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Other Large Tools
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Tools)
Jointer
Many ask what is the most important tool in your shop. Most
will answer the table-saw. And, yes, it is a very efficient
tools for cutting wood, but it is not the only tool to cut down
wood in my shop.
Well, next to the brain, I think the jointer is clearly the
most important tool in my shop. My own wood working improved
exponentially when I added this essential tool to my shop. I did
not have room for an 8" machine with tables twice the lengthen
of this machine, and I have not found that this limitation was a
major drawback. In fact, I like to cut parts down to a
manageable size before I mill them to final width and size.
Rarely have I found that I need to joint an eight foot board and
it is possible on a modest machine like this. It simply requires
a steady hand and patience! Good infeed and outfeed support is
nave to have as well.
The Ridgid jointer may not be top-of-the-line, but from my
experience it does its simple task very well—make boards flat
and square! I am very satisfied with this machine. The plans for
the mobile base come from
Wood Magazine's
Best-ever Workshops (Dec. 2001). I used a similar idea in
the spindle sander stand below.
Jointer
Upgrade
 
Sunhill Machinery makes a worthy upgrade for
your consideration. The cutter head is shipped complete in a
wood box.
The upsides are:
· Quiet! And it slices the wood, much better on problem
grains.
· Blade installation is very simple and does not require any
jigs, etc. Each section of blade is indexed with a couple
removable pins.
· Blades are disposable and cheap.
Down sides:
· It currently costs $150 for a 6” jointer
· Knives are thin. They can not be sharpened AND they can not
be nudged over so care must be taken not to nick them. I have
found they hold an edge a bit better that the Freud straight
knives I had in the machine previously.
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Bandsaw
The bandsaw is one of those tools that is just a wonder to
use. It is quiet, cuts very accurately (properly set-up and with
the correct blade) and can cut curves and micro thin veneers. It
is really a wonder machine.
The Grizzly GO555 14" bandsaw is one tool that Grizzly got
right. This saw is just a pleasure to use and has options found
on high-end machines. For the money, you can't go wrong in a 14"
bandsaw like this. Upgrading the blade to a
Timber Wolf is a must!
I upgraded
the fence and although I like the extra height and the way
the fence connects to the support (the same way the Delta
Unifence does), I found the barrel nuts strip very easily and to
cut thin veneers, the guide must be as high as it can go. On the
other hand, I really like the low position as shown in et
picture above.
Other Bandsaw Upgrades
A couple simple upgrades can make a real difference in your
cutting experience. A simple
wheel brush helps the tires track the blade and smooth.
Likewise, a
stone to round over the back of the blade will help reduce
stress cracks and make it easier to make cuts with a tight
radius curve. A simple blade lubricant makes cutting a wonder as
well. Some swear by the the
commercial products, I simply use Pam on a paper towel and
hand spin the blade (unplugged, of course!)
The last upgrade I think is worthy of consideration is a
Carter Stabilizer. A parishioner told me about this upgrade,
I picked one up at the very next wood show and have found this
little wheel is really wonderful. With small 3/16" or 1/4" blade
(well tuned) this stabilizer allows you to make amazingly tight
curves.
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Sanding
Station
This is the latest addition to the shop, it replaced the
Ridgid bench top spindle/belt sander. A Grizzly GO529 spindle
and 12" disc sander. Great fit & finish and it works like a
charm. I added a few more feet of piping to the small DC and I
was astonished how well the small 2" DC fittings worked! This is
a great addition to the shop.
Router Table
The Router table's design is courtesy of NYW! Thanks again
Norm! The switch is not a fancy push button, just a simple
rocker switch that I covered with an outdoor cover. I have to
lift the cover to turn on the power and to turn it off, simply
bump the cover. Works slick and the price is right!
Router Table Improvements
 
I made the original top out of Melamine as Norm suggests. I
found that this top was never really satisfactory. Melamine
tends to wear out after time, and the sheet I used had a slight
warp in it which forced me to screw the top to the carcass. I
redid the top using two sheets of MDF and High Pressure
Laminate. Smooth, flat and heavy, just what you want in a router
table. Just be sure to laminate the bottom (right picture) of
the top as well or it may warp on you.
Norm's design had two bolts coming up through the table which
secured the fence assembly. Having those two bolts always drove
me nuts so I simply replaced them with T-bolts and added a
couple short pieces of T-track to the top. Now the tabletop is
flat and clear!
 I
also utilized one of Norm's improvements on his second router
table. These two angled pieces of wood direct the dust into the
the hose at the back of the carcass. Before this improvement, I
was constantly having to dig sawdust out of the corners. The
little bit of dust you see are the result of about an hour of
use! The DC works pretty good!
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20"
Planner
In this shop, my planer "grew up!" I got a great deal on a
20" planer that I could not resist. I still have the Delta 12
1/2" (see the bench tools page) as you
can plane very small and thin stock with the Delta, but this
Grizzly is just a pleasure to use and 1/10th the noise!! Four,
20" long blades spun by a 3HP 220v motor. It does some serious
planning, but it is HEAVY--over 700 pounds!!
When you need to turn three 4/4 boards into three ˝” boards,
this is a great planer! I used to roll it out to the front of
the shop and let it hog off boards. But I found I would not
bother as it takes some time to rill around this heavy machine.
So, it now sits at the front of the shop. When I need to plane
something, I just roll up the garage door and then let the chips
fly! Great machine!
Drill
Press
My pre-WWII vintage Walker-Turner drill press…and it is still
going strong!
I built the table from some scrap pine and MDF I had around
the shop. Both have served me very well!
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Shop
Air Compressors
I have two of them. I purchased a small
Harbor Freight
machine, which is oil lubricated and works well, but made of
inferior parts. I have replaced many of them! Nevertheless, when
you only need to drive a few brads or need something light to
throw in the back of the truck, it is a nice machine to have
around. By the way, by the time you add a regulator and fittings
to this machine, you are very close to the cost of a small
pancake Porter-Cable machine. Learned an important tool buying
lesson on this machine--you get what you pay for!
The larger machine is a Porter-Cable CPF6025VP oil-less
compressor. Rated at 6HP/25 gal., SCFM @40 PSI=8.3, SCFM @90 PSI=5.8.
I needed a machine with greater SCFM to spray finishes with my
HVLP gravity feed sprayer, and this machine was the perfect
solution at a reasonable cost. It is noisy, but that is to be
expected with an oil-less machine! Then manufacturers came out
with small self-contained HVLP sprayers (see the
bench tools page)
Miter
Saw
 
Although I suppose the cut-off saw is a bench tool, in my
shop it is screwed down to the station so it qualifies for a
large tool as this station is one of the largest in my shop!
I purchased this Delta 36-075 miter saw (left) years ago and
it has preformed OK. I have never liked the way the saw rotates,
always been stiff. The fence is also hard to get dead-on square
in fact it is a bit bent! Safety note: notice how much of
the blade is showing in the current position. This is because I
had not completed the required maintenance on the spring
(blowing off the dust and lubrication) at the back of the saw
and therefore the saw will not rise up to the top position and
lower the blade cover all the way. After completing the required
maintenance, the saw rises another couple inches up, thereby
lowering the blade guard which completely covers the blade.
Bottom line: don't forget to do your maintenance chores!
The saw on the right is my current saw. My first "yellow"
purchase. A
DeWALT DW703 10" compound miter saw. In addition, I
must admit, although I am a Delta fan, I am very impressed with
this saw. It is a very capable machine and after the years of
struggling with the Delta, this saw is just a dream to use. In
fact, I had the fence warp slightly and DeWALT shipped me a new
one at no cost. Now that is customer service!
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