Looking for advice on table saw and jointer - Canada

[donwon]

I am located in northern Ontario Canada and will be travelling to Toronto soon.

I am looking for advice on which brands and stores to buy.  Keep in mind I am a weekend diy guy so don't make a living from this.

Table saw - does not have to be portable but a good setup for ripping plywood. Not necessary to be sawstop either. I do not have 220 volt and don't think I will need it for the work I do. 

Jointer - assume 6" will be find. I se king has one at $600 but wondering if there is a down side.

Thanks everyone.

 

[david.lock]

There 2 stores off the bat... Atlas Tool and supply this store is right down town they are a festool retailer and carry a huge amount of stuff big machines small machines and everything in-between. Be careful not to blink when approaching their address its a smaller storefront but don't let that fool you they know their stuff and have stuff right to the ceiling. Another option would be Mississauga Hardware, again another festool retailer. I have only have a few dealings with them they seem to be well stocked and again have a large selection.

If you wanted to dabble in busy bee tools you could there is a couple stores around the GTA (Concord, Mississauga, Pickering)
They have their own brand called craftex I have their 6" jointer and smaller dust collector, they are getting more and more popular and their prices reflected this I think I paid about 250$ for my 6" jointer and now the same one goes for around 400. If it's more of a hobby thing that may be a good bet.

They all have websites I would look at some options look at your budget

 

[nako]

Now that's a shopping trip!  I haven't been to the Atlas store in person, but they shipped me a Laguna bandsaw and the customer service was excellent.  Lee Valley has a couple of stores in Toronto and are also Festool dealers.  LV Customer service is very good, but not all staff are woodworkers.  I saw a Sawstop table saw there, but don't think they carry jointers.  I agree with david on the range of selection at Busy Bee for the price range you mentioned. 

 

[GhostFist]

There's a lee valley not far off from atlas on king street if you're up for browsing. The only tablesaws they stock are sawstops and they don't sell joiners. They have started carrying lathes of a particular brand but that's off topic. Never been to mississausage hardware, will have to check em out.  Busy bee would be perfect for hobbyist gear.

 

[Birdhunter]

I own a big Sawstop (Industrial model) and I don't use it for breaking down plywood sheets. I find using a tracksaw is much easier and, for me, much safer. I find the Festool TS55 is more than adequate for 3/4" plywood. A good shop vac is usually adequate for track saw dust collection. Be careful about static electricity as sawdust is explosive.

I believe the key to a good jointer is how accurate the indeed and outfeed tables are. If they are warped, you will never get good results. A $600 jointer sounds way too cheap. I'd sure want to be absolutely sure the indeed and outfeed tables are dead flat and can be fully adjusted.

You didn't mention a thickness planer. A jointer and a planer are usually both used to dimension wood. There are a number of European manufacturers who make combination jointer/planer machines.

A table saw, a jointer, and a planer all produce large amounts of debris. A high volume dust collector is usually required. Many have a 4" dust collector port if that gives you an idea of the air volume required.