Discussion
Flibble said:
You need to dry them quickly (heat or a chemical drying agent like acetone would work), but even then if they're in a damp environment they will rust up again. You need to galvanise them or use stainless if you want long lasting rust proofing.
You could try bluing the bolts as an alternative.
Cheers for the info, quick google and youtube and I can see why galvanised or outdoor coach bolts are more pricey !You could try bluing the bolts as an alternative.
Guess worth it in long term so one could take it off properly but these are gonna be there pretty much a life time anyhow, think ill do with what I have since I need many bolts not just 2-3.
Am doing basic DIY with wood planks and pieces, some 2/4 timbers like 3 meters with saw and electric reciprocating saw.
Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
PAT64 said:
Am doing basic DIY with wood planks and pieces, some 2/4 timbers like 3 meters with saw and electric reciprocating saw.
Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
Those Keter ones are quite handy as it's quite a decent size, but takes up hardly any space once collapsed.Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
Can also chuck something useful up with just a big ply or mdf offcut and a couple of saw horses.
It's always easier with a bigger surface to work off of, so I'd go for the biggest you can find in your budget.
https://www.cncdesign.co.uk/portable-workbench-rou...
I have the Birch ply version of that and it's really, really useful. it is a bit of a pain to take down and often involves a rubber mallet, but it's a really good size and really sturdy.
PAT64 said:
Am doing basic DIY with wood planks and pieces, some 2/4 timbers like 3 meters with saw and electric reciprocating saw.
Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
I have a couple like that one in your first picture which I used for work outside of my workshop (= all the time now I don’t have a workshop any more).Do you guys reckon I could get buy with a basic work bench like this :
https://www.toolstation.com/work-bench/p12739
?
Or better to spend more on a keter work bench like this ?
https://www.toolstation.com/keter-folding-work-ben...
On bench top tools such as my sliding mitre saw and small table saw, I bolt those tools permanently to a manky old board with a lump of 4x2 or similar running across the middle underneath. Then I simply open the bench vice wide, pop them up on top and close the vice on the 4x2, meaning that they are solidly locked in place on the worktop and a bit safer to use than just sitting on top loose.
Works for pretty much all the bench top power tools. It does however render them unusable without that bench, which I haven’t found a great hardship.
Also, for those of you without a router table but with a router and a workmate style bench, have a look at this idea for a portable router table with a very cheap router lift towards the end of it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-xHVPCrR7OU
What a cracking idea given how much routerlifts are.
First up, if you do all your tool shopping on Gumtree you'll get a better version of that rubbish bench for a tenner and have a tenner left in the pot for something else. Pick stuff up that looks useful if it's also very cheap, just check most days and buy when a good deal comes up.
That first bench isn't all that useful, I have a couple and I've only ever used them for temporary setups, either when I'm working in the house or when I want to make a mess in the garden. Make your next project a basic bench and you'll end up with something better, more useful. And you'll get to watch videos on YouTube of people making benches. There's loads of designs out there, but look for something that's simple, make it strong, put a vice on it. Watch Paul Sellers anyway.
Mine is a mortice and tenoned frame, 4" x 4" legs, 4" x 2" to link the legs and screwed and glued together. I used massive screws for some reason. I made it that way as I wanted to learn to hand cut accurate joints, but actually all the strength is in the MDF panels that I lined the 'box' with that stop the joint wracking. I put a 1.4m x 0.9m bit of kitchen breakfast bar on it and a vice as a temporary lash up. 2 years ago. One day I'll finish it. Although I'll put a decent top on it eventually, the design uses MDF for strength so I can fill it with drawers and have all my tools and whatnot to hand. I'll likely make the drawers first,t hat's how unimportant the top is really.
But a vice, and a bench hook is all you really need for lots of projects, the bench size is really so you can comfortably make bigger stuff on it, but you could just as easily decide to make more smaller things and use less wood for the same amount of skill learned if you wanted. Make the hobby fit if that makes sense.
I have a mitre saw stand, I bought it so I could set the saw up in my loft as I'm working up there at the moment, £30 on Gumtree. I'd recommend that rather than having to find space on your bench for the saw, mine was always in the way before I got the stand. There's a lot to be said for having a place for everything, though obviously space dictates how far you can go with that. One thing I've found really helpful is using cheap kitchen wall cabinets as floor cabinets on the wall behind my bench, with some shelves above. That way you have tool storage behind your bench and second worktop to pile your tools on as you go, so your bench stays clear. And the shelves to put stock or half-finished projects on.
Last bit of advice for now; the most useful power tool you can buy is a bandsaw, they're so versatile. You can quickly dimension stock well enough for finishing with a plane, including putting angles onto stuff. They're just great for doing all the hard work and leaving just the finishing off to do by hand. There's a reason Paul Sellers wood working videos are all hand-tool, yet there's a lovely bandsaw in the background. A router is a close second as it lets you add a lot of detail that you couldn't otherwise do, but the bandsaw, a decent plane and a set of chisels is the way to start.
That first bench isn't all that useful, I have a couple and I've only ever used them for temporary setups, either when I'm working in the house or when I want to make a mess in the garden. Make your next project a basic bench and you'll end up with something better, more useful. And you'll get to watch videos on YouTube of people making benches. There's loads of designs out there, but look for something that's simple, make it strong, put a vice on it. Watch Paul Sellers anyway.
Mine is a mortice and tenoned frame, 4" x 4" legs, 4" x 2" to link the legs and screwed and glued together. I used massive screws for some reason. I made it that way as I wanted to learn to hand cut accurate joints, but actually all the strength is in the MDF panels that I lined the 'box' with that stop the joint wracking. I put a 1.4m x 0.9m bit of kitchen breakfast bar on it and a vice as a temporary lash up. 2 years ago. One day I'll finish it. Although I'll put a decent top on it eventually, the design uses MDF for strength so I can fill it with drawers and have all my tools and whatnot to hand. I'll likely make the drawers first,t hat's how unimportant the top is really.
But a vice, and a bench hook is all you really need for lots of projects, the bench size is really so you can comfortably make bigger stuff on it, but you could just as easily decide to make more smaller things and use less wood for the same amount of skill learned if you wanted. Make the hobby fit if that makes sense.
I have a mitre saw stand, I bought it so I could set the saw up in my loft as I'm working up there at the moment, £30 on Gumtree. I'd recommend that rather than having to find space on your bench for the saw, mine was always in the way before I got the stand. There's a lot to be said for having a place for everything, though obviously space dictates how far you can go with that. One thing I've found really helpful is using cheap kitchen wall cabinets as floor cabinets on the wall behind my bench, with some shelves above. That way you have tool storage behind your bench and second worktop to pile your tools on as you go, so your bench stays clear. And the shelves to put stock or half-finished projects on.
Last bit of advice for now; the most useful power tool you can buy is a bandsaw, they're so versatile. You can quickly dimension stock well enough for finishing with a plane, including putting angles onto stuff. They're just great for doing all the hard work and leaving just the finishing off to do by hand. There's a reason Paul Sellers wood working videos are all hand-tool, yet there's a lovely bandsaw in the background. A router is a close second as it lets you add a lot of detail that you couldn't otherwise do, but the bandsaw, a decent plane and a set of chisels is the way to start.
If you are taking Paul’s advice on hand tools (which depending on what you are going to make is good advice), add some kind of sharpening equipment for the chisels and plane blades.
This can vary from a bit of flat glass with varying grades of wet and dry stuck to it to an expensive tormek sharpening station (which I never bought and wouldn’t advise personally when starting out).
Sharp hand tools will help enormously, and they rarely come out of the box sharp.
This can vary from a bit of flat glass with varying grades of wet and dry stuck to it to an expensive tormek sharpening station (which I never bought and wouldn’t advise personally when starting out).
Sharp hand tools will help enormously, and they rarely come out of the box sharp.
SeeFive said:
If you are taking Paul’s advice on hand tools (which depending on what you are going to make is good advice), add some kind of sharpening equipment for the chisels and plane blades.
This can vary from a bit of flat glass with varying grades of wet and dry stuck to it to an expensive tormek sharpening station (which I never bought and wouldn’t advise personally when starting out).
Sharp hand tools will help enormously, and they rarely come out of the box sharp.
Definitely. Youtube has plenty of help here and it's worth investing some time in makig sure you can quickly get a decent edge.This can vary from a bit of flat glass with varying grades of wet and dry stuck to it to an expensive tormek sharpening station (which I never bought and wouldn’t advise personally when starting out).
Sharp hand tools will help enormously, and they rarely come out of the box sharp.
I use a set of diamond plates which i squirt with glass cleaner and a piece of leather with some polishing compound. The diamond plates can be expensive, but I picked up these Ultrex ones for about £30 for the set on some daft offer.
I like the idea of using wet and dry on a piece of glass too, that'll be super cheap and I'd guess straightforward enough to be easy to pickup.
I have a water stone grinder too, I'm not convinced it's worth buying really, but they tend to be more useful for sharpening lathe tool. It's a Scheppach that was on Gumtree for £30, so it doesn't really matter if I use it or not.
I had the wet and dry on glass setup for a while. It works, but you go through paper fairly fast and it's annoying when it tears.
I use a set of diamond stones now.
I actually quite like my circular saw for rough dimensioning of stock, its a lot faster than the bandsaw and will cut large sheets and the like. Gives tidy enough cuts that they only need a little plane work to finish.
I use a set of diamond stones now.
I actually quite like my circular saw for rough dimensioning of stock, its a lot faster than the bandsaw and will cut large sheets and the like. Gives tidy enough cuts that they only need a little plane work to finish.
Flibble said:
I had the wet and dry on glass setup for a while. It works, but you go through paper fairly fast and it's annoying when it tears.
I use a set of diamond stones now.
I actually quite like my circular saw for rough dimensioning of stock, its a lot faster than the bandsaw and will cut large sheets and the like. Gives tidy enough cuts that they only need a little plane work to finish.
I tend to agree, which is why I said depending on what you make. If I could only have one machine, it would be my table saw given the type of stuff I do. The bandsaw is great for many things but I find mine not that accurate even when it is set up correctly, especially on big square stuff along the grain. Probably operator error... or laziness - like couldn’t be arsed to go through the pain and resetting time of switching to a low tooth bandsaw blade for one or two cuts. My basic decision process, if I want it straight and square, it is the table saw. If I want it wavy, then bandsaw. I use a set of diamond stones now.
I actually quite like my circular saw for rough dimensioning of stock, its a lot faster than the bandsaw and will cut large sheets and the like. Gives tidy enough cuts that they only need a little plane work to finish.
WRT wet dry, I had a stock of the old cloth style wet/dry which helped with tearing problem but introduced a bit more “give” in the flat surface. I think it came from my dad’s engineering days. Not sure if you can still get it in sheets. Graduated to double sided oilstones and a flattener after a while. Nowadays I use diamond stones and leather for things that are supposed to be properly sharp and an old fashioned dry grinder with a wide white wheel, a very light, quick touch with a big pot of cold water next to it for lathe tools.
Still hate sharpening, (especially gouges and drill bits) but like the results - well maybe not on the shaved parts on my arms where I test things
SeeFive said:
I tend to agree, which is why I said depending on what you make. If I could only have one machine, it would be my table saw given the type of stuff I do. The bandsaw is great for many things but I find mine not that accurate even when it is set up correctly, especially on big square stuff along the grain. Probably operator error... or laziness - like couldn’t be arsed to go through the pain and resetting time of switching to a low tooth bandsaw blade for one or two cuts. My basic decision process, if I want it straight and square, it is the table saw. If I want it wavy, then bandsaw.
Yep, it does depend. There are a few reasons why I prefer the bandsaw though:- A lot of my stock is off-cuts or spare bits from other projects, particularly some thick door frames at the moment. So ripping a thick piece of 2.5" thick board into three is useful. You can't do that on a table saw or with a circular saw, my bandsaw will do about 6" depth.
- If you want to make something relatively fine, eg with 1/2" thick parts, you can't buy wood easily at the right thickness. So you need a thicknesser, which needs an extractor and still makes a load of noise and dust and you waste half the wood. Or you run whatever you have through the bandsaw first to get it roughly the right thickness, then plane it to finish. Have have a surface planer/thicknesser and a lunchbox thicknesser though because Gumtree.
- Another reason - even without dust extraction, the bandsaw makes very little mess compared with large spinny thick cuts
- The bandsaw is less keen on ripping your digits off or throwing chunks of wood at your head. Though part of that for me is that my tablesaw needs a riving knife fitting so I don't like using it on stuff that isn't sheet goods. It's just generally a more civilised machine.
- I have a magnet stuck to the body of the bandsaw that has an allen key stuck to it so swapping blades takes under a minute. If you buy a few decent blades and use the right blade for the job getting a good setup is easy. That said, if you have a cheap bandsaw they can be a pain to get good results from. To expand on their versatillity I use mine for cutting pallets and s
te up for firewood with the blade that came with it, it's ace for that!
- A rubbish bandsaw will give you miles better results than a rubbish tablesaw, so if you're on a budget they come into their own. I started with a bench-top £20 bandsaw and it would still (slowly) cut 3" oak into nice curvy shapes.
I sound like an evangelist now, so I should add that I have a circular saw, a track saw and a table saw too and use them all depending on the job.
paulrockliffe said:
SeeFive said:
I tend to agree, which is why I said depending on what you make. If I could only have one machine, it would be my table saw given the type of stuff I do. The bandsaw is great for many things but I find mine not that accurate even when it is set up correctly, especially on big square stuff along the grain. Probably operator error... or laziness - like couldn’t be arsed to go through the pain and resetting time of switching to a low tooth bandsaw blade for one or two cuts. My basic decision process, if I want it straight and square, it is the table saw. If I want it wavy, then bandsaw.
Yep, it does depend. There are a few reasons why I prefer the bandsaw though:- A lot of my stock is off-cuts or spare bits from other projects, particularly some thick door frames at the moment. So ripping a thick piece of 2.5" thick board into three is useful. You can't do that on a table saw or with a circular saw, my bandsaw will do about 6" depth.
- If you want to make something relatively fine, eg with 1/2" thick parts, you can't buy wood easily at the right thickness. So you need a thicknesser, which needs an extractor and still makes a load of noise and dust and you waste half the wood. Or you run whatever you have through the bandsaw first to get it roughly the right thickness, then plane it to finish. Have have a surface planer/thicknesser and a lunchbox thicknesser though because Gumtree.
- Another reason - even without dust extraction, the bandsaw makes very little mess compared with large spinny thick cuts
- The bandsaw is less keen on ripping your digits off or throwing chunks of wood at your head. Though part of that for me is that my tablesaw needs a riving knife fitting so I don't like using it on stuff that isn't sheet goods. It's just generally a more civilised machine.
- I have a magnet stuck to the body of the bandsaw that has an allen key stuck to it so swapping blades takes under a minute. If you buy a few decent blades and use the right blade for the job getting a good setup is easy. That said, if you have a cheap bandsaw they can be a pain to get good results from. To expand on their versatillity I use mine for cutting pallets and ste up for firewood with the blade that came with it, it's ace for that!
- A rubbish bandsaw will give you miles better results than a rubbish tablesaw, so if you're on a budget they come into their own. I started with a bench-top £20 bandsaw and it would still (slowly) cut 3" oak into nice curvy shapes.
I sound like an evangelist now, so I should add that I have a circular saw, a track saw and a table saw too and use them all depending on the job.
Mark Benson said:
paulrockliffe said:
SeeFive said:
I tend to agree, which is why I said depending on what you make. If I could only have one machine, it would be my table saw given the type of stuff I do. The bandsaw is great for many things but I find mine not that accurate even when it is set up correctly, especially on big square stuff along the grain. Probably operator error... or laziness - like couldn’t be arsed to go through the pain and resetting time of switching to a low tooth bandsaw blade for one or two cuts. My basic decision process, if I want it straight and square, it is the table saw. If I want it wavy, then bandsaw.
Yep, it does depend. There are a few reasons why I prefer the bandsaw though:- A lot of my stock is off-cuts or spare bits from other projects, particularly some thick door frames at the moment. So ripping a thick piece of 2.5" thick board into three is useful. You can't do that on a table saw or with a circular saw, my bandsaw will do about 6" depth.
- If you want to make something relatively fine, eg with 1/2" thick parts, you can't buy wood easily at the right thickness. So you need a thicknesser, which needs an extractor and still makes a load of noise and dust and you waste half the wood. Or you run whatever you have through the bandsaw first to get it roughly the right thickness, then plane it to finish. Have have a surface planer/thicknesser and a lunchbox thicknesser though because Gumtree.
- Another reason - even without dust extraction, the bandsaw makes very little mess compared with large spinny thick cuts
- The bandsaw is less keen on ripping your digits off or throwing chunks of wood at your head. Though part of that for me is that my tablesaw needs a riving knife fitting so I don't like using it on stuff that isn't sheet goods. It's just generally a more civilised machine.
- I have a magnet stuck to the body of the bandsaw that has an allen key stuck to it so swapping blades takes under a minute. If you buy a few decent blades and use the right blade for the job getting a good setup is easy. That said, if you have a cheap bandsaw they can be a pain to get good results from. To expand on their versatillity I use mine for cutting pallets and ste up for firewood with the blade that came with it, it's ace for that!
- A rubbish bandsaw will give you miles better results than a rubbish tablesaw, so if you're on a budget they come into their own. I started with a bench-top £20 bandsaw and it would still (slowly) cut 3" oak into nice curvy shapes.
I sound like an evangelist now, so I should add that I have a circular saw, a track saw and a table saw too and use them all depending on the job.
Sorry, didn’t mean to strike such a nerve. Yes, the bandsaw has its uses and advantages in areas as you have clearly described, and I am glad I have one when I need it.
I do (did) a lot of panel work, mostly edge lammed glue ups which means aside from the need for accuracy for those edges to avoid lots of jointer and thicknesser activity, pretty much any bandsaw outside of a lumber yard wouldn’t have the required throat to size the panels later. Hence (before the advent of rail saws) I have a cast table saw with a nice powerful and quiet induction motor which incidentally has a 4” depth of cut, or almost 8” resaw capability, admittedly with more kerf waste. The combination of a quality table saw, a jointer, thicknesser plus a 1 metre panel sander was what I needed for mainly panel work, the saw being the cornerstone. You are absolutely right about dust, so a chip extractor and air filter was installed. We are not talking normal hobbyist start up costs here, so your point is very valid.
It has also been good for home made jigs from edge straighteners, tenoning through raised panels and even broad radius cove cutters in the past due to its amazing accuracy and of course a massive table area (2 cast side extensions and a take off extension) and quality sliding table for the big panels. I have never had a kickback (it tried when I stupidly tried some quick and I’ll advised wide floppy hardboard cuts, but I kinda felt it coming) and still have all my digits to date. In fact the worst woodworking accident I have had was from something as stupid as a plunge screwdriver straight through the index finger, so watch those hand tools folks
My bandsaw is the same make, bearing guided blade etc, but for some reason just doesn’t seem to be the go to machine for me when I need straight, square cuts in cabinetmaking. I have tried the tuning approaches and it still doesn’t really give me the result I want on a large depth of cut. I reckon it is the operator at fault... being from the Norm Abram school of woodworking, I like to be pretty close to the line right off the machine. I even cut tenons on the table saw if the board width is getting a bit borderline due to previous bad experience on the band saw. I have used the bandsaw for resawing stock, but I don’t have amazing success with anything 4” and up with complex grain or very soft, generating a lot of jointer and thicknesser activity and waste (I need to leave quite a margin for wandering error in the cut).
So not ideal just like the table saw, but I got to a bad resaw result much quicker on the table saw. Everything else to come straight off the machine to the line was done on the table saw, apart from the wavy cuts of course.
My bandsaw pain? Pah, that is nothing! I am just trying to get to grips with a scroll saw at the moment for some fairly intricate craft work requiring some accuracy. Feed and turn rates... ok yeah, but a whole new area of frustration in thick-ish stock
Ha ha, fair enough, I'd probably agree if I had that saw too.
I have a Dewalt bandsaw that cost me £200 on Gumtree and a TS200 table saw with sliding carriage that was a little cheaper, again from Gumtree, which is probably a decent comparison for amateurs working out of a garage. For most of us the other reason not to use a table saw is that they take up a lot of space and need a lot of space to work in with big sheets.
I think I said earlier the way to go with sheets is to get them cut for you wherever you buy them and have a tracksaw, but things like ply and MDF are a bit harder to true up with a plane, so you're heading towards a tablesaw being more useful if you're doing more of that sort of stuff. I built some cabinets and drawers, just to let me roll tools around the workshop on, using a circular saw and a ply guide and the amount of extra hassle involved in marking out and making each cut so it's bang-on is significant compared with setting a stop on a carriage and mashing out 4 sides to the right depth then trimming two of those to width and two to height. Once I had the table saw a cabinet dropped from 4 hours to an hour.
The important thing though is to understand what's good for what so you don't end up buying something because everyone else has one, then never using it. And that lots of tools are only saving time rather than opening up a world of opportunity, which is less important if you're tinkering in your shed.
I have a Dewalt bandsaw that cost me £200 on Gumtree and a TS200 table saw with sliding carriage that was a little cheaper, again from Gumtree, which is probably a decent comparison for amateurs working out of a garage. For most of us the other reason not to use a table saw is that they take up a lot of space and need a lot of space to work in with big sheets.
I think I said earlier the way to go with sheets is to get them cut for you wherever you buy them and have a tracksaw, but things like ply and MDF are a bit harder to true up with a plane, so you're heading towards a tablesaw being more useful if you're doing more of that sort of stuff. I built some cabinets and drawers, just to let me roll tools around the workshop on, using a circular saw and a ply guide and the amount of extra hassle involved in marking out and making each cut so it's bang-on is significant compared with setting a stop on a carriage and mashing out 4 sides to the right depth then trimming two of those to width and two to height. Once I had the table saw a cabinet dropped from 4 hours to an hour.
The important thing though is to understand what's good for what so you don't end up buying something because everyone else has one, then never using it. And that lots of tools are only saving time rather than opening up a world of opportunity, which is less important if you're tinkering in your shed.
My table saw was too small I think to really come into it's own. I sold it and bought a planer thicknesser with the money and now get sheet cut down at the yard, making any more cuts with a tracksaw.
I do find knowing how to tune the bandsaw helps on accuracy, especially with thicker stock - this video is a good summary I think.
If I had the room for a decent sized table saw and extraction I'd definitely have one, but with limited room and a shop vac, I guess I've just had to get more creative with the bandsaw.
I do find knowing how to tune the bandsaw helps on accuracy, especially with thicker stock - this video is a good summary I think.
If I had the room for a decent sized table saw and extraction I'd definitely have one, but with limited room and a shop vac, I guess I've just had to get more creative with the bandsaw.
paulrockliffe said:
Ha ha, fair enough, I'd probably agree if I had that saw too.
I have a Dewalt bandsaw that cost me £200 on Gumtree and a TS200 table saw with sliding carriage that was a little cheaper, again from Gumtree, which is probably a decent comparison for amateurs working out of a garage. For most of us the other reason not to use a table saw is that they take up a lot of space and need a lot of space to work in with big sheets.
I think I said earlier the way to go with sheets is to get them cut for you wherever you buy them and have a tracksaw, but things like ply and MDF are a bit harder to true up with a plane, so you're heading towards a tablesaw being more useful if you're doing more of that sort of stuff. I built some cabinets and drawers, just to let me roll tools around the workshop on, using a circular saw and a ply guide and the amount of extra hassle involved in marking out and making each cut so it's bang-on is significant compared with setting a stop on a carriage and mashing out 4 sides to the right depth then trimming two of those to width and two to height. Once I had the table saw a cabinet dropped from 4 hours to an hour.
The important thing though is to understand what's good for what so you don't end up buying something because everyone else has one, then never using it. And that lots of tools are only saving time rather than opening up a world of opportunity, which is less important if you're tinkering in your shed.
Sounds very sensible paul, your last paragraph says it all. Horses for courses. The TS200 is a very tidy bit of kit, I would certainly have one.I have a Dewalt bandsaw that cost me £200 on Gumtree and a TS200 table saw with sliding carriage that was a little cheaper, again from Gumtree, which is probably a decent comparison for amateurs working out of a garage. For most of us the other reason not to use a table saw is that they take up a lot of space and need a lot of space to work in with big sheets.
I think I said earlier the way to go with sheets is to get them cut for you wherever you buy them and have a tracksaw, but things like ply and MDF are a bit harder to true up with a plane, so you're heading towards a tablesaw being more useful if you're doing more of that sort of stuff. I built some cabinets and drawers, just to let me roll tools around the workshop on, using a circular saw and a ply guide and the amount of extra hassle involved in marking out and making each cut so it's bang-on is significant compared with setting a stop on a carriage and mashing out 4 sides to the right depth then trimming two of those to width and two to height. Once I had the table saw a cabinet dropped from 4 hours to an hour.
The important thing though is to understand what's good for what so you don't end up buying something because everyone else has one, then never using it. And that lots of tools are only saving time rather than opening up a world of opportunity, which is less important if you're tinkering in your shed.
In my case, most of my sheets arrived as narrow boards and were edge lammed into sheets for the cabinets, so I couldn’t really get sheet sizing done at the yard as, well, at that stage the sheets didn’t exist, and nor did track cutters really in those days
I bought all my kit new at the point I needed it for a project, except for my heavy but grunty DW625 router which I bought refurbished by Dewalt at a good price “just in case”. As much as I love the table saw I was very surprised to see that the price I paid for it has tripled in the intervening period! Yes it needs a lot of space, I just about got away with it in a double garage and the ability to move other stuff around when working with big sheets. But upside was, with the fence off and a protective sheet on top, it made a great flat glue up / assembly platform with full walk around once the cutting was done. Especially useful when I was building 2.4 x 1.2 metre modular trade stand floor and walls for the company I worked for who wanted something a bit more “unique” than a plastic trade stand shell, and could be reconfigured and reused at various shows with different stand sizes.
My favourite project on that kit was probably a marquee full of knock down reusable “budget conscious” furniture for some garden parties. I needed a 3 metre semi-circular bar for a cocktail mixologist the missus booked and a bunch (think it was 10) of 6 seater tables which all came together in a couple of days mostly from m&t’d CLS framework and believe it or not, loft boarding for the tops, aided and abetted by the table saw and the DW625 on a very long circle cutting jig for the bar top cuts and its curved panel grooves. Real hacking stuff (even including some screws!!) but served the purpose, looked good when in place with bar nicely upholstered, lit and tables covered and dressed. And it all flat packed again to go back into the garage rafters till the next party, or until I got divorced and had to take it all to the dump.
Mark Benson said:
My table saw was too small I think to really come into it's own. I sold it and bought a planer thicknesser with the money and now get sheet cut down at the yard, making any more cuts with a tracksaw.
I do find knowing how to tune the bandsaw helps on accuracy, especially with thicker stock - this video is a good summary I think.
If I had the room for a decent sized table saw and extraction I'd definitely have one, but with limited room and a shop vac, I guess I've just had to get more creative with the bandsaw.
Thanks for that. An excellent video. I did all the stuff on bearings but hadn’t seen the advice of different placement of the blade gullet on the wheel, just taking the usual instruction in manufacturer setups to centre it. Looks like the missing piece on tuneup and time for a revisit as I have some choices to make on resawing to 10mm soon which I didn’t think I could get out of a 22mm board on the bandsaw and certainly wouldn’t get off the circular saw with the kerf waste.I do find knowing how to tune the bandsaw helps on accuracy, especially with thicker stock - this video is a good summary I think.
If I had the room for a decent sized table saw and extraction I'd definitely have one, but with limited room and a shop vac, I guess I've just had to get more creative with the bandsaw.
Thanks again! I love school days.
I really like my bandsaw, it's a cheapy one, but I can get good results from it anyway. It's good enough to get a straight cut to within a fraction of a millimetre (which is easily planeable) freehand. I need to sort the fence out so I can get better straight cuts really.
My main reason for using the circular saw (which is a handheld one as I don't really have space for a table saw) is that the throat limits what you can cut.
Going to watch that setup video today, see if I can get it working better.
My main reason for using the circular saw (which is a handheld one as I don't really have space for a table saw) is that the throat limits what you can cut.
Going to watch that setup video today, see if I can get it working better.
A question away from band saws and sharpening stones for a moment.
We currently have an Oak Furniture Land TV cabinet, pretty sure its Mango if that makes a difference? Said cabinet doesn't work in the living room, it is this one:
I would like to modify it so that we can use it as a corner TV unit, basically I want to lop off the two rear corners at an angle allowing to be flush into the corner, how would one go about this? Careful work with a saw? or find a way to disassemble it and then reprofile and change as I go? Happy with the layout of it just want it smaller. Sure we could go and buy a new unit but they don't make one that matches all the other furniture that does what I want so its back to the literal drawing board!
We currently have an Oak Furniture Land TV cabinet, pretty sure its Mango if that makes a difference? Said cabinet doesn't work in the living room, it is this one:
I would like to modify it so that we can use it as a corner TV unit, basically I want to lop off the two rear corners at an angle allowing to be flush into the corner, how would one go about this? Careful work with a saw? or find a way to disassemble it and then reprofile and change as I go? Happy with the layout of it just want it smaller. Sure we could go and buy a new unit but they don't make one that matches all the other furniture that does what I want so its back to the literal drawing board!
Start by working out how it's fixed together, if anything comes apart, take it to bits. Although this sounds like a daft thing to try on the face of it, if it's going in a corner nothing is going to be visible other than the front, so you can do a pretty bad job of this and get away with it.
I'd aim to turn it into a built in cabinet rather than stand alone. Cut the top how you want it with a track saw, remove the sides then see how it fits. I suspect it would benefit from a 45 degree bevel on the back of the front legs, so that it sits tighter to the wall, that means cutting the top slightly smaller to match too. But it depends a bit on how straight your walls are.
I think you'll be left with a gap at the back, which will be broadly hidden by the TV, but you have the wood from the sdies and back available to fill that somehow if you need to.
Battens on the walls to support the top and some brackets on the rear of the legs if you can get in once it's in place to fix them to the wall.
You could remove the sides tight to the legs, tidy the legs up, then bevel the sides and reattach, but it's a lot of work for something that won't be visible and will stop the legs running tight to the wall.
I'd aim to turn it into a built in cabinet rather than stand alone. Cut the top how you want it with a track saw, remove the sides then see how it fits. I suspect it would benefit from a 45 degree bevel on the back of the front legs, so that it sits tighter to the wall, that means cutting the top slightly smaller to match too. But it depends a bit on how straight your walls are.
I think you'll be left with a gap at the back, which will be broadly hidden by the TV, but you have the wood from the sdies and back available to fill that somehow if you need to.
Battens on the walls to support the top and some brackets on the rear of the legs if you can get in once it's in place to fix them to the wall.
You could remove the sides tight to the legs, tidy the legs up, then bevel the sides and reattach, but it's a lot of work for something that won't be visible and will stop the legs running tight to the wall.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff