Help me buy myself new tools

[Scott Berg]

Hi,
I am trying to figure out what I "should" buy in the way of new tools. I have some of the basics, i.e. nice tablesaw, jointer, router table, drill press.

My next purchase was going to be a Dewalt 735 planer but am also considering a Grizzly 14 inch Bandsaw (G0555). Question for the panel is which of these tools is more important to get first? My birthday is Monday and now is the time to make my case.

With everything going on in the world right now, I am glad that this is my biggest problem right now......

Thanks

[Matt Tawes]

I would suggest the planer. Absolutely essential when thicknessing rough lumber. I also have the DW735, nice planer and does the job and I'm pretty happy with it but next time around I will get a different one for various reasons.

[Frank Pellow]

I would opt for the planer before the bandsaw.

[Chris Dodge]

I would personally get the Bandsaw first but it depends on what you plan to build. Look at your upcoming projects and decide which would be used more or be more important to making those projects look good. If your projects don't have curves then you might be able to do without the bandsaw right now.

I use my bandsaw (old refurbished Rockwell 14" that works beautifully!) most every day I am in the shop.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Bandsaw or planer?...tough question. I'd think a lot of it depends on the type of things you intend to build, and whether you need or want to process rough-sawn lumber. Personally, I bought a benchtop bandsaw, then a small planer, then a real bandsaw (the Shop Fox cousin to the G0555), but I could have done without the benchtop bandsaw. I make a lot of cutting boards, so the planer will easily pay for itself, even though I know I'll be replacing it down the road. Now that I have the real bandsaw, I'm using it more than expected, and it's opening up possibilities for lots of new projects.

So, to answer your question...it all depends. You'll use both a bandsaw and a planer, so I doubt you'll go wrong with either of your choices, and as to which one you should purchase first, I'd say it depends on several variables, such as your immediate project plans, or if one of the two tools is on sale for a good price.

And you're right...if this is the biggest problem you deal with this week, you've had a pretty good week. :)

- Vaughn

[Scott Berg]

All of the comments have been good. My plans are to start buying rough wood and use a planer so I can save $$ on my wood. But....I also see the advantage to using a bandsaw to resaw wood, etc. There is never a simple answer to most of my questions! Maybe the best solution is to try and get both! :D

[Vaughn McMillan]

Maybe the best solution is to try and get both! :D
See, Dorothy, you've had the answer all along. Simply click your heels together three times and say "there's no place like my shop...there's no place like my shop... ;)

The two tools do compliment each other well, but it becomes somewhat of a "chicken before the egg" scenario. You can buy rough lumber, use a jointer and planer to get it square, the resaw it on the BS, then smooth up the resulting lumber on the planer, but you need both tools (all three, including the jointer) to do it.

- Vaughn

[Tom Hamilton]

Don't forget to turn three times clockwise and throw sawdust, preferably from an exotic, over your shoulder, either shoulder. :D Tom

[scott spencer]

It depends of course on what your going to build. Curves and resawing are best done on the BS. For anything straight, I start by passing the wood across the jointer, then planer, then the TS to start every project with flat square stock. If the latter scenario is more your style then I'd get the planer first.

[Fred Voorhees]

No question, opt for the planer. It is one of the basic machines of any well equipped shop.

[Kelly Anderson]

I have both and don't think you could lose either way.

[Alan Turner]

At the price point you seem to be considering, I think a planer might be a better first investment. A larger BS is a pleasure, and one of those guys might be over your budget right now, but a good portable planer will be under $500, and you will find it quite useful as you save for the BS of your dreams.

[Gregg Mason]

I'm in the same boat, (almost) I do have a small bandsaw. But I am really feeling the pain of not having a thickness planer yet. Not just for the rough lumber. It's not easy finding the correcthinkness, even if your willing to pay the extra $$$ for it.

So I vote for the planer.

[Roger Bailey]

I also own both of the tools you are looking at. You will not go wrong with either. I find in my projects I sometimes use one or the other or both. I guess you have to look at what projects you are going to build and what tools you need to complete them. You can get around without one or the other by using a jig saw, hand planer, or even a good router.

[Mark Rios]

Just the other day I had the same dilemma. I went to a new hardwood place and saw a whole bunch of different and exotic wood I'd like to play with. I had a special little project that I wanted to make. It called for 3/8" material. Since this hardwood seller had a mill and milled his own wood it was, of course, rough dimensioned. I have a DW735 but I no longer have a jointer or a bandsaw. So....I couldn't get any of the wood flat OR resaw any of it to thinner stock.

Ok, Ok....long story short....I ended up paying a bunch more money for some other, predimensioned, regular, material because I didn't have any of the tools to work with. So, now I'm looking for a jointer AND a bandsaw. It was SOOOOOOOO frustrating not having the tools I knew I needed. I never knew how much I couldn't do without those two tools.

Buy a planer AND the bandsaw. Maybe think about starting with smaller equipment if you need to and then move up as your situation changes. Only my amateur two cents.

[Charlie Plesums]

I vote for the planer before the bandsaw

After 45 years without one, I finally got a bandsaw, then replaced it with a better saw ... twice ... the G0555 is my third, and the best so far, but it is not the last bandsaw I will own. It is a useful tool, but in my experience, one you can live without.

If you resaw with a lightweight bandsaw like the G0555, you still need a planer to perfect the thickness - unless everything is in perfect alignment and condition (new blade, etc.) you will need a planer to reach the final thickness and smoothness. Maybe one of the $2000+ bandsaws can resaw perfectly enough to be ready to go to a sander without a planer, but I wouldn't even bet on that.