new shop... suggestions???

[skip gleichman]

I am equipping a new semi-commercial shop soon and would like some feedback.

I do mostly furniture but also some doors and work with a lot of figured wood, cherry, maple and walnut mostly and want the ability to do large panels, re-sawn and book-matched. The idea here is to be able to go wide... 12" at least in the following equipment with minimal chip-out. Single phase where possible.


Items needed


16"+ Jointer, down to a new Oliver with their helical head or old iron (Northfield) with back-beveled knives and a wider bed.

24" planer, same deal as the jointer.

Big bandsaw: 12" re-saw cap. I have had differing opinions here. This is the big question. Do I need an old beast (36" Oliver, Tannewitz or Nortfield) or could I really get by with a modern 24" saw? The jointer and planer are easy compared to this piece and suggestions are much appreciated.

Sander: With helical heads or equiv, will I need a huge wide-belt, or would a drum sander suffice? My current work all begins with a 6" jointer with back beveled knives and takes a minimum of sanding… My thinking is that maybe a drum sander with 150 grit would suffice?

Mortiser: I currently use both loose tenon joinery, router cut with jigs and traditional mortise and tenon joinery cut the same way and chopped square. I want to settle on a system. A floor standing mortiser or maybe a multi-router?


I currently have a General Table saw, will be adding an older Unisaw, I have a 14” bandsaw, drill press. 145” edge-sander and also a 2300 CFM DC and an 850 cfm DC

I am thinking to spend $20,000 on this equipment… the place location is not yet set but am 90% sure it will be a 2000 sqft shop with 200 amp single phase.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks

[Jim Becker]

If you're going to do door making, you'll want to add a shaper to your list, preferably with a power feeder.

I think that "old iron" is very nice if you can find what you need in good (or easily restorable) condition for a decent price. Folks have mentioned recently that more of this stuff is coming on the market. However, you'll have a harder time finding it in single-phase since much of it comes out of commercial shops where 3-phase rules. You may want to put that into consideration as you site your shop. Native 3-phase is easier to deal with than having to go with converters, etc., although it's not a show-stopper. Older gear that is not direct-drive could have the motors changed out to single phase, although that pretty much limits you to "5hp" realistically. Direct-drive tools...well...phase conversion necessary.