Ledzendrix1128 Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Im thinking about making an investment in a large machine to help make guitars. Which of these machines do you think is the most valued in a shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripper Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 You didn't put in a spot to vote for the refrigerator. Gotta #1 with the drill press right behind it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balooka Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 (Plunge)router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Since you didnt have a router listed I went with the drill press. I see a bandsaw as a huge convenience, one I wish I had but I dont think I would feel comfortable working w/out my router and drill press. A good router w/ a good table and you can do anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 that's a really tough question..i'd be at a loss without nearly any one of my shop tools but since i do a lot more in my shop than build guitars and there are many things that i do that i couldn't do without it the bandsaw gets my vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Definitely Drill Press, I don't own any stationary tools right now. The drill press is the first one I'm buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 drill press for sure. You can do a lot more than you think. Sanding, routing, and rough out holes. A good drill press is really a useful tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Router + the appropriate bits. You can thickness with it using a jig like Setch's. With a table+fence you've got a jointer. Those two things are (to me at least) the most difficult things to do by hand. Then you've got to make cavities for the pups, electronics and neck pocket...definitely router. Bandsaw #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 MILLING MACHINE!!!!!!!!! Bar none Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 To everyone who's said router so far - in his original post he said "large machine," and with the things included, I think he just means floor tools as opposed to hand tools. In that context, I'd probably have to say a nice bandsaw (you can do most drill press things with a press stand for a hand drill, although it doesn't work quite as well.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted October 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 To everyone who's said router so far - in his original post he said "large machine," and with the things included, I think he just means floor tools as opposed to hand tools.← Yeah, i agree, a router goes without saying, i classify that as more of a power tool. Im talking about large equipment. I dont know how you would build an electric guitar without a router... i have a crappy one, and i def need to invest in a better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 you can do most drill press things with a press stand for a hand drill, although it doesn't work quite as well. I had one of those for less than a day, then it went back to the store. It was too wobbly, I wouldn't trust one of those. I use my bandsaw, edge beltsander and drillpress the most. I like the bandsaw for it's convenience, but the drillpress for it's accuracy, which is an important factor to consider. I've used my thickness sander maybe two times in the year or so I've had it. Jointers are useful in conjuntion with a planer, but mine sucks so I use handplanes now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 (edited) I went for the drill press. Second would be a bandsaw but precision is not really required with a bandsaw. Eg. when cutting out a body most folks would cut a little outside their line and then fine tune the edge with a router and body template. I can do the same by cutting my initial body shape with my jigsaw. But drilling pretty much ALL holes requires that they be perpendicular to the face and the correct depth. I manage to get by with a hand drill, but on occasion have had the need for the precision (AND accuracy ) that only a drill press can provide . There is really no other way. Edited October 25, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Drill press. Doubles as one of the greatest torture devices I've ever had my hands on. Amazing what you can get someone to reveal, once they're strapped down to the drill press table, and have a drill bit tickling the top of their head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptt-Guitars Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 You forgot the wood chipper... Thickness sander for getting things to shape/size quickly.....now if only I had one? But drill press is definitly usefull! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Drill press. Doubles as one of the greatest torture devices I've ever had my hands on. Amazing what you can get someone to reveal, once they're strapped down to the drill press table, and have a drill bit tickling the top of their head. ← The most valuable piece of shop equipment is your brain. I saw Rick on American Chopper get a glove wrapped up in a bit on the drill press. Chewed his hand up pretty good. I've heard countless stories from my dad about guys in the machine shop losing body parts by not paying atttention. I've seen mechanics get fingers and hands caught in fan belts being careless. Remember, it doesn't matter what or how much equipment you have in the shop if you don't have the digits to operate it. Safety first. </soapbox> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Some Chinese bits make the drill press a whole lot of fun. I used a warped Chinese bit and you should have seen my big floor model drill press *literally* dance from top to bottom. In 5 seconds, the drill press was 15" from where it had been. I was forced to dance with it the whole time (good thing disco music wasn't playing or it might have went on much longer) Rick Turner was once saying how he knows people who lost fingers from power tools. I then asked for any details he could give me about how that happened to those people. He then said something like : "Well, they smoked a joint for lunch". Main "rules" with a drill-press : Clamp your work down (not with fingers alone, like I do sometimes, and get hurt from it now and then). And no warped bits, unless you love panic situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisonlespaul59 Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 CNC router, not mine but it is at my disposal in the shop i work in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 To everyone who's said router so far - in his original post he said "large machine," ← Point is...you can scratch some of those "large machines" off the list if you have a router, table, a jig or two, and a proper fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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