Thread: A which tool conundrum

Whew thanks fellas!!

So I guess Im looking at either doin the smart thing ala... put 1000 down on all 3 give the missus 500 to let her think she won something or getting the thicknesser and putting the rest down on the bandsaw

Funny I had been told that for air dried timbers it was imparitive to send them through a jointer first to get that perfek 90 degree edge on at least one side but seems that could be a bit of a plonker another plonker seems to have been the one about getting the biggest = best you can afford over getting smaller more affordable... at present I doubt my hull planking timbers will get larger than 10in wide but will be Jarrah and hence the thoughts of the more solider machine... so Im starting to think around the 13in machine would be enough?

The timber show was great last year and I did get the table saw there at a fair sort of price but not a lot lower than what I would have paid at the shop mind... I found it bloody confusing people everywhere getting in the way annoying crap out of a fella with their noise and b/s interuptions with the person your yappin with... drove me nuts! took over 3/4 hour of tryin to sort the price for the table saw with the salesbloke cause of all the bloody interruptions!... some people just never seemed to learn basic manners or respect! :mad: To me it was like the royal show too much in too small a place too noisy and too flamin crowded... So I doubt I will head up there this year... unless I consider buying a Lucus mill or something equally divorce creating

Mind here I had a mate whos brother came over late last year from over east who had one and man!! did I fall assup in luv with it! far better set up than the woodmiser at a far better price too!... but she has this phobia see I just keep on thinking of all that timber I could get at really great prices from the local farmers and hobby mobs around here... already thought of a marketting line "you drop em we mill em and take em away!"

Anyway thanks fellas will send emails off and see what responses I get

Shane

A few things in your posts that I would like to hilite:

That salesman at the show should have had his butt kicked and did not deserve your business if he allows interruptions when dealing with a client! That is definately not professional.

There are heaps of machines that look alike or so called rebadges. To the experienced person there are a heap of differences between these machines. Bielieve it or not...they actually come out of different factories. It will really pay you to drive a few extra kilometers to check out what is on the market and to compare quality yourself. Otherwise you may just as well buy blindly because I can promise you that you will fall into mean traps. Spend your money wisely!!!

The timbers you mention are tough and hard stuff ....definately not suitable for all the machines out there. I would suggest that you ask the dealer to supply you two sets of HSS 18% Tungsten alloy blades, which is usually discounted to go with a new planer. If the dealer cannot supply these specific blades.......keep walking mate! There are some top quality 15 inch planers around here in Perth, but you have to shop to find them. Similarly there are very good 200 mm jointers around....buy quality cause the sweet taste of a 'cheap' ( not inexpensive ) buy is soon superseded by the bitter taste of owning a piece of gear that does not perform as it should. Check out the quality.

Due to the Australian Dollars strengthening against the American Dollar catalogue prices are totally irrelevant at the moment. Most catalogues were printed in beginning of 2003.......machine prices have dropped dramatically in that time!!!

I am afraid that the impression that you give with your first post...about not wanting to shop around.....makes me shudder.......You are going to spend a fairly large sum of cash, don't be hasty and burn your mouth....

I hope you enjoy the boat you are building.....is it a yacht or power? Give us some details for interest sake

Cya mate

Thanks gatiep for the words... I took another gander at both Carbotec and Timbercons catalogues today and wondered the same regarding quality etc and I reckon I will end up doing the miles to have a close gander in person... I sure as heck dont want to end up buying something that wont do the job so I will bung a couple of lengths of tuart in the back of the van and see which one does what I want... mmmm wonder if they will mind? ah well we will see.

I went the last day of the show here and to be honest I dont blame the bloke some of those gits were just plain bloody rude take a breath and zap theyre yellin for his attention... impatient bastards from what I saw time was running out and they wanted what they wanted and to hell with anyone else!... but hes after the sale and bummed by the constant barrage of idiots touchys questioners and buyers so he turns and well I had to wrentch the buggar back again till I got what I wanted as I said I got the saw but due to the constant rudeness of the people there I didnt get what Id call a bargain or a considerable discount just a discount that I believe I probably could have got without the damned hassle of the show... and I didnt end up getting the other tools I wanted or was talking to him about... then I was called away with a family emergency so... anyway lesson learned.

Ive found since posting this that there are a couple of other sources that I wasnt aware of and that tells me I should make the effort to check them all out in person before shelling the dollars... ah well will probably spend the day driving back and forth but have a mobile phone now which will make me able to shorten it a tad I hope...

Actually when I went up to Timbercon the last time some months back and discussed some of my tool needs with them the fella reckoned that I may have to wait for a couple of weeks if they only have floor stock left... seemed a bit well pathetic to me pay up for machinery and then have to wait a couple of weeks for delivery to their showroom? is that normal for these bods? I sorta would have thought they would have at least one or two in stock no matter what... just the way I work is all... never not have stock on hand for walk in custom that way you dont loose sales... but then thinking about it the fella from Bunbury who is the agent for Woodmisers didnt have any on stock either and Id have to wait for one to land in Freo so maybe its the way things are done eh?

Anyway mate... the boat!! After many many months in fact its 3 years now of tossing back and forth humming and hawing oggling and abusing looking at designs from around the world some really fine and some troublesome some large some small and some inbetween... Ive decided to build a Pearl Luggar from plans I recieved awhile back from a fella in Sydney of "Trixen B47" shes the one in the new Maritime Museum... Ive got a "prototype" I can get access to in "Bucceleach B6" who is jammed in the bush just up the road from me and rotting to bits but measurements of planks and angles and such can still be gotten from her hull

but still aways away yet... Keel is here as are the horn, frame and stem timbers and a mate has most of the jarrah planking in his shed on his property just out of Dwellingup so I reckon in a couple of months I should be able to make a start... Im planning on having the tools ready to start work as soon as we move... at present were hoping the sale of this place and finance and such get done pretty quick as we have an offer on the table for a small 55 acre farm up the road in Coolup that has my boatshed all ready for me presently a buyer is antsing around trying to bring us down on this place but "wes gots our price and wes stickin to it!!" may end up with two places! ugghh gawd I hope not!

ooohhh I had a gander at the 14in bandsaws in the catalogues cripes they look near on identical!! Im buying a chainsaw this week to sort the what looks to be 9in x 12in keel timbers out {all I have are the lines and construction drawings so I'll have to loft it and that will tell me the actual sizes but going on Buccys thats about right} so largest after that are the deadwood then the frame timbers so Im thinking of going down to the 14in B/S rather than the 16in to save some $ as I will do most of the cutting of the larger timbers with the Chain Saw... just makes sence now Ive thought about it a bit

Thanks to all

Seems a sensible move re the 14 inch bandsaw, I have the BAS 350 (would have liked a 16 inch me self though) which has proven a good buy and is on special at Carba-tec at the moment (probably something to do with the US $). It has a more powerful motor than the usual 14 inchers and has bearing guides, It's resawn Jarrah without problems for me.

A possible down side is that you can’t put a riser block on it, but in such hardwood I doubt that would be of benefit.

Cheers


Dave

Davo re the BAS 350 you have what made you settle on that particular one? Ive been looking at the catalogues again today and there really appears little difference between it and the one at Timbercon interestingly named BAS 350 as well...

Why that one and not the catalogue touted "heavier duty" BS 1400 which is near $100 less in price?

thanks fellas for all the imput its been extremely helpfull

I went for the BAS 350 cos it has the bearing blade guides as standard (they make it easier to make a straight cut) and a 1.5hp motor as apposed to a 1hp on the BS 1400, in the catalogue it says that the BS -1400 is “heaviest in it’s class” I take that to mean of that type of saw. Would be worth asking them though I guess.

I think the Timbecon one is similar or even identical, Carbatec do make inference about the quality of other guide mechanisms on similar looking saws, not sure if that was pointed at Timbecon though. Also I’m not keen on the red colour scheme on Timbecon stuff and while that's not a very good reason, it was a minor part of my decision (I know red goes faster but I like to see the blood if I cut myself ).

Wish I could remember how much Carbatec were selling the BAS- 350 for when I was in there other day, I know I felt a bit sick as I paid the catalogue price about 18 month – 2 years ago…. Ah well such is life.

I started a thread on the Bandsaw forum called “wheel alignment” if you get the BAS 350 it would be worth reading.

Happy shopping



Dave

Dave
In their latest sale brochure CT has it at $599-00. The motor is 1.5 hp. Most other bandsaws in the various catalogs are 3/4 hp with short bursts up to 1 hp. In other words if you put a load that requires 1 hp for extended periods, they will not be happy for long.
The BAS 350 as per the CT catalog has the changed bearing support. The rest of the BAS 350 info there is actually underrated to what the saw is in real life. The depth of cut is 200 mm. It comes with a very neat and sturdy cabinet base. It is two speed. Has the best fence ( can be used left or right of the blade ) and mitre that I have seen on a 14" bandsaw. The doors clip closed/open ( with a flat screw driver etc) instead of unscrewing knobs. It has 4 " dust port. I use a 3/4 " by 1,25 TPI blade on mine for resawing and it purs through whatever I feed it.

I believe that for $599-00 there is none to catch it!

Cya
Joe