Up-Grading Entry Level Machines~Priorities?

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, micks said:

I agree on the saw first. I have no regrets whatsoever about going with a Sawstop PCS. Regarding knotscott's advice on how the saw comes from the factory, mine was dead nuts out of the box. I didn't even have to adjust the fence for squareness or perpendicularity. Bolted it on and I could not have adjusted it any better. The 90 and 45 degree stops were right on. 

I will also comment on Sawstop's manual and assembly instructions - they are hands down, nothing else I've ever seen comes close, the best I've ever seen for a machine, and I spent 35 years in the machinery business.

My experience was the same.

[logos]

Tough call, but table saw wins out! I've had my sawstop for a few month and couldn't be happier with it

I have the griz 8 inch jointer with a Byrd head and love it and half the price. Pros and cons have been discussed at length here but might be a cost effective way to get both at the same time

[Immortan D]

If that's what I always wanted, given the opportunity I'd buy the golden machines. Otherwise I'd regret it forever.

[shaneymack]

20 hours ago, davewyo said:

 

I appreciate your opinions. Do you have the parallelogram thingy on your jointer and do you feel like that has made a difference. If you don't have the para, was getting your jointer set up a reasonable task?

 

 

I have a Powermatic PJ-882 HH jointer and It is a parallelogram design. My jointer was rolled into my garage and all i had to do was plug it in. It was as close to perfect as one could need. Before this jointer I had a Delta DJ20 and I cant remember if that was or not. My first jointer was a pretty inexpensive (maybe 800$-long time ago) General international which definitely was not the parallelogram design. 

Definitely try to get a Paralallogram jointer if you can. It is easier to adjust when needed and there is way more adjustability. With dovetail ways I believe you can only adjust for sag. 

As for 6" vs 8", for my workflow and the lumber I use, there is no way I would do it with a 6". I did it for years and hated it. Almost all the lumber I buy is between 6"-8". I hear what Mike is saying about cutting up the parts first and then milling but that is double the time at the jointer which is less efficient for me. If i need four rails that are 1 3/4" wide out of an 8" board it would be a couple passes at the jointer, then plane, then rip the pieces. For me It makes more sense to just mill the whole 8" board instead of jointing 4 boards so an 8" jointer wins everytime. Again, this is different for everybody but I hated the 6" jointer. It was the first upgrade I made after i outfitted my first shop. Maybe I was bias because at school they only had 8" jointers and thats what i learned on. If I can ever afford it I will be stepping up to a 12" or 16" jointer.... a guy can dream. 

[davewyo]

2 hours ago, shaneymack said:

 

 

I have a Powermatic PJ-882 HH jointer and It is a parallelogram design. My jointer was rolled into my garage and all i had to do was plug it in. It was as close to perfect as one could need. Before this jointer I had a Delta DJ20 and I cant remember if that was or not. My first jointer was a pretty inexpensive (maybe 800$-long time ago) General international which definitely was not the parallelogram design. 

 

Definitely try to get a Paralallogram jointer if you can. It is easier to adjust when needed and there is way more adjustability. With dovetail ways I believe you can only adjust for sag. 

 

As for 6" vs 8", for my workflow and the lumber I use, there is no way I would do it with a 6". I did it for years and hated it. Almost all the lumber I buy is between 6"-8". I hear what Mike is saying about cutting up the parts first and then milling but that is double the time at the jointer which is less efficient for me. If i need four rails that are 1 3/4" wide out of an 8" board it would be a couple passes at the jointer, then plane, then rip the pieces. For me It makes more sense to just mill the whole 8" board instead of jointing 4 boards so an 8" jointer wins everytime. Again, this is different for everybody but I hated the 6" jointer. It was the first upgrade I made after i outfitted my first shop. Maybe I was bias because at school they only had 8" jointers and thats what i learned on. If I can ever afford it I will be stepping up to a 12" or 16" jointer.... a guy can dream. 

Thanks for your reply Shane. This why I asked even though I know how to google and such. I feel like the views of my friends on this forum are more weighty than something I googled, be it a well balanced review on Amazon, or a long involved rant from a disgruntled member of "Timber-Lovers.com" or what have you.

Kev makes some great points on bang-fer-buck re. 6" or 8", and you make an excellent point on work-flow, annoyance level, and what-not.

Both of you have valid and well thought out views, and are reinforcing the general notion that it's a matter of what you work with most often and how your work-flow plays out in your own individual shop situation.

I have pretty much decided to get a TS first, even though I may struggle with milling for a while longer. I've wanted a stable/quality saw for a while (and Daniel's comment:

7 hours ago, Immortan D said:

If that's what I always wanted, given the opportunity I'd buy the golden machines. Otherwise I'd regret it forever.

... had a certain effect). 

I priced out the PM1000 and accessories(dado insert, etc.) and compared that with a SS PCS-175 (plus dado insert w/cartridge, etc.) and it looks like my fingers are worth something like $800. I'm going to have to save another few months more than likely. I'm going with the SawStop.

I'll get a jointer when I can. Prolly the 8" spoiled-mustard colored machine.

[drzaius]

When I was table saw shopping the final contenders were PM1000, PM2000 & PCS 3HP. I came away with the impression that the PCS was a fair bit better saw than the PM1000, but not quit up to the PM2000. The PM2000 mobile base is vastly inferior to the SS base though.

The PM customer service, at least on the sales side of things, was abysmal. So that sealed the deal for the SS.

[JosephThomas]

56 minutes ago, davewyo said:

This why I asked even though I know how to google and such. I feel like the views of my friends on this forum are more weighty than something I googled

This.

[Cliff]

Without a doubt it would be a new sawstop for me. That is next on my list after a drum sander. It will be the first machine in my upgrade path. Though, technically I haven't bought a bandsaw yet, I am just using one. But I use it so infrequently I am not sure I care. Though I'll probably get the Grizzly G0555 anyway, which is not expensive enough to really set anything too far back. 

Anyway.. Table saw. Cause I have an "ok" one and it upsets me.