Peter Quinn
10-11-2008, 8:44 PM
No, not the guy from X -Files. The shop fox mini molder planer. I ordered one while grizzly seems to be giving them away. Three times this past year I have either turned down or farmed out pieces of side jobs due to lack of a good small molder. More times than that I have used some uncomfortable combination of shaper/router/TS to accomplish a task that would have been simple with a molder, so I got one. Not much to lose.
I am so far impressed. I have yet to make any moldings as I spent all my spare change on the tool and don't have a budget for knives until next month, but I did fire it up and use it as a planer. Very smooth cuts that sand out effortlessly with a few strokes with a 220g sponge.
The machine went together very nicely, the fit and finish is good, the stand is quite solidly made and the assembly/instruction manual is very well written. Those folks at Grizzly could teach the folks at Laguna a thing or two about how to sell machines from Asia! Clear manuals, logical assembly, all necessary parts included; GREAT CONCEPT! All adjustments were perfect out of the box.
I am not generally speaking a big Grizzly fan, but I've been searching for a used W&H for several years to no avail, seems no one lets them go, and those that do think they are worth more used than new!:D I have worked with a W&H, and this shop fox seems to be of similar quality. Very smooth motor, magnetic switch, perfectly flat polished table, very smooth height adjustment, just over all a solid little machine at a rock bottom price. Can't wait to run some moldings and see how it goes. Heck, it is worth the price just to do back cuts on casings!
This makes me want to look more closely at Grizzly planers when its time to make that upgrade, or a shop fox, as I don't like the way green tools clash with the gold ones!:eek::rolleyes:
I am so far impressed. I have yet to make any moldings as I spent all my spare change on the tool and don't have a budget for knives until next month, but I did fire it up and use it as a planer. Very smooth cuts that sand out effortlessly with a few strokes with a 220g sponge.
The machine went together very nicely, the fit and finish is good, the stand is quite solidly made and the assembly/instruction manual is very well written. Those folks at Grizzly could teach the folks at Laguna a thing or two about how to sell machines from Asia! Clear manuals, logical assembly, all necessary parts included; GREAT CONCEPT! All adjustments were perfect out of the box.
I am not generally speaking a big Grizzly fan, but I've been searching for a used W&H for several years to no avail, seems no one lets them go, and those that do think they are worth more used than new!:D I have worked with a W&H, and this shop fox seems to be of similar quality. Very smooth motor, magnetic switch, perfectly flat polished table, very smooth height adjustment, just over all a solid little machine at a rock bottom price. Can't wait to run some moldings and see how it goes. Heck, it is worth the price just to do back cuts on casings!
This makes me want to look more closely at Grizzly planers when its time to make that upgrade, or a shop fox, as I don't like the way green tools clash with the gold ones!:eek::rolleyes: