Need help buying $2,000 worth of tools!!

[TheRic]

OK people after much digging, thinking, planning....Ok a heck of a lot of begging , and asking at the right time . I have been approved to buy $2,000 in tools at Home Depot during their sale, which will only cost about $1,500. I will probably be buying stuff this weekend. Since I'm getting it at Home Depot, things like Grizzly this or that are out . The item also needs to be approved for their "Ultimate Power Deal".

I do like / am leaning toward Ridgid items. I manly like the Limited Lifetime Warranty. IMHO in general they normally do well in reviews / tests as a whole. I am open to other suggestions, but remember it has to be sold at Home Depot. My shop is a 1 car garage that is shared with things like Lawn mower, snow thrower, bikes, etc, so small/compact is a plus. This will probably be the last time I will be able to buy something substantial for a while , so choose wisely!

Main list of things to get
Ridgid Joiner $399
Ridgid Planer $379
Ridgid Bandsaw $349
Ridgid Oscillating Belt Sander $199

Sub Total $1326

Items I'm thinking about getting (WAS going to get down the road), in no particular order / need.

Drill Press
Miter Saw
Bench Grinder
Ridgid Flip Table
Extra Planer and / or joiner Blades
Tool Chest (been thinking about making my own)
Larger Air Compressor (current one cuts out times, I think a bad overheat sensor).


Woodworking tools I have are: BT3100, HF Dust Collector (still in it's box ) ,Craftsman belt sander, Ryobi combo router, Craftsman ¼ sheet palm sander, Ridgid 6” ROS, Porter Cable Biscuit Jointer, various size drills (corded & cordless), circular saws (corded & cordless), Ridgid 18G Brad Nailer, Ridgid 16G Straight Nailer, Ridgid cordless hand planer, Campbell Hausfeld 7 1/2 Gallon Air Compressor, Holbren router bit sets, 16 Gal wet/dry vac (with Hepa Filter), Lumber Wizard large & small, Porter Cable Omni Jig 24", some various types of small clamps (24” and under), cheap chisel set, cheap drill bits, levels, squares, rulers, tape measures, etc.

If any one local wants to go together and get some things, that is fine also!! I can then buy something a little better later, AND it will make things on the home front a little better .

[drumpriest]

Yeah, if you have to get it at Home Depot, that list looks pretty good. I would suggest looking at a better router combo. The ridgid or dewalt's 618 would serve you better than your ryobi. I had 2 ryobi kits, and they are OK, but really can't compare to the better setups.

All of those ridgid tools have done will in reviews. The only one I'd worry about is the bandsaw at 3/4 hp, depends upon whether or not you are going to resaw with it. It's a bit underpowered for serious resawing, but general stuff, it's fine.

[TheRic]

Sorry forgot to add that I also have Triton 3 1/4 Router that I plan to make into a table router.

I plan to do some resawing, got some old 7"X7"X15' barn beams that I need to cut down to start with. Might buy some more barn beams if it works out. Also have a Hard Maple tree that I HAD to cut down a few years ago. Have not had a chance to split the logs, thinking about using them since I saw the article in Wood (or another) magazine. If I had to change band saws what would you suggest!?

[p8ntblr]

Besides your main list I think I would go with the CMS (SCMS if you can swing it) and add an MSUV. Also either another MSUV or planer stand for the planer. And probably extra blades and knives. Although for the knives you may want to go with Infinity.

Have you thought about a Dewalt planer instead. I have the DW735 and absolutely love mine. But then again, I've seen some pretty good reviews about the Ridgid and the Dewalt is $549.

What ever you get I'm sure you'll be happy. Let us know what you end up getting.

[LCHIEN]

if you are going to be cutting a lot of those beams I'd look at a Euro style 14" BS (like the 14" craftsman or the Rikon that Ken Massingale just got that will take 8 or 9" resaw without a riser. Or maybe something even better with a little more power and heft. Those are big beams.

[drumpriest]

Yeah, if you are in 14" range, I'd probably go with the Ricon that has a 13" resaw and a 1 1/2 hp motor. I have the 14" craftsman, which has an 8" resaw cap. It works well enough. They are Euro saws, can't take a riser, and the motors are designed to actually saw what the machine can handle.

If you put a riser on the ridgid, and try to resaw 10-12" hard maple, good luck.

If you can afford a larger saw, that'd be good too. Like a 16" to 18" range, a jet or steel city, or powermatic, etc....

Anyway, none of these are available from the home depot. The Ridgid is the biggest that they'll have for the sale, I'm sure.

[DIYJC]

Wow! I don't have anything to add to what's already been said suggestion-wise, but did want to say congratulations! Your project capabilities should jump up quite a bit after all the great tool additions!

[Popeye]

I didn't see a trim router. Since I got my little Ridgid I havn't used anything thing else for a hand held. The Bosch Colt is better but I don't think HD sells it. I've got no complaints with my Ridgid though. Pat

[LarryG]

Whatever color your garage walls are painted, I sure hope it goes with orange.

I agree with the comments that the one weak link in this Ridgid chain might be the band saw.

On your "thinking" list ... you'll use a drill press and a miter saw more than you can possibly realize. Tough choice between the two; I guess I'd say that if you are able to do all your crosscuts on your BT without serious hassle, get the DP. Otherwise, you're back to a very tough choice. Maybe consider a benchtop DP: I have a floor model, but IMO a benchtop DP suffers less for being scaled down in size than most tools, like jointers and table saws. As regards a CMS, I would not advise buying a cheap model just so you can say you have one. A cheap CMS that won't cut straight is worse than useless. If you get one, get either a 10" slider or a 12" fixed-head minimum and a 12" slider if you can afford it. (But beware the DeWalt 718 that HD sells: very, very bad reviews on this model.)

Popeye's suggestion for a trim router deserves some thought. And I don't see a random-orbit sander on any of your lists.

Lastly, concerning the Ridgid flip-top stands, definitely get one of these. In fact, while you're at it, get two.

[BrazosJake]

What kind of wood are the barn beams?

That's some pretty intense resawing, you would need to add a riser block to the Ridgid, which I don't believe you can get via HD. I've read that the Jet and/or Grizzly will work as the 14" Taiwan saws are all pretty much the same.

You'll want mobile bases for everything. If you can find them, the Herc-U-Lifts for the planer and BS and something heavier for the jointer (you may be able to find something at Lowes). If you don't already have a mobile base on the BT3, I think the herc will work on it as well.

[thrytis]

Are you limited to buying in store, or can you buy from homedepot.com? They have more selection online, such as a Delta 18" 2HP bandsaw. With the $500 rebate, the prices might not be too bad even with shipping. The X5 Unisaw for example is under $1600 shipped after rebates.

[TheRic]

If I go with a bigger bandsaw, which means not getting it from HD, then I'll probably change what I'm going to buy. I'll probably only get the Ridgid Joiner, Planer, Oscillating Belt Sander, and buy them in two groups $400 range and $600 range.

I don't have a problem with not getting everything, in some ways I kind of like not getting everything at once. Yea you heard me right, it just seems like TOO much at one time. This also allows me to get some things down the road, that I might need that I can't even think about now or is not sold at HD.

Barn beams: The barn beams (6 of them at 7"X7"X15') are well weathered, they have cracks in them about 1/4" to as much as 1" deep. I was figuring on using a chainsaw with a guide to trim off the weathered sides. Once I get them trimmed, they would be down to about 6 - 6 1/2" X 6 - 6 1/2" maybe a little less at times. Then cutting them to what length I needed. Figured they would then work on the joiner and planer. Figured the BT3100 could rip them, would have to flip them to cut thru.

Hard maple logs: This is something that just came up recently. Thought about doing something like this before but questioned it in my mind, the Wood magazine made me realize it's practical. The logs are about 16" long so I'm not going to make a bookcase out if it. Thought about stagger the wood which I'm not sure on strength if it will work, but that's another topic later. I also have another Hard Maple tree I might have to take down, 1/3 + is dead and whats left is would make it lopsided.

SO after reading the info on the lumber, would I be better off getting a larger bandsaw from someplace else? I have 100 Amp service in the garage, so 220V is not a problem. Space is a high commodity. OR am I just trying to do too much?

[LarryG]

I don't have a problem with not getting everything, in some ways I kind of like not getting everything at once. Yea you heard me right, it just seems like TOO much at one time. This also allows me to get some things down the road, that I might need that I can't even think about now or is not sold at HD.

There's a certain amount of wisdom in this. If you get too many new tools in too short a time, you may not learn how to properly set up and use each one as well as if you'd acquired them over a longer period (DAMHIKT). It also helps guard against impulse buys just because there's a target of opportunity there.

OTOH, if you're going to be working with rough lumber from a sawmill, a jointer and planer are the Dynamic Duo; and if you're going to be resawing your own boards, adding a band saw makes the Three Musketeers. A lot of guys have to decide between a jointer or a planer and get by without the other for a while, but you really need to buy both at the same time because they do different but complementing jobs. And a bandsaw is, like a drill press, a tool that almost everyone uses more than they might think, even if there's not a lot of resawing involved. Add a heavy resawing requirement to the mix and now you really need all three of these tools in order to do what you're trying to do. So from this standpoint, your purchasing plans make perfect sense.

What kind of projects do you anticipate building? If you're going to mostly build rectilinear stuff (cabinets, bookshelves, Mission-style furniture) then you could probably suffer a little with your impending resawing job on the Ridgid band saw and from then on get by just fine. But if you're going to build a lot of furniture with curves, and/or do much more resawing in future, then you probably ought to look at a different model.

I have, as you may know, the Grizzly G0555. For the money I spent, I'd happily choose it again; but looking at the bigger picture, if I had it to do over, I'd spend more and get something like the Rikon 10-325 that Ken Massingale just got, for exactly the reasons Keith says: 1.5HP and a 13" resaw capacity, straight out of the box. Costs more, but does more. FWIW.

[leehljp]

I can't believe no one is recomending the DRILL PRESS from the second list! Going from a hand held drill to a drill press is like moving from a circular saw to a fine table saw.

A good drill press is a basic need for most any shop.

Table saw
Band Saw
Thickness planer
Jointer
Drill Press

A drill press will be in the top three tools in 99% of shops for a reason.

[Cheeky]

Ric,

to really stretch your dollar, i would sign up ASAP for a lowesmoving.com (hd accepts lowes coupons) and homedepotmoving.com coupon.

hopefully you'll get it via email (i usually do in 2 days) by the 11th, when the event ends.