$1295 for a granite topped table?

[James Taglienti]

Just looked at the granite (excuse me... "Maine Granite") topped table on the LN website. More impressive was the price. Also noted the astronimical prices of the workbenches. Makes my bench and sharpening system look, well, archaic.

Reminded me of when I was younger... my father was a construction contractor and in the summers we would go to Cape Cod where he'd try his hand at commercial fishing. He bought a nice big Grady White, with a cabin, all of these expensive rods, and every bit of gear you could imagine. Spent tens of thousands, and this was in the 80's. We'd go out in the boat in our summer tourist clothes and catch about 4 striped bass. All around us were the locals, in their $2500 sometimes wooden fishing boats, center console with a little square hut around the controls, with their yellow waders on. Their rods were junk and their motors blew smoke and quit sporadically.

Back at the fish pier they would pull up, quota filled, every day. Piles of stripers, filled the ice chests and overflowing onto the decks. We'd go and get our $60 for our fish, not even enough for gas, and go home. But -

my father would smile the whole way home. Just grin. He loved it, and that is something that I'll never forget. He was doing something he loved.

These guys were just doing their job.

But I digress...

Anyone who buys that granite topped sharpening table thing, let me know, so I can mock you. I could build that thing for $400 all day long, $380 if you exclude the precious "Maine Granite."

[Mark Maleski]

Anyone who buys that granite topped sharpening table thing, let me know, so I can mock you.

Whatever you think about it, James, that's a pretty poor attitude.

I enjoyed your post up to that point.

[george wilson]

I thought it was going to be a full size workbench!!! 24" x 36" ? A cheap Chinese granite surface late that size from Grizzly is how much? $254.00 @ .0002" accuracy? Plus some maple???

To tell the truth,I can't see it either,attitude or not.

[Owen E Wheeler]

Let me start by saying I have no plan to buy the granite topped sharpening station.

I want to stick up for your dad and guys of his stripe.

Some people want to equip their shop well and get to work. "Equipped well" is an elusive metric, and for some that means "the best".

Any quibble on the fact that the LN sharpening station is the best you can buy commercially?

I sell $$$$ automation systems and home theater systems. Does anyone I sell to need one? Nope. Do they want "the best". Yep.

You can find a web site devoted to the DIY automator/home theater guy, and they will tell you I'm raping the client, charging too much, he could do it for so much cheaper on his own and leave me at home. Maybe, maybe not, depending on who you believe. Me, personally, I've never taken advantage of a client in my 30 years in my industry despite vast numbers of opportunities to do so.

What the DIY denizens of the A/V web site overlook is that my clients (and by inference buyers of the LN sharpening station) are guys that don't want to spend the time to do it themselves. They want to have it there, so they can sharpen their chisels and planes and get started on the project at hand. They don't have the time to build the station, find a piece of granite, put it all together, and then get to work. The cost differential is not enough for these few guys, and they know the purchased station is better built than they can produce themselves. They buy it, they start sharpening, and they're working on dovetail skills while you're still researching which of the lower 48 produces the best granite for the cost. What's to mock other than their checkbook?

[James Taglienti]

Yeah it was a crummy thing to say, the mocking thing. It sounded more acceptable in my head, which coincidentally is where I do most of my mocking.

uh..

[george wilson]

I can't build a home theater system from scratch(did get a REAL nice system for $75.00 at the local flea market. Hard to beat real 12" speakers!)

But,for $1250.00,I could get off my duff!! I do have several LN planes,and had several more at work.

[Tim Null]

I completely agree. For some woodworking items, I want to build it myself. I spent months building my workbench out of hard maple. I spent $1,100.00 for the maple alone. Then there were the vises, etc. I then built cabinet drawers for the space underneath. I got a bench that I enjoyed building and am proud of. It was fun.

Other items I will simply buy, as I have no desire to spend the time. I have new planes because I do not want to spend time searching for used ones and then rehabbing them. I would rather spend my time building stuff, as it is only a hobby.

If someone can afford to buy the best, already done and ready to go, then more power to him. If one cannot afford it, then he must go the more economical route.

In the end, it is what your time is worth and what you can afford to spend on your hobby. The father with the boat sure seemed to enjoy fishing. The simple act of spending time with his son was worth the expense, the fish caught a bonus. Having things that made it more comfortable is the way to go if you can afford it. Di he need those items to catch fish? Obviously not. Did they make his experience more enjoyable? I would say yes. Then it was worth it. Same goes for woodworking tools, etc.

Just my take on it.

[george wilson]

It is also about what you enjoy. But a lot of the things I have posted here I made at least partly because I didn't want to pay a fortune for one.

The half size salesman's sample dovetailed smooth plane is especially in that category. I would not have paid thousands of dollars for it ( nor could I ever find another.)

And,that little table wouldn't take more than a day to make.

[James Taglienti]

Absolutely George.

There are places where a toilet is considered a ridiculous luxury. Where having a personal automobile is unheard of.

Maybe I have a third world workshop. There is neither a granite honing booth, a toilet, or a car in my shop.

That table thing is a result of the current fad, which is dead flat everything. Also granite is becoming more popular. It also belies the fact that deep pocketed hobbyists drive a huge portion of the current hand tool industry.
It looks like it's a dedicated "scary sharp" station. Kind of funny, since scary sharp is one of the FIRST methods a budding woodworker usually uses. I remember gluing some sandpaper to a piece of window glass and scrubbing away. What an epiphany! Then about a month later I bought some real stones.

[David Weaver]

Any quibble on the fact that the LN sharpening station is the best you can buy commercially?

I am a fan of lie nielsen, but I'd say yes, a quibble. Any metal stand reference plate would be as good (better if you thought you had a need for the flatness).

I think the commercial cost for such a thing would be about $300+freight.

It would be more if it was starrett, but we're talking about better, not necessarily domestic.

I wonder where the want for that came from. There was a big discussion about this on wood central, but I would bet that they took something similar to events to sharpen demo tools, and people expressed a want for one. They're already building benches there, and all they have to do is find a local granite countertop place, who probably rakes them over the coals for the cost of the granite since it's domestic.

[Bruce Page]

That granite bench would look really nice in a upscale kitchen.

[Jim Koepke]

Maybe mine is the record holder. The piece of granite cost me $25 and I think the wood was less than $10. It didn't take a day to do.

jtk

[Rick Markham]

I'm not going to take issue with Lie Nielsen's decision to market it, nor am I going to say anything negative about anyone buying one. To each his own. I really like Lie Nielsen, and I hope they continue to thrive, heck I hope a bunch of collectors and people who appreciate that kind of thing buy a ton of them.

I will take issue with it being referred to as "the best" It clearly states in the catalog "granite is not milled to surface plate specifications" If you want the flattest truest surface get a surface plate. It is beautiful, and far better than I have. But "the best" is arguable... always!

[Jonathan McCullough]

Anyone who buys that granite topped sharpening table thing, let me know, so I can mock you.

Hilarious! Vive la difference!

From their perspective, their average clientele probably wouldn't think twice about dropping that and more. I like Lie-Nielsen stuff and plan to buy more, but at some point you have to make your own sharpening tables.

[John Coloccia]

I have an idea. Let's all get together and bash Lie-Neilsen, and make fun of anyone who buys their stuff, especially the sharpening table and workbenches. Then let's all go to the off topic format and whine endlessly about how no high quality made in the USA tools are available anymore.

Meh.