Advice RE: next equipment purchase

[Mike Kees]

Another vote for buying used. My entire shop except for two machines was purchased used. 2 machines out of 14 currently. I would buy a four post 15'' planer and skip the Dewalt,one less step to get to what you will probably end up with in the end anyway. Pick any color they are all pretty much the same, but if you find an older Delta or Powermatic for good money pounce.

[jeremy romoser]

Just FYI - the G1021Z is currently on sale. Made in Taiwan and in stock at both facilities.

Also, you can pick up the machine at your local freight terminal to avoid the hassle you mention above.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Griz...t-Stand/G1021Z

Thanks for the info. The price I stated above factors in the sale price and includes the freight, lift gate and mobile base, making it more expensive than the jet.
I'll call Grizzly before making a decision to get a better idea of where the "local" freight terminal is to see if that is an option.

[Karl Card]

Sort of depends on what you are making or plan to make that would decide on what size planer. I have the dewalt 735, i love it, I also have a rigid 4330 and I love it. BUT I like to make cutting boards and many, many times I wished I had a larger planer. If you have the money just think about what you might be interested in making.

[jeremy romoser]

Can’t believe nobody has suggested buying used. If you have a decent CL area and have patience, you can get an 8” jointer, 14” bandsaw, and 15” planer for the price of that Grizzly jointer you’re looking at.

Thanks for the reminder. I almost never think of CL when shopping for something (for no reason other than it doesn't come to mind) but with houston being my "local" market and a whole shop to fill up, I should probably start watching CL on a regular basis.
Happy New Year

[jeremy romoser]

Thanks to all who responded. After reading the responses, my plan is to get the jointer/planer combo, most likely the 12" jet. I like the idea of separate machines for most items but even though I have the space currently, I am pretty certain I'll never spring for the cost of a 12" jointer so the combo makes sense. However, while waiting a little bit to save up for the combo, I got frustrated wrestling full sheets of 3/4 plywood onto my TS to make cuts and ticked off that I sometimes did not make straight cuts with that method so I decided a track saw was needed, as Andy suggested and bought one. One of the best decisions I've made. Have made multiple full length cuts of 3/4 plywood and all have been accurate, straight, and easy to do as well as much safer than what I was trying to do. Very glad I didn't put the track saw purchase off any longer. This set my J/P combo purchase back a bit but glad I did it. As Andy also suggested, my first trip to the hardwood store I purchased lumber surfaced on 3 sides (only .50 a board foot for this service) which I think will work out very well for future purchases. Maybe even allowing me to delay a J/P purchase much longer.

For Van and Jim and others that might have mentioned DC. I currently only have the dust right from Rockler. I can only run one machine at a time so it makes sense to me to just move my hose from machine to machine. Currently I only have one machine, the TS, so it works for me and seems to do a great job. I likely will buy one or two more in the future as my needs increase and have dedicated lines for several machines.

Anyway, enough rambling. Just wanted to thank all for the responses, reply to some responses and update on my joy in purchasing a track saw for others that might be on the fence.

[Jim Becker]

A dust collector is pretty much mandatory for a J/P so make sure something appropriate is part of that action, Jeremy. The Dust Right with a shop vac isn't going to work for that, even dedicated to the machine. You need a lot more air movement to accomplish the task.

[johnny means]

I would make a bandsaw my next purchase.The option to cut curves opens up a whole new realm of design possibilities. A planer only allows wood to be made thinner.

[jeremy romoser]

A dust collector is pretty much mandatory for a J/P so make sure something appropriate is part of that action, Jeremy. The Dust Right with a shop vac isn't going to work for that, even dedicated to the machine. You need a lot more air movement to accomplish the task.

Thanks for the response.
Depending on how much of a unit I need, that might delay my J/P purchase a bit. Especially now that I know the wood store will surface both sides and an edge for minimal cost.
Anyway, the Dustright claims a flow rate of 650 cfm. How much air movement should I be considering when the time comes?

[andy bessette]

Actually the jointer and planer make large shavings, not "dust." These shavings are very easy to collect and dispose of. Where a dust collector will be virtually a necessity is with a drum or wide belt sander. The manufacturer of those machines will suggest a certain minimum capacity for a dust collector.

[Jim Becker]

True, it's more shavings than fine dust, but my J/P purchase is what forced me to upgrade my cyclone to a larger one because those shavings need significant air movement to clear and not plug things up, especially when working on wider material.

[Jason Plemons]

I agree. I have a Laguna 1.5 PFlux and have to be careful with how much I take off while planing -- especially if it's something like maple. Jointing never seems to be an issue because I usually stay below 1/16th anyway. If I had more room and money at the time, I would have went with a larger dust collector.

[Craig Day]

What Van said and doubly so for a combo...DC is required, not optional.

Is this true of your combo machine, or combo machines in general with the way the chips are directed through the machine? I've had two planers (12" and 20") and two jointers now (6" and 12") and I still have no dust collection... of course I'm getting pretty sick and tired of sweeping up chips/shavings/dust (and breathing dust) so a dust collector is the next on my list, but in my cases I wouldn't say dust collection is absolutely required to use the machines.. just something really nice to have :-) And boy does the 20" planer produce a LOAD of shavings running something full width!!

[andy bessette]

With separate planer and jointer there is no need for a dust collector. On the jointer almost all the chips go down the chute and into a box. On the planer the chips are spread around a bit more, but are an easy sweep-up.

[Nick Decker]

Yes, you can catch the chips in a box or sweep them up, but I just don't believe there is no fine dust produced. You can choose to ignore it if you want.

[Derek Cohen]

Yes, you can catch the chips in a box or sweep them up, but I just don't believe there is no fine dust produced. You can choose to ignore it if you want.

I agree. Just check the surfaces in your shop the next day. A fine layer of dust? Imagine what is hanging in the air waiting to be sucked into your lungs.

My shop is a double garage. There is a long garage door and, facing it, an entrance door from the house. The doors are opened to flush out as much dust as possible. Even so, dust will settle on surfaces.

Regards from Perth

Derek