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Thread: Machinery...

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Coquitlam
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    394
    One thing that I have felt/experienced is that with hand tools you can get better accuracy in certain operations compared to lower end machines.

    To rip board, I use a small job site table saw. I then have to refine/joint the ripped edge.

    Few days back I bought a small sheet of 1" MDF. I asked the store (Windsor Plywood) to cut it to the size I needed. I intentionally, told the dimensions 1/4" more, so that I can get it sized accurately at home. This is what I do when I buy any sheets from HD. Anyway, the guy there used a Sawstop table saw. At home when I measured the board it was very accurate. Edges where straight to 0.004-5" (over 24") and sides where square.

    In a nutshell, if you are using machines then use a good one. They can get the non fun parts done in no time with good accuracy.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467
    Curt, no bandsaw blade I have come across to date can replicate the finish off a well set up tablesaw (and I do have a 1" Lenox Woodmaster CT carbide blade for resawing on a decent bandsaw). It is possible to get glue-ready edge joints off the table saw I have (well, what many would consider glue-ready).

    I feel like a broken record when I write that one must do as one pleases, but do not take literally those who espouse that their way is "better". It may be, but it may just be different. By all means do away with power equipment if you wish to be "hand tool only". I have no beef with that. I worked very close to that for years before I could afford any. Personally, I see value in all tools, and the table saw, for one, is an exceptionally useful member of the team. It is different from the bandsaw. They specialise in different tasks. I do not get those who want to view them as equivalent, and then want to choose one or the other.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 07-11-2020 at 11:02 PM.

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by John Gornall View Post
    And that new track saw to break up sheets saved the old shoulders from humping full sheets thru the tablesaw.
    I'll second this. The tracksaw is great for dealing with sheetgoods.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Lafayette, CA
    Posts
    832
    My goal is to use the machines to get the stock close to foursquare, but I almost never assume the work is finished until I use the planes to refine the surfaces.

    – I use the jointer to take out most of the wind, and then turn to the winding sticks, shims, and hand planes to finish the flattening and squaring. After the machine, hand planing requires the slightest of stop cuts and finish sets of shavings.
    – Then it's off the the planer to get within a few thou of uniform thickness. If precise thickness matters I get out the marking gauge and plane down to the line. Again, I leave only the last few thou to do by hand. After all, I'm not an actual Neanderthal.
    – I still rip, crosscut, and dado on the table saw. I have a killer dado head you can't buy anymore.
    – I ease corners with a block plane or spokeshaves, but for most edge profiles or grooves it's the router in the table, often with a new bit for the job, not a Stanley No. 45 for me. I sometimes make a negative profile part to use as a sanding block.
    – I find the drill press indispensable for many kinds of precision boring operations, particularly with Forstner bits. I own a brace but ... no way, when I can control position, verticality, and depth precisely on the machine.
    – The band saw is my newest machine. I've made precise circles with a jig I copied from a YouTube video. I love cutting curves for the first time! I still rely on hand tools to clean up saw marks. My saw is a 10" baby, so the resawing has been limited, but it does a creditable rough job if I need to get, say 1-1/4" out of an 8/4 board. The band saw is my least pricey machine by far. I can imagine springing for an 18" someday.
    – I also have a random orbital sander, rarely used; a jig saw, now essentially retired since the 1/8" band saw blade; a handheld circular saw, used maybe twice this century; cordless drill and impact driver, good for making jigs or French-cleat boxes

    For joinery, the analogy holds.
    – I have no qualms about roughing out a slightly thick tenon with a dado head on the table saw, and then easing in on the final thickness with the router plane.
    – I use a plunge router and a nifty jig I made from Young Je's design (YouTube) to make furniture-sized mortises, and then I square up the ends with chisels (and usually round off the tenons with chisels too).

    More than enough power tools! But they're for the grunt work, like prepping to paint a house. Then I unplug and kiss the surfaces. Like Derek, I can get a glue joint on the table saw, but I always finish with a hand plane, probably just for the satisfaction of doing a better job by hand than the machine can do.

    Now dovetails, on the other hand... I will not use the power tools unless and until I can make beautiful joints by hand.
    Last edited by Bob Jones 5443; 07-12-2020 at 12:03 AM.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    I have yet to discover whether it is me, the blade, or the saw but I am not finding the bandsaw useful for ripping 0.125" off a piece that is 27" long and 2.625" wide.
    My old bandsaw, Rockwell 10" would have trouble with this task. My new bandsaw, JET 14", does not have this problem when used properly. This is often caused by feeding the stock to quickly.

    My old bandsaw would do what is commonly called "blade drift" or "blade wander." Google those and there may be some solutions that will help. Ignore the solutions involving an angled fence.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
    Posts
    1,934
    Machines:
    Get rid of the crappy table saw, but replace it with a good one--you will need it.
    Essential to most wood shops are also a bandsaw, drill press, router table, thickness plane...

    If you will be working with any sheet goods, get a good track saw.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    Sheet Goods

    Is it correct to think of sheet goods as plywood and other manufactured goods?

    The only sheet goods used in my work so far has been 1/4" (6mm) for drawer bottoms or cabinet backs.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
    Posts
    1,934
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Sheet Goods

    Is it correct to think of sheet goods as plywood and other manufactured goods?...
    Yes, plywood, Masonite, Formica, etc.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    866
    Hi Derek! Getting rid of my table saw was the result of pressure from my wife (who wanted to put her car in the garage/shop) so some tools had to go. Can't even give the radial arm away so the miter saw was a no-brainer. I can edge joint by hand rather well and the paner works well as a face jointer when combined with a sled or after flattening with handplanes, so the jointer went away. I would not have sold the table saw (even with space hogging 36" rails) had I not totally overestimated the value of a track saw when working with real wood. Sigh. I knew it was a risk especially since I had never used a bandsaw since a disastrous day in high school.

    My wife has since retired an we have chosen to keep the truck (we pull a travel trailer) and she does not care about keeping that in the garage since it doesn't fit anyway. So the space pressure has dissipated and I can make room for a jobsite sized saw (the SawStop is looking good right now.) It will be some months before I need it so I have time to think and research and revisit my decisions.

    Later, Curt

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    springfield,or
    Posts
    644
    Thanks for all the advice. Sounds like handsaw, planer, drill press (woulda never guessed) and tablesaw all are important. I can keep my table saw as space isn't a huge concern. When the time comes I will probably pick up planer first then bandsaw. The the ability to resaw seems like it would be a game changer.

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