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I do not have any shop power tools such as: belt sander, spindle sander, table saw, drill press, band saw, router table, etc. Neither do I have the room for much in the way of full size tools in my garage/shop.

Most of the guitar repair & setup work I've done has been with hand-tools (hand sanding, hand sawing, hand held electric drill, etc.) I've thought about getting a bench top belt/disk sander ( 4"x36" belt & 8" disk $190 Hatachi) for making saddles & nuts and other small sanding needs which would really speed things up.

I have also been considering building a guitar and was wondering about how useful this bench-top sander would be?

This lead me to the general question about how useful other bench-top tools (small cheaper versions of the bigger "real" things) would be? I see 10" band saws, and table saws, spindle sanders, small drill presses, etc. What small versions of shop tools are worthwhile and what are not for guitar building?

What would be the order of priority of usefulness for shop power tools?

Ed,

I am in a very small shop and I have almost all bench top versions. Most of them are the ryobi home depot tools and while they leave a lot to be desired, they will work fine for building guitars. I have a small belt/disc sander, drill press, 10" band saw, mini router table, 10" thickness sander, and a contractor style table saw. I think the order of purchase was router, belt sander, band saw, drill press, table saw, thickness sander. I wouldn't wan to be without any of them now. I would also like to upgrade almost all of them but do not have the room. If I had the chance (and money) the first upgrade would be to replace the drill press with a bench top milling machine.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Thanks for the feedback, Burton.

Is your order of purchase exactly as you would prioritze them today? In other words, if you had it to do over, what order of usefullness would you rate the power tools today?

Ed: For me my main tools would be an accurate table saw,a good laminate trimer,a small band saw and finally a thickness sander. The sander possibly home made.With these and a good supply of hand tools I think you would be in good shape.They are listed in the order I would acquire them. Good luck and have fun.
Tom.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Ed,

I'm not sure I could prioritize them now after having all of them. Maybe the table saw is the one I would get last but sometimes it is necessary if only to build jigs for the other machines. I use my router table a lot, even if just for patterning. The first one I did buy was the belt sander. My shop is really really small, like 9x17 and they all fit mostly. Here is a pic of the main machine wall:



and continued,



Hope it helps.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Burton,

Thanks a bunch for the help. You have given me hope. My space is even smaller than yours. It is 6'-6" x 16'-4"= 106 sq ft. (approx 10 ft ceiling) compared to your 156 sq ft. But at lease there is some length for some wall storage/hanging space. My problem is that it is not quite wide enough to have two rows of stuff with an aisle down the middle. So my situation should make you feel better about the space you have where you can have two rows of stuff with a middle aisle.

I appreciate you taking the time to post the pictures. They help me "see it".

I think the sander would be of most help for me now just doing repair & set up work. Actually, I saw a Rigid combo Oscillating Spindle and Edge Sander at Home Depot that would seem to be even more useful than the similar sized Belt Sander with Disk. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Did you build your router table? If so, how do you adjust your bit height?

I see you added a bigger wooden table on top of the metal drill press table, something I figured I would have to do too with several of the bench-top tools.

When I decide to start building I'll have to consider carefully what benchtop power tools to buy with my limited space. That's why I was asking about priority of usefulness.

Thanks again for the help.

I would agree with you - I have that unit, and I use it a LOT more than the belt/edge sander that I have available at work.

For long linear sanding I just use a slab of marble floor tread with some sandpaper stuck on.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Nice looking shop, Burton! Like mine, only neater!! You've done a lot with the space you've got. I'm going to steal a few of your ideas.

I agree with all comments made. I don't have a table saw - probably could use one, but make do with router table, band saw and thickness sander (now THAT was a time saver)

Hasn't been mentioned yet - you may be assuming it anyway, but I'll state it for the record: dust removal (with grounded copper wire running through the tubes for static control) is critical.

Ed,

If you have 10 ft. ceilings then definitely build a small second level for storage. I have this and all of my wood goes up above. If you build it sturdy enough you can use the underside of it for the "ceiling" of a go-bar deck. Room to spread out is the curse of the small shop. It can be hard to work on something while the glue is drying because there is nowhere to put the first thing! Many times it goes on the table saw as the only open flat space but then you can't use it if you need to in a pinch. If you can maximize open space it is worth it even if it seems wasteful at first. Even flip down tables on hinges on the opposing wall to your tools could work in a small shop for when you need them. The underside could be pegboard so when it is in the up position things could hang on it.

Erik is a million times right on getting some marble or something and working it into a bench. Something perfectly flat is soo nice to have. I regret not building that into my main work area permanently.

The combo sander looks really great. I would get that if I had room.

I didn't make the router table but I should have. I bought it at Rockler and realized later I could make it better and cheaper but it has worked fine. The router has a base screwed in from the underside and I raise and lower it in that. I did make the tables for the drill press and band saw and they are fine but I would like to remake them also.

One thing I did make is a work board for a bunch of different tasks. It has hold downs and can be used to join different things if they are square or not. I am at work but I can post a photo later. It is nice to pull that out and be able to use it on whatever surface.

Corky is totally right on too about dust control. I have the Jet 1hp unit and it is not enough, even for my small space. Delta makes a 1 1/2 hp unit where the line comes down from the unit, not up. I would get that one if I did it again (or if I have the extra money) and mount it up on the wall so I could put things under it. It has been discussed here over and over but dust is very dangerous to your health and the 1hp units will keep things clean but will not reliably pick up the smallest most hazardous particles. I think a small shop compounds the problem of airborne dust.

Another quick note: A thickness sander is amazingly helpful, I would be lost without mine. If you are not going to get one though, put a little more into your drill press so you can run a wagner safety planer in the press. The more sturdy your drill press (and your spindle lock) the better this tool will work and it will do most of what a small thickness sander will and even a few things the sander can't.

Good luck Ed!

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

I gave $50 to a neighbor for a new 4x36 belt sander he had taken in on a trade for a lawnmower repair. I thought I may use it for some projects around the house. WRONG!

I use that thing to shape my nuts and saddles (even compensation), for dimensioning and putting an angle on my neck and tail blocks, for shaping my braces, for trimming the edges of my acrylic templates, for thinning headplate veneer, for crude shaping of tools and jigs, and a handful of other things that escape me. It is by far the best money I have ever spent.

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

I too have a small shop, and I'd be lost without my 9" Ryobi band saw. I use it for so much. That would be my first purchase if I was going to build. Second would probably be a router table. One thing with the small bandsaws(all of them), get a GOOD blade(I like the Timberwolves), the stock blades are usually junk.

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Rob

Rob: Could you elaborate on what you can do with your small band saw? I am hoping to soon have a bit more shop space and was thinking a larger drill press may be my best option for an upgrade. I currently have a safe-t-planer and sanding disk that I think I could get more use from with a larger drill press.

Maybe I have not given proper consideration to a band saw.

Greg

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Greg Hatcher
North Carolina

A good drill press is a great investment, and both the safety planer and the sanding disk are outstanding tools on it. I, too, have a small band saw. A Craftsman, 10 inch, and I use it all the time. It will even re-saw up to about 4 1/2", so I can use it for necks, sawing up purfling layups, cutting out tops and backs, cuttng profiles on sides, cutting tiny pieces with very fine blades, including bone for saddles and nuts, etc. It and the drill press are used every time I go in the shop. Do I wish I had a bigger one? Yes, but I don't really have space. This one sits on a table, and I can slide it around to get it out of the way of long items I'm working on the drill press.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy took the words out of my mouth.I don't have a tablesaw in my very small shop so I use my band saw for all those things, plus ripping brace stock, making jigs and molds, neck and heel blocks, and on, and on... I built my first with all hand tools, except router but drove to my dad's for things like making the mold and bending forms After that I decided the 1 hour drive to my dads for the bandsaw wasn't worth it and got my own. My saw is setup well, with a good blade and cuts fairly straight. I do need to clean up stuff, but a couple carefull passes with a plane is usually all it takes.

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Rob

I have a table saw, but it's on of those fold up types that stays under a shelf. I rarely take it out. I also have a RA saw, and use that for some cross cutting, but not much else. It works great for fret slotting, though. However, I recently saw a person slotting a fret board on a band saw. I had never thought of that, but it was pretty slick. He had a cross cut sled that had a notch thingy in it, and a depth stop. Pretty slick. I suppose, you have to have a blade that is set right for it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Rob / Waddy: Thanks for the replies. I have a small table saw currently and would like to add the drill press and band saw if the budget allows it in the future.

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Greg Hatcher
North Carolina