If big is good, is bigger better?

[James Boster]

Ryan I have been in your situation before and have replaced almost all of my shop with old American iron machinery. In my opinion if you have the room go for it. Your first post was asking about a lathe. I have two wood lathes and one metal lathe. My metal lathe is a 9" Southbend. Great machine but size limited. As my uncle told me when I made the decision to buy it over a larger machine, you can turn small stuff in a big lathe but its hard (not impossible) to turn large stuff with a small lathe. My larger wood lathe is an Oliver #66 and weighs around 6,000#. Not going to put that on a mobile base. Again I dont think you will regret if you have the room. I actually had to put the larger lathe in a shed on the side of my shop and need to finsih enclosing and concrete the floor but I do have it.

[Kirk Poore]

Old wood working machinery is a lot like that, wonderful, quirky, great to use or watch, however not very well suited to modern safety practises.

Have fun with your old machinery, however I wouldn't give up a good Euro combination or separate machine for an old machine unless I was more interested in restoration and preservation than wood working.

Regards, Rod.

Rod, I went back and reread your response, and I'm afraid I must challenge you on it. With the exception of the table saw, and possibly the radial arm saw, older machinery is or can easily be made as safe as modern machinery. My 1915 band saw has full, factory-installed guards which I've supplemented only immediately above the upper guides. I've yet to see a guard (other than a belt guard) on a drill press of any vintage, let alone my 1966 Powermatic. Similarly, my spindle sander, belt/disk sander, jointers, jig saw, and lathe, all over 40 years old, all have the equivalent of modern guards. My 1950 Oliver planer has no exposed moving parts, but I guess you could shove your hand in there if you wanted to get it chewed up.

Indeed, I would say that a large industrial radial arm saw is safer than a typical home hobby saw, since with greater mass and power the blade is much less likely to grab in the wood and pull the head toward you. Of course you could also argue that a RAS is easier to use dangerously than, say, a sliding table saw, but that's a different discussion.

Indeed, the main advantage that very recently built machines have is in dust collection, and most older machines can be retrofitted for that too. Older, heavier machines are often quieter than new, light machines, so there are tradeoffs to be made in both directions.

Kirk

[Rod Sheridan]

Kirk, many machines did indeed have guards, however I've seen many planers and tenoners with exposed gears, shafts and pulleys.

Many band saws did not have wheel covers, or guards over the upswept blade.

I've also seen a tenoner without any guards over the cutters, and a few shingle mills that looked positively scary.

As always generalisations are dangerous and I should have been more careful in my wording, thanks for the reminder.

Regards, Rod.

[Scott T Smith]

[QUOTE=Callan Campbell;1497721]

As always, another thoughtful AND well thought out reply from Mr. Sheridan

+2. Some folks were just blessed with an extraordinary amount of common sense - Rod is one of them.

[Chris Damm]

"If big is good, is bigger better?"
Yes and too big is just right!
You can do small jobs on big machines but you can't do big jobs on small machines! (old polish proverb).

[Kirk Poore]

Rod:

Certainly there are many very old machines which have dangerously exposed parts. Heck, I have a tenoner (circa 1880, as yet unrestored) just like the one you describe. But the vast majority of machines built after, say, 1940 are as fully guarded as recently built machines, or can be easily upgraded. Safety equipment can be seen easily even in bad auction and on-line ad photos, so a buyer can bypass machines he’s not comfortable with before getting into the pesky little details like condition, price, and location.

Kirk

[Rusty Eads]

I will probably be about the only one here who will say that you can have too big and I'm ready to be chastised about that. I, for one, have turned down some good deals on bigger machines. Sure I could use the extra capacity sometimes but one should also look at the other costs associated with running a bigger than needed machine. I would love to have a 20" planer rather than my 13" but can I justify the fact that not only does the bigger motor cost more to run but the knives cost increase exponentially as they get longer? Doing this as a hobby and having only a very limited income available, I would rather have a tool that I can afford to keep and maintain and deal with the limitations, than have a tool that can do everything but not able to replace knives, blades or any other consumable that it uses. That is just my 2 cents. I would love to hear that I am wrong and that it costs just as much to maintain the bigger machinery cuz I have a whole basement shop in need of upgrade

[Chip Lindley]

I will probably be about the only one here who will say that you can have too big and I'm ready to be chastised about that....I would love to have a 20" planer rather than my 13" but can I justify...the bigger motor cost more to run but the knives cost...?

Rusty, unless you run a 5hp planer for several hours, frequently, you will see no appreciable difference in your electric bill. Whats $5?? Leaving the TV on 24/7 (at my house) does the same thing!

Concerning consumables, most table-top planers use "disposable" knives, where 15"-20" knives can be resharpened @home on a drill press with abrasive cup wheel. No need at all to send these out! I've sharpened my own planer/jointer knives for many years this way.

Addressing TOO BIG; it can just end up be in the way! Let's face it, a 2-car garage (what I am presently blessed with) is not that large! Yes, twice as big as a 1-car garage, but filled with twice as many tools, wall-to-wall; still very crowded.

If I find a good, cheap 16" jointer, I will, no doubt find room for it. But, if someone were to give me a huge lathe, I would have to think twice (or three times) before keeping it. I have had a very limited need for a wood lathe in the past 25 years.

Indeed, there can be too much of a good thing, if not truly usable on some regular basis. Once the "Oooh & Aahh Factor" has worn off, large, rarely used machines just take up valuable workshop real estate. Space needed for accomplishing real tasks at hand.