What would you buy with $1,000 if you were me?

[Matt Day]

I've gotten a $1,000 allowance from the LOML to use on whatever I want! :cool:

I'm trying to figure out what I would like to buy, and it's tougher than I thought it would be. There's nothing I would say I "need" right now but there are many things I'd like to have. I'm only a hobbiest woodworker and enjoy my time in the shop and the only deadlines I have are from my wife. To give you an idea of the projects I build, it's mainly furniture with some turnings thrown in, with my next projects being a couple side tables for the living room and a chest of drawers for the bedroom, and down the road I'd like to build a bed frame. I have a pretty complete shop right now, but there are a number of things I'd like to upgrade. Here's my list of major tools right now:
14" Delta/Rockwell BS with riser kit
Delta benchtop mortiser
Delta 1.5hp DC with Thien seperator & wynn filter
Delta ambient air filter
Dewalt DW734 planer
Dewalt 7790 RAS
Bridgewood cabinet TS
Shop Fox 8" jointer
Jet 1442 lathe
Grizzly belt/disc sander
Shop made router table
20gal compressor

The three items I'm thinking about are a bigger bandsaw, bigger planer, or a Domino.
Bandsaw: I'm pretty happy with my Delta and don't do much resawing. Its clearly underpowered, but again I don't resaw much, so this is pretty low on the priority list.
Planer: I've had my DW734 for 6-7 years or so and it's performed admirably. The main issue I have with it is that the cutter head slips ever so slightly as I process material. I'm thinking a 15" floorstanding model. I could get a brand new Griz for about $1000, but I'd like to find a used one for $500-$600.
Domino: I'd love to have one of these, but it is quite an investment. It seems like an amazing tool, but the time saving aspect is not big for me, and it would eat up the entire $1000.

I suppose I could also look into other joinery systems like Dowelmax or MortisePal, AND get a used 15" planer, with some money to spare?

I think writing this out has helped me figure out what I want, but what would you do?

[Brian Tymchak]

IMHO, if you don't have an air cleaner and DC yet, put that on the top of your list! You will be doing your lungs, and maybe others in your family, a favor and still leave some budget to play.

You might also consider adding exotic, figured, rare lumber to your list.

[David Hostetler]

I can't say if I were you, because I don't have all the info... But it does sound like your shop is pretty complete. Not sure about that DW734 with the slipping cutter head. My Ryobi is the same age and doesn't do that...

My mind tends to wonder about the facility itself. Do you have enough power? Lighting? HVAC? Storage?

If I had $1K to spend on my shop, it would be to finish insulating and rocking it up, and build the storage cabinets that are sitting in the design completed, but too broke to actually build them yet stage...

Tools wise, for $1K after your descriptions, I would be prone to wanting to upgrade dust collection to a cyclone. The Penn State Temptest S 2.5Hp is a good option.

[David Nelson1]

or you could invest in some nice used or new hand tools. I have no idea how a shop with only power tools exists.

[Carl Beckett]

Hand tools? Can pretty easily spend a grand there.

And wood.

Heck, take a woodworking class..... (with airfare you could still make it under $1k)

[Dustin Brown]

If it were me, I would buy a lot of small things. Planes, chisels, good counter-sink bits, etc.... All the small things it would be useful to a quality version of.

[Huck Schwee]

The more I get into woodworking, the nicer I think a drum sander would be...

[Prashun Patel]

Chisels, low angle block plane, Router plane, and sharpening system. These will open yr world. Domino is nice if you want to be fast.

[scott vroom]

Have you considered spending the $1,000 on a romantic getaway with your wife? Might pay some big dividends :)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Bandsaw: I'm pretty happy with my Delta and don't do much resawing. Its clearly underpowered, but again I don't resaw much, so this is pretty low on the priority list.Rats -!

& you're pretty local...
Think about how nice it would be to have a bigger bandsaw.....
Your eyes are getting heavy....heavy..heavier than lead.....
When I snap my fingers, you will fall asleep and dream of getting rid of that 14" bandsaw and getting a bigger one....
When you hear the word "Grizzly" you will have an irresitable urge to sell that 14" bandsaw to someone in Stow and rush out and buy a bigger bandsaw...
1-2-3- Grizzly!

:D
jk.

No Festool in your shop eh? (other than the Domino you want)
I've lost track of the good things I've heard about the Rotex.
Another suggestion would be a very good - Grex maybe - pin nailer.
The Ridgid OSS is another thing I've heard a lot good about - so much so that i picked one up. I haven't gotten a chance yet to set it up.

[Rick Potter]

About that 15" planer.

It depends on what you need to plane. If you need to surface rough stock a lot, the 15" is your ticket, but if you only occasionally plane stock down a bit for projects the benchtops give a better finish, in my experience. I had a really nice 15" Jet, and sold it to get a DW 735. It better suits my hobby needs.

Of course that is just my situation. YMMV.

The DeWalt 7790 is a great saw, and I use it all the time, crosscuts only. Highly recommend it. Also recommend the drum sander, very usefull.

Rick Potter

[Don Jarvie]

To echo what some have said, get some good hand tools and a sharpening system for them. Good set of chisels, #4 smoothing plane, #5 jack plane and a rip and cross cut tenon saw. Incorporating hand tools I if you don't already is a good idea.

[Kevin Presutti]

Matt,

Check this out, http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/tls/3373283926.html you may be able to get him down a bit, it's a 15".
Good Luck!

Kevin

[John TenEyck]

Radial arm saw, an old cast iron Dewalt or similar, if possible. Second best for versatility, but better if you need to have it portable, a SCMS. Drum sander - what a game changer for me. And a couple of really good hand planes.

John

[Dan Bowman]

A used 15" planer and a Jessem dowel jig - if being fast isn't important, you'll probably enjoy the Jessem more than a Domino.

[Cary Falk]

If you want a new bandsaw, Woodcraft currently has the Rikon 18" on sale for $999. My 15" spiral planer is nice from a noise standpoint alone. It does not leave quite as good of a finish as my lunchbox did. I got a drum sander on CL a few years back and find it quite useful as somebody else mentioned.

[Matt Day]

Wow, thanks for all the great responses guys!

A romantic vacation with my wife sounds great, but we're in for a heck of a life change in about a month when our first child is born!

I had thought about some hand tools, but I think I can squeeze in a hand tool here and there in the future - suggesting I spend $1000 on one tool in the future won't go as far as "it's only $100 and I'm getting a great deal on it". So I think I'm going to stick with bigger ticket items.

I've been keeping my eye out for a drum sander too, but I'm just not sure how much I'd really use it. I'm fine with using my ROS on parts for now and I don't make big production runs where it would really be useful. If I got into sawing my own veneers would be great, but for now I'm buying veneer online.

I have an ambient air filter and DC which I recently upgraded to Wynn filters, and it's serving me well so I don't think I need a cyclone just yet.

Lumber is a good idea, but I can justify material cost when planning a project.

Upgrading the shop is another good idea - I just need to spend the time doing it. I've got more lights and MC cable to run more circuits and clean up the outlets, I just haven't gotten around to it.

I'll need to give some more thought to a joinery jig (Jessem, Dowelmax, Mortise Pal, ???) and a 15" planer. I work with all rough lumber but it's not like I do this professionally, so maybe I just need a DW735?

[scott vroom]

Matt, congrats on your expected new arrival!



Wow, thanks for all the great responses guys!

A romantic vacation with my wife sounds great, but we're in for a heck of a life change in about a month when our first child is born!

I had thought about some hand tools, but I think I can squeeze in a hand tool here and there in the future - suggesting I spend $1000 on one tool in the future won't go as far as "it's only $100 and I'm getting a great deal on it". So I think I'm going to stick with bigger ticket items.

I've been keeping my eye out for a drum sander too, but I'm just not sure how much I'd really use it. I'm fine with using my ROS on parts for now and I don't make big production runs where it would really be useful. If I got into sawing my own veneers would be great, but for now I'm buying veneer online.

I have an ambient air filter and DC which I recently upgraded to Wynn filters, and it's serving me well so I don't think I need a cyclone just yet.

Lumber is a good idea, but I can justify material cost when planning a project.

Upgrading the shop is another good idea - I just need to spend the time doing it. I've got more lights and MC cable to run more circuits and clean up the outlets, I just haven't gotten around to it.

I'll need to give some more thought to a joinery jig (Jessem, Dowelmax, Mortise Pal, ???) and a 15" planer. I work with all rough lumber but it's not like I do this professionally, so maybe I just need a DW735?

[Jamie Buxton]

A track saw. If you work much with plywood, a track saw is indispensible.

And a good plunge router. I'd be lost without one.