New Here----Trying to build a little shop

[James Murray]

Hello everyone,
I have been lurking for a few weeks here and am very impressed with the amount and quality of information being passed around.
I am a novice woodworker - I am wanting to begin building some tables and also make some guitars.
I have a shop area in my basement---therein lies the problem.
I would like to get some power tools - bandsaw, drill press, jointer, planer ---- but I want them small enough and light enough to get down the u shaped staircase.
So any and all recommndations would be appreciated.
I own Festool Circular saw, router, sander, and jigsaw as an FYI.

Thanks so much,

JM

[Prashun Patel]

I'd pony up for dust collection first.

[Lee Koepke]

Alot would depend on your projects. You also have to get the materials down there, then the projects back up.

I have a daylight basement with an overhead door, so its easier on alot of things for me.

[Daniel McCurdy]

Most tools can be broken down to more managable pieces that 2 guys can move. Plenty of people have workshops in their basements, no problem there.

Sounds like once you have them down there, they'll be staying there...in other words, you won't be taking them in and out to go to job sites or something like that. Therefore, IMO "small enough and light enough" shouldn't be your focus. The focus would be more along the lines of what kind of quality can be found in the budget, and does it break down enough to get downstairs...which all should at the level you're probably looking at.

[Dave Verstraete]

James
I am in the basement also but I have a straight shot down the stairs from the garage.
I would opt for the planer or jointer first, IMHO.

I'm a former lurker and relative newbie here also

Dave

[Daniel McCurdy]

I'd pony up for dust collection first.

I'll second that.

[Chris Padilla]

Hi James,

Welcome to Saw Mill Creek! You may wish to click on "User CP" and fill out for us where you reside. You never know, there could be some 'Creekers close by that could help you out quite a bit!

Lots of knowledge here!

[James Murray]

Great suggestions so far - thank you!
I was unaware that the machines come apart relatively easily so that is great.
I have been looking at Grizzly products with great interest. A lot of them look like a lot of bang for the buck.....are there other brands you would recommend I look at?

Thanks again!

P.S. Dust collection will be taken care of for sure - Thanks!

[Scott Loven]

I have a U shaped stair into my basement, I took my jointer down there in two boxes using an appliance dolly, very easy!
Scott

[William Nimmo]

I think it was about 10 years ago, I paid a concrete guy about 3k to dig a hole, pour steps and cut a hole into my concrete wall of my basement. I installed an exterior door. It is a straight run in and I could not live with out it. Before that, I built an oak wardrobe, and even though (I Thought) the measurements were done so I could get it up the interior u shape stairs, there was no way it was making the turn.
Now because of the stairs, I have been able to get a sawstop down into the shop and all kinds of other nice tools down, and some nice furniture and cabinets up.

[David Parker]

Hi James,

I'm in a similar situation to yours. I just bought a lathe after getting hooked on a turning class. After finding this site and all the great information available here, I realize now that in addition to turning, I'm probably going to want to learn some general woodworking as well. I can see making some cabinets for my small basement shop as a good start.

Because of my space limitations (12 x15 shop), and its aid in preparing blanks for turning, I plan to use a band saw as my primary cutting tool and forgo a table saw. I will also get a circular saw and guide system for cutting sheet goods. Here's my wish list and some of my questions/comments:

18 inch band saw - need to decide
Rikon 10-345 now on sale at Woodcraft $999 (I can pick this up locally)
Grizzly GO513X2 - $1044
Grizzly GO514X or X2 - $1244 / $1389 not sure what the extra money really will buy me in terms of real world usability over a GO513
Steel City 50250 - $1300 plus shipping if I can't find locally

Any problem with me getting these down basement steps with a 90 degree turn in the middle? (steps, 36"x36" landing, more steps at 90 degrees to the first set)

Dust collection - shop too small for a cyclone
Delta 50-760 with a Phil Thien-like cyclone separator lid / collection can in front of the inlet acting as a "pre-collector" (thought it'd be an interesting experiment).
Grizzly G1029Z is a close second choice

I've never really heard much about planers or jointers before lurking here. The planer I can see for getting the wood thickness just right (DeWalt 734 - $400). Is a jointer mandatory? Can a bench plane suffice for smaller jobs? I'd like to avoid the expense and particularly the space of a jointer but if this is a must-have, I'll find room.

Router plus router table and / or router attachment for rail guide system

Any other major space occupying tools needed? (I have a small bench mounted drill press and a grinder for my turning tools, and a nice workbench). I'll probably make a collapsible wood holding table to do my cutting on larger pieces. Thanks.

Dave

[Billy Chambless]

Any problem with me getting these down basement steps with a 90 degree turn in the middle? (steps, 36"x36" landing, more steps at 90 degrees to the first set)


Any of the saws mentioned will be a challenge to get down the stairs, but not impossible. I'd remove the saw from the crate set aside anythinhg removable (table, fence, blah blah) and roll it in with a dolly -- a refrigerator dolly would be best, but I used a large hand truck to move my GO513x2 into the house and down a hallway to my tiny shop. Of course, I only had a few steps to deal with, but you're going downhill. ;) STRAP THE SAW SECURELY TO THE DOLLY if you take this approach.




I've never really heard much about planers or jointers before lurking here. The planer I can see for getting the wood thickness just right (DeWalt 734 - $400). Is a jointer mandatory? Can a bench plane suffice for smaller jobs? I'd like to avoid the expense and particularly the space of a jointer but if this is a must-have, I'll find room.


A lot of people get by just fine without a jointer and planer. You'd be amazed what you can do with handplanes once you get the hand of it. My suggestion: get the power tools you're sure you want, plus a few hand planes and see how it goes. No need to buy a truckload of machines all at once, imo.

[Grant Davis]

I'd pony up for dust collection first.


What he said

[Daniel McCurdy]

Great suggestions so far - thank you!
I was unaware that the machines come apart relatively easily so that is great.
I have been looking at Grizzly products with great interest. A lot of them look like a lot of bang for the buck.....are there other brands you would recommend I look at?

Thanks again!

P.S. Dust collection will be taken care of for sure - Thanks!

James, I see you're near Trenton. Don't forget to keep an eye out on craigslist. Lots of people around Philly/NJ post on there.

After my garage addition was built and I had the space set aside for the workshop I wanted I started keeping an eye on CL.

I got a nice 2 1/2 hp radial arm saw with a sweet cabinet for $125. Heavy duty 3hp 15" planer with dispos a blade system for $500. The planer probably wasn't a steal, but I knew th guy selling it and he takes VERY good care with his equipment. (It was funny, I didn't know it was him untill I repsponded to the ad and he called.) Both sellers were within 30 minutes of my house.

BUT...Then I hit the jackpot when I came across a guy about 30 minutes from me with a whole shop of tools for sale because he was moving to DC. Grizzly: 1023 table saw, 6" jointer, floor drill press, floor standing disc/belt sander, 2hp dust collector, and a 14" band saw. All were hardly used and in great shape. I paid $1100 for all 6 tools.:D

The deals are out there.

[Steve Leverich]

If you buy new, you may also wanna get in touch with the OWNER of Grizzly - as you can see on their website, he's a guitar builder and could likely recommend which tools you need first... Steve

[James Murray]

Thanks again guys.....
Great ideas about Craigslist as well as for checking in with the owner of Grizzly.
Really appreciate all of your input.

Thanks!

[John Bailey]

My advise would be to get a guided system for your circular saw. Since you have a Festool already, their guided system might be just the ticket. Then get a bandsaw, the bigger the better. With the tools you have and these two, you can build just about anything.

John