Request comments on shop plan that excludes planer or sander.

[Larry Rasmussen]

I have had a great time going from being an ok handyman rough carpenter to entry level finish or cabinet guy, strictly hobby for now. Sometime last summer I decided to put together a shop for the varied projects I'd like to do- cabinets and bookcases, entertainment center, plasma tv stand, fireplace mantel. Bottom line- fair amount of sheet goods and some solid pieces.

Have a small table saw, Festool T55 ordered for cutting up sheet goods and crosscutting stuff too big for the miter saw. Also have home made router table, delta drill press, Rigid spindel/belt combo sander and working on a little panel size screw press for veneering. Oh yeah the Makita 12" planer has been great.

As I'm working along in the mess that is my half of the garage I have been mentally been budgeting space for a jointer and maybe kinda someday a sander if I use the shop alot. I am coming along with my hand planing by the way.

So we have arrived at my question/plan. I've more or less come to the conclusion I am going to save for a 15" planer with the shelix head and skip the jointer and sander. We have a variety of wood sources in Seattle and I have no projects that I have to do right away so I usually end up with pretty straight boards. I have been getting by without the jointer. I'm also thinking with the shelix head on the jointer and perhaps a festool sander or two I won't miss a bigger sander.

Am I kidding myself or does this appear to be a realistic set up? Nope I don't want to spring for the Grizzly combo planer jointer just now.

Thanks for any comments from you woodworkers with some miles in the shop.

Regards,
Larry R

[Joe Jensen]

I have had a great time going from being an ok handyman rough carpenter to entry level finish or cabinet guy, strictly hobby for now. Sometime last summer I decided to put together a shop for the varied projects I'd like to do- cabinets and bookcases, entertainment center, plasma tv stand, fireplace mantel. Bottom line- fair amount of sheet goods and some solid pieces.

Have a small table saw, Festool T55 ordered for cutting up sheet goods and crosscutting stuff too big for the miter saw. Also have home made router table, delta drill press, Rigid spindel/belt combo sander and working on a little panel size screw press for veneering. Oh yeah the Makita 12" planer has been great.

As I'm working along in the mess that is my half of the garage I have been mentally been budgeting space for a jointer and maybe kinda someday a sander if I use the shop alot. I am coming along with my hand planing by the way.

So we have arrived at my question/plan. I've more or less come to the conclusion I am going to save for a 15" planer with the shelix head and skip the jointer and sander. We have a variety of wood sources in Seattle and I have no projects that I have to do right away so I usually end up with pretty straight boards. I have been getting by without the jointer. I'm also thinking with the shelix head on the jointer and perhaps a festool sander or two I won't miss a bigger sander.

Am I kidding myself or does this appear to be a realistic set up? Nope I don't want to spring for the Grizzly combo planer jointer just now.

Thanks for any comments from you woodworkers with some miles in the shop.

Regards,
Larry R

I think it comes down to what you want to build, how precisely you want pieces to fit, and how much time you want to spend sanding. When I started I only had a TS and jointer. When I did glueups, the edges were nice and straight, but I aways had a devil of a time getting glueups flat because the boards were not flat. Close, but not flat. I ended up spending a ton of time with a sander. Used to be a belt sander, and then on to ROS. Once I got a planer, my satisfaction in the shop increased dramatically. Every board I used is perfectly flat and straight. I spend very little time sanding, and usually start with 120 grit on a ROS. I haven't had the need for a drum sander until just recently when I got a heavy duty bandsaw and realized I it would be great to have a drum sander for sanding shop sawn veneer.

Can you build stuff without a jointer and a planer, sure, poeple do it all the time. Can you just buy s4s stock and get a drum sander only? Sure. Pro shops have pretty much replaced stock preparation with planers and jointers with large format slider saws, rip saws, and widebelt sanders. they don't have to flatten panels because they just run them through the widebelt. Doing that with a drum sander would require some serious patience as they are WAY slower than widebelt machines.

How picky will you be with the results and how much time do you want to spend sanding?...joe

[Jim Becker]

Many folks work without a jointer. But I would not want to do that at this point...it's a key resource for me. In fact, I use the jointer more than the planer and my joinery has improved significantly since I learned how to make flat and true stock.

[Larry Rasmussen]

Even with the addition of the Makita two blade planer my finishing time has dropped dramatically. Now I know reading between the lines of the some of the spiral planer comments that they are not as perfect as some may want to think but it still appears that a guy with limited output may be able to live without the sander in decent style.

Again, those with actual experience correct my planning based on reading and thinking. Especially reading the price tags on some of the Performax units and how they appear to be a little fussy to run.

Larry

[Dan Forman]

If you don't want a jointer, I would suggest using a sled to face joint with your planer, then a couple of handplanes to clean up the boards after planing, and jointing an edge for glueups. Much more fun than sanding.

Dan

[Larry Rasmussen]

That's actually what I was thinking, sled and hand plane as needed. Picturing the 15" spiral planer at Griz or some similar unit. The rubber is going to hit the road here as I work though a variety of projects as it gets warm. I'm sure my outlook will change with a little time. Thanks for the reply. Larry