Machinery/ tool dilemma

[TheTiddles]

I ditched my table saw (took me a while as my router table was built in), but I would not be without a bandsaw or PT, if I have to choose.

Aidan

 

[craigs]

I dont think i could do without either to be honest. I guess if I really really had to I’d lose the saw. But the bandsaw and everything else would go before those two!

my big thing i guess is what i'm missing out on if i lose the table saw. crosscutting i can do on the mitre saw, rips i can do on the bandsaw and grooves/rebates i can do on the router table. i cant fit sheets of anything on the table saw and i use a tracksaw and mft for sheet goods.

 

[craigs]

Make it fit.
I have a 3 x 5 metre workshop. I have a 350 bandsaw, a large (90cm square) router table, a mitre saw, a belt sander, and a table saw on casters all on one wall. I have a "lunchbox" thicknesser on top of a snap on type tool box on casters on the other side.
The bandsaw, router table and mitre saw are all set to the same height so i can run a 3 metre plank across any of them. The saw gets pulled into the middle of the floor when needed, as does the thicknesser.
The other wall has a 2.5 metre workbench.
It just needs a bit of planning.

ok, so, my garage is trapezoidal oddly, one side is shelving for power tools/finishes/diy stuff/jigs/fixings etc. then on that same side i have a small desk as i work there also on the computer. where the door would be theres a router table on wheels, on the other side lives the mitre saw, tables saw, bandsaw, mft and extractor, the other end has bikes hanging and a cubby for stuff that dont fit in the house. i keep the middle clear to move things into to use and can barely fit an 8x4 sheet to cut down. ill take some photos tomorrow but its a WIP

 

[TheTiddles]

It sounds like you have a lot of tools!

I’ve missed my tablesaw this week for cutting thin strips of MDF and cross cuts, but I have neither a mite saw or MFT or tablesaw in my single car garage, I think I know where your space problems come from

Aidan

 

[craigs]

It sounds like you have a lot of tools!

I’ve missed my tablesaw this week for cutting thin strips of MDF and cross cuts, but I have neither a mite saw or MFT or tablesaw in my single car garage, I think I know where your space problems come from

Aidan

i could cut thin stips on the bandsaw, i couldnt fit anything of any decent size on the current table saw anyway. I agree i may have 1 or 2 more than i need

 

[TheTiddles]

I should probably clarify the thin strips of MDF thing, it was 54mm wide straight off the saw to glue-up, when the stock is only a little larger it’s hard on a rail saw, I’m sure a MFT would help

Aidan

 

[craigs]

I should probably clarify the thin strips of MDF thing, it was 54mm wide straight off the saw to glue-up, when the stock is only a little larger it’s hard on a rail saw, I’m sure a MFT would help

Aidan

that was the reason i bought the table saw in the first place, not being able to rip anything smaller than the width of the track on a track saw. although today i made some fill-in strips to replace fire strip in a door frame, it was much safer to do it on the band saw and a couple of swipes with a block plane for a perfect fit. i wouldnt be comfortable doing something that small on a table saw

 

[TheTiddles]

You can if you cut on the non-waste side and reference off rubber edge, or you use a sliding bevel to reach under your rail, it’s not ideal but you can do it
Aidan

 

[bp122]

If you intend to keep the table saw, couldn't you incorporate it into your desk /workbench so that it doubles as a work surface and not take up any extra room in your workshop floor plan?

 

[craigs]

If you intend to keep the table saw, couldn't you incorporate it into your desk /workbench so that it doubles as a work surface and not take up any extra room in your workshop floor plan?

i dont think thats possible, im not saying it wouldn't be useful as it gives a better cut than the bandsaw, but i just dont think i can fit it in, im going out there now so ill get some photos........i do need some organisation ideas though

 

[craigs]

Here we go, its a bit cramped, and bear in mind i've only have this place (and house) 2 months so its very much a WIP. trying to get the ceiling and insulation finished as winter....is...coming

I knocked together all the stands in an afternoon just to give things mobility...not the best design but at least functional.....for now

 

[Popey]

I specifically got the bandsaw with the capability of resawing wide boards, it also takes a lot less room than a decent size table saw. as I said I only have the bosch GTS 10, but thats a significant enough space where a PT could live

I got rid of my table saw and mitresaw a few months ago and I don’t miss them at all. I do have a thicknesser which was gifted to me by a good friend and I have a small bandsaw. Why not use handplanes to prepare stock? That’s what I do at the moment. There is a downside to hand planing though which is you need a good bench that can take the racking forces. Mine isn’t, so a decent bench is on the horizon.
Space permitting, my ideal workshop would contain a good bandsaw (bigger than my BS250), pillar drill and a planer thicknesser but I am quite tight on space as my single garage also gets used as a pantry and for home brewing.

 

[craigs]

I got rid of my table saw and mitresaw a few months ago and I don’t miss them at all. I do have a thicknesser which was gifted to me by a good friend and I have a small bandsaw. Why not use handplanes to prepare stock? That’s what I do at the moment. There is a downside to hand planing though which is you need a good bench that can take the racking forces. Mine isn’t, so a decent bench is on the horizon.
Space permitting, my ideal workshop would contain a good bandsaw (bigger than my BS250), pillar drill and a planer thicknesser but I am quite tight on space as my single garage also gets used as a pantry and for home brewing.

I have a few handplanes, and i do like using them but i'm not sure i personally would want to go from sawn to prepared timber using one, id feel like a masochist. Id also need a decent bench and space is already a PITA

 

[MikeG.]

You need a decent bench anyway, Craig. That's the number one priority in any workshop.

 

[Rich C]

I have a bandsaw and a mitre saw, but use hand planes for stock prep. It's not that bad, but it's slower than running it through a P/T. I don't miss not having a table saw, it's never been an issue. Anything big gets diced up with the track saw.

 

[Endy]

I wonder if you chaps could help my current issue.

After my bandsaw delivery, I find myself having a wee problem. I want a planer/thicknesser.... however with only a single car garage (admittedly quite a large one) I just don't have the room. Now im yet to experience all that my new bandsaw can offer however to make a planer/thicknesser fit...the table saw will have to go. now its only a bosch 10" which i made a little stand for.....but am i going to miss it? shall i just bung the current thicknesser and table saw in the for sale section and pull the trigger on an itech 260?

Cheers
Craig

I had both in an 8x10 shed, the PT lived under my work bench and was pulled out and pushed back after use, the table saw was in the corner with door next to it, again pulled out and pushed back when needed, I used it to cut dado’s and also had a sled for accurate cross cuts.
Band saw and a lathe also were shoehorned in there, the bandsaw stood on top of the router table and was moved to one end of the bench when the router was in use, that said, I am moving to a house with a double garage now.

 

[craigs]

You need a decent bench anyway, Craig. That's the number one priority in any workshop.

i know....what i need is a bigger space

 

[space.dandy]

Put your machines on casters, this is what I do & have quite a lot of gear in a single garage but just move out each machine as I need to use it, also by lifting the bandsaw higher that the saw & planer as you cut timber on the bandsaw it passes over the other machines.

I have a small table saw on castors. I made a lid that fits over the table with the blade fully retracted on which I can mount my lunchbox thicknesser, so I get two machines in the space of one.

 

[clogs]

have you seen what this lad has done to his workshop remodel.....
very clever.....

or
full remodel of container workshop 2020.....
loads of ideas....

 

[craigs]

have you seen what this lad has done to his workshop remodel.....
very clever.....

or
full remodel of container workshop 2020.....
loads of ideas....

interesting, ill take a look.
cheers