On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 08:32:12 -0800, charlie b wrote:
Charlie.. some very good points, indeed...
My 20+ years with a shopsmith before having room/funds for stand alone machines
MADE me get in the habit of planing a project step by step and double-checking
at the end of each step to make sure I hadn't forgotten to trim one piece or
something...
With some advance thought (which I'll admit that I don't do enough of now), you
really don't mind the few minutes it takes to change to the next setup... it's
usually faster than going to another machine, clearing the debris off of it, and
setting it up.. *g*
Frank Drackman wrote:
I also agree that the problem with combo machine is that it is a pain to go
back and make one more of an item.
If, by "an item", you mean a part of the piece you're working on
- it's gonna be a pain to go back and make one more even if you
have a dedicated cabinet saw, jointer and planer. You still have to
join the face and one edge of some stock, and on most combi machines
you've got a 12" wide joiner, not 6" or 8".
And even if you left the planer set to the final thickness of the
part
you're remaking, you're going to have to change that setting if
you're
raw stock is 1/16th or more too thicker than you need - unless your
knives are really sharp or you don't mind a little tear out AND your
planer has enough ooomph to take off 1/16th of an inch in one pass
(The X31 can take 1/4" off in one pass - in oak, but it isn't
advisable)
Unless the part you need to make another one of (to hell with proper
grammar) is the last one your ripped you'd still have to reset the
rip fence.
And if you had to use the shaper to make the part and you didn't
make up an extra length of stock as insurance. . . Shapers are
trickier to use than router tables.
And let's get real about it - saw tables and joiner tables are often
partially, or totally covered with "stuff" so you have to find a
place
on which to move it but there isn't any space to move it to and
that's
why it's on the saw table or joiner tables in the first place.
The "You have to move EVERYTHING in order to move ANYTHING"
seems to be one of those universal truths in a small shop and a
much bigger PITA than any combi "problem".
My experience is that it's the length of matching parts that's
usually the most critical. Even with a 6' long infeed table,
a four foot long outfeed table and TWO flip stops on my SCMS,
a dedicated machine BTW, I sometimes have to shorten all
matching length parts if I have to remake one of a set. That's
the only way I know of to insure that all parts that are supposed
to be the same length in fact are - exactly. (I also find that
"loose tenon" joinery frequently makes life simpler - no
"and don't forget to add in the teneon lengths" opportunity
for error)
To reduce the need to remake parts, I've found that making
a spare or two of critical parts when making up parts is a
good idea. But then I don't make up ALL the parts for a piece
first, then assemble them. For me, it's an evolutionary
process. Make the key components, do the joinery to hold
them together and dry fit. Measure the next parts off what
I have so far - using "slip sticks" and a clothes pin or two
- and use the slip sticks to set my SCMS. No misreading
a pocket tape measuring off the piece, no misreading a
tape when setting the stop for cutting to length. Two more
potential screw ups eliminated.
To do woodworking well, and have fun doing it, you have
to develop methods of work that work for you. Being
methodical and finding the methods to do it with is a
major part of making "stuff" - the learning curve.
The old apprenticeship program taught the tried and
true methods. We hobbiests/amateurs have to discover
and use them however we can.
So back to combination machines - if you're methodical
and plan your work flow, their advantages far outweigh
their disadvantages - especially in limited shop space.
AND having just one power cord for the equivalent of
five machines is pretty nice.
charlie b
(the sometimes incoherent)
Mac
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm