DL wrote:
I am curious as to what others have done for receptacles that are
going to
snip

I did what you're proposing, and it works fine for me.

I bought a 3hp Unisaw, 2hp Rockwell planer and 1.5hp General jointer,
all at estate sales. Each had a different 240V plug.

I put in a 30 amp breaker, 10 gauge wire and a 30 amp receptacle for
this stuff. Eventually I'll probably put in more receptacles, but the
jointer and planer tend to get moved each time I use them, so
unplugging and plugging hasn't turned out to be too burdensome.

The saw came with a 30A twist-lock plug, so I standardized the other
machines to that. I'd probably look for a lower cost option if it
wasn't for already having a twist-lock.

The magnetic starters on the saw and jointer have overload protection
built in and the planer has thermal protection on the motor. The
jointer and planer could run on lower amp circuits, but, why bother
putting in separate circuits just for them?

I've also got a 50 amp receptacle, but it's just for the welder.

I agree with others that running four wire circuits isn't necessary.
If you decide to, just don't connect anything to the neutral wire lug
in the plugs of 240V-only machines and you're fine.

In fact, before putting in a sub-panel, I had been running a
cheater-cord (aka pigtail) that had a range cord and plug on one end
and the twist-lock receptacle on the other. I didn't need a neutral,
so just cut that lug off the plug. Disclaimer: you need to do two
things if you try this: 1) understand that your range circuit is
probably 40A, making your 30A receptical illegal, and, 2) have
speeddial set to a nice restraunt if SWMBO comes home finding her stove
unplugged one too many times.

Good luck,

Tim