[susieq]

Chuck,
You have the right idea when it comes to buying used and getting more for your $. I have a Mini Max 16" bandsaw in my studio that hubby probably paid about $500. for. That is less than half what they sell for new. It is a beauty. My husband also finds great deals on table saws, jointers and planners of all makes and sizes. Everything from Delta Rockwell, on down the line. I think he might even have an 8 inch jointer out there right now...... I know he has a couple of planners and at least one Delta Unisaw. He started his hobby by buying a tool that was nicer than what he had, then selling his old one. It grew into buying good tools when ever the price was right and re selling them to make a couple bucks on them. He buys out the occasional cabinet shop and gets some real good deals. Just be vigilent and keep checking those classifieds. You will find what you want at deep discounts if you don't get in a hurry. Also, don't be put off by older tools if they are a good brand and in good shape. They are often better than the newer tools, better made and if they are a good brand, the models haven't changed that much and you can still get parts for them. Remember, tools aint pretty.....they'er tools!!!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by chuckt

Well, I made out amazingly well for Christmas this year. A subscription to WCI from my MIL (yeah - way to go mom!). The Chris Pye Sharpening DVD AND the Ivan Whillock Traditional Carving 2 DVD set. (Both EXCELLENT!) Several good CDs from my Brother in Law. The U2 Special Edition Joshua Tree CD/DVD box set from my wife.

AND . . . from my wife and kids . . . a $1k shopping spree to buy machines for my shop. Gotta think on this one though . . . because I want to outfit it with a 14" band saw, table saw, jointer & planer. I'll be looking for good used machines and hope I can do all this in this budget. If not then I'll probably go for the band saw and table saw and joint/plane by hand with hand planes for now.

Me WAAAAYYYY HAPPY!!! :-)



Of course . . the best present is another year of health and happiness with my family. Everything else is just icing on the Christmas cake.

to all!
ChuckT

Well lets see, a grizzly G055 14 in bandsaw was about 350.00 might be more now, I paid a little less than a 100 for a 6 in table top jointer and I have a ridgid planer on sale for 350.00 at the time. lot less than a grand...way to go!.................................

[chuckt]

Yeah - my only fear with buying used machines is that because I am not the most knowledgeable about woodworking machines I might get a piece of junk that is way out of alingment etc, and not be able to get it working right or set up properly. i.e. That it might cost me more in the long run to get the right tools, parts, etc to get an older machine fixed/set up properly. But we'll see. I am hopeful that between the various woodworking boards and the folks here that I can get the knowledge I need.

I have kinda stayed away from the bigger machines for quite awhile because I had smaller children around (now the youngest is 13) and because I can be a bit of a Tim Taylor. Last thing I want is to lose digits or portions thereof, or have a chunk of wood thrown into my head. So for a long time I've been more interested in "neanderthal" approaches and smaller projects that don't need the big machines. But I'd really like to try my hand and Arts & Crafts style furniture. That has always been a dream - to be able to make furniture for my children and their children one day. So we'll see. This may get me started finally.

and thanks for the encouragement!
ChuckT

[Tom H]

Hey Chuck, someone once told me that most of us can make real nice furniture if we have a shop full of the best and most modern pieces of power equipment made. But it takes a real craftsman to make real nice furniture with an odd assortment of hand tools and hand-me-down or no power tools.
Good luck! What fun you'll have. Tom H

[Kenny_S]

For what it is worth Chuck, Look at www.grizzly.com. I would not give up my G055 Ultimate 14" band saw for any other brand name saw out there.

[JIM QUILICI]

Originally Posted by Kenny_S

For what it is worth Chuck, Look at www.grizzly.com. I would not give up my G055 Ultimate 14" band saw for any other brand name saw out there.

me either,
Jim

[Anthony Filetti]

By far one of the best presents I could ask for...hearing my 3 yr. old grandson tell my other half that the present we got him was "perfect"!!

That and some DVD's to watch while carving.

[cats pa]

Originally Posted by chuckt

That it might cost me more in the long run to get the right tools, parts, etc to get an older machine fixed/set up properly.

ChuckT, fixing up old tools gotten for cheap or free is gonna cost you, but not in money. It'll cost you time, and possibly the desire to develop some new skills, but it sure pays off in terms of building Stickley furniture, or cabinets, or remodeling your house, or whatever projects you want to tackle.

Before you get all green bear excited, log onto www.owwm.com, where you will see some old machines restored to where they will kick butt on almost any modern machines, and then visit www.owwm.org, where the perpetrators discuss how they do it. Admittedly, these guys are hardcore fixers, but they have inspired me to take cheap or free machines and turn them into good users. Also, they know where the parts are, and they sometimes sell their restored machines for reasonable prices.

OWWM, by the way, stands for old woodworking machinery.

So... I have 3 60's and 70's era Craftsman belt-drive tablesaws, which I paid nothing for. 1 works really well, customized like crazy - 1 works good as a backup saw, or if I want to use a dado set, say, and am too lazy to change blades, and 1 is for parts.

Also, a 30's vintage Blue Star 12" bandsaw, which nobody's ever heard of ($200), a 50's Rockwell radial drill press ($100), a 70's Cman lathe(free), and a 70's Delta belt/disc sander (trade for work). All work great, which is more than I can say for the rusty old Shopsmith laying in parts behind the Milwaukee sliding chop saw ($600 new with stand) and the Delta 12" lunchbox planer (trade for work).

LOML asked me, how come I bought that new chop saw and stuck it in the middle of all that old arn? I told her, because nobody was making sliding chop saws in the 50's or I'd have one (They did make radial arm saws, big heavy ones that are almost impossible to haul around to jobsites).

So, except for missing a jointer, that's how I spent almost a thousand bucks on shop equipment. Over the course of about ten years, it sounds pretty cheap. 'Course, I didn't have rich relatives like you do...

I'll agree with Tom H - I've seen factories full of $8/hr semi-trained monkeys mass producing cabinets on quarter-million dollar machines, and I've also worked for an old German guy building them one at a time by hand. Guess which one I found more interesting, and learned more from.

Parker