new woodworker seting up for box making

[Woodthorn]

I now have my 6m x 6m shed in the back yard. have read books for some time now on small box making. have acquired some basic wood working tools,large bench c/w quick release front vice and today picked up at garage sale Makita 3600 & 3700b routers. i now need to start making projects and acquire new skills! I would appreciate help with my next purchase. this being a 10" table saw. can you get acceptable results from a basic $250 unit or should i try and find a second hand unit of better quality? i do realize quality cabinet style units sell for thousands of dollars but want to start making simple boxes with splined miter joints. any thoughts to my next direction most welcomed.

[artme]

Welcome to the madhous of the wise.:D

IMHO you shoul get the very best table saw yoy can afford otherwise you will not get quality, accurate cuts. Th same goes for the blades you use.

Good accurate jigs will make a huge difference to the quality of your work also. Comb the forums and find info on commercially mad jigs or make them yourself jigs. Niki from poland has some fabulous homemade jigs.

Youve set your sights high, but that is no bad thing.

All the best, Don't forget to ask for help and show us your results.:2tsup::2tsup:

[switt775]

Welcome to the madhous of the wise.:D

IMHO you shoul get the very best table saw you can afford otherwise you will not get quality, accurate cuts. Th same goes for the blades you use.

:2tsup:

Good advice. A cheap saw will only frustrate you. Try to make accurate 45 degree cuts on a cheap saw, it will drive you mad. :doh:

For $650-950 you can buy a good basic table saw (lower end is contractor saw, but the only real difference is dust control), or you can go the used route if you prefer. For that price you have a fence you can set to be parallel, so you can resaw timber. You have a tilt arbor, so you can (with a little tuning) get exact 45 degree cuts. And you have enough power that it won't bog down or overload with even Aussie hardwoods.:2tsup:

One thing to watch out for. If the saw is 3HP (as most are) you must have a 15 amp circuit.

Something else to help you along is an excel workbook for calculating box sizes using a few standard ratios (Golden ratio, etc). Do a search on this forum for "Golden rule workbook". Lots of different versions, most recent at the end (as you would expect).

[Woodthorn]

Thanks for the feed back. my gut feeling was i may need a budget of approx $1000. will also look at "Golden rule workbook" thanks heaps. i did a one day router workshop with Richard Vaughan earlier this year and realized how home made jigs on many machines can help. :)

Thanks again
Roger

[watson]

G'day Roger,
Once you get the saw purchase completed, there are a few other box making essentials
1. Clamps...you can never have enough.
2. Rubber bands..there's a post or three on rubber band suppliers in the box making forum
3. scrapers & a burnisher
4. Probably a Random Orbital Sander would go well
5. Some really good finishes and info.....see the ubeaut link at the bottom of the page
6. Then to top it all off...the desire to have more fun than sliced beer..or is it canned bread?

[Harry72]

If I was just setting up for boxes I wouldnt get a tablesaw, you'd be better off with a bandsaw.
A bandsaw can still cut straight lines plus resaw small logs or very figured wood for "bookmatching" and veneer ... and you may want to try bandsaw boxes at some stage!
A small drum sander will be handy too.

[SAISAY]

seeing you are around the Brisbane area, why not go down to Carba-tec and have a chat with them.
Have a look at their run-out specials at the same time, you may find something useful for less money.
The little tilting 10" bandsaw they have on special is quite a fun machine as long as you don't ask it to do huge jobs.
Little Wolff

[Woodthorn]

funny you should mention a bandsaw. today i paid the sum of $30.00 at local garage sale for a Ryobi toy. spent 2 hours cleaning out dust and adjusting band and guides. as you can guess broke the band in no time flat!:doh:
still great way to spend Sunday watching motor racing and learning how a bandsaw works.


Roger