Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok, I am ready to move from hand tools to power tools. I am thinking my first steps should be a drill press, band saw and possibly joiner/planer? For someone who just builds as a hobby and does other home projects, what would be the best band saw, drill press and joiner/planer? Keep in mind, this is not a spare no expense shopping spree. The cheapest I can get away with quality stuff the better. Also, I am not looking for cheap while sacrificing quality.   I hope that makes sense

if like most of us you have a limited budget i would start searching auctions and estate sales and want ad press in your area, exceptionally good bargains can be had. i have previously mentioned here an acquaintance who got a 20" delta bandsaw in excellent condition from the local school board for $200, but it did need a new drive belt.

the major stationary tools are exceptionally durable, and repairable. good ones can be found quite cheaply as the above example demonstrates.

i would also try to work a table saw and thickness sander into your list.

as to what to look for; band saws from delta, walker turner(old ones as they were subsumed into delta many years ago), jet, general and powermatic, etc are often available a very good prices. the same can be said for their offerings in the other categories you mentioned.

don't confuse jointers and planers. but they will probably only be useful to you if you are going to be breaking down rough wood to be resawn or cutting neck blanks.

Basic floor model 16" Delta drill press is a good investment. You can use it for more than just drilling holes, which can be very helpful for building guitars. I find a jointer to be the least used large tool in my shop, but it's almost a necessity to square up boards for jointing.
I would get a decent 6" jointer, the drill press, and if you need to pinch pennies, and inexpensive 14" bandsaw, if you have enough for that. The other option is if you have a router table, you can do a certain amount of jointing on that, as long as you have a good adjustable fence.
While a bandsaw is great if you're going to be resawing your own woods, you can get away without it by using a handheld sabre saw for roughing out plates. Not a great option, but it might save you some initial costs.
Sorry for the jumbled thoughts...

As Michael mentions, you should also consider some older used tools. My area has several places to go look at big old industrial grade equipment, and it's worth a look if you can get something great - and cheap.Don Williams38560.8429398148

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I suggest you stay away from any 3 wheeled band saw. I agree auctions and newpaper ads are best. Look for named brand.   Porter cable   Jet isn't too bad Grizzly. Buy the best you can afford.

john

I think once you buy a 14" saw, put a riser block on it, buy the fence, (perhaps) re-do the guides... etc... you might as well buy a bigger saw.

I got a 20" Delta for less than the cost of a tricked out 14". It came ready to go with good guides and a nice fence. The moter could be bigger, but I don't do a lot of resawing.

I agree about the used tool market. But be warned, there are as many rip offs out there as there are good deals... so make sure you know what you are buying.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Frank,

I am a fiscally challenged luthier, mostly because I'm still pretty new at building guitars, so I'm not making much money from the craft yet.

I find that a certain small assortments of power tools is critical to building consistently good guitars.

For me, this assortment consists of the following:

A 14" Rigid Bandsaw with riser block kit installed, which I bought new from Home Depot. $350 for the saw and another $50 for the riser block kit. I like the riser block kit because it gives me the ability to occasionally resaw my own wood.

A Performax 16-32 Drum Sander. I scored a used one for $400. New, they're about $800. I was very happy to find a used one at this price.

A Rigid compound mitre saw that I bought several years ago for about $300. It's holding up well.

A DeWalt laminate trimmer, model 670, which set me back about $100.

And a side-bending outfit. I prefer using a heating blanket and a mold, which I control via a thermocouple and temperature controller/timer. Works great, plus it has added a much better consistency to my builds, and it is a huge time saver.

I also own a "table top" table saw that I almost never use for lutherie. I would suggest that you DO NOT spend any of your precious funds on a table saw until you've gotten a bandsaw and a drum sander. And a side-bending setup.

I also own a milling machine and a lathe. These are fairly expensive tools (my mill was cheap at $1500 and my lathe was cheap at $700), so I don't really recommend that you try to acquire either, but I have found that my mill especially is very useful. It obviates the need for a pretty good assortment of expensive jigs, I've found. But my milling machine is larger than I really need. One of the new "mini mills" that you can pick up for about $500 is capable of performing a wide range of very useful tasks for the luthier.

Anyway, just my perspective. We all have our own ways of doing things, and this is just the way I've learned to do it.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

Frank,

I'm sure you already know to "cry once, buy once." It may just be a hobby, and occasionally other home projects, but you will never regret buying good tools.

If it were my money, I'd put my budget toward one or two great tools now and then save some more for the rest. Better to accumulate great tools slowly than mediocre tools quickly, in my book.

If I could only pick one or two to get, I'd start with a really good bandsaw. The Delta 14" is fine, but take a look at a Laguna or a Minimax, which are in a completely different league. I spent my annual tool budget one year (and then some) on a Laguna 18" bandsaw, and if my shop burned down tonight, I would be back at the Laguna store tomorrow, even if that meant I had no money to buy more tools for another year or two. It is easily the most used power tool in my shop. I had a cheaper bandsaw before that, and it rarely got used.

Next time I had some tool-buying money, I would get a drill press. I have two. One is a cheapo Harbor Freight model. Second is a pretty sweet Jet 18" model. The Jet model is very convenient, but I can't say it drills significantly better holes than the harbor freight model. So my suggestion is to buy a Harbor Freight model. (I know, I know, this doesn't quite fit with the "cry once, buy once" motto, but I'm surprised how well that Harbor Freight drill press holds up.) If the chuck has significant runout, buy a Jacobs chuck to stick on there, and you will still save a lot of money. Build a nice table for it; it's a cheap project.

My next purchase would be a thickness sander. I swear by the Delta 18/36 model. Between that and a good bandsaw, you can do some real resawing; it makes purchasing guitar wood a completely different experience.

Somewhere in there, I would pick up a tablesaw. Check out the Ridgid contractor's saw at Home Depot, which runs about $600. It's a very good saw for the money.

As for a jointer, I would say that if you are reasonably proficient with handtools, that should go at the bottom of your list. I bought an Powermatic 6" jointer six years ago, and it is fantastic. But then a couple years later I bought a Steve Knight jointer (handplane), at about 1/6 the cost, and I haven't used the Powermatic for jointing boards since. (I do occasionally use it to flatten faces of boards, but not for jointing.) I can produce better joints with the handplane quicker than I can plug in the Powermatic.

Also, for the thickness planer. I used mine all the time until I got a good bandsaw and a thickness sander. Now the planer rarely gets used.

One more thing to get is a good Harley Davidson. I know, it doesn't have anything to do with buying power tools, but you can never go wrong with a Harley Davidson.

OK Frank,
When you buy all the above mentioned power tools...Call Stewmac and have them just send you one of everything in their catalog.
Now you're set my friend!!
WalterK

I would try to stay away from old used band saws.
They usually at least need new tires..Also you can't get parts for a lot of them.
If you are looking for used tools try www.woodweb.com
They have a daily updated used tool section.
It is also an interesting furniture/cabinet forum.

Hi Frank

I would build it up gently and go for good quality tools, often you look at the best routers, saws, drill presses etc and think why do they cost so much more.

Use them once and you know why, Give me UK, USA or German made machinery any day with their precise engineering, over poorly engineered Chineese copies, the precision of the tools will help you make a better job of your work.

Routers are one area for special attention, if you have use for one and choose to buy one, go for a good one it really does make a lot of difference.

Just one tip for you guys in the USA, over here Dewalt tools (German Brand) are very highly rated and hence cost quite a lot, I read they were trying to break into the USA Market, if you see them check them out, I would imagine they might be quite a bargain while they establish themselves over there.

[QUOTE=RussellR] Hi Frank
Just one tip for you guys in the USA, over here Dewalt tools (German Brand) are very highly rated and hence cost quite a lot, I read they were trying to break into the USA Market, if you see them check them out, I would imagine they might be quite a bargain while they establish themselves over there.[/QUOTE]

Well, they may have a tough time of it, since in the US one of the biggest names in power tool makers is DeWalt. From what I understand, the American DeWalt is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Black & Decker. Regarding German brands, Bosch has become quite popular over here.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

I must have got my wires crossed. I'm sure it must be the same company (Bright Yellow Tools ?)

I guess they manufacture in Germany for the European Market so had always assumed they were German by Origin.

dewalt some time ago took over elu, which i believe may have been german, or perhaps swedish. the dewalt 621 and 625 plunge routers are old elu designs.

the way international takeovers go on and the sourcing decisions for product for given markets, keeping track of where things come from and who is responsible is a problem.

CMM

Thanks for the background Information.

Russell