If you were (or did) get rid of your table saw only to have a TS + MFT3...

I think the worst thing of all is trying to handle sheet goods with a contractor's saw. Poor support of the material and great danger of injury from kickback.

I started out with that and was scared everytime I used it. To the point where I took a break from woodworking for a while. Once I discovered the TS55 it was a revalation.

Now if I had the space for a full sized slider I'd think that would be the best. But I don't, and unless I move I won't.

It's possible I might get a small slider someday, but obviously that wouldn't be for breaking up sheet goods. It would be for the precision and repeatability that a setup like that gives.

 
Darcy-

I've read a lot of your posts and looked at your website.  I like your style, very nice to see someone who cares about the old stuff and keeping it around a little longer.  Both machine and architecturally speaking.

I have spent a lot of time in front of a 20" American brand jointer, I think 1898 manufacture.  Great machine, munches the face right off wide flooring material.  Although I think if I got my sleeve caught you'd find me on the other end of the dust chute pretty fast.

Keep up the good work.
 
I very seldom use sheet goods but, when I do I never try to cut a full sheet on my table saw.  I have a 3 1/2" Porter Cable trim saw that will allow me to break sheets down to manageable size with a piece of plywood straight edge and two Bessey Clamps.

The only thing that's missing is dust control but, then again I don't use sheet goods all that much so big (Powermatic) or small (Inca Major) a table saw is a must for hardwood furniture.

Nice saws WarnerConstruction [big grin]

Jack
 
smartcarpie said:
Darcy-

I've read a lot of your posts and looked at your website.  I like your style, very nice to see someone who cares about the old stuff and keeping it around a little longer.  Both machine and architecturally speaking.

I have spent a lot of time in front of a 20" American brand jointer, I think 1898 manufacture.  Great machine, munches the face right off wide flooring material.  Although I think if I got my sleeve caught you'd find me on the other end of the dust chute pretty fast.

Keep up the good work.

I run a 30" American Wood working machinery jointer from about 1915.  I have had 6 different jointers, from ball bearing direct drives and all sorts in between. The 30" is by far my favorite one.

I prefer traditional joinery, traditional materials and the houses of those times.

I am no fan of modern cabinet and furniture construction with sheet goods an edge banded mdf, there is no soul. 

Now a few sheets of mdo may make its way in my shop once a year though.

I love my big old machines, but I also love my festools.  I need both to eat.
 
By the time I get my TS55 out of the systainer, the cords/hose hooked up and all the fence set up on my MFT I can have the necessary cuts completed on my Sawstop.
 
WarnerConstCo. said:
You just need one of these for variety work:





The whitney is from 1932

And one of these to just do nothing but eat lumber:



I mounted my feeder on it and I did not mess with anything other then lubing the saw.

The greenlee 495 (I call it the Uglee) is form 1928.

Both 5hp DD.  14"blade in the 77, 16" blade in the 495

Sweet saws! thanks for showing.
I am currently cleaning up my 79' Powermatic 66. Love my tracksaw but my Powermatic is the center of my small shop.
 
WarnerConstCo. said:
smartcarpie said:
Darcy-

I've read a lot of your posts and looked at your website.  I like your style, very nice to see someone who cares about the old stuff and keeping it around a little longer.  Both machine and architecturally speaking.

I have spent a lot of time in front of a 20" American brand jointer, I think 1898 manufacture.  Great machine, munches the face right off wide flooring material.  Although I think if I got my sleeve caught you'd find me on the other end of the dust chute pretty fast.

Keep up the good work.

I run a 30" American Wood working machinery jointer from about 1915.  I have had 6 different jointers, from ball bearing direct drives and all sorts in between. The 30" is by far my favorite one.

I prefer traditional joinery, traditional materials and the houses of those times.

I am no fan of modern cabinet and furniture construction with sheet goods an edge banded mdf, there is no soul. 

Now a few sheets of mdo may make its way in my shop once a year though.

I love my big old machines, but I also love my festools.  I need both to eat.

The Whtiney 77 is sweet.  Looks like a million bucks and I'm sure it hums. 

I have done most of my work on early houses, and doing new work in historic style.  (Think cul de sac neighborhood customer who likes his location but loves old houses.  So we have been converting the interior room by room into a mix of Federal and Georgian styles, with both new and old material.)

I think things got really fun when the hand tool guys got their hand on some machinery to take out some of the time consuming grunt work like basic milling and sizing.  More time available to do some really cool stuff and intricate designs.  Too bad it didn't last long before standardization of sizes, profiles, etc came in full force and houses all began to look the same.

It was eye opening for me to dispell the notion of the old carpenters lovingly fitting everything, and how everyone took their time with building.  I think the reality is that they had to haul ass just like anyone else, work was competitive then too, and in growing towns the demand for housing must have been hard to keep up with.  And without a car or truck, a job 15 miles from home might as well have been 100.  I have worked with some guys who were trained in traditional hand joinery, watched them sizing material to width with hatchets, slicks and jack planes.  They move a lot faster than most people think they can, working at a furious pace.  I would have liked to have hung out at a production sash shop, with like 20 joiners all working to a quota.

Sorry to the OP if this thread drifted.  I haven't helped.
 
Here is what the 77 looked like when I brought it home.

It came from Hilrom, which was the hospital furniture division of the Batesville Casket Co.  It was taken out right before they had their big auction and was stored in horse barn for the last 8 years.





 
>>>It was eye opening for me to dispell the notion of the old carpenters lovingly fitting everything, and how everyone took their time with building.  I think the reality is that they had to haul  just like anyone else, work was competitive then too, and in growing towns the demand for housing must have been hard to keep up with.  And without a car or truck, a job 15 miles from home might as well have been 100.  I have worked with some guys who were trained in traditional hand joinery, watched them sizing material to width with hatchets, slicks and jack planes.  They move a lot faster than most people think they can, working at a furious pace.  I would have liked to have hung out at a production sash shop, with like 20 joiners all working to a quota.
 
Tinker-

Good on you for teaching your kids that stuff.  Valuable lessons. 

I have a mason friend whose son used to work with him.  He owned a backhoe for the big digging jobs.  But every spring he liked to do some serious digging by hand just so his son would learn to appreciate the machine, and why it was important to take care of it.  I never forgot that.  He's also the one that instilled in me why it's important to take time setting up solid scaffolds, even if it seems to be a waste of time it's quicker than learning to walk again.

My biggest carpentry mentor just entered his 42nd year of self employment.  He said when he started on jobs as a kid, some of the oldest carpenters still showed up wearing white shirts and ties to work.  Yes, they got dirty but they carried themselves with respect as gentlemen.  He still likes his white button downs to work in and left me with the notion of keeping a presentable appearance and acting the part of a pro. 

It's sad to see how many professionals are willing to conduct themselves at a job, no matter how talented they might be.
 
I think we are missing the point to his question. He is not saying that the relationship with the table saw would end, just be minimized in size.  I think if you are limited in space, a bosch 4100-09 portable table saw along with a using a TS55/mft is an excellent combination.  You could break down sheet goods with the track saw and use the bosch for other cuts suited for the table saw. Plus, you still have the Mft! 

The reason most people go to the Festool system is for reliability,  portability, requirements on minimal space and for dust collection.  The bosch falls under all these umbrellas.  I also think it is alo a smart choice because the dust collection is meant to be done with a shop vac (I.E. CT26). With a full size table saw you would then have to go with a larger dust collection system which means more space. I say best of both worlds. I am in the same boat. I was planning on getting a full size sawstop along with the full Festool system, but realized that would be unnecessary. The TS would not be my primary focus anymore and what can the Bosch not do?
 
I have a MFT/TS55 and. Sawstop Industrial table saw. If I had to give up one, it would be the TS55. I need the flexibility and extreme precision of a high quality table saw.
 
It depends on what you do.  I make custom furniture and cabinetry for a living and could not do without a table saw.  I own a mid 30's Oliver 14", a 1949 12" Delta, and two 1960's Delta Unisaws.  I have the luxury of a large shop and 3phase power.  The Oliver is just a beast that rips down 8/4 without blinking.  The 12" has an aftermarket sliding crosscut table and a mount for a power feed and gets used for a lot of carcass work.  The two Unisaws are side by side and get used the most, one is always set up with a dado.

I do some site work and installation work and tried to go without a portable table saw for almost a year, but broke down and bought the little Dewalt about six months ago (I owned several of the Ridgid job site saw over the last 13 years, still the best portable replacement for a cabinet saw IMO).  I don't need a table saw on site all the time, as my 55/75 take care of 70-75% of my on site needs, but a couple time a month I need the table saw.  I could get around it, but people pay me well for high quality work, and sometimes the table saw is the best tool when on site.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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