Next new toy ............. advice please

[gatesmr2]

Hello

Ok well my birthdays coming up so is xmas
I realise i,m not at the level of most of you just an amateur who enjoys making things
So i,m wondering what to get next (or let the misses buy for me :wink: )
I have a table saw, belt sander, random orbit sander, router, ect but i,m looking at something like the table saw, ie .....
planer thickneser
bandsaw
mortiser, ect

what would you surgest i prefer to make furniture chest of draws bookcases ect

thanks for your advice

Marty

 

[Fecn]

I reckon that planer/thicknesser is the next one you want to put on that list. That'll mean you can mill wood to any size you need it to be. I've found my planer/thicknesser to be one of the more useful tools.

Do you have an SCMS? - They're good too.

 

[DaveL]

I would second the idea of a planner thicknesser, very useful bit of kit, can reduce your timber costs by allowing you to buy sawn instead of prepared stock.

 

[gatesmr2]

Cheers dave and fecn

i,ll start getting a few prices sorted for a planner thickneser
Any thing i should look for as in width and depth cut ect and brands ??
Also what is a SCMS might have one and not know i do

Marty

 

[PowerTool]

SCMS = Sliding Compound Mitre Saw

Andrew

 

[andycorleone]

HardWood normally is very expensive so if you planing to work with pine or veneer I don't recomend a planer thicknesser. normally pine is easy to find and very cheap My vote is for a Bandsaw if you are not going to work with hardwood. BTW a router table is very handy for a lot tasks

 

[gatesmr2]

Well thanks for the advice guys

I forgot about an scms was looking at them before i bought my table saw
As for the router table i,m gonna try and make my own, have a friend who is an engineer who will make a plate for the router to clamp to.
While i,m here anyone know a way of making the plate adjustable rather then messing round with the router itself all the time, i,m thinking of having it there all the time.......... unless it goes wrong of course lol

Any way think it,s got to be an scms but to be honest don,t know much about who makes the best ones, as i,d like to buy a decent one and keep it rather than get a cheaper one and wished i,d spent a bit more.......

I know Trend is the way to go with routers but whats the deal with saws who makes the best ones :?:
Don,t want to spend 1000s but happy with around 500 mark maybe a bit more if it,s worth it

Thanks again for your advice it,s great to find a site where an amateur like myself is not made to feel stupid just helped
Maybe one day say 50yrs from now i,ll be as good as some as you

Marty

 

[OLD]

With your budget i would go for Bosch GCM 12SD 305mm is at £499.72 at axminster nice saw with good features.

 

[johnjin]

Hi Marty
I'll second the Bosch scms. A fantastic piece of kit but I would be looking first at a Planer thicknesser or better still the two separate machines.

Best wishes

John

 

[oddsocks]

Marty - don't underate yourself or 'overate' others - many of us on this forum are 'amateurs' and earn money in other walks of life . The strength of the forum is about sharing and receiving of knowledge.

I now have (after 20+ years) all the tools listed in the previous threads, but still remember the 8ft shed and buying a black and decker circular saw on the 'profit' of an early job, its too easy to set a budget and then find the product that gets closest to it. Ask yourself what you need, and then spend wisely - which means not the cheapest nor the dearest but the most appropriate. The higher priced machines will last longer -but will you use them long enough to benefit from that reliability or super accuracy???

If you have £500 and are using softwoods i would look to spend that on a bandsaw, extractor and SCMS - looking at axminster you can do that within £500. Then as you discover what you really need /use most you can if necessary sell on and upgrade. As an example some years ago I bought the cheapest axminster chip/dust extractor and later added a fine dust bag - there are much dearer products out there, but they all do the same job as mine to the same level of filtration - i don't need to run 3 machines at once!.

If you are using hardwoods then a thicknesser (Planer thicknesser would not fit the c £500 with the other items) rather than SCMS would be my choice - you can always hand plane one side flat then thickness.

I bought my Electra beckum SCMS on ebay - looks like a screwfix return - and only bought it on price -won for £112 (£270 in screwfix at the time). I have been surprised how often I use it. I would not buy a fixed mitre saw as I now know how often I use the sliding aspect of mine - but for 18 years I coped with a cross cut hand saw....following that rational a bandsaw wins over a SCMS!

Let us know what you wish for and if you get it

 

[gatesmr2]

Thanks again guys for your replys

One of the main reasons for getting good SCMS oddsocks is to get things cut straight ...........
I,m sure you have all in the past when you first got into woodwork that the cheap chop saw (mine came from my old man he paid £45 for it but was using it for stud walls and skirting so for the price was fine) did not cut straight and true so when you try and put things together it does not quite fit properly :x
Since i got my TS made life a lot easier
Also very bad to admit i,m not great with a hand saw getting better with time so prefer to rely on a machine to give me a straight line
After saying all that though i do take your point maybe a cheaper SCMS and get two shinney new toys instead of
one would be better
Also after getting a few books on jigs ect amazing what you can get just a TS to do

Well i,ll finish my essay now lol with just a thanks for all your helpful advice

Marty