D Carpenter

As the title says I'm finally building my workshop. After years of planning and dreaming (and raising 9 children) I will start construction in two weeks. It will be 20'w x 40'd with a 200A 240V service. I would like some advice on tool selection. I am not necessarily loyal to any one brand. I currently have an old delta contractors saw, a ridged band saw, a dewalt compound miter and various power and hand tools. I have been saving for this for years and although money is not a hinderance I would like to make wise decisions on the tools (I plan to use them for the rest of my life). Here is a list of tools I plan to purchase.
cabinet saw 10" 52" fence 240v 3-5hp
planer 15" 240v
jointer 6-8" 240v
band saw 14-17" 240v
router 3hp with table 120/240v
sliding compound miter 12" 120v
lathe (have never used one but have always wanted to) 240v
oscillating edge/spindle sander 36" 240v
drill press 15" 240v
dust collector 240v

I have about $10,000.00 set aside to equip my shop. I can get the tools listed from Grizzly for about $7,500.00. I have researched several different brands but would welcome any advice I can get (in the multitude of counselors there is safety).

__________________
A smart man learns from his experiences.... A wise man learns from the experiences of others.

woodnthings

That's a great size shop there Bud and you'll love it!
I have 2 shapers 3HP, a 19" bandsaw and a 20" planer all Grizzly and great tools and very good quality. Get a 10" cabinet saw with a Biesemeyer Fence and you'll never regret it. I use Jet 1 1/2 HP 110v mobile dust collectors with remote on/offs and a Jet whole room air filtration unit. I have the 20" Jet drill press a good tool. Milwaukee has a great sliding miter saw, I have a 10" Bosch that I really like. I have an old South Bend 13" metal lathe that works well on wood as well as metal. You might want to add a mig welder to your list. You can make all kinds of mobile tool bases and such. My panel is 175 amps and it's filled, so 200 amps is good.
Make sure you install plenty of lights. I have 6 runs of 8 foot flourescents on 3 ways switches where I come in from different doors.
An overhead ceiling fan redistributes the room air when the air filter isn't running and keeps me cool. The 19,000 BTU window AC unit is rarley used. A lumber rack bolted to the wall is another welding project.
Here are some 220v routers, http://www.eastwestintl.com/showprod.asp?catid=255, but the 3 1/4 HP Porter Cable 7518 is a great table router when used in a lift like a Jessem Mast R lift.
The height adjustment is the only one you need so make it easy to adjust from above the table.
You are doing the right thing by getting advice before you start, rather than after,when it's too late. Good Luck to Ya. bill

__________________
A jointer is as important for preparing the work for the table saw as the table saw is for sawing it. Straight and flat is where it's at!
Wood "rocks", except on the table saw, not good...

Geoguy

I agree with Bill (woodnthings). I also have a shop full of Grizzly tools and love 'em. And, like Bill said, get plenty of lights. I've found that the older I get, the more light I need (probably just those bulbs wearing out - not my eyes). However, if you got the money, I might recommend a 20" plannar. I have a big, nice, 15" Grizzly plannar and sometimes wish I had spent the few extra dollars for a bigger one (fortunately I don't do door panels too often).

Good luck with the shop build. And, keep us posted with lots of photos.

mwhafner

First, HD is rumored to have the Milwaukee 12" slider on sale for $299. Great saw at an unbelievable price.

While I don't own any, I have used a few Grizzly tools, and agree with the other's comments. My experience is that they are an excellent value.

You may also want to check out Rikon bandsaws. They are a lot of saw for the money, and appear to be a little better outfitted (guides, etc) than most of the other commonly available models.

I would also take a look at the SawStop table saws if you can swing it.

A router table outfitted with a lift is great. The Jessem Master-lift is a great option, and a router like the Porter Cable 7518 make a great combination. You might also want to look at a dedicated shaper, as many will accept a collet for standard router bits.

Also, go with a 8" jointer if you can. Another option are the new jointer/planer combo machines, like the Grizzly G0633. You may give up a little in planing capacity, but you get a very large jointer. The only downside is that the tables tend to be short compared to a dedicated jointer. I am getting closed to starting construction on my new shop, and will probably buy either the Grizzly or Mini-Max. I am a little more limited on floor space than you are.

I don't know where you are located, but I am lucky to have an industrial supplier locally (Nashville, TN) that specializes in refurbished and "scratch and dent" Jet and Powermatic tools, and occasionally have some Delta and others. I have gotten some great deals on my larger tools, and it is great to have qualified repair personnel locally if I need them.

Texas Sawduster

WOW what a budget.

I wonder if I can sell the house..... Na the wife would not go for it.

__________________
Tools are like guns, You can never have enough.
Where did I put that tape measure???

D Carpenter

Thanks for the input.

woodnthings, From what I've seen grizzly does give the most bang for the buck and though I have never used them they do seem to get great reviews. I do have a small but sufficient mig welder and have already designed a lumber rack. The shop will have 10' ceilings with 4 runs of t8 flourescent lights and ceiling fans. I hadn't considered an air filtration system but will look into it.

Geoguy, I was looking at the grizzly G0453Z planer with the 15" spiral cutterhead but can get the G0454 20" with a std 4 blade cutterhead for $50.00 more. Interesting that you should mention door panels as my first project when the shop is finished will be a new kitchen for my wife.

mwhafner, I did look at thw sawstop and it appears to be a great saw but I'm not sure I want to sink that much money in one. The jointer I am looking at is the grizzly G0656 and it is an 8".
I'm located in south Louisiana just outside of New Orleans and as far as I know there are no industrial woodworking suppliers near but I am not opposed to making a road trip to score a good deal.

Texas Sawduster, I agree $10,000.00 is a generous budget but I have been planing and saving for years and figured when I finally took the plunge I didn't want to have to cut corners.

Thanks again for all the advice.

ps. I will keep a photo journal of the shop project.

__________________
A smart man learns from his experiences.... A wise man learns from the experiences of others.

Texas Sawduster

Check out this place. It may be closer to you than coming into Houston.

http://www.woodworkersparadise.com/

They also hold basic classes on Saturday afternoons.

__________________
Tools are like guns, You can never have enough.
Where did I put that tape measure???

Nate1778

Hard to go wrong with a Grizzly shop and that budget. Might consider a SawStop but that is up to you. I have their new professional 3hp cabinet and it is a very nice saw that will last me my life. Spend some money on a DC, preferably a cyclone. They are easy to maintain and empty. Good luck on your venture. Also consider the dedicated mortiser, not a tool you'll use every day but when you do you will love it.

splinter2

Congrats on your Dream? I hope to have something someday, but kinda like you ptting two kids through Collage right now, so my dream will have to wait, But i can still dream, and learn from reading yours, please keep us posted on the Build, so i can learn from others Tips...


Splinter2

Bweick7

Oliver, Fay & Egan, Northfield,Moak,Tannewitz,Yates, these are just of a few of the woodworking machines that were American made and manufactured, designed and built in the USA . You get what you pay for - If ANY of you have one make of these machines you know what I am talking about- there is no comparison IMPO and those that have bought the foreign jobbers and go to one of these well built american made machines wondered why they always thought - "buy new" . Go talk to a woodworker that ownes one of these machines- they will tell you - "first hand" built to last and pure quality. Go on ebay and look at all the foreign woodworking equipment - there are new Olivers out there as well- all blue- made in Taiwan-not the same company at all, the name got sold. if you look at the older Olivers - anyone that knows anything about their longevity and quality is bidding- the new Oliver's sit there week after week. What you would have paid new- 288 TS $11,890 at 1960's pricing- same saw 50 years later between $1-2000, but I have seen them go for as much as $7000 professionally restored, but if you spend that $2000 on todays TS - no comparison what so ever. You go to cut "anything on the Older Oliver,Tanny,Northfield, yates,ets,ets, like cutting butter- at any angle- try that with these new machines- not to mention the fence- just poorly designed/poor construction frame/plastic and aluminum extruded fence,,,, Just wanted you to be aware that this is something you should consider- at any rate - good luck with your shop and what ever you get I hope you really get to enjoy the fruits of your labors and good luck. I was in your shoes along time ago, just trying to save you from having to relive my learning curve- and it was quite expensive.
Mr. 20C

gregL

Congratulations of finally building your new workshop. I buily my dream shop just over 2 years ago and have pretty much the tools you have described, with the exceeption of a lathe. Another tool I would highly recommend is a drum sander. I bought a Jet 22" drum sander a few months back and it is definitely one of those "I wish I had bought it sooner" tools.
The Grizzly tools I have are excellent in quality and workhorses. I have the Grizzly 15" planer with carbide helical cutters. It will put a smooth finish on the most complicated grain configurations.
Also have a 10" grizzly cabinet saw. I added a Incra TS-LS positioner to it and the accuracy and repeatability are fantastic.
For a dust collector a cyclone is by far the best. Get at least 3 hp.
I have a Powermatic 14" bandsaw and Powermatic 6" jointer with the carbide helical cutters. As I look back I wish I would have bought at least an 8" jointer.
I have the Bosch sliding miter saw and love it. It is extremely accurate and the up front bevel controls are very convenient. I originally was going to buy the 12" slider and the guys at the tool store talked me out of it saying the 12" saws all seem to have a little runout and is not necessary since its capacity not much more. Makita now has a sliding miter saw with 4 rails instead of 2 and it seems impressive.
$10K will furnish a shop nicely but believe me...it doesn't stop there.
Good Luck with your shop and keep us all posted with updates !

__________________
Who Dat...Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Have a nice day, unless you have other plans! "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Greg Little

been2town

You can equip the shop for roughly half the money with Grizzly vs many of the other top brands. I've had the Grizzly cabinet saw, shaper, lathe and sander and they were all fine. I also had a PM66 and a Delta shaper at the same time. There was an obvious difference in quality, especially with the saw, but you'll probably be thrilled with Grizzly and the fact that you can really round out a shop with Grizzly tools on your budget. I think in your situation, I wouldn't be shy about going Grizzly for the majority of the equipment and then reward myself for saving so much money by getting the best tablesaw I could get my hands on. Unless I knew that my focus would be on turning. In that case, I'd go Grizzly on the saw with an aftermarket fence and a nicer lathe.

rrbrown

You really need to check out PMC Woodworking Machinery in Hammond, La off hwy 190. huge selection of equipment and its as local as your going to get probably an hour drive.

__________________
Semper Fi
Richard

Once A Marine Always A Marine.

Some choose to study history, but Marines choose to create history.

Gerry KIERNAN

First off, welcome to the forum. You will find this an invaluable resource of information, good advice, and a deep well of good people willing to help out.

Sounds like a very nice beginning. I too would suggest going with a 20 inch planer. I would spend the money there, and not bother with a jointer unless I found that I really needed one down the road.
To compliment the planer however I would add a 20 inch drum sander, particularly if you plan to build a new kitchen.
In addition to the dust collector you might want to consider adding an air filtration unit. They are quite reasonably priced, and will help trap the really fine dust particles that your DC might not get.
I look forward to seeing progress pictures of your shop and equipment.

Gerry

gregL

I have been to PMC woodworking in Hammond many times and they do have a huge selection of power tools. I bought my jointer, bandsaw, drum sander and a lot of other stuff there. They also sell a huge selection of dust collection equipment, including spiral pipe for the ductwork.
It is worth it to go there just to tool drool.

__________________
Who Dat...Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Have a nice day, unless you have other plans! "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Greg Little

D Carpenter

It's been 3 weeks since starting this thread. I had hoped by now to have had the slab poured but have been unable to get it done yet. There is only one day a week (Saturday) that I can devote completely to the shop and it seems as if Saturdays are all snakebit. The first one it poured down rain all day; The following one I gave birth to a 2.5mm kidney stone (everything you've heard about them is true), my first one; Last Saturday it rained but I was able between the showers to take down a few trees that were in the way and have since had the stumps ground out. I have taken a few pictures and will post them soon. I hope to get the slab formed tomorrow (it's raining now but is supposed to be over by morning).

__________________
A smart man learns from his experiences.... A wise man learns from the experiences of others.

gregL

I started building my shop in Jan 08 and went through the same rain problem...a lot of rainy days, waaaaay too many. Had to reschedule the slab pouring twice...once because of rain and the second time because the ground was so wet from all the previous rain. I didn't want the cement trucks putting huge ruts in the grass in my back yard. My wife told me I would be buried somewhere in one of those ruts if it happened. She really puts a lot of time into her yardwork and gardens.
My shop is about 175 ft behind the house and I had not put down a crushed rock driveway going back there before construction began. Cement trucks and other contractors don't care what they do to your lawn just so long as they get the work finished.

__________________
Who Dat...Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Have a nice day, unless you have other plans! "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Greg Little