Choosing between a few new tools...

[Greg Berlin]

Hey guys,
I got a little Christmas bonus and I’m torn on what to spend the money on. I’ve narrowed it down to a few things and I’m torn:
1) Sawstop Router Table to attach to my table saw with the dust port and router lift (I only have a small table for my compact router
2) Festool MFT table for my track saw and possibly a festool OF1400 router to go with it
3) festool kapex REB miter saw to replace my Bosch Glide for better dust collection and possibly more accuracy as the Bosch has a fair amount of play and deflection at the far end and some
blade wobble
4) save it up and upgrade my Dewalt 735 with shelix head to a larger Grizzly planer with helical head

[Patrick Kane]

Oooh, spending someone else's money--It's not as much fun as spending my own, but with zero remorse. This is harder, because i dont know what all you have, but i assume we are talking $1,000-1,500? Starting from the bottom and working my way up to your items.
4) I certainly would not upgrade the 735 with a byrd. No offense to people that do that, but its like putting a set of Pirelli track tires on a Nissan Leaf. Also, i had a 735 for a few years and found the surface finish to be simply amazing for such an inexpensive, small, plastic machine. Ive said it a dozen times on this forum, but the surface off my stock 735 was better than the finish off my 20" powermatic with byrd head. Wait to increase your capacity or stay the course with the 735, i say.
3) I havent owned the Bosch, but i did own the Kapex for a short time. I personally would only own that saw if i was an on-site trim carpenter. I wouldnt do this either.
2) the MFT is similar to my statement about the Kapex. Had this for a short period of time, and i can see its merits for on-site/mobile carpenters. In the shop though...I never found it to be large enough to do what i wanted to do. Its not particularly stable. I think the best thing about the MFT is it sparked a ton of ingenuity and thought about working with an accurate grid and grid accessories like the PARF system. I wouldnt own another MFT, but i would have a CNC shop make a 4x8 top for a future assembly/workbench.
1) Maybe. Ive seen people with these on youtube and they look compact and high end for a router table. Ive only purchased used Jessem/Incra tables, but it always bugged me they had plywood tops.

Time for my suggestions.
1) Do you own a domino? a 700 is within your budget and i find this tool to be immensely time saving. If your joinery involves weird angles then this thing is even better.
2) how big is your jointer or bandsaw? $1,500 plus the equity from selling your current machine could definitely move you into an entirely different class. For example, sell a 6" jointer for $300-400, add the $1500, and go buy a used 12" machine. Or, sell your 14" band saw for $500, add the $1500 and go buy a used euro 16-20".
3) hows your dust collection system? This is the least exciting purchase, but $1500 puts you in the Grizzly 3hp cyclone territory, i think. I have that exact machine and its been pretty good for 5-6 years.
4) Do you have a specific build in mind for 2021? If you plan on attacking something like a Maloof style rocker or lowback, you will end up spending $800-1000 on somewhat specialty carving/shaping gear. The high quality rasps are super pricey, die grinder with carbide bits, angle grinder with a carbide carving disc, matched whiteside bits, and super soft sanding pads for your sander.
5) do you have a spray setup? you could buy a great Fuji setup and be well below your total budget
6) The lamest option of them all, but dont spend it on woodworking. If you arent frustrated or limited by any of your current gear, then sock it away for future wood purchases, wine, or a new fly rod.

[Jebediah Eckert]

Only thing I can contribute-

3) I made the exact same switch. From a YouTube video (or something) I extended the dust collection boot lower and that helped with the dust collection on the Bosch Glide. Switching to the Kapex for better dust collection isn’t worth it. My experience is that if the Kapex is better, you wouldn’t notice, Bosch does a decent job. As far as accuracy goes the Kapex was way more accurate / consistent then the Bosch for me. I could get the Bosch square but every now and then it didn’t cut perfectly square when I needed it to. This caused a problem enough times I lost confidence in using it when I needed a square cut. If I have the table saw setup for something and I forgot to square an end, I don’t even think about it with the Kapex, square every time for me.

Is it worth the price difference? Probably not...but I sold the Bosch on CL and got a good price on a used Kapex.

[Frank Pratt]

I think Patrick has given you some great advice there.

For shop use, I would not spend a lot on a miter saw. There are few situations where a table saw with a sled & a good miter guide will not be the better tool and a lot more accurate. Different story for job site trim work though. I especially wouldn't get a Kapex for shop use, where it's likely that it'll be used to cut larger stock. They are underpowered.

I have a very good Makita miter saw I got 15 or 20 years ago, but it just doesn't get used much at all.

[Brian Tymchak]

Difficult to make recommendations without knowing what kind of projects you like to build, or need to build in the near future.

Adding capability would be my higher priority, so bandsaw or router table are good thoughts.

Do you really use your miter saw enough to justify spending $1500 on a Kapex?

I agree with Patrick that putting a spiral head in the 735 is not IMHO the best use of money, unless you work with a lot of figured wood. I have a 735 and have not yet figured out the value to justify the upgrade. Having said that, a lot of people have done that upgrade, and are happy they did.

[Jim Becker]

What of those options is going to do the most for your woodworking activities?

I also agree with the comment about not buying a miter saw of any kind for "dust collection". Even the best provides marginal collection. In a shop situation, any improvement will have to come with how under and behind the tool is handled for collection with a LOT of CFM.

[Ron Selzer]

Hey guys,
I got a little Christmas bonus and I’m torn on what to spend the money on. I’ve narrowed it down to a few things and I’m torn:
1) Sawstop Router Table to attach to my table saw with the dust port and router lift (I only have a small table for my compact router
2) Festool MFT table for my track saw and possibly a festool OF1400 router to go with it
3) festool kapex REB miter saw to replace my Bosch Glide for better dust collection and possibly more accuracy as the Bosch has a fair amount of play and deflection at the far end and some
blade wobble
4) save it up and upgrade my Dewalt 735 with shelix head to a larger Grizzly planer with helical head

I recommend #4 if I understand right that you are replacing the DeWalt with a larger Grizzly
Some things to think about
A good cyclone dust collection system and air filter of some type would be highly recommended by me
Instead of #3 acquire a used radial arm saw and the book by Mr Sawdust. Book first so you know what to look for on the radial arm saw. Then set the saw up
#2 look into buying a used panel saw instead I prefer Safety Speed Cut
#1 look into a shaper instead of a router table
good luck
Ron

[Carl Crout]

Hey guys,
I got a little Christmas bonus and I’m torn on what to spend the money on. I’ve narrowed it down to a few things and I’m torn:
1) Sawstop Router Table to attach to my table saw with the dust port and router lift (I only have a small table for my compact router
2) Festool MFT table for my track saw and possibly a festool OF1400 router to go with it
3) festool kapex REB miter saw to replace my Bosch Glide for better dust collection and possibly more accuracy as the Bosch has a fair amount of play and deflection at the far end and some
blade wobble
4) save it up and upgrade my Dewalt 735 with shelix head to a larger Grizzly planer with helical head

I would build a router table and put a router lift and 3 hp router in it. I would also not upgrade my DW735 to a Grizzly with helical head. My 735 with plain knives suits me fine! Has no snipe at all whereas my Jet 15" 3 hp planer has bad snipe. I also see no need for shelix or helical heads but that's my opinion.

[Greg Berlin]

I know it’s a tough question to answer without knowing what I already have and the size of my small shop (13x25) So I already have a Grizzly 12” Jointer with Helical head, I just ordered a Harvey G700 Gyro Dust collector for the shop and probably will plumb my small shop with potentially PVC or Nordfab depending on the cost for each, a Sawstop CNS saw with 50” rip capacity, dewalt 735 that already has the Byrd head installed, a domino XL, a festool TS75 track saw, 2 festool sanders, the Bosch glide miter saw, and then an assortment of hand tools. I generally enjoy doing hand tool joinery, but having the capability to batch out several projects to sell such as Learning towers (which I’m building a few of right now), tables, etc. That’s why I considered a router table of some sort to add on to the sawstop to help save space). I honestly don’t do a ton of cabinet worm with plywood. Mainly furniture. Eventually I will build a larger shop down the road, but I’m working with what I have right now and albeit it’s tight, but it works.

[Patrick Kane]

I know it’s a tough question to answer without knowing what I already have and the size of my small shop (13x25) So I already have a Grizzly 12” Jointer with Helical head, I just ordered a Harvey G700 Gyro Dust collector for the shop and probably will plumb my small shop with potentially PVC or Nordfab depending on the cost for each, a Sawstop CNS saw with 50” rip capacity, dewalt 735 that already has the Byrd head installed, a domino XL, a festool TS75 track saw, 2 festool sanders, the Bosch glide miter saw, and then an assortment of hand tools. I generally enjoy doing hand tool joinery, but having the capability to batch out several projects to sell such as Learning towers (which I’m building a few of right now), tables, etc. That’s why I considered a router table of some sort to add on to the sawstop to help save space). I honestly don’t do a ton of cabinet worm with plywood. Mainly furniture. Eventually I will build a larger shop down the road, but I’m working with what I have right now and albeit it’s tight, but it works.

Nice setup. Oddly enough, i also had a 12" grizzly jointer with a dewalt 735 at one point. That yellow lunch box is an enormous value. Id say you have to go with a bandsaw as the next investment. Especially if you do mostly furniture. Resawing, roughing parts out of a board, curves, tapers, cutting dovetail pins, tenon cheeks and on and on. A decently built saw with a carbide blade is a very nice tool to have.

Learned something new after being forced to google 'learning tower'.

[Brian Tymchak]

Oops, totally misread your first comments wrt 735 and shelix head. My bad.

[Greg Berlin]

Oh and I have a Grizzly G0555 bandsaw! Forgot about that! So I’m set with the major stuff honestly. Just upgrading here and there where needed. Maybe next upgrade should be a mini split for the shop instead

[Jim Dwight]

My shop is 14x24, so about the same as yours, but I don't have as many nice tools. I have a PCS, and a Jet steel frame bandsaw (13 inch depth of cut), and a Domino 700. But my jointer is an old Inca 8 5/8 inch with short bed and I use an old AP-10 planer (which I generally like but it has it's limits).

I also would not buy a MFT for shop use. My outfeed/assembly/track saw cutting station has a holey top made with a router baseplate and pegboard. It is not terribly accurate but works for crosscuts with a fence I made that is angle adjustable. You could make a more accurate table like this with the parf guide system. I think it's expensive but it would easily be within your budget I think.

I also think router tables should be built, not bought. Mine has a home made lift. But a router lift of some sort is a significant improvement. I had a router table setup in the extension table of a former table saw but I did not use it a lot. It always seemed like I needed to use the table saw as soon as the router table was set up - or vice versa. But it was a somewhat usable extra once I built a stand alone. The Sawstop is probably nice and if you can organize your work a lot better than I do so you don't get a lot of conflicts it would save some space. My stand alone is about 2 feet square which I think it completely adequate. It is shaped like Norm's from NYW but has better dust collection and a built in lift. It is about the fourth router table I've built - so I a pretty good idea what I wanted when I designed and built my current one.

So I would probably buy the parf guide system and a router lift, possibly a router top, but probably not the SawStop and probably not a complete router table. The base is just a box with drawers. I think you'll get more storage and more utilty if you make at least the base.

[George Yetka]

I have kapex(keep the glide if its only for dust. With Auxiliary fence and zero clearence insert It cuts great but dust is everywhere.)

If you have a router table already and you want the sawstop wing to gain space(Ive been thinking of this.)

MFT is OK, buddy has one It takes alot of room up though. Get a piece of 2" foam and lay it on your bench.

Planer upgrade depends on what you plan to do with it. You will need to spend alot to get the same capacity of your dewalt in a stationary machine

My buying of major stuff has always been buying what I need to do the next task or what will make life easier.

Lighting/sander improvement/dust collection/

[Jim Becker]

Oh and I have a Grizzly G0555 bandsaw! Forgot about that! So I’m set with the major stuff honestly. Just upgrading here and there where needed. Maybe next upgrade should be a mini split for the shop instead

That's not a horrible idea, honestly...I LOVE mine.

That said, you might consider a Domino or Domino XL as an addition to your list of possibilities.