Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

On Mar 10, 8:10 pm, depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Honestly, I would get a good table saw. That's your workhorse, the
tool you turn to first. I owner a DeWalt 735 planer and I still get my
rough-cut planed at the dealer. A planer really comes in handy when
it's coupled with a bandsaw (for re-sawing). A jointer is nice, but a
good table saw in indispensible.

Jeff

Depending on how the finances are..........or if SWMBO gives you a blank
check and says go have fun...check out this link below. It is both and IIRC
Popular Woodworking gave it a thumbs up. FWIW it is available with a spiral
carbide cutting head. Might last a hobbyist a lifetime. The individual
carbide cutters each have 4 sharp sides. You hit a nail you turn one or two
inserts and start cutting again. I am still in the dreaming stage but hey
might as well dream big.
Good luck Lyndell

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Jointer-Planer/G0633


http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-J...tterhead/G0634


"depictureboy" wrote in message
...
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:10:23 -0700 (PDT), depictureboy
wrote:

Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

A thickness planer becomes important when you need wood not sold in
your area. For example, 1/2" wood for drawer sides. A jointer is
used much more often in my shop and is important when using the table
saw. You can get by without a jointer, but not without some effort
and skill. What you need depends on your project and from what you
have given the jointer gets the vote.

"depictureboy" wrote in message
...
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.


I have both, and rarely use either, and tempted to sell both!
If your wood is poorly planned, then maybe a planner would be a better fit
for you. A jointer is really not needed unless you are edge gluing large
panels. Face frames you can get true enough on the table saw.
Like on other post stated a good table saw is a must, with a good blade. I
tend to cut my wood to size and just give it a good sanding.
In my opinion, you need to do allot of wood working to justify the price of
a planner or a jointer, and you can do very nice wood working without either
of them.
If money is no problem, then I retract my statements!
Greg

Yes the table saw is the work horse and prob the best dollar spent BUT
lets not forget the Fence System

"Greg O" wrote in message
.. .
"depictureboy" wrote in message
...
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.


I have both, and rarely use either, and tempted to sell both!
If your wood is poorly planned, then maybe a planner would be a better fit
for you. A jointer is really not needed unless you are edge gluing large
panels. Face frames you can get true enough on the table saw.
Like on other post stated a good table saw is a must, with a good blade. I
tend to cut my wood to size and just give it a good sanding.
In my opinion, you need to do allot of wood working to justify the price
of a planner or a jointer, and you can do very nice wood working without
either of them.
If money is no problem, then I retract my statements!
Greg

Planer, sometimes you need 1/4, 3/8. 1/2. and or 5/8' thick stock.


"depictureboy" wrote in message
...
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

"Lyndell Thompson" wrote in message
...
Depending on how the finances are..........or if SWMBO gives you a blank
check and says go have fun...check out this link below. It is both and
IIRC Popular Woodworking gave it a thumbs up. FWIW it is available with a
spiral carbide cutting head. Might last a hobbyist a lifetime. The
individual carbide cutters each have 4 sharp sides. You hit a nail you
turn one or two inserts and start cutting again. I am still in the
dreaming stage but hey might as well dream big.
Good luck Lyndell

http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Jointer-Planer/G0633

Big ditto on the above. If you can't swing that get a planer.

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:10:23 -0700 (PDT), depictureboy
wrote:

Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I still don't own a planer. I do have a drum sander though. There
are a lot better ways to make a board thinner than to turn it into a
mountain of chips. If you are buying s2s and you don't really have
that much of a need for thinner stock, and from your project list I
think that's the case, then I don't see the need at this point.

So the question would be are you happy enough with how you're getting
that straight edge now, or would the money be better spent elsewhere?


-Leuf

On Mar 10, 7:10*pm, depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Based on the projects you list, a table saw will serve you best. But
that is because most of the projects you list don't really need flat
boards. Or they are narrow and short boards so you can cut out the
twisted part easy enough. Blanket chest does need reasonably flat
boards but you can likely get away with less than perfectly flat
boards. S2S just means the board is smooth on both sides. It can and
will still be twisted and cupped. Unusable for larger furniture
projects or if you are trying to glue up panels. Or use longer
boards. As I mentioned, you can cut up a twisted and cupped S2S board
so the final short, narrow pieces you use will be fairly flat and OK.
A jointer makes one side of a board, or edge, flat and straight. Then
the planer makes the other side parallel to the side you made flat on
the jointer. Run both sides through the planer and you end up with a
thinner, but most importantly, a flat board with no twist or cupping.
Usable board. A table saw can sometimes put a straight and smooth
enough edge on a board for gluing up. But I'd run it over a jointer
before gluing. Either electrical or human powered jointer. You can
also use a human powered plane to get one side of a board flat enough
to run it through an electrical planer to get both sides flat and
smooth. You don't need the whole side of a board flat for it to work
in an electrical planer. Just flat enough not to rock when pushed
down by the rollers in the elctrical planer. And you can run boards
on edge through the electrical planer after going through a table saw
to get an edge reasonably straight. So an electrical planer will
likely be best for you if you already have a table saw and know how to
use a human powered plane.

"If" you buy rough stock for your materials,
you need a saw,planer,jointer.

"If" you use mostly sheet goods and buy
dressed material, you need a saw and "maybe'
a planer.

In my opinion, "all" shops need all three
power tools to be effective.

A LOT of folks get by without a jointer
but you have to learn to work around the
wood, which can/could be a pain in the ass.


depictureboy wrote:

Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment.

"Leuf" wrote in message
...

Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I have a jointer, have had a jointer for about 25 years. It is much easier
for me to put a straight edge on an 8' S2S boards using a simple jig on my
table saw than using the jointer. One pass is all it takes. My jointer is
fine for short stuff but for get it on athe long stuff. I hardly ever need
to joint short stock.

Leon wrote:
"Leuf" wrote in message
...
Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I have a jointer, have had a jointer for about 25 years. It is much easier
for me to put a straight edge on an 8' S2S boards using a simple jig on my
table saw than using the jointer. One pass is all it takes. My jointer is
fine for short stuff but for get it on athe long stuff. I hardly ever need
to joint short stock.




You mention you barely use it. Why do you feel it isn't necessary? What
is this simple jig you have created?

It seems that in most projects a jointer would be handy, but there is
always that guy out there saying he has had one for X number of years
and never uses it...

On Mar 11, 12:32*am, Leuf wrote:
On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:10:23 -0700 (PDT), depictureboy





wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? *There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I still don't own a planer. *I do have a drum sander though. *There
are a lot better ways to make a board thinner than to turn it into a
mountain of chips. *If you are buying s2s and you don't really have
that much of a need for thinner stock, and from your project list I
think that's the case, then I don't see the need at this point.

So the question would be are you happy enough with how you're getting
that straight edge now, or would the money be better spent elsewhere?

-Leuf- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I havent bought any lumber from them yet. I only know what they offer.
Any work I have done I used 4s from HD...which can get expensive. I
want to use better wood for the same bd ft price I am paying for
poplar....I do have an older table saw, but like I said I can cut
fairly straight with a circular saw and jig. I know I will need both
eventually, I just dont know which to do first until I get the
"permission" again for another piece of equipment. I plan on making a
panel saw, so cutting long sheets on a table saw wont really be an
issue. I am more concerned about my hardwood needs for faceframes and
glued up panels. My only real experience so far with glue ups is a
couple cutting boards I made from scrap. At the time I had my dads
jointer working(it died and is OLD), but I used a beltsander and
orbital sander for the tops as needed. But I realize for quality work
I am going to need better bigger equipment. I have tried jointing with
my router, but i have a cheap ryobi table at the present(one of my
projects it to build a better router table) and it doest work really
well. I am really anxious to get my girls' blanket chests done, cause
that could be the open to another piece of equipment....hehe. I just
want this purchase to be 'right' incase its a while till I am able to
get the next piece of the puzzle.

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:32:38 -0400, Leuf wrote:

I still don't own a planer. I do have a drum sander though. There
are a lot better ways to make a board thinner than to turn it into a
mountain of chips.

I do own both a planer and a jointer. Since I got a decent bandsaw for
resaw and a thickness sander, the planer doesn't see much use.

I don't get tearout on a thickness sander :-).

And a good tablesaw with a good blade can joint edges with a sled. But I
do need the jointer for those really nice looking boards that aren't flat
on either face.

"Adam" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:
"Leuf" wrote in message
...
Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I have a jointer, have had a jointer for about 25 years. It is much
easier for me to put a straight edge on an 8' S2S boards using a simple
jig on my table saw than using the jointer. One pass is all it takes.
My jointer is fine for short stuff but for get it on athe long stuff. I
hardly ever need to joint short stock.




You mention you barely use it. Why do you feel it isn't necessary? What is
this simple jig you have created?


I feel it is not necessary because I can turn rough cut lumber into flat and
straight s4s lumber using only a table saw, planer and 2 jigs.
To straighten a board I use a jig that is simply a 14" wide piece of 3/4"
plywood 8' long. I screw 2 toggle lever clamps on to it near the right side
along its length. Lay my crooked stock/rough cut stock on top of the
plywood and clamp it down with the clamps with only a minimum amount of the
boards crooked edge hanging over the blade side edge of the plywood. Set
the fence so that the saw will cut off that crook edge and run it through.
This is great for s2s lumber. There is also a jig I use to flatten rough
cut lumber up to 12" wide using my planer.


It seems that in most projects a jointer would be handy, but there is
always that guy out there saying he has had one for X number of years and
never uses it...

A jointer works well if you have a large jointer or only want to straighten
short stock. Otherwise the TS jig is very cheap and faster than a jointer.

depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Almost all of the wood that I have purchased at the big box stores is
supposedly all dimensioned. But in reality, the thickness of their
lumber varies a little. One board may indeed be 3/4" thick, but the
next may be 13/16" thick. This difference makes face frame edges
ragged, and it takes a lot of work to clean up the glue line of edge
glued boards. Lumber that I have purchased from hardwood suppliers is a
little more consistent within species, but 4/4 lumber is more like
13/16" or maybe even 7/8" thick.

Since there are ways to finagle around getting edges straight, I think I
would vote for the thickness planer first, and then convince SWMBO that
the jointer is a companion tool. Gotta get bofum. :-)

Wayne

NoOne N Particular wrote:
depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared
my wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw
is important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut
pretty straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also
have a hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the
dewalt jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing
planer
would be better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near
future include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get
at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more
effective
route.

Almost all of the wood that I have purchased at the big box stores
is
supposedly all dimensioned. But in reality, the thickness of their
lumber varies a little. One board may indeed be 3/4" thick, but the
next may be 13/16" thick. This difference makes face frame edges
ragged, and it takes a lot of work to clean up the glue line of edge
glued boards. Lumber that I have purchased from hardwood suppliers
is a little more consistent within species, but 4/4 lumber is more
like 13/16" or maybe even 7/8" thick.

Since there are ways to finagle around getting edges straight, I
think I would vote for the thickness planer first, and then convince
SWMBO that the jointer is a companion tool. Gotta get bofum. :-)

Well, actually you need the band saw to go with the planer, and then
when you see the kind of edges you get out of the band saw that sells
the jointer.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
....
Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

I'd go for both, meself...

But, it's probably more effective to go the planer route next as there
are relatively easy ways to get the straight edge w/ what you already
have, but finishing to uniform thickness and/or after glue-up is much
simpler w/ a planer.

That then raises the question of the size of panels you're likely to
want to run through -- the only real disadvantage of the 12-13"
portables (for other than real heavy stock of course, for which they're
not suitable).

--

On Mar 10, 8:10*pm, depictureboy wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:

Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office

etc.

Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?

I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.

Start by upgrading your table saw, then buld a sled so that you can
joint the edge of a board using the table saw.
Odds are that you can beg borrow or steal the use of a planer when you
need it by providing a set of new or resharpened knives to the owner.
That frees up space and resources.

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:40:44 -0500, "Leon"
wrote:


"Leuf" wrote in message
.. .

Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I have a jointer, have had a jointer for about 25 years. It is much easier
for me to put a straight edge on an 8' S2S boards using a simple jig on my
table saw than using the jointer. One pass is all it takes. My jointer is
fine for short stuff but for get it on athe long stuff. I hardly ever need
to joint short stock.

If the edge is really nasty I'll just take a couple passes at the
jointer, get it good enough to run through the TS. Rip the opposite
side, then bring in the fence a bit and run the first edge. However
on my TS I just can't get a clean enough edge for a perfect glue line,
so it will then go right back to the jointer again. I don't usually
have to go through all that with the s2s hardwoods, but the rough
cedar I get is nasty. Rarely do I deal with anything longer than 4'.

And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.


-Leuf

"snip
If the edge is really nasty I'll just take a couple passes at the
jointer, get it good enough to run through the TS. Rip the opposite
side, then bring in the fence a bit and run the first edge. However
on my TS I just can't get a clean enough edge for a perfect glue line,
so it will then go right back to the jointer again. I don't usually
have to go through all that with the s2s hardwoods, but the rough
cedar I get is nasty. Rarely do I deal with anything longer than 4'.

And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.


-Leuf

My Delta CS with a Forrest blade will make glueline rips. Maybe you need to
look at your blade.

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:34:30 GMT, "Lowell Holmes"
wrote:


My Delta CS with a Forrest blade will make glueline rips. Maybe you need to
look at your blade.

And see that it says Forrest on it? I'm getting identical patterns of
marks on both sides of the cut so it aint the fence alignment either.

Actually I was getting better results from my Ridge Carbide before it
needed sharpening. I want to see what it does when it comes back
compared to the Forrest to see if something has gotten worse with the
saw. Gotta get round to shipping that out one of these days...


-Leuf

Leuf wrote:
On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:40:44 -0500, "Leon"
wrote:


"Leuf" wrote in message
...

Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing
so, but there are just some things that should be easy and getting
a darn straight edge on your board is one of them.

I have a jointer, have had a jointer for about 25 years. It is
much
easier for me to put a straight edge on an 8' S2S boards using a
simple jig on my table saw than using the jointer. One pass is all
it takes. My jointer is fine for short stuff but for get it on
athe long stuff. I hardly ever need to joint short stock.

If the edge is really nasty I'll just take a couple passes at the
jointer, get it good enough to run through the TS. Rip the opposite
side, then bring in the fence a bit and run the first edge. However
on my TS I just can't get a clean enough edge for a perfect glue
line,
so it will then go right back to the jointer again. I don't usually
have to go through all that with the s2s hardwoods, but the rough
cedar I get is nasty. Rarely do I deal with anything longer than
4'.

And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it
was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.

Presumably there are washers on the fasteners that hold the trunions.
If you ever decide to mess with 'em again toss the washers and get new
ones. The old ones may have deformed just enough to make it difficult
to make fine adjustments.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"Leuf" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:40:44 -0500, "Leon"
wrote:



And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.

Yeah, and I am using a cabinet saw and I am sure that will make a lot of
difference. Idon't blame you for not wanting to readjust the contractors
saw. If is did that once, I did it a bunch more times. When will a
manufacturer simply put in a miter slot that is adjustable inside a larger
slot?





-Leuf

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:33:23 -0400, Leuf wrote:

And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.

Don't know if you're aware of these:

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20591

but I did a lot of cussin' until I got them. They work like a charm.

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:36:52 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:33:23 -0400, Leuf wrote:

And I am NOT messing with those trunions again, you hear me? Every
time I do it's just 6 hours of cursing to get it back to where it was
before I started. Someday I'll get a cabinet saw, until then it is
what it is.

Don't know if you're aware of these:

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20591

but I did a lot of cussin' until I got them. They work like a charm.

Mine has a cam at the back for adjustment. Getting it tightened down
and still be in the same place, that is where the fun happens. I
think there was one bolt that it just didn't want to slide at and that
made it fun as well. I think it is a runout issue at this point
rather than any alignment problems.

I need to get a shop that is either a) on the ground floor b) in the
house I'm going to die in, before I get a heavier saw than I already
have now. And it will be a while before either of those things
happens.

Am thinking about getting the sawstop contractor's saw whenever it
comes out though. I don't need any more power, just a more precise
machine.


-Leuf

Don't know if you're aware of these:

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20591

but I did a lot of cussin' until I got them. They work like a charm.


I just went through about 2 full days getting my Craftsman saw aligned.
At least the blade aligned with the miter slot. No matter what I did
I just couldn't get within about .020". I had to completely disassemble
the saw and do a little filing to slightly elongate the holes that
attach the trunnions to the table top so I could have a little more
adjustment room.
I made a set of "PALS" out of an old piece of heavy duty angle iron I
had laying around and put them on the rear of the saw. Seems like I
should have put them on the front because I still couldn't get it to
align within about .010". So I made another set for the front. Bingo.
I just finished that yesterday so I hope that it stays this time.

Now the fence. ugh. Bent and bowed.

Wayne

Well I went ahead and ordered the Ridgid TS2400L. I stopped by HD last
nite after work(I always liked looking at that saw), and noticed the
ridgids have lifetime service agreements for part and labor...I just
couldn't look back after that. So I will probably get the thickness
planer next and between my router and TS Ill get a straight edge.hehe.
I did do some more reading on how to joint an edge with the router, so
ill keep practicing. And it looks like there is a way to hang a router
off the slideing deck on the TS so that might fix my cheap router
table issues.

"depictureboy" wrote in message
...
Well I went ahead and ordered the Ridgid TS2400L. I stopped by HD last
nite after work(I always liked looking at that saw), and noticed the
ridgids have lifetime service agreements for part and labor...I just
couldn't look back after that. So I will probably get the thickness
planer next and between my router and TS Ill get a straight edge.hehe.
I did do some more reading on how to joint an edge with the router, so
ill keep practicing. And it looks like there is a way to hang a router
off the slideing deck on the TS so that might fix my cheap router
table issues.


Actually if you do a Google search and go for Jointablilty, this is a
straight edge tool that has been around for a while that lets you use your
router, freehand, to put a straight edge on a board. IIRC about 200-300
dollars but much cheaper than a jointer.

On Mar 12, 8:28*am, "Leon" wrote:
"depictureboy" wrote in message

...

Well I went ahead and ordered the Ridgid TS2400L. I stopped by HD last
nite after work(I always liked looking at that saw), and noticed the
ridgids have lifetime service agreements for part and labor...I just
couldn't look back after that. So I will probably get the thickness
planer next and between my router and TS Ill get a straight edge.hehe.
I did do some more reading on how to joint an edge with the router, so
ill keep practicing. And it looks like there is a way to hang a router
off the slideing deck on the TS so that might fix my cheap router
table issues.

Actually if you do a Google search and go for Jointablilty, this is a
straight edge tool that has been around for a while that lets you use your
router, freehand, to put a straight edge on a board. *IIRC about 200-300
dollars but much cheaper than a jointer.

rockler has something like that too...thanks for the info

depictureboy wrote:
On Mar 11, 12:32 am, Leuf wrote:
On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:10:23 -0700 (PDT), depictureboy





wrote:
Well, building a cabinet for my water softening system has endeared my
wife to let me get a piece of heavy equipment. I know a tablesaw is
important, and I have my dad's old 8" craftsman, plus I can cut pretty
straight with a circular saw(or some jig if needed). I also have a
hitachi 12" for crosscuts..Now I was looking at getting the dewalt
jt360. But now I am thinking that maybe a thicknessing planer would be
better. Some of the project I plan on tackling in the near future
include:
Blanket Chests for my daughters.
Shop Cabinets(plywood or PB Melamine)
Face Framed Office Hutch
Book Cases for the office
etc.
Most of the hardwood is coming 4/4 to 5/4 from a local dealer(not a
big box homecenter) so even though its s2 its not s2 like you get at
lowes or homedepot. So what should I be looking at?
I have a Ryobi router and table, Hitachi miter saw, old craftsman
table saw, and a circular saw. I was really focusing on the jointer
before I got the OK, but now I am unsure which is the more effective
route.
Well if you are buying s2s from a lumber yard, how are you getting
your first straight edge currently? There are many ways of doing so,
but there are just some things that should be easy and getting a darn
straight edge on your board is one of them.

I still don't own a planer. I do have a drum sander though. There
are a lot better ways to make a board thinner than to turn it into a
mountain of chips. If you are buying s2s and you don't really have
that much of a need for thinner stock, and from your project list I
think that's the case, then I don't see the need at this point.

So the question would be are you happy enough with how you're getting
that straight edge now, or would the money be better spent elsewhere?

-Leuf- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I havent bought any lumber from them yet. I only know what they offer.
Any work I have done I used 4s from HD...which can get expensive. I
want to use better wood for the same bd ft price I am paying for
poplar....I do have an older table saw, but like I said I can cut
fairly straight with a circular saw and jig. I know I will need both
eventually, I just dont know which to do first until I get the
"permission" again for another piece of equipment. I plan on making a
panel saw, so cutting long sheets on a table saw wont really be an
issue. I am more concerned about my hardwood needs for faceframes and
glued up panels. My only real experience so far with glue ups is a
couple cutting boards I made from scrap. At the time I had my dads
jointer working(it died and is OLD), but I used a beltsander and
orbital sander for the tops as needed. But I realize for quality work
I am going to need better bigger equipment. I have tried jointing with
my router, but i have a cheap ryobi table at the present(one of my
projects it to build a better router table) and it doest work really
well. I am really anxious to get my girls' blanket chests done, cause
that could be the open to another piece of equipment....hehe. I just
want this purchase to be 'right' incase its a while till I am able to
get the next piece of the puzzle.

I used to have that same Craftsman 8"
saw. It was finicky, the fence was a POS
and working with the saw became a
nightmare.

Read up on past posts in here about what
one should get first in power equipment.
Also read up on articles, shop setting
up books, craftsmen's books, and almost
unanimously they'll advise getting a
decent table saw as one of the very
first pieces of machinery.

Get Kelly Mehler's Table Saw book and
you'll find that the saw is an extremely
versatile machine.

Tanus

--