Is this crazy talk?

[Greg Parrish]

I haven’t even finished getting my new to me Felder KF500 Profrssional setup, but with a Benchcrafted Classic 84 bench showing up tomorrow and an interest in a new hobby for my son and I, I’m having crazy thoughts of making some room in the garage and moving to a focus on hand tools, hand power tools (track saw, router, etc) and a bandsaw and jointer planer. I’d also keep my lathe.

It would mean selling the newly acquired saw, and the parts and pieces I’ve been collecting up for it, as well as the miter saw and stand. Possibly the router table too. id still have a band saw, drill press, work bench and decent set of hand tools, Makita track saw, hammer J/P, and my lathe.

im not 100% sold on this but wood working is just a hobby just like camping and paddle boarding/fishing. Anyone gone this direction and if so did you miss your saw?

Ugh, wish we had more room but I really want to embrace my sons interest. At the same time I don’t want to wake up in a panic with regret.

[Bill Dufour]

So what are those model numbers? sliding tablesaw and a shooting bench for guns? Maybe buy hand tools for gunstock making? A bandsaw would help, maybe the felder is a bandsaw.
Bill D.

[Greg Parrish]

So what are those model numbers? sliding tablesaw and a shooting bench for guns? Maybe buy hand tools for gunstock making? A bandsaw would help, maybe the felder is a bandsaw.
Bill D.

KF500 is a sliding table saw I picked up in January and have been collecting parts to get it setup.
Benchcrafted bench is a maple bench with leg vise that is 7’ long. Decided to buy rather than build.

Reason to make space pace would be to get 2 to 3 twelve foot paddle boards and trailer into garage. I’d compact shop down to 1/2 of garage and have other for trailer basically.

[Jack Frederick 135]

Just a thought....

Keep it all, get an off-site storage unit to park the trailer. Maybe a small storage locker for the paddle boards?

In my area you could do something like that for less than $40 bucks a month.

[Jim Becker]

Honestly...I think there would be regrets. Add the hand tools and use them both for your son's activities as well as for refining surfaces. No way would I give up the gear you've recently acquired to re-invent your shop. But that's me.

[Carl Beckett]

I am a big believer in just DOING/BUILDING some projects. Then BUILD some more. After a few projects you will have a better idea of what tools you want/like and can decide then (give it a year or two).

And then it will continually change and evolve over time is my experience.

I personally use a TS a lot. My brother however, after several years, ditched his and went with hand tool work combined with a band saw. Others are wood turners. Some only make small stuff. There is a scroll saw population out there. Some like routers and making signs.

How old is your son? You can support his interest in a variety of ways. But until you do a few things, you are not likely to know what really gets the interest up.

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks. As mentioned I’m not running to do this but as I type this I have a 12’ paddle board laying in my office with plans to add a 2nd and maybe 3rd with trailer. Paddle boarding and paddle board fishing is the new interest which combines with our motorhome camping and other uses. He is in middle school so I’m trying to do as many th8ngs with him as possible while he is young. He isn’t into woodworking but I used the hobby to build the flight simulator I posted a few months ago, which he is into. The reason to pare back would be to store the trailer, gear and boards in my garage shop.

Anyway was just curious if others made this type of move in tooling and were happy. Seems most everyone struggles with the thought of not having a table or slider saw, me included.

[Rod Sheridan]

Greg, obviously any powered saw isn't required to make furniture.

That said, time is most valuable to hobby users, as we seem to have a shortage of that. The KF500 with it's capabilities and capacities really saves time in the shop.

I know from experience that shared interests with children are extremely rewarding, and extremely short in duration as they grow into adults.

I would look at storage for the paddle boards off site, or perhaps in the ceiling of the garage? A winch could make it all "disappear"...............Regards, Rod.

[Derek Cohen]

I haven’t even finished getting my new to me Felder KF500 Profrssional setup, but with a Benchcrafted Classic 84 bench showing up tomorrow and an interest in a new hobby for my son and I, I’m having crazy thoughts of making some room in the garage and moving to a focus on hand tools, hand power tools (track saw, router, etc) and a bandsaw and jointer planer. I’d also keep my lathe.

It would mean selling the newly acquired saw, and the parts and pieces I’ve been collecting up for it, as well as the miter saw and stand. Possibly the router table too. id still have a band saw, drill press, work bench and decent set of hand tools, Makita track saw, hammer J/P, and my lathe.

im not 100% sold on this but wood working is just a hobby just like camping and paddle boarding/fishing. Anyone gone this direction and if so did you miss your saw?

Ugh, wish we had more room but I really want to embrace my sons interest. At the same time I don’t want to wake up in a panic with regret.

Greg, I am one of the biggest fans of hand tools for a few decades, and have built many pieces of furniture with hand tools on-line, on forum, and in wood shows. I also build serious hand tools, them selves (which have featured in FWW magazine). There is no bigger supporter of hand tools. And yet I have a full complement of Hammer machinery (slider, bandsaw and combo thicknesser-jointer), amongst other power tools. As much as I love hand tools, the machines are here to stay. I would love to have your KF500!

Power and hand tools compliment each other. There is a place for both. I have done my time preparing timber from the rough sawn stage with hand tools. It is romantic, but not practical in the long term. Unless you are planning on building small stuff, like boxes, and do not have much interest in furniture, I'd advise that you hold onto your machines. I can live without a router table (it gets used a few times each year), and the Domino (used once since I built my kitchen 2 years ago). I prepare the boards with machines, and then do all the shaping, joinery and finishing with hand tools. I love using hand tools, but the way to them is set up with machines.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[George Yetka]

I would pick up a few chisels/hand saws/planes and play around for a while before just up and selling off your machines. Hybrid wood working seams to be a pretty common thing now adays. I like both. Maybe you can push your son into a smaller hobby?

[Frank Pratt]

I applaud your efforts to be involved in your son's interests. That will yield untold payoffs for both of you. Having been through this with my 4 kids, I can tell you that their interests can be fleeting. They pick an interest & their lives revolve around that for a couple of year & then they may move on to something else. And there's nothing wrong with that; they're kids & that's what kids are supposed to do. If you stay interested & involved in what they like, that'll stick with them & when you're old & grey they'll remember to come over & wheel you out into the sunshine every now & then

I think the suggestion to find some offsite storage for the trailer & paddle boards is a good one. You shouldn't have to give up the shop & he shouldn't have to give up some serious dad time.

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks guys. Voice of reason is what I needed. I’m exploring other options now. Either a custom enclosed trailer I can leave locked to motorhome with boards locked inside (needs to be light weight so I can move it by hand in campsites) or maybe just hang them on the wall in my office and store non-enclosed trailer with motorhome. Our backyard is just a courtyard so no real storage and we can’t have it visible in Drive per neighborhood.

Ive gone from an F350 diesel and 5th wheel to a class A motorhome and company car and no real Easy way to deal with these things. LOL. Next company car will at least be an SUV but that’s 2.5 yrs away.

on a side note the driver with my bench called and should be here any moment. And Felder has the power feeder brackets in stock if I can just get them to ship mine.

[Carl Beckett]

the driver with my bench called and should be here any moment.

I am excited as well and its not even mine! Look forward to seeing some pics, looks like a beauty!

[Bill McNiel]

Greg, I am one of the biggest fans of hand tools for a few decades, and have built many pieces of furniture with hand tools on-line, on forum, and in wood shows. I also build serious hand tools, them selves (which have featured in FWW magazine). There is no bigger supporter of hand tools. And yet I have a full complement of Hammer machinery (slider, bandsaw and combo thicknesser-jointer), amongst other power tools. As much as I love hand tools, the machines are here to stay. I would love to have your KF500!

Power and hand tools compliment each other. There is a place for both. I have done my time preparing timber from the rough sawn stage with hand tools. It is romantic, but not practical in the long term. Unless you are planning on building small stuff, like boxes, and do not have much interest in furniture, I'd advise that you hold onto your machines. I can live without a router table (it gets used a few times each year), and the Domino (used once since I built my kitchen 2 years ago). I prepare the boards with machines, and then do all the shaping, joinery and finishing with hand tools. I love using hand tools, but the way to them is set up with machines.

Regards from Perth

Derek

J'accord! 100%

[Reinis Kanders]

THose paddleboards should be able to survive outside. We stored some behind a shed for years, they looked a bit aged, but otherwise were fine.