My dilemma

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I've been doing some half laps by hand with a tenon saw and chisel . I'm working on a set of doors for my garage, been enjoying it but boy are they time consuming
 

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Another option is the Hikoki C8FSHGJ1Z which is also compact and cheap and does have a trench stop. I did some half laps with it, and others said, didn't work very well!

Yea looks good I'm tempted , I've got hikoki 18v combi drill & impact driver set , really like them
 
I live in South Wales it rains A LOT so powertools outside isn't always an option lol !

In a 12 x 8 shed your going to have serious problems fitting that all in & being able to use it, I am guessing that the shed is not empty, you have some sort of bench & other tools already. I don't own a table saw because of the amount of real estate they take up. It's not just the physical size but the amount of space around it you need. The sort of thing I do means that a table saw isn't an essential fortunately.
Same applies to any of the other tools if you have long lengths to work with. Oh & as others have said with any sort of thicknesser you are going to need some sort of extraction/chip collection.
 
I have increasingly put more tools onto movable cabinets on (lockable) castors. Now includes lunchbox thicknesser, 6" planer, router table, mitre saw. Considering doing likewise for bandsaw and pillar drill.

I have a single garage devoted to the workshop + a further garage for a bit of overflow + general "junk" (bikes, paint, decorating kit, lawnmower etc etc).

This stops them taking up much space when not in use, and cabinets below provide storage. As the garage is 5.5m long most items can be machined simply by pulling it out to the centre and rarely need to move them outside. I have a couple of roller stands to support long items.

I also have some basic extraction - it means all machines can be moved to make use of a single point which serves as both workshop vacuum and extraction using a blast gate.
 
I bought the bosch 216mm mitre saw last year - BOSCH 0601B19170 GCM8SJL - very nice... almost accurate out of the box, and by almost I mean "perfectly good for most people", it had a 1mm discrepancy over a 300mm cut length, but is very easily tweaked and corrected.

Very smooth action with no "wobble" on the sliding bars compared to others that I've used, better than average dust collection when attached to a vac as it has a secondary dust collection port fixed near the blade. Good power on the motor, soft start and brake; an accurate laser line (which is a first) and good depth of cut.

Can occasionally be had on sale for around £220 which is what I paid for it. Having a mitre saw that cuts an ACCURATE 90 deg both ways (and accurate 45) right off the cut is a game changer, as all the others I have used or owned did not, leading to boxes that were not square - highly annoying.

Don't be fooled by peoples reviews of "accurate" for anything cheaper - the Evolution models for example - not accurate and even when tweaked will slip out of accurate, or the sliding action / vertical has too much slop in it leading to inaccurate cuts. Ok yes "accurate enough" for framing work but anything else with less tolerance, forget it.
 
I have increasingly put more tools onto movable cabinets on (lockable) castors. Now includes lunchbox thicknesser, 6" planer, router table, mitre saw. Considering doing likewise for bandsaw and pillar drill.

Yea good idea , I'm planing on having everything movable , nothing bolted down
 
I bought the bosch 216mm mitre saw last year - BOSCH 0601B19170 GCM8SJL - very nice... almost accurate out of the box, and by almost I mean "perfectly good for most people", it had a 1mm discrepancy over a 300mm cut length, but is very easily tweaked and corrected.

Very smooth action with no "wobble" on the sliding bars compared to others that I've used, better than average dust collection when attached to a vac as it has a secondary dust collection port fixed near the blade. Good power on the motor, soft start and brake; an accurate laser line (which is a first) and good depth of cut.

Can occasionally be had on sale for around £220 which is what I paid for it. Having a mitre saw that cuts an ACCURATE 90 deg both ways (and accurate 45) right off the cut is a game changer, as all the others I have used or owned did not, leading to boxes that were not square - highly annoying.

Don't be fooled by peoples reviews of "accurate" for anything cheaper - the Evolution models for example - not accurate and even when tweaked will slip out of accurate, or the sliding action / vertical has too much slop in it leading to inaccurate cuts. Ok yes "accurate enough" for framing work but anything else with less tolerance, forget it.

https://www.axminstertools.com/bosc...utm_content=1792&tagrid=49436877&glCountry=GB
This one mate ? Sounds fantastic. I did have a look at it . Does it have a depth stop ?
 
A decent old bandsaw might be worth consideration, as theres not much that you can't do with a good one.
A pillar drill might be my second choice, simply because you can buy an old one for less than 50 quid.

Forgive me if I'm preaching to the converted, but just in case you haven't considered below...

Try finding a good person who champions the tool or machine for what you have in mind,
not just for the job ahead, but for down the road.
Just because a tool works really well for that job, do you see a lot of work it can do afterwards, or apart from one specific job.

Surely there's someone who's setup you have thought productive,
and a good basis for that journey to equip your workshop.

Then the question is whether it actually really suits the work you wish to achieve in the end.

For me, a good bench and hand tools is the most important thing in the workshop,
as it's kitted out for furniture or fussier work,
which is worlds apart from site work, nor built in stuff ie MFT's and Festool stuff.

I might suggest having a look at Paul Seller's channel,
not my cup of tea atall, but a dip of the toe into that way of approaching things,
and has a capable bandsaw for example.

Tom
 
A decent old bandsaw might be worth consideration, as theres not much that you can't do with a good one.
A pillar drill might be my second choice, simply because you can buy an old one for less than 50 quid.

Forgive me if I'm preaching to the converted, but just in case you haven't considered below...

Try finding a good person who champions the tool or machine for what you have in mind,
not just for the job ahead, but for down the road.
Just because a tool works really well for that job, do you see a lot of work it can do afterwards, or apart from one specific job.

Surely there's someone who's setup you have thought productive,
and a good basis for that journey to equip your workshop.

Then the question is whether it actually really suits the work you wish to achieve in the end.

For me, a good bench and hand tools is the most important thing in the workshop,
as it's kitted out for furniture or fussier work,
which is worlds apart from site work, nor built in stuff ie MFT's and Festool stuff.

I might suggest having a look at Paul Seller's channel,
not my cup of tea atall, but a dip of the toe into that way of approaching things,
and has a capable bandsaw for example.

Tom

Hi Tom thank you food for thought . I'll check out Paul sellers
 
Well I can see your house from mine cos I'm just across the water in Dublin! :) Mad rush getting everything inside when it looks like rain LOL.

Beautiful countryside out there :p I'm in Pembrokeshire buddy so only a stone throw from rosslare
 
Has anyone had their hands on the titan jointer planer from screwfix ?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-tt...ai_5QUGiUGG4oK9cnDhoCNOgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I have one. Not used it much yet (bought in December - other bits of Daily Life seriously in the way since) but I am cautiously quite impressed. Very first job was to plane and thickness an oak pew seat. Big failure: Failed to spot one of the buried nails!

Replacement blades are little more than the (rather expensive) cost of resharpening. Will have a go at it myself when I have time. BUT replacement blades (labelled "Erbauer" at Screwfix - but fit fine) seemed to give a better surface.

Like most of these cheapo machines, it's a bit of a pain to change from one mode to the other - and I need to spend a bit of time setting the beds up a bit better. But THAT needs to wait till I have made a cabinet for it to sit on as I have to lift it at the moment to get it in and out. Lifting it by the beds is the only easy option. Lifting it by the beds is not good for accurate set-up.

Sometimes, I make a purchase (like my cheapo pillar drill) that I regret almost immediately. This is not one of them. Yet - at least!
 
I have one. Not used it much yet (bought in December - other bits of Daily Life seriously in the way since) but I am cautiously quite impressed. Very first job was to plane and thickness an oak pew seat. Big failure: Failed to spot one of the buried nails!

Replacement blades are little more than the (rather expensive) cost of resharpening. Will have a go at it myself when I have time. BUT replacement blades (labelled "Erbauer" at Screwfix - but fit fine) seemed to give a better surface.

Like most of these cheapo machines, it's a bit of a pain to change from one mode to the other - and I need to spend a bit of time setting the beds up a bit better. But THAT needs to wait till I have made a cabinet for it to sit on as I have to lift it at the moment to get it in and out. Lifting it by the beds is the only easy option. Lifting it by the beds is not good for accurate set-up.

Sometimes, I make a purchase (like my cheapo pillar drill) that I regret almost immediately. This is not one of them. Yet - at least!

Thank you , other jointer planers cost a fortune so I was hoping the titan would be at least passable
 
My advice would be not to jump in with both feet just yet o_O take a little time and look for decent second hand machines as you can get a lot more for your hard earned cash :)
I agree with Mark. Nearly all my tools are secondhand: flip saw (table + chop saw), table top drill press, 10" disc sander, dust extractor, bandsaw, bench grinder, biscuit jointer, a couple of folding roller stands and a myriad of hand tools. About the only tools bought new are a track saw, a battery hand drill and a few clamps. And all this in a 18 x 8ft shed with a 5 x 2.5ft bench! A bit tight but with everything on castors they can all be pushed to the wall when not being used.
Good luck. Martin
 
Thanks Martin, what's the flip saw like ? I was looking at them but was worried they might be a bit of a gimmick, bit of a jack of all trades ??
Yes bit of a jack of all trades but when you're pushed for space..... I'd like a better fence on the chop saw, at right angles to the blade, so I can clamp place a stop for repeatable cuts but it was only £30 +a new blade so can't complain. It is an old Elecktor-Bekham and does work surprisingly accurately.
Oh and I forgot to add the Elecktor-Bekham planer thicknesses to the list above. Above all be safe especially in a cramped space.
 
I have increasingly put more tools onto movable cabinets on (lockable) castors. Now includes lunchbox thicknesser, 6" planer, router table, mitre saw. Considering doing likewise for bandsaw and pillar drill.

I have a single garage devoted to the workshop + a further garage for a bit of overflow + general "junk" (bikes, paint, decorating kit, lawnmower etc etc).

This stops them taking up much space when not in use, and cabinets below provide storage. As the garage is 5.5m long most items can be machined simply by pulling it out to the centre and rarely need to move them outside. I have a couple of roller stands to support long items.

I also have some basic extraction - it means all machines can be moved to make use of a single point which serves as both workshop vacuum and extraction using a blast gate.

That’s precisely what I have moved to ‘a portable workshop’. The only static pieces I have now are 2x benches, shelving. Power sockets and an element of lighting. Even my clamps now have their own portable wigwam. A set of fun projects, and joint making practises. Oh even the beer fridge is on castors 🤩
 

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