Your most disappointing woodworking purchase.

[jeh]

Sawstop CTS. The fence system is such a letdown compared to the geared offerings of Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc. Why they did not use it is beyond explanation.

 

[Holzhacker]

Rotozip, yeah I've got one of those somewhere in the shop. Don't think I've looked at it for years let a alone used it. It's good for 1/2" drywall but too dusty to use. Probably good for hobbyists working on 1/4" balsa wood.
I used to buy a lot of Ryobi years ago. As a young contractor it was what I could afford. That early Ryobi stuff was good.
Worst tools: any non-milwaukee sawzall,
the WCR, but that was me not the unit. Never could quite figure out good use of the thing

 

[live4ever]

Ah yes, the rotozip with circ saw attachment.  That thing never gets used.  Same with a Dewalt drywall router.

I just never got used to the router method of drywall cutting.  For me an oscillating tool, hole saws, and the Makita drywall saw (the lovechild of jigsaw and osc tool) are the way to go.

 

[mino]

In about 2008 I bough my first circular saw - a $60 one from a supermarket.

It had a pretty strong motor, the shaft bearings were so-so but the included blade was a disaster - which I did not know at the time.

I literally made one single cut with it. Resulted in so much chipping I have effectively destroyed about 3" of a plywood board each side of the cut. Finished the project with a jigsaw ...

It was my worst ever purchase. The worst was that I have (wrongly) concluded that "hand circular saws are useless for anything but rough carpentry". Instead of getting at least a proper blade for it ..

Took me almost 10 years until I gave a go to another circular saw - a $90 Parkside plunge saw. That one at least had good bearings and the rail helped a LOT. Still a pretty bad blade was included again. Thankfully, I needed to cut some chipboard and the blade burned it - so went googling and ended up with a $60 Pilana laminate cutting blade ... resulting in - to my amazement - a perfectly clean cut. The rest is history.

Since then I always emphasize to all friends not "into it" how horrible the included blades are and how useless the cheapo tools are for absolutely anything. The Makita SP6000J being the "cheapest usable" tool level I advise everyone.

Lots of folks buy "cheap" tools, get horrible cuts, and just give up. Thinking it is them/the tool type when they just got an incredibly bad blade included ...

 

[Sparktrician]

I have to admit that the RotoZip got me out of a problem 20 years ago.  One of my installers had installed a semi-custom wall-to-wall desk and in doing so covered up all the receptacles in the wall, and to make matters worse, he failed to put grommets in the desk surface for power and network cables.  The RotoZip very smartly cut the necessary holes to access the pre-existing receptacles, and a hole saw made very neat work of installing cable holes.  I have also used the RotoZip for custom-contouring tiles to fit around plumbing and other protrusions.  The rest of the time, it sits in its case for months at a time.  So far, I've managed to break only one bit.  It's pretty much a one-trick pony in my world, but it's the right tool when I need it.  [smile] 

As for a really useless tool, back in the '70s, I bought a Craftsman radial arm saw.  What a piece of junk that was!  Some time in the '80s, I donated it to the range where I shot frequently for cutting target stands. 

 

[daveg]

My Leigh D4 dovetail jig hangs on the wall most of the time. From day one, it has been impossible to set up correctly. It requires multiple test cuts for a given configuration. Even then, I end up with an offset between the edges of the pin board and tail board. I called support, but they were not able to resolve the problem. Eventually, I purchased a dovetail saw and a set of dovetail chisels from Lie-Nielsen and learned how to hand cut dovetails with good success.

 

[smorgasbord]

My Leigh D4 dovetail jig hangs on the wall most of the time.

Thanks for that. I'd also argue that buying cheap tools, like Ryobi, that don't work out is far less disappointing than buying expensive tools like the Leigh that don't work out.

 

[Packard]

I look for “reliable work horse” tools, rather than temperamental “race horse” tools.

Also single function tools that don’t require big changeover time for alternative functions.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Here's one, but not for the reason you might think: Felder A 951 L jointer:https://www.felder-group.com/en-us/...-jointers-planers-c1948/jointer-a-951-l-p3271

As I was first kitting out my Shop I started with a Hammer A3-41 jointer/planer combo. It was a nice enough machine, and great to get me started, but after a few years I had bumped up against what the machine could keep up with, and needed a new/different solution.

The standard advice for jointers and planers/thicknessers is to get separate, dedicated machines, if you can afford it. Well, business has been going well so I was prepared to replace the A3-41 with separates. After extensive research, I decided the Felder A 951 L jointer was the best fit for my needs, and was debating between the Felder and SCM thicknessers. To even out cash flow, I opted to start with the A 951 L jointer, reserving the A3-41 as a thicknesser until I could afford the dedicated planer/thicknesser.

I had marked out the machine locations on my floor with tape and spent a month or two working around the proposed layout prior to ordering the A 951 L. When I was confident it was the correct configuration, I ordered the jointer.

A few months later it arrived, and, oh, what a machine! The bed length was just shy of 9' long, 20" wide cutterblock, buttery smooth operation of the fence and in-feed table, and the 10hp motor never flinched at anything I fed it.

However, it quickly became apparent that I had goofed. The only way that separates would fit in my relatively compact shop was to place the thickness planer against a wall, nested behind the jointer. This "worked", but it also meant that every time I fed a board into the thickness planer, I needed to dash around a 9' long jointer to catch the board. Not a huge problem when processing entry door stiles, but it quickly became a chore to process shorter stock like rails.

After some heart-ache (and a LOT of steps!), I sold the A 951 L jointer, and replaced it with a SCM FS-52es combination jointer/planer. I compared some notes, and I've discovered that I spend less time converting from jointer to planer on the FS-52es than I did running around the dedicated jointer.

So, the A 951 L itself was a joy to use, but the decision to purchase it instead of a more capable combination machine was disappointing. Lesson learned: "Afford" refers not only to financial capacity, but also space capacity. In this case, I could financially afford separates, but my space dictated a combination machine.

Fortunately, I found a good home for the A 951 L at a local lumber yard, and the SCM FS-52es has been a solid performer.

As a side note, having had the opportunity to directly compare the Silent Power spiral cutterblock on the Felder and the Tersa cutterblock on the SCM, I'm going to say that, for my needs/uses (mostly VG Fir, White Oak, Sapele), I think the Tersa head provides a better finished surface than the spiral head. The thickness planer has four speeds, and it takes me just under two minutes to swap/rotate the blades. Therefore, I can remove stock with a "so-so" set of knives with a fast feed rate, then switch over to fresh knives and a slow feed for the finishing pass. 

 

[smorgasbord]

... I've discovered that I spend less time converting from jointer to planer on the FS-52es than I did running around the dedicated jointer.

...for my needs/uses (mostly VG Fir, White Oak, Sapele), I think the Tersa head provides a better finished surface than the spiral head. The thickness planer has four speeds, and it takes me just under two minutes to swap/rotate the blades. Therefore, I can remove stock with a "so-so" set of knives with a fast feed rate, then switch over to fresh knives and a slow feed for the finishing pass.

Wow, you just saved me a ton of headache!

I started out with an Inca 560 jointer/planer combo unit, which had the Tersa cutterhead (only 2 knives, though). I liked it enough, but the jointer tables were too short for the big pieces I was making and planned to make, so I traded it in, with some additional cash, for a MiniMax FS-350 jointer/planer combo unit. I liked the longer jointer tables and additional width, but knife changing was a nightmare for me and the thicknesser speed was too fast for the results I was looking for.

This was all last century, literally the 1990s. Anyway, I swapped the cutterhead for a 3-knife Tersa and that helped (had a mechanic do it for me). Then I took the back cover off to see if I could change gears to slow the feed speed down, and found that the "mechanism" started with a rubber tire-ed 20cm or so wheel that literally was pushed against the cutterhead shaft. Anyway, I replaced that wheel with a wooden pulley I made, bought an automotive belt, put a smaller pulley on my very old Craftsman corded drill (1980's vintage) with a router speed control box, and viola! thicknesser feed speed control.

The drill died recently and I couldn't find brushes for it, then found these drills sell on ebay for $10 more than the brushes would cost, so I just bought another.

But, now I've been contemplating a Shelix cutterhead for my MiniMax, or even getting separates with helix cutterheads since the portable thicknessers are so good and use rubber rollers that don't require a minimum depth of cut to cut out the grooved infeed roller marks.

Anyway, reading Tom's and seeing how he's happier with the Tersa I think has finally broke me of my "upgrade" plans. My drill-powered feeder for the MiniMax with Tersaw is what I'm going to stick with, and any money I spend on having lots of Tersa blades on hand is nothing compared to what that upgrade would have cost.

I should probably swap out the drill for one that has a larger range of RPMs - it maxes out at 1200, which is slower than the old MiniMax standard feed. That's fine for the final passes, but too slow for the initial roughing passes. Oh, the Craftsman drill is threaded on both sides for a torque handle, so attaching the drill to the MiniMax was every straightforward.

Sorry to ramble, but this is a major thinking burden off my mind! Thanks again!

 

[Packard]

Are wide belt sanders a viable option for thickness planing?

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Hi Smorgsboard!

Glad my experience was helpful. I should be clear, the Felder Silent Power cutterblock is great. There is a definite improvement on the 120mm diameter cutterblock on the A 951 L versus the 75mm diameter cutterblock on the A3-41, so diameter definitely plays a roll.

In my mind, the real benefit of Tersa is:
-- Fast knife changes, allowing you to put on a fresh/primo set of knives when you need them
-- Ability to adjust the blade properties to match the wood

I've been mostly using the HSS blades for VF Fir and Pine, and the M+ blades for White Oak, Sapele, Maple, and other hardwoods, but I'm curious to learn more about the Tersa knives from Rangate with the NaDia coating:https://rangate.com/products/tersa-knives

My Hammer A3-41 uses a similar drive system to what you were describing, where the planer feed rollers engage/disengage via a urethane-coated wheel. On the FS-52es (and the FS-41es), it's a sealed transmission system. The FS-52es offers four feed speeds, I think the FS-41es only has two.

 

[cpw]

My Hammer A3-41 uses a similar drive system to what you were describing, where the planer feed rollers engage/disengage via a urethane-coated wheel. On the FS-52es (and the FS-41es), it's a sealed transmission system. The FS-52es offers four feed speeds, I think the FS-41es only has two.

My FS41e has 2 speeds.  12 m/min and 6 m/min.

 

[smorgasbord]

There is a definite improvement on the 120mm diameter cutterblock on the A 951 L versus the 75mm diameter cutterblock on the A3-41, so diameter definitely plays a roll.

I don't know the diameter of my MiniMax cutterhead (I'm away on vacation), but it's closer to 75mm than 120mm. This again is helpful, as I can't increase the diameter if I were to upgrade to spiral.

I've been mostly using the HSS blades for VF Fir and Pine, and the M+ blades for White Oak, Sapele, Maple, and other hardwoods, but I'm curious to learn more about the Tersa knives from Rangate with the NaDia coating:https://rangate.com/products/tersa-knives

I've been pretty happy with the M+ blades, as I use hardwoods exclusively. I was thinking of investing in a carbide set, to use for preliminary cuts, swapping to fresh M+ for final passes.

I looked at the Rangate site - they don't make big blades and suggest you stack them together. Which I could see working, except I need 350mm and I can't figure what combination of  100mm, 130mm, 230mm, 300mm and 310mm gets me there. And then there's the price. For 360mm I could stack a 230 and a 130, but for 3 knives that would cost $399 versus $309 for the carbide.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Hi Smorgasbord,

Yes cutterblock diameter will definitely inform the cut quality, and was a consideration me as I narrowed down machines. The FS-52es has a 120mm diameter cutterblock (same as the A 951 L), whereas the FS-42es has a 95mm diameter cutterblock, not sure about the other SCM combo machines.

I’ll be traveling with some of the Rangate team this week, I’ll ask some more questions about the NaDia Tersa knives and share my learnings with you via private message.

 

[smorgasbord]

Sorry to have hijacked this thread. Trying to think of my most disappointing purchase, I come up with:

Delta Biscuit Joiner: Here's a thread with pictures:https://www.lumberjocks.com/threads/tweaking-a-delta-32-100-plate-joiner.44378/

This is a stationary biscuit joiner. It's got a table you adjust up and down, a screw-down hold-down, and a foot pedal to feed the blade in, so you could for some pieces just hold the piece with two hands and step on the pedal. The motor was powerful enough, but keeping the table parallel to the blade was almost impossible, and table angles (for end miters, for instance) were even more finicky. And, it didn't do the extra depth for the larger S-6(?) biscuits. I sold it.

I also spent a lot of money on a set of Magna-set planer knife alignment aides. These are semi-circular devices with magnets that stick to your cutterhead and then a set that stick to your knives to hold them in place while you tighten. They lack indexing, so while they can help keep the knives parallel to the cutterhead, the amount they stick out can still vary. I hope I sold them - I have a box with a dozen such tools that I've been meaning to photograph and list on eBay....

 

[Packard]

My Porter Cable biscuit joiner is perhaps my least used piece of woodworking equipment.  The fault lies in me. 

I never really learned how to use it.  And I automatically fall back on dowels as my default joinery method.

I have vowed to try it for attaching face frames to cabinet carcasses.  I really object to exposed pocket hole fasteners.  The biscuits would be stronger than nails, quicker than dowels (or dominoes, which I don’t use), and not visible in the final product.

So, I will dust off the P-C case and give it a go on the next cabinet.  But for the past 25 years, a disappointment.

 

[luvmytoolz]

My Porter Cable biscuit joiner is perhaps my least used piece of woodworking equipment.  The fault lies in me. 

I never really learned how to use it.  And I automatically fall back on dowels as my default joinery method.

I have vowed to try it for attaching face frames to cabinet carcasses.  I really object to exposed pocket hole fasteners.  The biscuits would be stronger than nails, quicker than dowels (or dominoes, which I don’t use), and not visible in the final product.

So, I will dust off the P-C case and give it a go on the next cabinet.  But for the past 25 years, a disappointment.

I see a lot of people bag biscuit joiners, and while I don't use my trusty old ELU DS140 much now since getting the Domino's and Zeta, they are really handy when you need them. I built all my kitchen cupboards using my biscuit joiner, and 20 years later not a single joint has opened up or given any issue, and my wife actually stands on the bench when cleaning the cornice!

And I don't care what anyone says about biscuits providing no benefit, the extra glue surface most definitely adds to the strength I've found.

 

[smorgasbord]

And I don't care what anyone says about biscuits providing no benefit, the extra glue surface most definitely adds to the strength I've found.

I agree. I built a baby changing table out of ⅝" stock with 1&¼" corner posts using biscuits and it's held up for 3 decades now, including being used by 3 couples and then being in a non-climate controlled utility shed for the past decade. I also have drawers in my bathroom cabinets with ½" sides that are biscuit joined to ½" drawer fronts with biscuits that have held up probably 20 years now. Those drawers get used multiple times every day.

The baby changing table was one of my first projects, and it suffers from the Delta Biscuit Joiner's table non-parallelness. Only I seemed to be able to see the crookedness of the sides to the posts for some reason (Birds-eye maple) though. The drawer biscuits were done with a Lamello Top-20, so the slots are pretty tight. I can't remember if I used two 20's or a single S-6 at each corner though. Probably a single S-6 for the less deep drawers, I was a big fan of those back in the day.

 

[Holzhacker]

Wow, I always wanted that PC biscuit joiner. Back years ago I couldn't afford it so I bought the Skil version. Still have it and use it regularly.
I know some are biscuit haters but I love biscuits. Cut the slots quick, throw in a 0 or 10 and I know those planes aren't coming apart. I tend to use it on vintage larger trims I'm re-installing.
Also use it for the regular uses.