Hi all,
First post here. Like so many others before me, new to the craft and looking to set up shop. I’ve worked construction since I was old enough to crawl and carry a hammer at the same time, understood that woodworking is a far cry from my previous experience. Hell, if someone gave me a measurement to the 1/16 my reply was “Dude, I’m not building a freaking piano here, 1/8’s are close enough…” Well, now I’m “building piano’s”.
First off what I’m looking to build: Built in bookcases/shelves, computer desks/work areas, stand alone bookcases and at some point a fine dining room table and a set of chairs. I will be doing this work in my own home, once I’m done I’d like to continue on and see about making some money doing the same type of work. I will not be doing this as a hobby, would like to set myself up to make income with these tools eventually.
Space: I’ve got a 3 car garage, absolutely must keep one open for break downs and regular maintenance, so looking at 1 and 1/2 garages that can be used. Would like to keep most everything on a mobile base. Power considerations aren’t that big of a deal, can install 220 wherever needed.
I’m looking to start out with the following:
A good table saw I figure is a must; looking at the Grizzly G1023RL.
A good jointer: looking at the Grizzly G0490X (like the idea of the spiral head, don’t want to spend time setting up and sharpening blades)
A good planer: Not sure what to do here. Would I be fine with a bench top like the Grizzly G0505 or better off with a stand alone deal like the G0453 PX or the G1037Z. Keeping in mind the blades, would I be better off with the G0505 with an upgraded cutter head or even the G1037Z with an upgraded cutter head?
A good 14″ band saw: looking at the Grizzly G0555CP or LX. I’d love to be able to spend a little less here, just haven’t had time to research which saws have favorable reviews for less cost, opinions here welcomed.
A good drill press: looking at the Grizzly G7945 or G7946, like the radial capability. Again would like to spend as little as possible here keeping the radial capability, just haven’t had time to look around and would like opinions on other brands.
A good dust removal system. As stated earlier, 1 and 1/12 garages, would only be running one machine at a time, would like to keep unit as portable as possible, thinking something in the 1 1/2-2 HP range would suffice, need advice on size and brands.
A good router and basic table. Haven’t looked at these at all. Looking for advice on brands,
At some point once I’m done with the bookcase/shelves would like to get a Mortiser for the furniture/ table builds, but that is a little down the road.
I’m signed up at several other forums and am planning on reposting this to get as much advice as possible. So if you see this exact same post on other forums, it’s me looking for as many opinions as possible.
Ya’ll please bear with me as I will be asking tons of newbie questions here shortly as I move ahead with this.
Thank you for your replies
Replies
grizzly
It looks like you are looking solely at Grizzly, you may want to check out some used equipment as well, there are deals out there. I also found reviews on fine woodworking really helped me make an informed decision.
Grizzly does offer a good value, which is why I have the 1023 table saw(with router extension wing) and the 555x band saw. Both have been good performers and I'm happy with them. Dust collection is not so great on either though.
If possible I would attend one of their warehouse sales, usually in the summer. You can get great deals on returned or dinged equipment. You can find more info on their site, may be worth a trip.
have fun setting up your shop!
New Shop
Welcome to this site. I've been working on m shop for almost 40 years and still not done. Go slow so that there aren't costly mistakes - lots of expenses in this trade / hobby. I've pretty much stayed with Rockwell, Delta, and Porta Cable. What kind of work bench are you planning ?
SA
Machines, now and the future
Your initial set of projects won't tax the machines to any great extent. So, my general suggestion would be to try to anticipate the furture and buy once, rather than needing to upgrade later. Although I don't own any of their machines, the Grizzly brand seems to get good comments, as long as you stick to the upper end of their product line. More specific (personal) opinions follow.
Regarding segmented spiral heads for jointers and planers, I'm not sold on them. To me, a set of one-piece knives, properly adjusted and sharpened, ensures a nice, smooth surface. But, opinions vary.
Table saw - a 3hp cabinet saw is probably a good choice. The built-in router table on the Grizzly G1023RL, however, is of questionable utility. Many router table operations involve finely-tuned setups, so taking it all down when you need to cut another board doesn't help with productivity. I'd keep the router table separate. Also, take a hard look at the "new" Delta Unisaw, even though it is much more than the Griz. Download and read the user's manual to get a better sense of its features. I think it is the best design on the market.
Also, consider supplementing the table saw operations with a good track saw, like the Festool TS-55 or TS-75, for cutting sheet goods. It is far easier to take the saw to the 4x8 sheet, and cut it precisely on horses, rather than trying to wrangle it on a table saw. Festool is pricey, but very well engineered. I used to question their value . . . until I bought one.
Jointer - I'd consider the 8" as a minimum, 12" would be better, since you'll likely be using the jointer to flatten one face of boards you'll be using to glue up panels. A maximum of 8" capacity could be limiting in the future in that regard.
Planer - ne aware of the fact that the "low-end" planers are really hobbiest machines, sufficient for occasional use, but not hefty enough for serious production. The better DeWalt DW735 seems to be the most popular, and the two-speed feature can be an advantage.
Bandsaw - you should give serious consideration to a larger, more versatile machine - at least at some point in the future. You will eventually want to use it for resawing, so the maximum resaw capacity will be a big issue.
Drill Press - I think of the drill press as a precision machine, able to make precision holes exactly where needed, and exactly at the right angle. A radial DP compromises most of that precision, and becomes potentially dangerous when extended from its "balanced" position, unless it is well-bolted to the bench or floor. Give serious consideration to the size (robustness) of the quill, and the quill travel distance (depth of drilling). A 1/2hp motor is also pretty wimpy. 3/4hp or 1hp would be better. You might also consider the Delta 18-900 as an anternative.
Router table - build your own, the size you need, using a Porter Cable variable speed 3 1/4hp 7518 router in a lift of some sort. I built mine using a BenchDog Pro lift because of its robust design. For hand-held and jig-based routing, I use a pair of Porter Cable 694 variable-speed routers, and have both fixed and plunge bases, augmented with Pat Warner ( http://www.patwarner.com/index.html ) precision bases.
Mortiser - when faced with making several dozen hefty mortises several years back, I opted for the Powermatic PM701 benchtop mortiser. It has decent power (3/4hp) for a home shop and is well designed and built. A production shop would probably want something heavier-duty, though.
Thanks Surf, yes I am excited.....pretty much giddy!
Grizzly isn't all that bad. I've got a planer/jointer and a thickness planer. Does the job nicely and you can't beat the price. Also look at some other brands as well before you buy. Now as far as setting up shop! Draw it out to scale!!! Take your time about it. Space is a premium. I've got a 16' x 22' shop and you should see it now. I built a center island work bench with nothing on it but my work and I love it! Enjoy your shop and good luck! John
Thanks folks, been trying to post replies but I keep hitting the spam filer, hopefully I've gotten this straightned out.....
Hey!!!! It works!!!!
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled