Decisions, Decisions... Equipment Thread

[Jon Wilson]

So, I am in a pickle so to speak.

My Finance Officer (aka Wife) says I can get a new piece of equipment.

I'm leaning towards,

a router (fixed & plunge combo setup)
---- or ----
a belt/disc sander

I'm not making any big projects (for the time being) if that factors in to a decision.

The router is so versatile, a good many applications can be done with it.
The sander will quite possibly save me hours of sanding time.

If it were you which would you choose, why?

[Kevin Bourque]

Get the router, and don't forget to do a compression check on it first.

[Cary Falk]

I would say router. Something in the 2.24 hp variety. The router much more useful than the sander. Build a router table and you are golden. Things a router can do: dados, flutes, edge treatments, cutting circles, dovetails, inlays, raised panel doors, and 10,000 other things I can't think of at the moment

[Michael Heffernan]

Router. What Cary said.

[Jon Wilson]

Get the router, and don't forget to do a compression check on it first.

Compression Check?!?

I'll play along... :)

[Erik Christensen]

yah a router but... unlike a belt sander the tooling costs are LOT higher - sanding belts are much cheaper than router bits and you should factor that into your decision to avoid nasty audit conversations with the CFO :D

[George Bokros]

Tell the Finance Officer the best one comes in a set of belt/disk sander and router.

George

[Rich Engelhardt]

I can't imagine getting along with less than 3 routers - let alone not having one!

[Wade Lippman]

It would be hard to make much of anything without a router (though I rarely use mine out of the router table...) and you can certainly get by belt sander.

But the bigger issue is your Finance Officer. I hope you were joking about that.

[Matt Day]

I'll play along too - the only compression tests I know of are for chainsaws.

Another vote here for the router - it's the most versatile tool in the shop!

[Bill Wyko]

I say go for the PC 7518 router with both bases, might as well go for the gusto. I have somewhere around 15 routers, 4 in tables with lifts and I use them all. They are just so versatile. Sanding may be a PITA but it can be done by hand, try making an ogee by hand.

[Kevin Bourque]

Ya gotta get a nice, expensive router table too. Just tell her they're a matched set, just like you and her. Chicks love hearing stuff like that and she'll probably okay the sander at that point.

2 birds-one stone:D

[Rod Sheridan]

255707

Jon, I've included a photo of my router, it's really reliable and quiet, and it doesn't spew dust all over the shop.

I've had it a while, no warranty issues with it and it came with a lifetime supply of cutters.

As you can tell from my tongue in cheek reply, I don't use a router for cabinet making, haven't needed one in 30 years.

Now I do own a sliding table, tilting spindle shaper.

Instead of a belt sander, I would look at a good hand plane, probably more useful for cabinet making than a belt sander............Regards, Rod.

[david brum]

Or you could shop on craigslist and buy both for the same money. The drawback is that you probably don't get instant gratification. You do get more tools for your money, though.

[Curt Harms]

Try to find a promo where it's buy a router kit get a random orbit sander thrown in. I have a belt/disk sander, got it cheap but could easily live without it. I use a random orbit sander (preferably with good dust collection hooked up to a vac) far more often.