Happy Birthday?

Bill Lantry

Member
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2,663
Location
Inside the Beltway
Well, folks, my 50th birthday is coming up on Sunday. Doorlink has been teasing me by asking what I want for my birthday. At least, I assumed she was teasing... I figured she'd been planning something for months. As it turns out, that's not the case. So she's asking what I want...

What I really want is a sawstop... but there's no way we can afford a big one, and the contractor version ain't out. Even if it were, it would be out of our reach. So I'm looking around the shop, and asking myself what I need. But I can't decide. Here are two choices... what would *you* do? Keep in mind, whatever I get would have to be under $500, including delivery and accessories.

1. I have an $89 ryobi bench top drill press that's been bugging me ever since I started the shop. It ain't doing a lot for me, and grizzley has some nice floor standing drill presses... which would likely be good enough for a long, long time.

2. back then, I was still buying tools off ebay (I've since learned my lesson). One of the things I bought back then was a lathe that looks something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RAND-Wood-Lathe...103231756QQcategoryZ42282QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

it was missing parts when it got here, and that was two houses, and two disruptive moves) ago. It never got set up, and based on what I've learned since I'm not sure it's worth hunting down parts, etc. We all make mistakes, and this was one of my worst. Maybe I can turn it into a disk sander... ;)

So I still don't have a lathe. And I *do* want one. But we're not talking pens, we're talking remodeling a house and doing various furniture projects. So it can't be too small... I'd need to be able to do stair rails and table legs. Something that would turn a 36" spindle, I guess. And I guess I'd need a chuck? And turning tools? And a way to sharpen them, of course. And I'd probably want to do bowls someday, once I had a lathe set up. I bet you're going to say there's no way to even think of all that for under $500... or am I missing something?

Is there a lathe solution? Should I do a drill press? What would *you* do? Doorlink is pressing me, and I have to have an answer soon... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
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