshall]

It's a sad story, all these tools and no power (they all run on 220) or room to use them, so they just sit and accumulate stuff.
Delta Unisaw, 20" planer, 8" jointer, shaper, drill press (I have a little bench model that I use), 60gal air compressor, sliding compound miter saw, scroll saw, 1.5hp dust collector and a horizontal boring machine which has never been used. Some day I'll have a real shop (no hitch or wheels :eek:) with real power (not just extension cords from the house) and then they might actually get some use.

[neil mackay]

I've got a very large old dewalt drop saw, sits out side under the eaves wrapped in plastic. It just takes too much room up in the shop.

[Russell Neyman]

Well, this would seem to be the perfect place to drop this nugget: Radial arm saws have become virtually useless in recent years (due to the emergence of better miter saws, I suppose) and Sears has a program to reclaim as many of their old units as possible because the blade guards are substandard. I gave one to a neighbor a couple of years ago, and this week he went on the internet and got rid of it for a profit. All he did was fill out a form, and in return the manufacturer paid him $100 and sent him a pre-paid/pre-addressed shipping crate. Heck, he didn't even have to take the darn thing anywhere; FedEx came and picked it up from his house.

This program applies to specific 8, 8 1/2, 9, and 10-inch models sold by Sears from 1958 to 1995. Here's a link: http://www.radialarmsawrecall.com/determinemodels.aspx

I'm betting there are lots of Creekers who have an old Craftsman unit sitting in the corner who will gladly dump it and take the bucks to buy a new bowl gouge!

[Carl Civitella]

I have most of the flat stuff, b/c i want to do everything, that is why i am not good at anything. But i try. :) Carl

[Jason Ritchie]

I have a dovetail jig still in the box 4 years later. Never even opened. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Things that get the least amount of use are: joiner, planer, powder coating machine, biscuit joiner, welder, hand held belt sander, routers, scroll saw, table saw, and jig saw. Things I use the most: Lathe, bandsaw, drill press, hand drill, dremel, dust collector, shop-vac, belt/disc sander, grinder, hand planer for flattening rough pieces before mounting on the lathe. Also, my window unit A/C gets a lot of use in the summer! In the winter, I have a little electric heater that knocks the chill off.

[Roger Chandler]

I like my radial arm saw.......even though I have a 12" sliding compound miter saw and a regular 12" miter saw as well. There are capabilities that it has that a slider does not...........making cross grain dado cuts for example and I can put a molding head on mine and do a number of profiles including raised panels for cabinets..........although I much prefer the big router table I have for that one.

I will agree that the RAS does not have much use in lathe work! My dovetail jig gets used when I make drawers for cabinets.....and some boxes when I used to make some of those before the vortex got me! :rolleyes:

[Roger Chandler]

This thread brought to mind a song by Ray Stevens......."Power Tools" ....not exactly sure why, it just did! ......lyrics below:

Power Tools Lyrics

by Ray Stevens (http://www.maxilyrics.com/ray-stevens-lyrics-538c.html)

Well some folks say that grown up men are still jus' little boys,
and that really the only difference is the price of our toys.
We go for macho symbols, like guns and running shoes,
pickup trucks, huntin' ducks, and *vvrrmmm* power tools.

...Power tools (power tools)
Power tools (power tools)
Yeah just put 'em in the wall and think of all you can do.
You can plant a garden, fix your car, build a house if you want to,
If you've got the proper power tools!

SPOKEN:

Hello emergency room, Yeah I just fired up my new gas powered weed wacker there and some how another it got caught in the hammer loop of my big smith over-alls yeah before I get 'er set down she plumb screwed me 'bout three foot into the front lawn there. Yeah. My wife hollered out the front door 'Hey shorty! While you're down there, how about checkin' the fescue for aphids?'

Hrmp. She's a real comedian, that one. Hardy har har.



Well some folks say that macho men use tools to compensate,
for a decline in verility. Now I thought about that and wait!
There may be some validity in what those people say.
But in my case it's just the only way I get to go outside and play

SPOKEN:

*UHDNNN UHDNNN VRROOOM VRROOOM* Boy I love this stuff!


Power tools (power tools)
Power tools (power tools)
Oooh just put 'em in the wall and think of all you can do,
you can plant a garden, fix your car, build a house if you want to,
If you've got the proper power tools!

SPOKEN:

Hello 911!? I was jus' in the garden there trying out my new direct drive roto-tiller, when the raw-hide lace from my red-goose work shoe somehow or another got tangled in that outboard tiller tine. Yeah before I could get 'er shut down she'd plum drug me clean across the lawn up underneath my neighbor's Toyota 4x4. Wife hollered out the door, 'Hey Shorty!' (funny how a name'll stick with you like that) Said, 'Hey shorty, if you're gonna play Mr Goodwrench, looks like you'd fix our old gilape first!'

I tell ya that woman's a regular Roseann Barr.


Well 911 Rescued me carried me away
to the local hospital for at least a two week stay.
Dr said I hope you leanred your lesson,
thanks to power tools, you're nearly dead;
I didn't hear a word he said
I was playing with my power-bed. *Uhnnnnn*

Power tools (power tools)
Power tools (power tools)

SPOKEN:

Hello Nurses Station!? Could you please send somebody to room 402? QUICK! Yeah my power-bed's stuck in the up position, I'm folded up in here like a big taco!


(Power Tools) Yeah if you've got the proper power tools.

SPOKEN:

Hello Honey, don't be alarmed, just quietly evacuate the neighborhood an call the bomb-squad.

[Richard Jones]

I have a Jet 6" jointer that was my dad's. I do use it a couple of times a year when doing production runs of cutting boards. Only rarely other than that.

I'd gladly give it up if I could get my dad back.................:(

I also have table saw, 2 bandsaws, 5 grinders, 2 lathes, scrollsaw, drill press. I plan to keep all at this time.

[Bill Wyko]

Since I do humidors, furniture and turning, I can't think of many tools I don't use. I'll have to go home tonight and look around to figure it out. I do know one off hand, the Fein Multimaster. I will say though, when you do find that situationwhere it's needed, it really comes in handy.

[Robert McGowen]

What is funny is that the Jet 1236 Lathe and the jointer are the only tools I have that I haven't updated (until today. Jet 1642-2 is in order process).

That was a sneaky little gloat! :)