New to Festool, New to Woodworking, and now totally broke LOL

[danmcph]

I am new to woodworking.  I love welding and now that I am building my new welding shop I decided to build my own cabinets for it, which got me to reading about woodworking and it looks really fun.  I don't have any woodworking experience other than building a bird house in boy scouts at age 12  [big grin]

I really hate buying crappy tools and having to buy again.  I like to buy the best I can right up front.  In this case that is dangerous because I don't know exactly what i want yet.  I just don't want to buy a tool that I have to fight the poor quality and the learning curve of a new hobby.

I just spent $15,000 on Festool stuff (don't tell my wife)  I got a track saw, domino, 4 sanders, jigsaw, 2 vacs (midi and ct36) 1400 router and a ton of sandpaper, accessories, sustainers etc.  I also got a Kapex and the MFT3 and Kapex MFT. 

I own a drill press already.  Powermatic mustard yellow floor model  [cool]

My total shop space is 64X44 and it is primarily auto and welding/fabrication.  I have set asides a walled off separated 25X28 area for woodworking.  I do not need to do finishing there as I can set up an area out in the main shop for that.  Also wood storage can go out in the main shop as well. 

Here is the question:

I plan on buying a J/P and a bandsaw.  I was wondering if I need a table saw given the tools I already have.  If I do, I was thinking a Hammer, Minimax, Felder etc.  (Unless I can get a good one from Harbor Freight  [tongue])

Do I need a slider or will the Kapex/TS55 be able to do everything I need to get done?  If it would be advisable to get a slider, how large should I get?  I assume I could use the TS55 to break big stuff down and the slider to take over from there.

I am trying to get this all figured out so that I can have everything in place when the new shop is completed in the next few months.

 

[sicd_steve]

Welcome Sucker to the world of tool addiction,,,lol we all have the disease.

I have the TS 75 And the TS 55 and the whole range of tracks except for the 5m !!!!
Damn that's big. I have the 3m version for 2.4m sheets.  I also have the cs70 table saw with the attachments . So as a combo I can make anything accurate. I wouldn't bother with a huge cumbersome sliding table saw takes too much room and I am getting chip free cuts on my laminated board using the special laminate blades.

So keep spending you will end up with all the Festool gear that they have, the best way I found to stop the addiction was to buy everything in there range and that's just what I did and I mean everything , my retailer gave me a bottle of Chivas  Regal
This Christmas as being his number one Festool buyer.....but now life is easy Noww all I have to do is wait for the next thing to be released.....lol

 

[Paul G]

Here is the question:

I plan on buying a J/P and a bandsaw. I was wondering if I need a table saw given the tools I already have.

A few suggestions: look back for other threads, the whole 'do I need a table saw' thing has been debated more times than I can remember. Often it's a space limitation question for small shops, that's not your situation so simply focusing on functionality I would definitely have a table saw. Second suggestion is since you've got a pile of tools already why not wait on the table saw till its lack is really felt in what you're trying to do. Save a spot for it in the shop and get busy building things. Lastly a big welcome and enjoy the adventure.

 

[wow]

First [member=46835]danmcph[/member], [welcome] to the FOG!

In order to approve your membership here we're going to need pictures of that purchase!

[poke] [big grin]

Just kidding about the "approve your membership" part, of course, but not about the needing pictures part. I'd LOVE to see pictures of THAT shipment!!!

Most of us get sucked in gradually - you seem to have gone 'all in' right from the beginning. Kudos to you, sir!

[thumbs up]

And Welcome to the FOG...and the addiction!

 

[HowardH]

My Hammer slider is the bee's knees.  It's safe, powerful, and will allow me to very accurately cut very thin slices. If you have the money, the Hammer A3-41 is a great purchase to get squared up lumber ready to rip.  I got the A3-31 and wish I had spent the extra to the additional 10 cm of planing width but that's ok.  There always seems to be a thread or two going on about needing a table saw vs. going all Festool and that is a very subjective subject.  In fact, I'm selling my Hammer saw in order the buy a few years old Felder F700 slider.  It's a beast and should be the last TS I'll ever need.  I also have a Kapex and if you are going to work with large, heavy boards to get them to size, I use the Kapex.  It's also a lot easier to just throw something on that rather than setting up the slider.  The Kapex is great but not a replacement for a TS if that's what you need. 

 

[#Tee]

yes! you did it the right way by starting off with the green if your wallet allows for it. i ended up selling my old saws, sanders and vacs. congrats and welcome! ;D

 

[Michael1960]

If I had the room I get a slider.  A good one helps perform accurate cuts quickly.  I don't have the room so I use a track saw and rails.
As for the ongoing debate about table saws...  There are many skilled woodworkers that get by with out one.  I am not one of them! I don't have the patience (& skill) to set up other tools to perform say a quick rip cut.  It's a individual decision.

 

[Stephen B]

Welcome . . . . .,., , my retailer gave me a bottle of Chivas  Regal
This Christmas as being his number one Festool buyer.....

He What!. [size=14pt]
Given there is around a 1:4 chance * we share the same Melbourne dealer Steve, I sure may have missed out here!  [eek] 

But then I certainly did not spend any where near the dollars you appear to have last year. However I do get a nice smile and personal greeting from him or his Festool staff when I walk in the door. [big grin]

[size=12pt]* only 1:2 if only the two larger dealers are considered.

 

[Mkholdings]

We won't tell your wife. But sleep with one eye open. Haha. Welcome to this addiction called FESTOOL. Enjoy your new toys

 

[Birdhunter]

If you enjoy the best tools, look at the Sawstop Industrial table saw. Not only an incredible piece of engineering, but it can save your fingers.

 

[jbasen]

Congratulations on all your new toys!

As others have said there is a significant debate on whether you need a table saw or not given the capabilities of Festool's saw.  Personally I fall on the table saw side of the debate.  +1 for the sawstop; especially now that it has an optional sliding table. I Only wish that my shop was close to the size of yours and then I would have the extra space to add the sliding table to my saw.

 

[danmcph]

I think that is good advice.  I am wondering if since I want a J/P and at some point will get a table saw if I should get a full combo machine right off the bat.  Thoughts on a full combo vs getting a J/P now and a sliding TS later?

 

[Iceclimber]

Hands down get a table saw. Sure you can do most anything without one but it sure makes most opperations so much more easy.

I am also in the process of building a fully functional workshop capable of building anything my heart desires.

I had a previous shop of mostly contractor tools that i could in all reality get just about anything i really wanted to done with. All be it painful at times, i could if i was motivated?

I replaced most of those tools much like you pretty much all at once. Well i spent about 12K over three months on Festools I dont regret it a bit. I was also selling muself on only needing a tracksaw and adopting the Festool system wholely.

I had myself convinced i did not need a table saw a commercial grade jointer, planer, drill press so fort and so on. And i guess i dont need alll those things but they sure will help and now with all the Festools purchased i sure as hell think i need them

My two cents are this. I just got a deal on a used Industrial 5 horse Sawstop "$1600" a real good deal! Once i had that i was onto worrying about full shop dust collection. After that i convinced myself i needed to replace my lunch box Dewalt planer and Craigslist 6" vintage Jointer for a Euro combo machine.

I thought at first Hammer was the pinnacle of machines and 12" being all i would ever need.

When i started to consider all the money i have and will be spending the differnece of a few grand on a machine really began to seem negligible when I was already looking at spending about 7K anyway. Sure 3K is a good start to another machine but nothing when you are talking about buying a toy vrs something that will last you forever.

In looking into Hammer vrs. Felder vrs Minimax i began to rethink my SawStop purchase. Once i realised that not only was i not going to buy the Hammer A3-31 but i was not going to purchase even the A3-41. Instead i was going to blast right by both of those machines for the Felder AD741 with every bell and whistle for a cost of double what i originally planned on spendingon that Hammer A3-31.

Anyway my point is now despite the deal i got on the SawStop i am thinking crap i shoulda purchased a used Felder slider. I actually found one today on Craigslist two years old for $4500. No its not the top of the line S series or whatever but i sure would rather see it in my shop over my SawStop. Not hat there is anything wrong with the SawStop its awesome!

Buy the best first and dont look back. Well unless you will not really use the stuff then save your money and dont even get started as you are about to drop another 20K easy in the coming months.

 

[jacko9]

Welcome to the woodworking world.  A table saw will give you great value and if you can afford a top quality slider, all the better.  First of all I would concentrate on the Jointer/Planer capability if you intend to do anything other than plywood construction but, you are off to a great start.

Jack