Thread: Starting a workshop

Hi Jon
With a budget of $200, I can see you ending up with a questionable quality saw with poor accuracy that will eventually be replaced with a decent brand such as Makita, Bosch, Hitachi, DeWalt etc. Consider buying a far better quality saw first up, it will be far less frustrating, and probably last a lifetime.
I put off buying a good quality table saw for many years, putting up with a very mediocre unit that stifled many a good idea. I wish I had bought the new saw much earlier, that way I would have had many more years of enjoyable woodworking.
I probably will never wear it out, and it will retain a fair bit of value when it eventually is sold. Cheap tools have very little resale value.
As for the laser line, probably useful, but zero clearance fences do much the same job. Have a look at
http://www.woodnet.net/plansnow/mitersawtips.pdf

That's my two bobs worth, hope it helps.

Alan...

Hi Jon,
I second the opinion. Cheap hand held power drills etc. can be fine, in fact many people swear by them. However, table saws must cut straight with no wobble or runout in the blade and a sturdy, absolutely flat solid table and straight strong fence etc. and you don't get that with a super cheapie. I had a ryobi that cost more than your $200 and it was rubbish, made it very difficult for a weekender like me to get accurate cuts. I was glad when the floods ruined it! Now I have a big monster from Hare and Forbes bought on special for about $800 and it cuts perfectly. Be wary of Scheppach as some of their gear is quite poor (e.g. Benchtop Router table) and companies like Swarts (big torque start up and nothing aligned with a compound mitre saw of theirs that I bought).
Have you looked on ebay for second hand quality gear? It can be very reasonable. My father in law virtually gave away his professional gear when he retired and last year I saw a big panel saw from a liquidation sell for $1!

Good luck and happy hunting

Regards
David

Heya Jon

Few years ago when I've started my workshop I've fallen into the same trap as you...
Lets just get some cheap tools to get it running and will go from then.. as at the time it was all every now and then work.. (bits and pieces here and there.. )
the result...
very poorly done work.. ($40 jig saw that CANNOT cut straight.. as in you set it to cut 90 deg and withing first few centimetres blade comes off the guide and starts cutting the angle)
cheap hand saws that are just tiny bit sharper than a plain piece of metal..
quick job was not really a quick job due to lots of reworks.. and quality of it.. well when I look at few pieces which survived ... hmm i guess 10 yr old kid would make something better..
precission.. what was that?
as you can see ... HUGE frustration..

suddenly there was a need for a bit more serious work..
made a deal with SWMBO that if she wants anything done.. I do need some better machinery...
yes it did cost me a bit initially (current setup at the moment has costed me about $3000 - $4000... and includes..
tablesaw, combo sander, bandsaw, pedestal drill, router, circular saw, triton router table and saw table.. which was initial purchase before further upgrades with tablesaw etc..)

with those tools I've so far done..
dining table
huge coffee table (2100 x 700 x 620h)
kitchen cabinets
wall light fittings
step
few stands
about 4 wishing wells for wifeys business
and several other things

now when I put the price of built item (as in how much would cost to actually either buy them or get someone to do them) I have estimated cost to be about $12000 in total...

so now basic math
$12000 estimated purchase cost - $4000 spent on machinery = $8000 savings
on top of it.. huge bragging rights in the family and pride of your work...

anyway to cut the story short
save your $$$ and get decent tools ...
Masters... personally cheap one time tools (another trap I've fallen into with 909 brand..) burned ROS on my first table..
Bunnings.. some good stuff for tradies .. Really good stuff quite exy.. look around can find same tool cheaper but I still do frequent local bunnings often...
Personally I do spend fair bit of time at Carbatec and Hare & Forbes..
Guys know what they're doing.. Lots of advice... and every now and then they do have specials making it very affordable to get something.. so definitely worth the wait...

Currently I'm saving for compound sliding mitre saw..
Selection has fallen to two items .. either Dewalt DWS780 or Makita LS1216
While saving.. I'm thoroughly looking around for best price and pros and con's of each so I can get the best one that will suite my needs...

Hope this helps
Alen

What about the Bosch GCM12GDL glide saw Alen?

All right I definitely learnt my lesson thx you very much to all of you.

The fact is i am ready to spend more for a better product but i don,t have $900 to spend ( still a student hehe )

I am not aiming to building a house at all.

What would be your advices ( product wise ) could you give me some names that i could look up that i could get quite easily ( i don t have a car so ... hard hard time these 3 shops are the only ones that i can access). i am not looking for the perfection but for something durable that is going to decently do the job.

thx you so much for all these replies.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

What about the Bosch GCM12GDL glide saw Alen?

It was considered.. but to be honest.. while playing with it in bunnings.. I've found rotating lever quite hmm.. awkward to use...
Easiest one was makita, followed closely by dewalt...

Price wise it was pretty much same as Dewalt one.. thus picking up Dewalt..

Please don't get me wrong... It is a decent saw and will keep many tradies quite happy... (My father in law swears by it)

But since I do have plans to do some picture frames in the near future.. plus some fancy stuff with compound angles which require quite precise cuts.. I'm not sure Bosch will do me justice due to that awkward angle changing brake..

All right so in my maximum price range which seems to be $400 at bunnings ( then it jumps to $750 ) There are these 3 products :
- Bosch 1800w 250mm slide saw
- Makite 255mm Sliding saw with laser
- Dewalt 160w 250mm saw

Are any of these products worse it ? and why if you don't mind .

Upsy... all three are descent saws...
But first think what is your requirement...
I believe those ones are only mitre saws...
The more expensive ones are sliding mitre saws..

Benefits..
versatility... capacity.. in some cases precision...
out of those three
makita might be one of the sturdiest

it might be worth checking total tools and supa tools

Well the makita and bosh ones are sliding saw.

should I think about one of these 2 then ?

Originally Posted by Upsy

- Bosch 1800w 250mm slide saw
- Makite 255mm Sliding saw with laser
- Dewalt 160w 250mm saw

Upsy does indicate he is looking at sliding compounds the way I read it.
Makita do have two 255mm sliding compound saws at now. One is usually around the $350 mark, and the other is around $750. I haven't had a chance to see what the differences are that make for such a variation in price.

I believe the cheaper is 250mm the more expensive one could be 305mm blade
but for 750 i believe it is just a mitre saw.. makita sliding mitre saw (the LS1216) is over $1000 at bunnings

Hi Jon

Congratulations on your impending purchase - new power tools are one of life's great things.

Don't buy anything from Bunnings without checking out your local Total Tools (I have no association with either). I do love Bunnings and always assumed TT would be more expensive, but discovered this to not be the case with everything. Check them out - you may be pleasantly surprised. For example, both sell a Makita circular saw for $99 but the TT one is much better.

I agree with everyone who suggests avoiding the cheap brands when it comes to tools like mitre saws. Avoid Ryobi (I own one), ozito, 909, etc for this purchase. Cheaper brands can really put you on the back foot when it comes to accuracy. I personally prefer the Makita.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Danny

Also don't buy a 305mm blade model unless you have good reason to need. I own one and it does nothing for me except take up more room and make my blades harder to buy and more expensive.

Originally Posted by Uncle Al

http://www.woodnet.net/plansnow/mitersawtips.pdf

Great article Alan. Thanks for the link.