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Looking For Tools Plz Help


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Drill Press: with enough reach to do bridge studs/furthest hole. Probably means 16" or so. Mine's a bit small, and a bit cheap, and I kinda want to replace it. I believe it's pretty wimpy, a mere 1/4 HP, which is enough for basic drum sanding, drilling headstock tuner holes in maple (with sharp bits, slow feed), that sort of thing.

Bandsaw...what do you want to do with it? Cut solidbodies? Resaw? Something else? Most folks seem to reccomend 14" bandsaws as minimum starting points. Can be tricked out with riser block, etc.

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Where do you live? And what kind of budget have you got? What kind of use are you planning on making of them (professional, just a couple of guitars per year, what kinds of guitars?)

In the US, Grizzly's higher end stuff is getting a soild rep, and there are tons of tool stores to choose from. I'd look around your local area and very seriously keep an eye on Craiglist or local classifieds. The 'old stuff', particularly bandsaws, can be very good stuff.

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You can get a very basic drill press that'll do what you want it to, and probably last OK (say the Grizzly Radial drill press, which will go the depth, no clue how 'solid' the whole construction is, though) for 175 bucks. As for basic entry-level bandsaws (entry level in the 'you can resaw with them and they're fine for guitarbuilding' sort of way) I've heard a few good things about Ridgid bandsaws, although I've never seen one, etc. will run around the 350 dollar mark (Home Depot). You'll have to add another 70-100 for a riser block. So I estimate we're looking at a minimum expenditure of 500-600 dollars, all told. If you want to buy a new bandsaw that'll resaw out of the box, you're looking at something more like the 1000 dollar mark (one of Grizzly's 'ultimate resaw' saws) all the way to 2000+ for a 16" MiniMax (f'r example). I'm paying 750 euros (which is about 850 dollars these days) for a 22 year old saw in pristine condition, and I'm getting a very fair deal. Should last me another 22 years, easy, if I take good care of it.

Look around on the second-hand market, see what you can dig up.

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I think, personally, all these things are subjective. I mean people do say to get a 14" bandsaw blah blah. THat's all very well if you can afford it. i've got a lil 10" (SIP one) and its fine for most stuff (rough sawing bodies, necks etc) i use a friends 18" (nice) for resawing anything. As for drill presses, cheap ones are ok for most stuff, but as with everything go for the best you can afford.

S

:D

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True. He did say he wants to resaw, in which case 14"+Riser is kind of a necessity. If I had limited space, I probably would've gotten one of those 12" Elektra Beckum saws for doing everything but resawing. Thankfully, I don't need to compromise on that..

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Garage sales, flea markets, and pawn shops. While you're in the pawn shops, be sure to look for cool guitars for cheap.

I couldn't agree more. Some might say I sound like a broken record, but estate auctions are also an excellent source for cheap tools. Got a Delta 14" enclosed base wood/metal cutting bandsaw for $170 at an auction. Oh, and eBay. I just bought a really nice 6" Jet jointer off eBay for $200. So your price points are achievable, just maybe not buying brand new tools. Check out your local 'trading post' publication or auctionzip.com to find upcoming auctions in your area.

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