Thread: Tool purchasing priorty advice - Jointer, Thicknesser, Bandsaw Drill press

I use pretty much all recycled timber. My process of machining relies heavily on the jointer. One face flat and one side square on the jointer then I can dimension from there using either the bandsaw, tablesaw or thicknesser or usually a combination of a few.
If the budget can stretch far enough I would recommend a combo jointer/ thicknessner. Combined with the tablesaw you should be able to machine just about anything down to size.
If you can only get one, probably the thicknesser. You can joint by hand or using jigs on the tablesaw as you said but making two faces parallel by hand is hard work and using a router sled is extremely noisy and messy. And fairly slow.
A bandsaw is very useful but you can get away with a jigsaw and a coping saw for a lot of things. Save the bandsaw purchase for when you have more cash and can get a decent one that will resaw competently.

Hmm, Great points.

I think my budget could stretch to this with the Spiral Head cutters Jet Combo Planer/Thicknesser JPT310 & JPT310HH : CARBA-TEC but then not much left over...Possibly I could get a second hand drill press.

I'd like to "do it right" the first time with my major tools for jointing and planing.

Otherwise my other thoughts were something like W815 | T-13S Thicknesser - Bench Mount | machineryhouse.com.au for a thicknesser and a separate Jointer like W629 | P-200H Planer Jointer | machineryhouse.com.au, and then as you say....a jigsaw or coping saw for other stuff, and just hope I don't need to re-saw huge slabs that can't be done on the table saw!. The Planer could be brought out only when needed, so wouldn't take up too much room.

Ahh...decisions :/

1. Drill Press, 2nd hand, and as big as you can find. There's very little you can do without a DP. Watch out for quill runout, and the bigger the machine the longer the quill travel and deeper the throat (somebody needs to tell the DP manufacturers that woodies drill deep holes, and further in from the edge than metalworkers do).
2. Thicky/Jointer combo - the key to getting going properly
3. Band saw - you can ask someone nearby to do some resawing for you until you get your own.

If you are serious about doing it right the first time then you'd eschew the Jet 310HH combo - quality control has apparently gone for a burton in recent years, and the forum is littered with unhappy purchasers (do a search). Dished tables, out of co-planer tables (that can't be corrected) and so on. An extra $1500 or so will get you a helical head Hammer A3 31, and you will be SO glad you did. A magnificent machine. You'll soon forget the pain of the purchase price, and it'll work out cheaper because you'll want to replace the Jet within 12 months of buying it, due to frustration.

Don't even bother looking for a second hand Hammer with a helical head - once purchased, nobody sells them.

HTH

I didn't know about the JET being no good. :/ - that's a shame, as around the net, their brand seems to be well known and quite well regarded. Really appreciate your feedback on that one!
I'll get a quote on the A3 -31 ( and the smaller A3 - 26 )

Having bought a decent ( i think ) Table Saw with Cast Iron table etc, I can appreciate that when you have a good tool, it makes all the difference.

If push came to shove I'd get the smaller Hammer over the Jet 310HH anyday, but there's not a great deal of difference between the two Hammers. Better to wait a little longer and get the machine you REALLY want. I waited two years to get my A3 31 after I decided that it was the machine for me.

I had to make the same call about 12 months ago and what i found was that i really needed (wanted) all four machines at the same time and ended up forking out the dosh. I had the money saved for it so it didn't hurt too much.

As my needs are similar to yours (milling recycled timber for furniture etc) over the 12 months probably my most used machine (bar the TS) is my combo jointer. I went with the jet combo and love the !@#$ out of it. Not sure if i got lucky but i have no issues with mine. The only complaint might be the fence is a little flimsy when running big stuff through it but fine for 90% of what it do.

I cant comment on the hammer as it was just too far out of my range when looking.

There are plenty of good cheap DP\s around so that's easy but even though i haven't used it a lot, i wouldn't have been able to get by with out the band saw. Though for milling you can use the TS for all smaller stuff and that might dictate your work until you can afford a bandsaw.

Ben

Hi Ben, it may have been that there was a batch of Jets that were out of whack, but there sure were a lot of complaints earlier this year. Or maybe the QC has just gone down since you purchased yours. Equally, I have read numerous people who are delighted with the Jet that they purchased approx more than a year ago.

With luck these QC issues will be addressed, but I certainly wouldn't be buying one right now.

Another thicknesser to think about is a Dewalt 735, comes as a 3 blade unit...... about $700
you can buy a Byrd Spiral Cutter later for the Dewalt.... about $700

Spoke to the rep from Felder today with regard to the Hammer A3 26 and 31 ( the 31 is probably out of the picture for me price wise ). Having been through the process of buying a substandard tool originally with my tablesaw, and then consequently buying a decent 'proper' tablesaw ( this one - which I love Woodman-SB1012OS Tablesaw - Major Woodworking Equipment ). I've certainly learned that getting something decent is the way to go. Soooooooooooo. I'm in agreeance that the Hammer or something of that calibre is probably worth the $$.

Only issue is, i don't think I'd be able to afford it just yet, especially with the Spiral cutting head option - which by all accounts it sounds like I'd be silly to not get if spending the money ( especially as you can't buy/swap it out later! ).

So maybe I'll persevere with the Jointing jig for the tablesaw and planing/thicknessing jig for the router for now ( yes, it's noisy & slow ) and save my money until I can afford the real deal...........else, if I fork out $500 for second hand 6" Chinese import jointer from ebay and likewise for a cheap benchtop thicknesser, I'd probably regret spending it. Maybe I could build some nice stuff and sell it on ebay or to family/friends and put that towards the Hammer!

I'll likely then get the Drill press and save save save instead

Unless others had thoughts?

Or I could sell my table saw and one of my routers.....and buy this:

MiniMax C26 Genius combination machine - I Wood Like :I Wood Like

If anyone owns this, or knows someone that does, or has any view on it....I'm all ears!

OK, so the Hammer quote came back...and I just can't justify the price for the one machine for where I'm at in my woodworking at the moment (i.e. occasional hobby use when I can find time/just starting out! ). So I'm currently pricing up Woodfast PT-310 Thicknesser/Planer, BS-350 14" BandSaw and their 16mm Pedestal Drill.

I'm also pricing up the equivalent Ledacraft machines, and it seems Woodcraft are a little more expensive for what you get at the same pricepoints/specs, especially with the Bandsaw and Drill press.

Any opinions on this price point for the tools ( i.e. ~$1700 - $2000 for Thicknesser/Planer, $900 - $1200 Bandsaw 14" or 16" 2HP, and 16mm Pedestal Drill 0.75HP+). Overall, I'm actually beginning to lean a bit more towards the Ledacraft stuff, as it seems better specced for the money. I understand that it's all probably made in China now.

Any other options anyone would take around these price points for the tools? I've also looked at the Carbatec 10" thicknesser/planer and Scheppach Plana 3.0, and H&F PT-300. I've decided the Spherical Head isn't a necessity for me right now after talking to a few people in the game, so that isn't crucial.

As always would value any options I haven't considered.

EDIT: I'd happily buy second hand also..........it just seems, that decent stuff just doesn't seem to pop up on ebay/gumtree in VIC very often! ( maybe time of year? )

Hey Sebastian
I've been going through same steps as you.. building tool / machinery collection from scratch
Started with cheap table saw.. and regretted it.. invested almost the same amount as the price of the saw I've paid for upgraded parts to get it to some decent quality...
Following that I needed to do job that required doors... (kitchen cabinets) so pedestal drill came to play.. again got the cheaper one.. (didn't smarted up in time).. Saw does the job.. but due to the low power of the motor it just doesn't have enough power to do other jobs I put to it..

With the new found wisdom... I've gone with bit better machinery as next purchase .. which was bandsaw.. .. and that was good investment as it already did fair bit of work.. re-sawing, rough cutting etc...

As I was jumping between projects I was getting tools one by one as what I needed... deciding to save bit of dough and get not best machinery as they are ridiculously priced .. I know they are worth it, but since as many of us on this forum, I don't do this as a business.. and would be lucky if I get any $$$ for my work, as well as the usage of the tools, I will be quite happy with slightly better than average machine.. the one that will do the job but doesn't have all bells and whistles..
Next on purchase is combo jointer / thicknesser.. the carbatec helix head one.. it is definitely worth having a look at it.. Reading reviews here you will see people complaining about few flaws... Apparently the one in carbatec shop sitting at the moment is the third iteration of the tool.. looks like they were reading reviews.. They have upgraded machine part, fence is now cast iron.. and the helix head is actually helix head.. not like other helix head carbatec machines where knives are parallel and flat...
SO saving the budget for that one.. the only bad part about it is conversion between jointer and thicknesser... it is a bit of a workout.. (taking off fence completely,.. which is due to being made out of cast iron a bit on a heavy side.. then lifting each side of the table before being able to move dust collector pan in order to use thicknesser...)
COmparing carbatec one to jet... you can see .. jet is much easier to convert.. but when you compare $$$ i think I'll be quite happy with carbatec one...
After that purchase, i'm planning to get general scroll saw.. to replace Jet one I have which started falling apart on a first bigger job I've done...

Originally Posted by Sebastiaan76

Overall, I'm actually beginning to lean a bit more towards the Ledacraft stuff, as it seems better specced for the money. I understand that it's all probably made in China now.

We are all different, and have different budgets, however I looked at the Ledacraft products and for what it is worth was not impressed.

On a different topic, don't forget to get a suitable dust extractor!

Dust Extraction is sorted with a 2HP Dusty setup ( HAFCO brand )

The research continues.