finally have new workshop up and running
I know I am opening a huge door , to be attacked on my choices, but it has been a very long road to travel to get some quality tools in the company I manage. A new family member took over about a year and a half ago and gave me permission and the money to outfit the company properly. Her directive was to buy items that are quality and have some extra capacity to allow us to grow in a few areas. That I would not be coming back to her in a another five years telling her I need to upgrade capacity on the machines. Most of these machine are way above what we do now but will allow us to expand down the road. Several are commercial quality. It has been a year and a half of research, buying, waiting to get them in, getting the building wiring upgraded and then getting them all installed but they are now all up and running. They have had very little use so far but everyone is very happy with them. Again I know I will see posts thinking I made some of the biggest mistakes in choices and waisted alot of money but bottom line they fit my needs and will not limit us is our work. It just has been a long struggle I just needed to post here since my wife doesn’t really know what it all means to me. I purchased Laguna 24″ Band Saw, Laguna table saw with scoring and sliding table and upgraded to 5 hp, Jet floor standing oscillating spindle sander, Dewalt 12″ compound sliding mitre. Powermatic 12″ jointer, Powermatic 22″ planer. These are connected to a Oneida 5 hp cyclone collector outfitted with an Ecogate automatic blast gate control. Have a smaller Jet Lathe for now untill I can research a new Lathe at a later date and when that need develops. Still need a few more tools, will attend IWF 2004 next month.
Replies
pem,
Sounds like you've got an awesome shop (wife must not be too bad either LOL). Great tools! They'd have to drag me out'a there with a winch!
Regards,
Mack
"WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"
You must have had some bad feedback experiences around here....
I would guess there are a great many of us who would be more than pleased to work with that collection of equipment.
Just for the sake of discussion though, would you mind sharing your thought process on why you chose the Dewalt slider and the Laguna items over their competitors? Those are the machines where you had lots of choices, and I am asking out of simple curiosity -- not to set you up for a challenge.
Thanks.
I had my eye on the Laguna bandsaw for a very long time. Like I said, I had to wait for the company to change leadership to give me the ability to purchase. So when I got the go ahead, I think I just automatically purchased this saw. I had asked around at many shops and went to a few trade shows and the name always one of the top choices. It has done well in recent reviews in the trade magazines and their new ceramic guides are great. The table saw was a last minute pick. I was all set to buy a Powermatic. The day I was going to make the call to place the order I saw a write up on the new Laguna saw. I called them and spoke to the gentleman who designed it. He sent out a vidio that he just finished making and I liked what I saw. The built in scoring, with dado ability, and the sliding table were a big seller for me. The slider takes up less room than an after market add on. I NEVER buy anything the first time I see things. I always have to compare to several other versions and think about my needs before I take the step. For me to buy this saw without even seeing one in person was an enormous step,(and risk) for me. Laguna did provide for me, ask my request, a few names of clients that had purchased one. I spoke to them and they were very happy with it. So I rolled the dice. The Dewalt is another item I had had my eyes one for awhile and heard good things about it from different trade people who used it on their jobsites. I was putting it up against the Hitachi but thought the Dewalt was alittle better to use for a shop with multiple users and some of them with very little knowledge of using the machines.
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