I would, and do, spend my money on the first killer deal that shows up on CL. For $6K you could outfit a shop with some pretty high end machinery a couple of times over.
Cheers,
Brad
Help me with upgrade/new additions - power equipment
So, let's say I have an extra $6k sitting around and I want to add some tools and/or upgrade some tools to my shop. My current shop is a grizzly hybrid that I like (will only replace with a sawstop), so that's off the table. I have a nearly new (maybe 10bdft) dewalt 735 that I like. Possible swap to shelix head? I have a harbor freight bench too drill press that has to go. A 9" ryobi benchtop bandsaw (I saw that term very loosely) needs to find a dump somewhere. I just grabbed a delta 37-195 jointer and am nearly finished breaking it down and rebuilding it. Plenty of hand tools (hand and power), domino, tracksaw, sanders, etc…
I'm leaning towards a proper bandsaw, a good 8" jointer with helical head and a proper drill press. If I'm missing something, tell me.
What would you spend your money on? Make and model too please!
Thanks!
Kevin
I'm leaning towards a proper bandsaw, a good 8" jointer with helical head and a proper drill press. If I'm missing something, tell me.
What would you spend your money on? Make and model too please!
Thanks!
Kevin
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Cheers,
Brad
Bandsaw first, a good bandsaw can change the way you work quite significantly. Put a helical in the Delta. Not sure if you can fit the 8" helical jointer into the budget.
+1 for brads advice. I buy almost everything used. Of course these days, used is not the deal is was in the past. But if you have a little time, and the cash isn't burning too hot in your pocket, it can definitely be worth the wait. And a good high capacity, higher HP bandsaw is great in the shop. Patience is the key. I am pleased with my Laguna bandsaw, others like griz. But buy a saw that won't need a riser added later.
Thanks all… what I had in mind was an 8" HH jointer from grizzly ($2600), a 14/12 from laguna ($1600) and unsure about drill press. Thinking I could do a drill press and shelix for the 735 for $1800 couldn't I??
Remember the Griz jointers heads are segments, but are square to the fence and don't give the shearing cut of the shelix heads.
Laguna bandsaw. $1000-$1500 depending on the model. Pick your model. I love my 1412
Nowadays a "spiral" head jointer or planer does a damn good job for a fraction of a helical. I have a Wahuda 8" benchtop and love it but WEN makes one for $396. Home Depot.. The spiral head leaves even figured wood smooth as silk, which is why I bought it.
I also have a Wahuda 13" planer with a spiral head. It came with 2 boxes of replacement teeth (bits, blades, or whatever you call them) Since each one can be rotated 4 times I think I have a 2 lifetime supply. WEN makes one for $425. Home Depot. That Wahuda leaves even figured wood smooth as silk, which is the reason I got it. Yes, it's a benchtop. I still have my big 6" Grizzly but haven't used it in 3 years. I use my track saw for jointing big stuff. It does a better job. I wanted the 8" width which is great for the stuff I do.
Working on this now. Spiral head planer and track saw jointer.
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I can't speak about a helical as I don't have one but the spiral head leaves a baby butt smooth finish. That's 2 machines for less than $1K. Get a WEN track saw for $125 and you've got 3 machines and $5K left to spend on the stuff Madmark2 listed below, which is a very comprehensive and thorough list.
YMMV
Anything else, Craigslist is your friend.
Nowadays a "spiral" head jointer or planer does a damn good job for a fraction of a helical. I have a Wahuda 8" benchtop and love it but WEN makes one for $396. Home Depot.. The spiral head leaves even figured wood smooth as silk, which is why I bought it.
I also have a Wahuda 13" planer with a spiral head. It came with 2 boxes of replacement teeth (bits, blades, or whatever you call them) Since each one can be rotated 4 times I think I have a 2 lifetime supply. WEN makes one for $425. Home Depot. That Wahuda leaves even figured wood smooth as silk, which is the reason I got it. Yes, it's a benchtop. I still have my big 6" Grizzly but haven't used it in 3 years. I use my track saw for jointing big stuff. It does a better job. I wanted the 8" width which is great for the stuff I do.
Working on this now. Spiral head planer and track saw jointer.
I can't speak about a helical as I don't have one but the spiral head leaves a baby butt smooth finish. That's 2 machines for less than $1K. Get a WEN track saw for $125 and you've got 3 machines and $5K left to spend on the stuff Madmark2 listed below, which is a very comprehensive and thorough list.
YMMV
Anything else, Craigslist is your friend.
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Put an Incra fence with a Wixey digital readout on the saw.
Add a big 1/2" router & insert in the R wing of the saw.
Buy an Incra miter gauge and cross cut sled.
Add a Wixey to your planer.
Buy a digital height gauge for cutter height setting.
Router bits! Rail & Stile set with matching panel cutter, at least two patterns! LOL
Router templates - FastJoint
Router for inlays & pattern cutting
ScrollSaw
Taper Jig
Circle & french curve templates, dividers
Good 8" calipers
Incra T rules, 6" & 12" (skip the 18")
Fresh blades on EVERYTHING
New carbide forstners to go with the drill press
DUST COLLECTOR
Sanders. A couple of ROS's so you don't have to change grits. A nice 6×48 stationary belt sander - griz makes a nice one for around $800. Oscillating Belt/Spindle sander, detail sander.
Lathe? Carbide chisles? Sharpening set for HSS?
CLAMPS! CLAMPS! CLAMPS!
LUMBER!
Add a big 1/2" router & insert in the R wing of the saw.
Buy an Incra miter gauge and cross cut sled.
Add a Wixey to your planer.
Buy a digital height gauge for cutter height setting.
Router bits! Rail & Stile set with matching panel cutter, at least two patterns! LOL
Router templates - FastJoint
Router for inlays & pattern cutting
ScrollSaw
Taper Jig
Circle & french curve templates, dividers
Good 8" calipers
Incra T rules, 6" & 12" (skip the 18")
Fresh blades on EVERYTHING
New carbide forstners to go with the drill press
DUST COLLECTOR
Sanders. A couple of ROS's so you don't have to change grits. A nice 6×48 stationary belt sander - griz makes a nice one for around $800. Oscillating Belt/Spindle sander, detail sander.
Lathe? Carbide chisles? Sharpening set for HSS?
CLAMPS! CLAMPS! CLAMPS!
LUMBER!
Did something similar and ended up with Jet 12" drill press, which I love. Big table, 6" quill movement, easy to change speeds. Jet 6×48" sander, 1 1/2HP, works great but so-so dust collection. And Laguna 14-12 bandsaw with the 3/4" carbide blade (strong buy recommendation). Still contemplating what to do about planer (have DeWalt 735 with carbide blades) and jointer (don't have). Those are in the shopping phase for later this year.
+1 $6000 would buy all the used WW tools in my shop at least twice.
+1 Look for bargains in used tools - especially right now in 2022.
New tool prices will come down in 2023, or at least there will be heavy sale prices based on current inflated list prices. So buying new big ticket tools this year, can/will result in larger drop in resale value than typical in short term. Why are prices predicted to go down?
Shipping costs have stabilized, and are forecast to go down by 50% in 2023. New shipping capacity has been added, continues to be added, and overall demand is reducing. Half of the inflation on new WW tools the last two years is due very high shipping costs as OEM fight for capacity to have inventory to sell. Example is the ~$5K .vs. ~$16K per container increase on Asia to USA routes from 2020 to 2022. Considering a 40ft sea box only hold 40 pallets, or 20 double height band saw pallets; large tools have been hammered with shipping inflation.
What to Buy?
- Upgrade to a used 15" four post planer: with spiral head they sell for $900-$1500 used. They are all same inside, so; Delta, Grizzly, Jet, PM, or off brand; are all a major step up from DeWalt plastic screamer.
- Skip the wimpy 14" band saw, and step up to Large 16-20" band saw. Laguna, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Minmax/SCM, etc. The older Italian made machines are hard to kill. For ~$1500-$1800 can get some serious re-saw capacity. Keep the 9" for small curvy work.
- Use the rest to buy a 500-1000bdft stack of lumber at wholesale. Can never have too much lumber.
OR
- Skip buying tools and upgrade to a new Oneida 3-5HP dust collector.
Cheers!
+1 Look for bargains in used tools - especially right now in 2022.
New tool prices will come down in 2023, or at least there will be heavy sale prices based on current inflated list prices. So buying new big ticket tools this year, can/will result in larger drop in resale value than typical in short term. Why are prices predicted to go down?
Shipping costs have stabilized, and are forecast to go down by 50% in 2023. New shipping capacity has been added, continues to be added, and overall demand is reducing. Half of the inflation on new WW tools the last two years is due very high shipping costs as OEM fight for capacity to have inventory to sell. Example is the ~$5K .vs. ~$16K per container increase on Asia to USA routes from 2020 to 2022. Considering a 40ft sea box only hold 40 pallets, or 20 double height band saw pallets; large tools have been hammered with shipping inflation.
What to Buy?
- Upgrade to a used 15" four post planer: with spiral head they sell for $900-$1500 used. They are all same inside, so; Delta, Grizzly, Jet, PM, or off brand; are all a major step up from DeWalt plastic screamer.
- Skip the wimpy 14" band saw, and step up to Large 16-20" band saw. Laguna, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Minmax/SCM, etc. The older Italian made machines are hard to kill. For ~$1500-$1800 can get some serious re-saw capacity. Keep the 9" for small curvy work.
- Use the rest to buy a 500-1000bdft stack of lumber at wholesale. Can never have too much lumber.
OR
- Skip buying tools and upgrade to a new Oneida 3-5HP dust collector.
Cheers!
Thanks Captain. In my area (N Alabama), good, used tools don't come up very often. Hence the reason I am looking at new.
Your local availability is a consideration but the Captain makes a good point. I'd drive a few hours to haul home a big ass tool. I'd love to have a beefy 15" planer and an 18" Laguna 220v. Those of us that have 14" bandsaws and 13" lunchbox planers always look longingly at that stuff, at least I do, but I also don't have the space in 1/2 of a 2 car garage. How much space do you have? Everything I have is on wheels and the planer is on one of two flip top stands with wheels. A 15" planer is not portable, neither is a 220v 18" bandsaw.
Used machines that are worth purchasing do not come up
Very often in the southeast. I'm an hour and a half south of Nashville and about 5 from Atlanta. You'd think in bigger cities, there's be some stuff!
So I made up my mind on a couple of purchases. About to leave for a month of "work", so I won't make my purchases until mid-June, but…
Laguna JX8 helical head jointer OR
Grizzly G0858 with helical head
That's a pretty decent price difference between the two, so…
Laguna 1412 OR 14BX.
Going to wait on drill press for now and instead, spend that money on a helical head for my DW735 and the tickler portable drill guide.
I need to build cabinets in my shop to gain more room, but at f'ing $80/sheet, I can't swallow that right now. Hoping it comes back down shortly!
Very often in the southeast. I'm an hour and a half south of Nashville and about 5 from Atlanta. You'd think in bigger cities, there's be some stuff!
So I made up my mind on a couple of purchases. About to leave for a month of "work", so I won't make my purchases until mid-June, but…
Laguna JX8 helical head jointer OR
Grizzly G0858 with helical head
That's a pretty decent price difference between the two, so…
Laguna 1412 OR 14BX.
Going to wait on drill press for now and instead, spend that money on a helical head for my DW735 and the tickler portable drill guide.
I need to build cabinets in my shop to gain more room, but at f'ing $80/sheet, I can't swallow that right now. Hoping it comes back down shortly!
The drill press and bandsaw are good options.
But personally, I'd sell the 735 and rebuilt jointer and look at a combo J/P. Perhaps Hammer A3-31/41. Having a jointer that matches your planer width is pretty nice.
I wouldn't waste money on the 735 Shellix.
But personally, I'd sell the 735 and rebuilt jointer and look at a combo J/P. Perhaps Hammer A3-31/41. Having a jointer that matches your planer width is pretty nice.
I wouldn't waste money on the 735 Shellix.
What's your dust collection look like? Seems like a good opportunity to do that up right!
Probably enough left over for a used large format bandsaw. I think I'd keep the small one though, I love having two!!
Depending on how you play the DC, there might be a good chunk left and then you can hit some more upgrades…
Just my opinion but, if there isn't bad runout, a drill press is a drill press. Unless you need a lot of throw or are using really big bits….
Probably enough left over for a used large format bandsaw. I think I'd keep the small one though, I love having two!!
Depending on how you play the DC, there might be a good chunk left and then you can hit some more upgrades…
Just my opinion but, if there isn't bad runout, a drill press is a drill press. Unless you need a lot of throw or are using really big bits….
Look at Redmond and Sons, south of Atlanta for used tool options. I usually talk to Scott
+1I wouldn t waste money on the 735 Shellix.
- EdDantes
What are the reasons? I don't have one but have looked into it. I use mostly rough stock. Thanks
The Shellix will give you a nicer finish, but most people are going to do final surface prep anyway. With sharp knives and attention to grain orientation I haven't had much issue with tear out. If you were using a lot of highly figure wood, may make a bit more sense. Yes it's quiter, but I'm wearing hearing protection either way (but could be relevant for people with shared space).What are the reasons? I don t have one but have looked into it. I use mostly rough stock. Thanks
- ibewjon
But it also comes at the cost of having to make shallower passes.
At the end of the day, it never made sense to me to buy an upgrade that costs nearly as much as the planer itself. I'd rather wait a bit, then take the $600 for the Shellix and the $450 you can get for the DW735 and be halfway towards something like the G0815 with Shelix upgrade.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
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