Stationary power tools |
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The tools and products found here are those that I use in Shigshop and recommend - and I've got a few that will never make it here ;)... Most of these have been purchased by me for use in my shop. Usually, extensive research has occurred before a purchase. Quality, value, as well as my intended use on current projects come into consideration before purchase. Each picture here is a link to an Amazon.com detail page for that particular tool. I hope you enjoy checking this stuff out.
 
Over the course of my woodworking years, I've had 3 different table saws. The first one was built from a Gilliom kit. Gilliom made some very cool tool kits that came with a bunch of hardware and instructions on how to build them using customer supplied wood - I think they are out of business now. It was a small benchtop saw that eventually gave way to a Craftsman 10" contractor's saw. The contractor's saw was used for a good 10 years. I made a nice 3 drawer base for it that also had a dust port for a shop vac or dust collector, and casters to move it easily around my 2 car garage shop. Those first 2 saws got plenty of use, but had limitations - weight, table size, power, and fence rigidity were always issues. Finally, I built my house with an attached shop (Shigshop ;) and was able to get a cabinet saw - a Grizzly G1023. This will more than likely be my last saw. It's big, heavy, and powerful. Once set up, it doesn't go out of tune and I find the fence more than adequate for the way I work and it has never bogged no matter how much I inadvertently abuse it (accidentally of course).
10" table saw blades (also see the Forrest blade below)... |
 
This is my second bandsaw. The first was an old Craftsman 12" saw from the 1960's. Sometimes I wish that saw was still around. Back around 2007 I upgraded to this Rikon 18" saw and got rid of the Craftsman. Changing blades on bandsaws is cumbersome so having one saw set up for resawing (if you use lots of rough lumber) and another with a general purpose blade would be a good thing. Trouble is, sooner or later, your shop becomes too small for all of the tools you want. As is, I now only have this 18" Rikon - not a complaint mind you, just an observation. ;) A powerful 2.5 hp motor and 18" of capacity gives this bandsaw the capability of going big when needed. With a 1" 4-5tpi blade, resawing big hardwood is fast and easy.
Rikon stands behind their products too. After the warrany had expired, the starting capacitor went out. With no issues at all they sent me not only a new capacitor, but a whole new motor, which upgraded the original motor from 2hp to 2.5hp. So, I highly recommends this company. 142" blades for this bandsaw. |
 
8" blades and a 66" table give this jointer the capacity for jointing and flattening most stock. I went from a 4" benchtop jointer to this one - that was a good day! When making the moldings for our house, I was running 16' 4 quarter doug fir boards through this machine. Weight (heavy), rigidity (steel and cast iron), table size, blade width, and build quality make this the last jointer I'll be needing - it's used on almost every piece of wood that passes through my shop. There aren't too many other jointers in it's class and price range like this one.
Replacement 8" jointer knives. |
 
12" lunchbox style planers are good. This 16" stationary Jet planer was the next step up for Shigshop. With the 3hp motor, it never bogs and can hog a serious amount of material. Machines like these are notorious for creating prodigious amounts of chips, and filling the dust collector bin occurs in very little time. With these machines, the bigger you go, the more chips you will be making. Therefore, adequate dust collection is mandatory. Soon after starting woodworking, you'll be working on dust collection strategies and this machine will lead the pack for your search in solutions.
Replacement knives for this planer. |
 
I built a thickness sander and edge sander for Shigshop. Those came after I had this oscillating sander, but this sander still gets used fairly often - mainly on concave curves. My first spindle sander was a benchtop model made mostly of plastic with an mdf top. It was actually a fairly adequate machine that came in handy at times. I got rid of it and upgraded to this machine, but sometimes wish I still had it as it was lightweight, easy to move around and generally worked well. That said, having a stationary sander with a 2'x 2' table is quite a difference. The table is big enough on this machine to set up a dedicated dust port on the top, which means almost dustless sanding when in use - a major plus for me. And being about 300 lbs or so, it doesn't wander around at all.
Extra jet sanding sleeves. |
 
After going through many blades on my table saw, I finally broke down and bought one of the highest rated blades available - the Forrest Woodworker II. This blade has kept an unbelievable edge for quite a few years. It's the only blade that I have had that would be worth resharpening - and maybe now, it might be time. The blade (as all do) does require a bit of maintenance, which other than periodic sharpening consists of cleaning burnt pitch off the teeth. If you do much work on your tablesaw, in the long run, one of these blades will pay for itself.
I use blade and bit cleaner to remove the burnt pitch off my power tool saw blades and router bits. Spray it on, let it sit for a minute and wipe it off. Repeat if necessary. Good stuff.  
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