So I bought a 1948 Delta Rockwell Unisaw. It is great. Frigging tank! 3 HP motor with 3 belts, single phase, and in really good condition. Biesemeyer fence. I love it. Electrician is coming next week to add a 240V outlet in the garage. Actually two outlets---one more for a serious garage heater for working in the winter. Already have a drill press, band saw, belt sander and lots of power hand tools. I need a jointer and a planer. I am thinking of buying old heavy Delta stuff. Any recs for certain models and years? I am an amateur, and I know there are some serious wood-workers here on SF. Thanks in advance.

I'm not a pro, but would offer a bit of advice:

BE CAREFUL and never work tired.

Those old tools are well made and work great, but lack many of the modern design and safety features. Your fingers will appreciate your undivided attention to the task at hand.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
I'm not a pro, but would offer a bit of advice:

BE CAREFUL and never work tired.

Those old tools are well made and work great, but lack many of the modern design and safety features. Your fingers will appreciate your undivided attention to the task at hand.

Yes I agree. I am super careful. I treat those machines like a loaded gun.

Delta DJ20 is one of the gold standards in jointers on the used market but you usually have to be quick and lucky to snag a good deal.

Dewalt 735 is probably one of the most widely used planers on the market today. It's a whiny lunchbox planer but it's a pretty good little box.

I don't have a ton of room so last year I wound up buying a Jet combo machine with the helical head and I've been very happy with it so far.

Above all else just make sure you get an 8" or larger jointer. If you get a 6" you'll probably outgrow it and buy an 8" later but at least you'll recoup most if not all of your money when you sell the 6".

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Delta DJ20 is one of the gold standards in jointers on the used market but you usually have to be quick and lucky to snag a good deal.

Dewalt 735 is probably one of the most widely used planers on the market today. It's a whiny lunchbox planer but it's a pretty good little box.

I don't have a ton of room so last year I wound up buying a Jet combo machine with the helical head and I've been very happy with it so far.

Above all else just make sure you get an 8" or larger jointer. If you get a 6" you'll probably outgrow it and buy an 8" later but at least you'll recoup most if not all of your money when you sell the 6".

This is exactly the info I am seeking. Thank you so much.

If you get a 40 gallon or larger air compressor it will probably be 220 (220, 230, 240 whatever you call it) volt, so more 220 outlets would not be a bad idea. If you use air tools on a consistent basis you'll want a large compressor. Ditto on 220 for a large planer.

You can apply the same reasoning to 110 outlets, have more than you think you need now.

If you think 4 overhead lights will do, put in 6 to 8, If you think you need 8 lights plan for 10 to 12. Unless you sheetrock and paint your walls the bare studs and sheathing will absorb light, not reflect it.

Start planning for a dust control system now. My current one is a box fan with a furnace filter duct taped to it. Someday when I have the space I will get something better. Wear a mask in the shop when making sawdust. Now I'm 65 I can't handle the dust like when I was 30 and didn't use a mask, maybe that's why I can't handle the dust now.

Get or build a featherboard to reduce the chance of kickback, Get or make tools to push the wood through the saw. Keep your fingers away from any cutting blade, use those push tools. No gloves when working with power tools and no loose long sleeves, I bought a lab coat to keep the dust off of me AND to have snug sleeves. Wear eye and hearing protection. I shelled out $3000 for hearing aids because I was invincible in my younger days and didn't need hearing protection. Luck probably prevented me from having an eye injury.

Get lots of pipe clamps, the 1/2 inch are not much good except for small projects so get the 3/4 inch ones.

Someday you will need a workbench, make it heavy, very heavy. Even if you bolt it to the wall you'll need mass to absorb shock and vibration.

I started out buying Sears and Black & Decker power tools. They wore out in less than 5 years. I then bought Makita, Porter Cable, and DeWalt power tools and they are pushing 30 years old now. I hope they are still good brands. Jet and Powermatic were good brands for floor power tools. Old Delta/Rockwell was good stuff, now Delta makes so so and a good quality tools. If it's 100 bucks then its a so so quality.

I'll say it one more time: Control dust, wear hearing and eye protection, keep fingers away from moving sharp things, no loose clothing. And save the beer until after your finished and cleaned up the shop.

I second the advice about dust collections, you can't have enough. If you are on a tight budget like the rest of us you can start with the 2HP Harbor Freight DC for about $170 if you catch a sale but it is a loud, power hungry beast with only 5um filtration. I opted to go with the G0548ZP from Grizzly and I have been happy with it for the last couple years. It does have 1um filtration but does need a 240v feed.

Another piece of advice, make sure your lights are on a different circuit than your 120v tools. The last thing you want to do is trip a breaker that your tool is plugged into and also loose the lights. It happened to me and wasn't fun.

Larger 120 tools like compressors, dust collectors and saws should have their own dedicated circuits.

I have Rigid planer and jointers, they work just fine for my amateur needs. Bought them... well... in the 90’s? Hell, I don’t remember. They are solid, basic, get the job done tools.

But if you could get classic Delta tools, jump on it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jahoonay:
I second the advice about dust collections, you can't have enough. If you are on a tight budget like the rest of us you can start with the 2HP Harbor Freight DC for about $170 if you catch a sale but it is a loud, power hungry beast with only 5um filtration. I opted to go with the G0548ZP from Grizzly and I have been happy with it for the last couple years. It does have 1um filtration but does need a 240v feed.

Another piece of advice, make sure your lights are on a different circuit than your 120v tools. The last thing you want to do is trip a breaker that your tool is plugged into and also loose the lights. It happened to me and wasn't fun.

Larger 120 tools like compressors, dust collectors and saws should have their own dedicated circuits.

For my small shop needs, a 5 gallon bucket with a cyclone lid and a shop vac have worked well. I might would start that way with a larger shop footprint, get a feel of how I would want to set up permanent dust collection.

Not one of your questions, but, if you haven't found them yet, vintagemachinery.org and owwm.org have a lot of information on older machines.

Dust collection is a must.
A planer or joiner without dust collection will make you VERY unhappy. Something like this greatly improves chip separation.
https://www.woodcraft.com/prod...-AOviKwaAirOEALw_wcB

More 240v outlets. With big equipment like your saw (and from your reaction to the DJ20) you will need the outlets. You do not want to be playing with cords as you are working.

I've got a 2 stage Laguna dust collector but everything I ever read about the Harbor Freight collector was positive. It's very easy to make it a 2 stage with a trash can separator and the filter can be upgraded if desired.

Put all your 110 circuits on #12 wire with 20 amp breakers.

That way you don't have to remember which outlet you can plug your big chop saw into without tripping a breaker on a tough cut.

I service, maintained industrial woodworking equipment for many years. Had a wood working shop for several years also. Also suggest a dust collector system. I had an Oneida, metal trunks, blast gates, cyclone....

I've had my hands on many planers, Poweramtics are it. Older Powermatic 100 would be a great choice, very well built. If you happen to find one, check the pressure bar with a straight edge for flatness. A warn bar will be cupped in the center. Can be fixed on a mill if the price is right.

Need any help squaring your table saw, glad to help.

As far as jointers, I have a Boyce Crane jointer. 7’ bed (yes, seven feet) x 8” head. 220v, single phase. Very good machine, maybe you can find one. My planer is on the other end of quality machines, it is a suitcase type Jet. Does an incredible job. I am working walnut with it. Plane wood first, then I am ready to sand with 220 grit on a Bosch random orbital sander. Ready for finish. Really.

As far as dust collection, I have had my shop in the basement since 1988, no collector installed yet. Good shop vac, occasional cleaning.

One more suggestion, unless you use it ONLY for cutoff work, don’t have a radial arm saw in the shop. As a shop teacher I believe the machine to be about the most dangerous one around. A chop saw easily replaces it. Tablesaw does everything else.

Dont count out old Walker Turner products. They made very nice jointers, drill presses etc. Also old Powermatic. You will find a lot on Craigslist.

Some say that a table saw belongs in the middle of a shop floor. I tend to go along with that philosophy.

Check out the owwm.com website. There is a wealth of information there for old wood and metal working machines.
Some will make you drool.

this is all you need

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
this is all you need

Is that yours? Wow!

IME heat in the wintertime is insufficient.

I was going to try my hand at fine woodworking. Ultimately dropped it for two reasons: Probably the most important being I simply don't have the patience for it, if I'm being honest with myself.
But the other reason was the garage was the only space available, and I found myself fighting the temperature and humidity extremes as much as getting any actual woodworking done.

You're going to want breathable covers for all of your cast iron and bare steel fixed tools--hung in such a manner so as to keep them from touching the unpainted metal.

I was going to recommend an alignment tool called the "TS Aligner Jr.," but it appears the product is no longer being made. I used one to tune my Delta 10" Contractor's Saw. Even with the stock fence, which isn't all that great, I was able to achieve remarkable accuracy/repeatability after that. (I also lapped the cast iron wings.)

 
Already on your list, you have the table saw, and the next most important is a good 8" jointer (Powermatic). You can do so many things on a jointer most people doe't even consider, like tapering, raising panels, heavy duty rabbeting, and so on. Get one that has at least a 1/2" depth of cut.