Next major purchase

hehe :)
I think someone stated before that it depends on what type of woodworking you will be doing.
I use my planer and jointer (although i don’t know if I use them correctly) and I also love our drill press. It comes in really handy.
And of course, we couldn’t be without our bandsaw, and I’m starting to love my scrollsaw…. oh the list just keeps going and going!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Depends. What are the next few projects you want to do?

My planer gets a lot of use, but I’m not sure it’s a tool that everyone needs. If I were sticking to small projects, I’d just buy lumber that was already surfaced. If you do buy a planer, consider capacity (width and thickness capability), cuts per inch (more cpi = smoother), and outfeed support.

Some other possibilities: a table-mounted router, spray finishing equipment, spindle sander.

Sorry, no pearls of wisdom, but maybe some plastic beads of random thoughts!

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

Hey,
As Debbie mentioned, it depends on what you want to do. I think I remember you mentioning major pieces…

To use a power planer, you really need a jointer to go with it. The two kind of work in tandom. These would be a nice addition.

A bandsaw is kind of a favorite too.

To me, the major stand alone power tool set includes:
Table saw
Bandsaw
Planer
Jointer

Major hand held power:
Router
Drill
Sander

(It is fun buying tools for other people)
Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Cyclone or some sort of dust collection system??

All are great selections and are on my wish list. I was going to tackle an entertainment center but found a really nice plan from Woodcraft magazine (Dec/Jan edition) for a mission table and matching end tables. I think I should start small..lol. I want to use the best wood for this project so I’m checking out the local lumber places as well as Big Orange and Big Blue. I need to check the owner’s manual to see if my router can be converted to a table router. Since I already have one hand planner I may just get a few more hand tools and use those until I decide that a power planner would better fill the need. So now I’m leaning to the bandsaw. OR just win the stinkin lottery and buy all of it at once! LOL! :)

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

Steve read my mind. I couldn’t have said it better, but I sure could have bored you by saying it with more words. ha…. All of the above advice is dead on. The addition of a jointer and planer totally changed the way I do woodworking, alowing me to fabricate pieces with little regard for what dimensions are available off the shelf. I’ve especially enjoyed the way they have allowed me to re-use wood from discarded items. (M ylatest pile of material is from a tossed out piano.) The power tool that has surprised me the most, though, in the number of times I go to it, has been the bandsaw. I am amazed at how frequently I turn to this wonderful too, which I had once thought thought I’d never need, as I couldn’t see myself cutting out lawn art in my old age.

-- GregS, Snohomish, WA

Found a Jet horizontal/vertical 5”x6” bandsaw at homedepot.com. This is within my price range.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

I’m laughing.. not sure what the laughter means.. perhaps embarrassment on my part.
you said that you are going to start out small… by making a table and end tables!!! My “small” was a napkin holder or something like that!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

To me the planer and jointer are essential. As for the band saw, save your money until you can get a good one that will let you re-saw. As your skills improve, this is also essential. If money is an issue (it always is), then get a 14” model that you can add a riser block to later. You then can upgrade your machine to include better guides and more tricked out stuff.

-- making sawdust....

Maybe jointer before planer. Square is good, and that’s what jointers do.

-- Maplewood, MN

Money is a very big issue. I’m figuring to save for the up for the bandsaw and use hand planes and jointers. They did it back in the day, so can I. Plus, I’ll learn alot about the feel of the wood and expand my knowledge too.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

my take is a jointer next. you are probably buying 3/4” S4S anyway, so, the planer has less priority. But, if you want to make panels and such a joiner will get those peices together. (iffin I could only buy one or t’other.)

BTW. Once you get the jointer AND a planer, stop thinking in terms of 3/4”. Evrything is 3/4”. I don’t want my stuff to be just like everything else. With both you get to decide how wide AND how thick.

And of course the longer the better.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

I use my table mounted router as a jointer. Saved me quite a few $$$ . . . the maxium I can joint is 1.5 inches. I actually had my planer for about 6 mo before I plugged it in. I echo Greg . . . By using these two tools I am no longer limited to 3/4” dimensions.

My next purchase will be a BS as that will allow me to resaw more efficiently. I have resawn with my TS, but it is not my favorite thing to do.

Resawing & Jointing http://lumberjocks.com/topics/1073

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

I just faced the same decision. I opted for the planer. If you use a sled, you can surface plane (usually done on the jointer if it is wide enough) in the planer. It will never do half as good a job as a real jointer but you can use a router table or tablesaw to joint edges.

BTW, a router table doesn’t have to be fancy. I’m not sure about the mechanics of mounting a plunge router, but I threw together a rudimentary router table in one evening. I took a scrap piece of 3/4 ply, routed out a circle the size of the router base to recess the router, drilled mounting holes and a 2” hole for the bit and then just built a really simple open ended box around it to hold it up. Add a simple fence on top and you are in business. It is a pain to install the router and the fence is a little fiddly to adjust but I’ve used it a ton.

-- Tom, Southwest Florida

Be sure and watch Craigslist.com. You may find something that fits your buget there. The next thing I would consider is a router table. I know its not a power tool but it will add a lot of versitility in what you can do. If you have a wood working show coming up near you, I would go. If you look around you can find some good deals.

I would not get a power hand planer. Learn to use a manual hand plane. Your right in the thought you will get a new feeling for the wood. You’ll feel the direction of the grain even when you can’t see it yet.

Next power tool I would invest in is a good quality random orbit sander. Stay away from the Skill, and B&D at Walmart. They don’t work well and going with a Porter Cable, Bocsh or Klingspor are not much more, but well worth the investment.

After that, a thickness planer. The Ridgid has pretty good reviews and that is what I use. I’m pretty happy with it so far.

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

You can use your tablesaw with a “Glue Line Rip” blade and a custom fence as an edge jointer. The capacity is whatever the maximum blade height of your saw is. I did this for awhile when I was first putting my shop together.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

As you mentioned, you might want to invest a little time and maybe a little $ in improving or developing new hand skills. I don’t own a jointer yet as I can do it “old school” now with two or three hand planes and am proud to be able to say so. That doesn’t mean I won’t get a jointer someday, it’s just that I put in the T&E to develop the skill set. Now, I do have to add that I developed the skill set for hand planes first, i.e. tuning, sharpening et al, and that was necessary before I could tackle making a board flat, square and true by hand.

I guess what it boils down to is how long do you allow yourself to complete a project? Is it, “Let’s gitter done and move along,” or is your woodworking style more contemplative allowing for the time it takes to learn a new hand skill? I know guys/gals that are all about the grinding, whining and screaming of their machines but I myself look for the chance to do it to music. I’m funny that way.

BTW, my family has heard me decry the noise factor of working wood and for Christmas they bought me a set of those nice hearing protectors that include an AM-FM tuner and a jack for my MP3 player, sweet!

Oh and just in case you might think me a bit of a luddite, suffice to say that now I only flatten and true one side of any given board by hand before I feed it to my 15in. planer to bring it to final thickness. Therein lies the reason I haven’t bought a jointer as I won’t until I can afford the $$$ and the room for at least a 12in model. Yes, size matters. I mean, if I can’t joint the face of a board then I can’t see the reason for owning anything less. With my old #7 I can finesse the edges and faces of boards till the cattle comes home.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

tablesaw
bandsaw
jointer
planer

You need to decide what your going be using them for to determine the size of each. A bandsaw will allow you to book match, and do some scroll work, straighten curved boards, its a very vesaitile tool. Jointer, planer open up a new possibility’s of dressing the stock to custom sizes. Decisions decisions. Good luck

-- Andy Stark

I’m all about the dance, jcees. I’ve got a lifetime to learn and the only timetable is the one we set for ourselves. The big stuff will go to the pros; the flooring, any electrical work or anything else I think is out of my league. We’re in the planning and budget stage right now, but once work begins it’ll be posted here for all to see!!

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

Keep your eyes on Craigslist, Terri. Hope your mononucleosis is on the mend, that is a long and tedious recuperation.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I think I would lean more toward a planer rather than a jointer, with a good blade you can joint an edge on
the table saw. For wider surfaces than a jointer can do, you can use the planer. Just run it through on a sled
with wedges between them for support in the gaps.

If someone stole one of my machines, I would hope that they took the jointer before my planer.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I know it’s been said, but the combinations oof a jointer, planer and bandsaw will allow you to mill your own lumber and take your woodworking to the next level. I will open up your design possibilities and make the sky the limit.

-- Dust collectors suck.

I agree with Blake, I use rough sawn lumber because it is considerably less expensive and I like the flexibility of milling your own lumber. The jointer was a great addition to my shop, but I really got the most benifit from it when I added a planer, the two go hand in hand. Tough decision to make, good luck.

-- Doug, Cass City, Michigan