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  1. #1
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    Default New workshop - top 5 machines to add to my shopping list?

    Hi Guys,

    New workshop is going through planning as we speak. Will be a 5m x 8m brick building with a small mezzanine. I tend to do a bit of mixed stuff in my workshop, some gunsmithing, electronics, a bit of furniture building, some minor mechanical fabrication - nothing too big. This is an opportunity to clear out some of my old & crappy tools and bits of furniture I have collected over the years and setup a couple of new machines out of the shed funding bucket

    I will keep my metal lathe, table saw and router table but have room for a couple of other machines and was hoping the brains trust on here could give me some pointers on what are the most useful machines in a modest sized general purpose workshop.

    At the moment, am thinking of adding:

    1) A standing drill press (currently have a terrible quality desktop one - ugh)
    2) A small milling machine (or should I try to combine this with the drill press?)
    3) A modest sized bandsaw - is there one that does light duty metalwork as well as wood? Is it just a case of swapping blades? Never had one before...
    4) A pedestal disk sander
    5) Mig Welder to replace the arc unit

    Anything else make anyone's top 5 for a general purpose workshop?

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  3. #2
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    I don't play with metal so it is difficult to advise on your machines. If it was just wood working that you were doing then my most used machine is the bandsaw. For swapping blades on a bandsaw from wood to metal I don't know, hopefully someone can advise? My drill press is a free standing one and I love the flexibility that I have to put large piece under the press that would otherwise not fit on a bench top one.

  4. #3
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    Apr 2012
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    if you intend to work on metal I would go for a mill that doubles as a drill press and the most useful bit of kit would have to be a bandsaw ,blades are made to suit whatever material you want to cut.

  5. #4
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    A wood cutting bandsaw can be used to cut Al using the same blade and the same speed as for cutting wood but this does not work for steel.
    Wood bandsaw blades travel at least 10 times too fast to cut steel plus the last thing you want is steel swarf anywhere near your wood.
    It's not even possible to reduce the speed of a wood cutting saw sufficiently using a single pulley and a double pulley setup is needed.

    To cut small steel stock up to 6 x 4" cross section a small horizontal metal cutting band saw is the go. These units have a solid vice that will hold the stock and then cut the stock while you go off and so something else. There are severals threads in the metal work forum about these saws and how they can be modified to improve their operation. Second hand units go for less than $200, mine cost $100 and I have made thousands of cuts with it.

    Not sure what your metal work requirements are but you might want to get a MIG/Plasma combo which will be useful to cut steel sheet.
    Likewise with the sander - I would at least get a Belt-Disc combo. I have 2 such sanders and ended up removing the disc from one and hardly use the disc on the other, whereas I use the belts all the time especially on metal and metal de-burring.

    You haven't mentioned grinders which you will need to sharpen bits and tools.

    Sanders are filthy things and generate a lot of dust that goes everywhere including all over the shed hence I never use mine (even when sanding metal) without using a full on dust extractor - forget about vacuum cleaners and small dust extractors as thy simple cannot capture enough dust and it will still spray all over your shed. I would recommend using at least a 2HP DC on the sander and bandsaw and locating or venting the DC outside.

    Without considerable planning, mixed workshops can be problematic.
    I gave up doing electronics in my shed and move it to a small room inside the house.
    As well as dust from the sander spraying all over the workshop and hence metal work area, welding and grinding fumes/dust will cover your wood work areas.
    To reduce this effect I attempted to set up metal working gear at one end of the shed and ww at the other.
    Each end has dedicated fume and dust extraction. I do my welding in a vented fume hood and the wood work area is covered by a ducted dust extraction system.
    It's far from perfect but miles better than when I didn't have the tow separated.

    For gunsmithing I'm surprised you haven't got a metal working lathe in there somewhere?

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    For gunsmithing I'm surprised you haven't got a metal working lathe in there somewhere?
    Quote Originally Posted by bammo View Post
    I will keep my metal lathe, table saw and router table



    Quote Originally Posted by bammo View Post
    1) A standing drill press (currently have a terrible quality desktop one - ugh)

    3) A modest sized bandsaw - is there one that does light duty metalwork as well as wood? Is it just a case of swapping blades? Never had one before...
    Have a look at the Teknatool Voyager Drill Press
    It looks like an awesome bit of kit if it's within your budget.

    I saw a Laguna 14" BX bandsaw with a tungsten tipped blade in action last week. Very impressive. They have three 14" models from $2000-2500.
    Regards, FenceFurniture

    COLT DRILLS GROUP BUY
    Jan-Feb 2019 Click to send me an email

  7. #6
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    Dust extractor would be a must.
    Also a belt linisher/sander.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  8. #7
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    Thanks for the tips guys - great inputs. I do already have a dust extractor but will also be looking to curtain off the part of the workshop where I do sanding. Welding will be outside on the pad not in the shop (don't do much of it anyway). I already have a grinder (doesn't everyone?) and a metal cut off saw so it sounds like I am better off focusing on the woodwork bandsaw and not trying to do two things with it.

    I think the #1 purchase is going to be a disc sander and I might try to get a combo one with belts too. I currently have my Makita belt sander upside down in an MDF frame I made but its not very convenient.

    #2 is probably going to be the drill press. I really want a milling machine but my previous experience with a MAXNC-15 has me thinking better to wait and buy something big enough to be really stable instead of a flimsy multi-tool one.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by bammo View Post
    New workshop is going through planning as we speak. Will be a 5m x 8m brick building with a small mezzanine. I tend to do a bit of mixed stuff in my workshop, some gunsmithing, electronics, a bit of furniture building, some minor mechanical fabrication - nothing too big.

    I will keep my
    metal lathe,
    table saw
    router table

    At the moment, am thinking of adding:

    1) A standing drill press (currently have a terrible quality desktop one - ugh)
    2) A small milling machine (or should I try to combine this with the drill press?)
    3) A modest sized bandsaw - is there one that does light duty metalwork as well as wood? Is it just a case of swapping blades? Never had one before...
    4) A pedestal disk sander, OH
    5) Mig Welder to replace the arc unit

    Anything else make anyone's top 5 for a general purpose workshop?
    based purely on purchase #4, I'd guess your existing dust extraction is inadequate.

    My top 5 machines would be
    1. 2 or 3 Hp in a separate enclosure with the associated 6" plumbing
    2. wood cutting bandsaw
    3. combo joiner / thicknesser
    4. drill press
    5. welder
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  10. #9
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    Thanks Ian - I do have a small dust extractor but think perhaps you are right - might look to go a bigger unit and install it next to the compressor in a custom built enclosure outside (with separated intake/outtake of course). Already have a thicknesser and a separate edge planer so have those things covered. Funny - when I start looking at how many tools I actually do have it's a surprisingly long list given I keep complaining to the wife I don't have any tools!!!

  11. #10
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    Hare and Forbes have a mill that looks like the goods for about $900,not one of the mickey mouse multi purpose ones.

  12. #11
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    So my dust extractor just died - I think perhaps it has been reading my forum posts and found out it was in danger of being replaced I did pick up a nice 200AMP multi mode MIG/TIG welder today for a bargain basement price so that's got the welding side sorted out...

  13. #12
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    There is a small bandsaw called a Steelfast, that looks exactly the same from the front as a Woodfast except the name on the badge . I assume it was made by Woodfast . They cut steel and with a gear change cut wood. They are a well built robust little unit . You have to hunt for second hand ones , they show up though. I use mine for steel and have never needed it for wood because I have dedicated wood band saws. Another option is the fold down metal cut off bandsaws that Hare and Forbes sell . I had one of the small ones for cutting lengths of steel and it had a small table that could be fitted for when the saw was in its upright position . fairly flimsy and cheap type of saw . It was great for walking away and letting it cut through multiple lengths though . It had an auto turn off when it dropped through the cut .

    A Steelfast saw
    http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0806-...saw-steel-fast

    The H&F Saw . With the Vertical Table to use when upright
    B002 | BS-4A Metal Cutting Band Saw | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au

    Rob

  14. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by bammo View Post
    So my dust extractor just died - I think perhaps it has been reading my forum posts and found out it was in danger of being replaced I did pick up a nice 200AMP multi mode MIG/TIG welder today for a bargain basement price so that's got the welding side sorted out...
    So just found a UFO101 dust extractor for the princely sum of $1 along with a JET linisher / disc sander. Also found a very large upright manual milling machine but at 2.2T its just a bit too big to fit into my workshop so they sold it for $1000 to someone else - dammit. Going price seems to be about $6K for that model. I love it when a family member turns out to own a large manufacturing facility that is closing down!

  15. #14
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    We have a Steelfast at the mens shed. I was responsible for rescuing it from a skip at work and I spent a bit of time getting it back into action for the mens shed.

    After using it a few times I much prefer the horizontal metal cutting bandsaw I have in my own shed and would recommend these over a Steelfast for the following reasons.
    As well as walking away and letting the horizontal BS cut on its own, the Steelfast has the important limitation of a 14" throat depth so can't cut pieces longer than ~14" from long stock.
    Cutting a short piece from a piece of long stock requires setting up a tall support outrigger. The horizontal BS has a vice that can hold fairly long stock without the need for an outrigger.
    Operator has to hold/feed the stock by hand as compared to the horizontal BS where a vice holds the stock and your hands are well out of the way.
    Horizontal BS cuts are straighter and have a better finish than the Steelfast.

    The mens shed also have 2 reciprocating metal cutting bandsaws that offer a similar features to the horizontal steel cutting BS and I see they get used much more than the Steelfast. About the only time the Steelfast gets used is cutting Al and curves in sheet steel but I see the new plasma cutter gets used more and more for that purpose

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