What do you think about these power tools?

[Phil Winn]

I love woodworking! After receiving a wonderful gift from my former partners – a complete set of woodworking power tools, I posted and asked which specific tools would make for a nice solid woodworking shop which I can spend my retirement days in…after receiving many detailed suggestions from you all, and doing some reading and examining on my own, these are the final choices. With the blessing of my wife and “ex”-partners, I decided to take a significant portion of the gift, add a portion to it, and will be making (
I still need to make a few decisions; which fence for the SawStop; which blades, which Jointer; which Planer; and which mobile bases for these tools? Please either post, PM, or email me. I would love to order these tools on Monday afternoon



<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:date Month=September 1, 2005</st1:date>) to two “Vocational Schools”, one on each coast, for woodworking.


<st1:date Month="8" Day="15" Year="2005">8/15/2005</st1:date>, but there is really no rush on my part. </P>

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How about these?</P>

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1. Table saw: SawStop 5hp, 10” blade, 8” dado, 52” extension table; $3300.00; fence extra </P>

A. Fence -- THOUGHTS? </P>

a. SawStop fence (Biesmeyer improved clone) $369.00; </P>

b. Incra system, $520.00. </P>

c. Which specific mobile base? </P>

d. Which 10” blade for highly figured hard woods? </P>

e. Which 10” blade for plywood?</P>

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2. Jointer: </P>

A. Powermatic 1610079 PJ882 8” Parallelogram 2hp 1ph 230V $1550.00 </P>

B. Laguna XSD310 12” combo jointer/planer $3000.00 </P>

C. Yorkcraft YC-8J 8” by 72” $600.00 or $1000.00 with Byrd Shelical </P>

D. Bridgewood BW-8J 8” by 66” $950.00 or $1400.00 with Byrd Shelical </P>

E. Which specific mobile base?</P>

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3. Planer: </P>

A. Powermatic #15S with spiral head #1791210 </P>

B. Bridgewood BW-15P; 15” planer $1050; or $1800 including Byrd Shelical head. </P>

C. Which specific mobile base?</P>

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4. General International 25” dual drum sander 3 hp. </P>

A. Which specific mobile base?</P>

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5. 1200lbs appliance truck for moving these tools. </P>

Thanks once again, </P>

Phil</P>

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[Larry Browning]

I love woodworking! After receiving a wonderful gift from my former partners – a complete set of woodworking power tools, I posted and asked which specific tools would make for a nice solid woodworking shop which I can spend my retirement days in…after receiving many detailed suggestions from you all, and doing some reading and examining on my own, these are the final choices. With the blessing of my wife and “ex”-partners, I decided to take a significant portion of the gift, add a portion to it, and will be making (
I still need to make a few decisions; which fence for the SawStop; which blades, which Jointer; which Planer; and which mobile bases for these tools? Please either post, PM, or email me. I would love to order these tools on Monday afternoon



<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:date Month=September 1, 2005</st1:date>) to two “Vocational Schools”, one on each coast, for woodworking.


<st1:date Month="8" Day="15" Year="2005">8/15/2005</st1:date>, but there is really no rush on my part. </P>

</P>

How about these?</P>

</P>

1. Table saw: SawStop 5hp, 10” blade, 8” dado, 52” extension table; $3300.00; fence extra </P>

A. Fence -- THOUGHTS? </P>

a. SawStop fence (Biesmeyer improved clone) $369.00; </P>

b. Incra system, $520.00. </P>

c. Which specific mobile base? </P>

d. Which 10” blade for highly figured hard woods? </P>

e. Which 10” blade for plywood?</P>

</P>

2. Jointer: </P>

A. Powermatic 1610079 PJ882 8” Parallelogram 2hp 1ph 230V $1550.00 </P>

B. Laguna XSD310 12” combo jointer/planer $3000.00 </P>

C. Yorkcraft YC-8J 8” by 72” $600.00 or $1000.00 with Byrd Shelical </P>

D. Bridgewood BW-8J 8” by 66” $950.00 or $1400.00 with Byrd Shelical </P>

E. Which specific mobile base?</P>

</P>

3. Planer: </P>

A. Powermatic #15S with spiral head #1791210 </P>

B. Bridgewood BW-15P; 15” planer $1050; or $1800 including Byrd Shelical head. </P>

C. Which specific mobile base?</P>

</P>

4. General International 25” dual drum sander 3 hp. </P>

A. Which specific mobile base?</P>

</P>

5. 1200lbs appliance truck for moving these tools. </P>

Thanks once again, </P>

Phil</P>

</P>

</P>

</P>

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Phil,
With this kind of investment in saw dust making tools, yoiu really need to consider adding a dust collection system to the list. This is important to yur health, not to mention how much cleaner the whole shop will be.
Just a thought.

[Phil Winn]

that I already own many tools, including a 5hp Clearvue cyclone which works
great. I agree, DC is very important! The table saw, jointer, dust collection, and planer were the tools I was improving.
Phil

[Bill Fields]

Phil:


If you are anything like me, my tools exceed my knowlege and ability.

I regularly build something, then carefully tear it apart to save the hardware.

You mentioned lifting --- my "muscle" comes from a "engine hoist" purchased from a local auto parts store. That, with appropriate harnesses, will move almost anything you need to.

On my hoist, I was not happy with the crappy cast iron small wheels and substituted them for 5" casters from HF. One out of 4 of those were rejected because of lack of roundness--but the others work OK. Much easier to roll around and get over the little humps in most workspaces.

I, for one, would appreciate updates on your tools and how they were installed and used.

My brother is in a similar situation--he owns a bunch of banks in the midwest and is being eased into retirement. He has more money than knowledge, but I wsh to guide him to the best equipment.

BILL FIELDS

[Mike Cutler]

Phil.

Given your "wish list". I would take the Sawstop 5hp, with a Jointech Sawtrain system. I like the Incra, but I thought that the Jointech system was a little beefier. I have had good luck with the CMT blades in the full kerf thicknesses

I would pick a larger planer if you can, obviously you have the electrical reuirements met if you are already running 5hp motors. I would look for a 24" planer. Yorkcraft, Griz', Bridgewood, General,etc.. I would also put a Byrd style cutterhead on whichever machine you chose

I like the combo jointer planers, but a 12" planer would be too small for me. I would get a 12" jointer, probably a Delta with the Byrd, or some other helical, spherical cutting head, although if the planer has a spherical cutting head having a jointer with a shperical head may be "gilding the lily" so to speak. It would be a nice lily to gild though.

I like the 24" dual drum sander by General. A nice rugged unit.

I would probaly check out HTC for all the mobile bases. They are the only company I know of that will have model/options to meet the weight requirements of those machines across the board.

It's kinda fun spending someone else's money. Have fun looking and ordering, no matter which choices you make.

PS. I don't see a bandsaw on the wish list, so I'm assuming you already have one.
One more thing. With an investment this large have you considered one of the european style combo machines? You won't be too far away from the middle to upper range of a combo interms of dollars spent

[Paul B. Cresti]

Phil,
Being that you are willing to spend a couple of dollars I will offer a different direction. Instead of the "archaic" American style cabinet saw why not consider a European style sliding table saw (I can suggest a brand for you :) ) Assuming you buy the right one they are very accurate, safe, well built and can take the place of a miter station and CS. I would also consider a jointer/planer combo. If you can go for at least a 16" version because the large jointer is great and do not forget this will be you planing width also. My machine is great (MMFS41) is great, saved me a bunch of space, is head and shoulders above my old PM 60 8" jointer and General 130 14" planer. It also is my mortising machine.

[John Renzetti]

Hi Phil, Sounds like you have some good choices.
Nothing wrong with the General double drum. One caveat is that I had a double drum and ended up selling it. Changing belts was a pain. Getting a widebelt now. Not sure of the price but you might find one of the open ended 16" widebelts to be close in price. If that is the case go with the WB. Grizzly and Sunhill have them for around $3000. General International has one also.
Sawstop has got some real good reviews here. I'm surprised that the fence is an option.
I like the jointer/planer concept. I would choose the Robland XSD from your list. You might want to inquire from Laguna about their TSS saw with slider. See if a package deal could be worked out.
As been mentioned before don't forget good dust collection. In the smaller less expensive units there are the Oneida Gorilla. Woodsucker gets good reviews also. I haven't seen it but the ClearVu would also be a possibility.
take care,
John

[scott spencer]

Congratulations on your retirement and what sounds like a great group of work associates.

Looks like your homework paid off! It's hard to find fault with your selection. Be sure to get high quality blades. You'll probably want a dedicated ripping blade for heavy hardwoods, and either a general purpose 40 or 50T blade, or a dedicated crosscut finishing blade and just switch blades more often....I personally prefer a general purpose blade for about 90% of my cuts, but others prefer dedicated blades for each cut. The Forrest WWII is the best blade I've used to date.

I didn't notice a router or router table on your list, but maybe you already have one or two....that's one of the most versatile tools in my shop. Having a dedicated router in a table, and a smaller unit for hand routing is handy.

Don't forget wood! Have fun and be safe!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Wow, sounds like you are going to have a great set up! All of the tools on your list would be on mine as well if I was in the same situation!!

Good luck.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Phil -

Do you need a middle-aged son? I can be adopted real cheap, and I don't eat much. :p

Sweet setup you have planned. Since I have no experience with anything that nice, I don't know enough about the specific pieces to offer any suggestions. I've seen good things said here on SMC about the SawStop with the Incra system. (I have an earlier Incra Jig, and if that's any indication, I'm betting the curent full fence system is excellent.)

- Vaughn

[Mike Wilkins]

Like others have suggested, you really should consider the Euro line of tools that combine functions in one footprint. And these are not lightweight toys either. I have a 12" jointer/planer similar to the Robland (I have an Andreou Machinery j/p) that saved mucho space over my 6" jointer and 12" Parks planer. And the European saws w/sliding table next to the blade, true riving knife, and engineered from the start dust collection should be near the top of the list. .
Build your shop around these core machines and you should be happy in wood-land for a long time.
Be safe and watch those fingers.

[Phil Winn]

They said that it should be shipped in a couple of weeks...
Now, can two adult males move a 600lbs tool with a dolly (on hardtop),
then slide it down some plywood on stairs (not the SawStop)? IF yes, the next tool can be ordered on Tuesday morning....(the jointer)...
Thanks,
Phil

[Roy Wall]

Phil,


HTC makes a mobile base specifically for the Sawstop..... $229 + $18 shipping and is rated for 1000 lbs...

otherwise
SHopfox #2057 (rated 700 lbs) + #2259 ext base is needed. about $130 total

Sawstop recommends either.

Did you get the SS Beismeyer fence?? or the Incra???

[Michael Ballent]

They said that it should be shipped in a couple of weeks...
Now, can two adult males move a 600lbs tool with a dolly (on hardtop),
then slide it down some plywood on stairs (not the SawStop)? IF yes, the next tool can be ordered on Tuesday morning....(the jointer)...
Thanks,
Phil

Congrats on the purchase... It is an amazing piece of machinery :D and I could not be happier with the purchase... as far as moving it around, make sure that SS has the delivery company come with a lift gate and then the driver will at least put it into your garage with the pallet jack. As far a wanting to move it down into a basement... I do not think I would want to tackle that. It's not a small machine, I would not want to deal with moving it down some stairs. At least I work in the garage so they just popped mine in there and we uncrated it. One thing to keep in mind is that there are 4 pieces of wood on that prevents the say from sliding around (just tip the machine and have someone remove the wood.

We (three men) kept tipping and assembling the mobile base and eventually slid the SS off the pallet. Nothing on the saw is light... :D as delivered there is one flat side (sorta there is a wheel in the way) that could be put against a dolly but I do not think it's for the faint of heart ;) Did I mention that it weighs a lot :D

Maybe there are some firemen/moving guys near by that could help out :D

I am surprised that there is such a wait for the saw. I called late last month and it was being shipped later in the week. Of course the shipping company mangled the machine so they shipped another one the next day. So I guess you could blame the shipping company for your delay :o

Best of luck on your machines :D There are few SawStop owners here so do not hesitate to ask a question :D