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I have the Okay to get 2 new tools and 1 accessory

1477 Views 16 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  LumberJockMan
The Power that is my Wife has decided to placate my perceived need to finish my workshop tool list. There are two tools and an upgrade I'm looking to get.

1. Bandsaw - I have a 16" jointer/planer, so I'm thinking an 18" would be a good fit for resawing big stock and panels that I can still point & plane.
2. Drum Sander - I'll be doing a lot of Frame and Panel construction in cabinets and furniture. A lot of cabinet makers I've spoken with say they couldn't get buy w/o their drum sander. My j/p is pretty big, but it's not big enough or the right tool for flattening panels. Of course, if you make them well enough, they don't need to be flattened, but I'm not Mark or Norm.
3. (the accessory) - I would like a helical head for my Jointer/Planer. I work with a lot of highly figured hard woods. As sharp as new Tersa knives are, there's still some tear-out, even when the feed speed is at it's lowest setting.

4. (not approved but on the list next - A replacement for my Frankin-Collector and ducts. My setup works well enough, but I'd like more and better capacity.
5. A bigger garage, but that's definitely out of my price range.

Justifications: Do I really need any? My wife said I could. This just doesn't happen! :) Really, I'm building a new kitchen, all new furniture for my home, and my parents are preparing the rebuild of an log cabin from the early 1800's. We took it down in the early '80's. I helped then, as a kid. I should be more help now as an adult who wants to build period reproductions. Needless to say, I'll use modern and not period tools. Finally, I spend all day, nearly every day, typing away as a Data Architect. The only selfish escapes I have are, Diving (which I can't really do in Indiana), mowing my grass (Thank You Spring!), and the satisfaction I get from woodworking.

I imagine I'm not unlike most of you. We all probably have a wish list and ideas of what we'd get if our better halves gave us the okay. I've been window shopping for several years now. But, I thought I it would be informative and just fun to throw it out there to see what's on your lists and why. I'm an expert in my field, Data. I'm proficient, but by no means am I a expert, professional, or extremely experienced in my passion for woodworking. I have a lot to learn, and I'm asking you all to please school me in tool selection, the why(s), and most importantly, having fun with the process. In the end, More Knowledge = Better Options. More Knowledge + Better Options-> Better Choices. Hopefully the sum of * = Less Regret!

Major Tools in Shop:
1. 10" Prof Cab TS
2. 16" J/P
3. Festool Domino 500 (only Festool in the inventory)
4. Router Table & Router
5. Plunge Router
6. Palm Router
7. 6" RO Sander
8. Pneumatic Nailer
9. Chisels
10. Shoulder, Jack, & Rabbit Planes
11. Dovetail Saw
12. Bench Drill Press (I may upgrade this, eventually)
13. Most of the necessary had tools (not great, but good enough)
14. Good measuring devices (Calipers, Squares, Depth & Height Gauges, T's, Tapes, Feelers, Machinists Rules (3" - 4'), etc…)

What am I missing? What's on your list(s) and Why?

THX-1,000K
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Have you considered an Edge Sander 6"x80" or larger. Of the woodworking machines I have, it's the second most used machine next to the table saw. I also use it for jointing.
The BS is the low hanging fruit IMO.

Have you considered getting one of those combo table top belt and spindle oscillating sanders? They're immensely convenient, don't cost a fortune, and don't take up a ton of space…the Rigid EB4424 is well regarded for ~ $270. Not that it would take the place of a drum sander, but would be a nice little addition to the shop even if you get a drum sander too.
I went through a similar thing when I built our kitchen. The designer said it would be $60-70K and that was 12 years ago. We had about $6K in it, and that included a Jet 3HP table saw, 20" planer and 8" jointer, plus a big router and various other hand tools.

1. Band saw is an essential. Minimum 18" if you're planning to ever use a carbide blade.

2. No question a drum sander is a game changer for just about anyone IMO. I have a Supermax 16/32 which handled almost all the doors and drawer fronts for the kitchen reface. No big deal, open end sanders are nice. Ideally, a wider sander, but the price goes up appreciably.

3. Helical head. Not cheap, but very nice to have. I would like to replace my 20" but its $1200. As for highly figured wood, you would have a drum sander for that.

An oscillating belt sander if really nice to have, but there are ways to get around that.

4. On the DC I would take a strong look at the Clear Vue systems.

Justfication? For the reface last year, I made 32 new doors and 18 new drawer fronts, painted. Recalling the burn out I experienced after building the kitchen, we were going to hire it out. The first quote was $16,000. I didn't need to buy any machines, but my cost was just under $4000 and that included all new hardware and drawers, which included soft close hinges and Tandem undermounts.

As far as building a kitchen from scratch, you have to weigh out the time and your finishing abilities vs. buying RTA cabinets.

No question compared to hiring it out to a cabinet shop, the machines will at the very worst, you'll break even, but I think its safe to say if the projects are fairly large you'll still save a lot of money and have some machines to boot.

Worst case, after the projects are done, if you find you have an expensive machines sitting around doing nothing, you can always sell it and probably recoup 75% of the cost.
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I would go for the bandsaw and drum sander.
I bought RTA cabinets when I redid my kitchen. I would of spent more on supplies than what I paid for the cabinets.
I would go for the bandsaw and drum sander.
I bought RTA cabinets when I redid my kitchen. I would of spent more on supplies than what I paid for the cabinets.

- corelz125
I'd go with the same. I really wish I had a drum sander.

Not to sidetrack the convo too much, but where's a good place to order RTA cabinets from? I'm looking to build a wetbar in the basement and I'm trying to decide between building or just ordering.
Yes to #1 and #2, no question.

Regarding #2, the drum sander, I just did a small-ish reface of my kitchen base cabinets; 11 shaker drawer fronts / doors with flat panels. Trying to finish sand even that small number of assemblies was a chore, and the results were barely acceptable to me vs the unfinished doors I bought from reface depot a few years back. If I had the space I'd get the drum sander.
The better the BS the better! I have a C-15 Harvey which I love, but wish I had the space/money for a Hammer /Felder 18. ( in addition)

I put LUX and Byrd heads in my jointer and planer. Super move, worth every penny. I do wish I had the Powermatic planer instead of my DeWalt, but it gets buy.

I have a ClearView DC. 5 HP monster. Love it. The Oneida was on too long a back order, but the 4 HP would have been fine for me. I wish I had a higher ceiling so I could use a bigger drum.

As I am moving to more hand joinery, the only power tool on my list is to upgrade my Delta drill press to some old industrial monster that does not flex and have as much quill slop as a grizzly.
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So, There's no question, I guess. I'm on the right path. The problem is that all the tools I was considering in 2019 cost $1000 dollars more due to "supply chain". My whole goal when shopping was to find a was that was better and cheaper than the "Gold Standard" Powermatic. I have nothing against PM. To the contrary, I really like their products. They are just VERY expensive. The PM BS I was looking at for comparison was the PM1800B for $5000. Now it's $6700.

I compared a lot of saws, and can see the prices from Sept. 2019 in the pic.
Azure Rectangle Font Parallel Technology


My decision process was a breakdown the saw's specs, prices, and anecdotal tails from the web. If you have any tails to share, please share, as I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I've been calling a lot of dealers, because they haven't all changed their prices from pre-covid days. I'm hoping, without success, to find a saw at the old prices.

I think I've settled on the Laguna Italian 18" HD MBAND185400. I'll also get the DriftMaster fence. I like the micro-adjuster. The price pre-covid was $3900, now it's up to $5300. It's definitely not cheap, but I think it's a good saw. Have any of you used the Italian? It's from Laguna's Industrial Division, not their consumer line. It's supposedly built by A.C.M. in Italy. I've read a lot of good things about it, and some issues with Laguna's customer service that seem to have been worked out. The only thing that stood out to me on comparison was that there's only one 4" dust port.

I'll mostly use it for resawing for bookcase panels and some logs, so I considered their 18 Resaw Master. The Resaw Master will take up to a 2" blade. It's only $200 more, but requires another set of guides to use smaller blades. I think the Resaw Master my be a little overkill. But, I don't know. Would the extra 3/4" make a massive difference in resawing? If so, I'm still game for an extra $200.

After this, I'll start looking into the Drum Sander. Thanks for the help.

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I was able to fine someone with a DriftMaster fence in a warehouse, so that's on the way.
I pulled the trigger on Laguna 18" Italian this morning. It should received it in two weeks from tomorrow.

There's news on the Dumb Sander. I've talked to a sales person at a local store, I won't mention the store, or the sales person's name, but he made a lot of sense. Unless I'm going to be doing a massive amount of panel sanding, I really shouldn't need one. That's not something you usually hear from a sales person. He said he does a lot of panels, but it's really more cost effective to take them to a local shop and have them sanded.

I get a lot of my wood from Northwest Lumber Co., here in Indianapolis. They have a lot of milling machines and will, for a charge, do it for you. Until I get the bandsaw, I've always used them to break down by big lumber. It's always been a painful thing for me to do. I consider that type of work critical in the whole process of building something from scratch. I did however pay them to cut the 9' Mahogany beam (that I bought from them) I used for a Queen Bed, but that hurt. I really wanted to do it myself. Without a shop that let's you rent time on a machine, they were my only choice.

That issue has been solved with the Laguna mband185400. How integral is the sanding of panels to the "From Scratch" moniker I would like to maintain? An 19" Drum Sander is $2000. They will charge me $45 for as many panels sanded as they can put through. I can't remember the exact cost, but it was somewhere in there. It would be about +40 hours of sanding to pay for the drum sander. That's a lot of sanding.

I've never built a kitchen. I'm looking to build a couple. Is it really worth it to buy or should I just outsource? I'm not doing this, yet, as a business. Can I still stamp my personal stamp of craftsmanship on it if I outsource the sanding?
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I was able to fine someone with a DriftMaster fence in a warehouse, so that s on the way.
I pulled the trigger on Laguna 18" Italian this morning. It should received it in two weeks from tomorrow.

There s news on the Dumb Sander. I ve talked to a sales person at a local store, I won t mention the store, or the sales person s name, but he made a lot of sense. Unless I m going to be doing a massive amount of panel sanding, I really shouldn t need one. That s not something you usually hear from a sales person. He said he does a lot of panels, but it s really more cost effective to take them to a local shop and have them sanded.

I get a lot of my wood from Northwest Lumber Co., here in Indianapolis. They have a lot of milling machines and will, for a charge, do it for you. Until I get the bandsaw, I ve always used them to break down by big lumber. It s always been a painful thing for me to do. I consider that type of work critical in the whole process of building something from scratch. I did however pay them to cut the 9 Mahogany beam (that I bought from them) I used for a Queen Bed, but that hurt. I really wanted to do it myself. Without a shop that let s you rent time on a machine, they were my only choice.

That issue has been solved with the Laguna mband185400. How integral is the sanding of panels to the "From Scratch" moniker I would like to maintain? An 19" Drum Sander is $2000. They will charge me $45 for as many panels sanded as they can put through. I can t remember the exact cost, but it was somewhere in there. It would be about +40 hours of sanding to pay for the drum sander. That s a lot of sanding.

I ve never built a kitchen. I m looking to build a couple. Is it really worth it to buy or should I just outsource? I m not doing this, yet, as a business. Can I still stamp my personal stamp of craftsmanship on it if I outsource the sanding?

- gmaffPappy
Hi,
There are several things I will share that may be worth considering. First, congrats on the bandsaw, that is one thing I definitely recommend having. I have the Laguna 14/12 and it is awesome, it really changed what I have been able to do in my home shop.

As a profession, I work in cabinetry. At our shop, we build high-end custom cabinets. While I may be one of few, I have to side with what the drum sander salesman suggested. We use a wide belt sander at our shop for sanding face frames; it works well but one can definitely do without it. It isn't uncommon at all for there to be a face frame or two per job that is too big to fit through the wide belt. Consequently, we just sand them with a 6" ROS. Yes, it takes longer but is easily doable. If you will mostly only use a drum sander for a kitchen or two, my recommendation would be to invest the money in another tool. After building a kitchen, if you think you will really use one and make it worth it, consider looking for a used Timesavers widebelt.

Here's another thing to consider: first, I assume you have the skills to install cabinets, do trim work, possibly paint, etc. Would there be a local cabinet shop in your area that could build custom cabinets for you and allow you to install them? In our business, often the installation and trying to complete the job as far as trim, hardware, and paint takes more time than the actual build process. Consequently, a decent cost of the job is in this part of the work.

If we had a competent homeowner offer to install cabinets that our shop built, I am sure we would be glad to allow them to install them and give them a decent cost savings. Likely, if you've never built cabinets, a custom shop near you will be able to build them better. I don't mean this in a negative way, but it may be true. Also, if you were able to do this, you may save yourself from burnout on the job.

Finally, this is just my advice from having built hundreds of cabinets. I wish you the best in whatever you decide!
-Dale
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Thanks for sounding off. I appreciate your your view. I'm leaning towards holding off on the Drum Sander. I don't want to make cabinets for a living. I want to make furniture. That's just the next two projects. My kitchen flooded, and my parents are building a new +200 year old log cabin.

As for my cabinets, and the one's I'm going to make for my parent cabin, I just want to do them. I love colonial furniture. My parents have original stuff. I can only afford to make reproductions. Our whole family loves antiques, the look, history, and craftsmanship. At least I can strive for 3 of 4 with heirloom quality creations. The cabinets I'm looking to make are frame and panel construction. There will be no particle board. They'll be kind of a hybrid of furniture used as cabinets. The same construction methods will be used. When you see a simple wall cabinet hanging in the kitchen at Monticello, that's what I'll be making. It will be good hard wood and constructed in that fashion. The difference is, it will be ceiling high, 12" deep, +8' long, and have soft close hinges. The lower cabinets will be very much like long sideboards with solid tops. I don't know, but we like the idea, sketches and look. We'll see if it works in my kitchen first.

Building Table Interior design Architecture Chair


At least that's the idea. My kitchen will look much more modern than the cabin's. As a REAL CABINET MAKER, you'll probably think I'm INSANE! LOL

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So Congratulations on your Band saw choice. I have not used an Italian made model, but the 18BX is awesome.

As far as Drum Sanders. I have my eye on a Supermax 16/32, and it's only $1499.
And the 19/38 is at $1999.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/16-32-drum-sander
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/supermax-19-38-drum-sander

Pre Covid the 16/32 was $1199. So price has still gone up, but not as bad as many tools that have fully doubled or more in price.

Also, adding the Drum Sander would ease the need for the helical head on your Jointer.
Another direction is Woodmaster tools.
https://woodmastertools.com/
A friend started out with the 25" planer. It also doubles as a 25" drum, and a gang rip saw if all the extras are purchased. And as his business has grown, has has added a 50" duel drum sander. So he now has a dedicated drum sander. Down side to the planer is it is limited to the 25" cutter/drum. Where the open ended Supermax has 32" or 38" capacity depending on the model.
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A few thoughts on the LT18.

It's a good saw and is made by ACM in Italy.

It will not properly tension the widest blade the plate says it will accept. A 3/4" carbide blade I realistically the widest blade you can use.

Driftmaster is clever but interferes with the door so becomes a love hate relationship.

I'd rethink your upper cab design a bit. Those cabs are really wide and I suspect you'll have sagging issues if you try and build that as one unit. I'd add a center stile between all the doors for starters and widen the other ones.
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That's a good point on the sagging. I wondered the same thing early on in the design. I've limited the longest unsupported spans to be the bottom front stile in the upper cabs. That lower front is supported horizontally by the part the sets it's depth from the wall, but there is no vertical support.

That span is 4' 1-1/2". It is 1-1/2" thick, on the face, and 3/4" in depth. You think this will sag? I truly don't know. The safest bet would be to put one 3/4" vertical rail at the halfway point, but that would change the look.

Hey, I get it. It doesn't matter if the "look" is achieved if the cabinets don't work! That exact part is the only thing I'm not sure of.

Thoughts? 'N Thanks!

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Sounds easy… bandsaw, drum sander, and helical head.
The Power that is my Wife has decided to placate my perceived need to finish my workshop tool list. There are two tools and an upgrade I m looking to get.
I have not read the entire thread, but if you are building a kitchen that has solid wood elements (like a raised panel, face frame, etc) then you might want to invest in a high end random orbit sander like the Mirka one. Even if you have a good drum sander, you still need to random orbit sand. I have a mirka ciroes. It is amazing. Great results, low vibration, my daughter was able to use it back when she was 8 years old for hours. I no longer dread sanding. It's not the most exciting thing, but it's kind of relaxing.. it really improves your finish too.
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