What would you do with $100?

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What would you do with $100?

  • Total voters
    52
D

dhammis

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Messages
61
Location
Frisco,TX
My in-laws have a tradition of giving me $100 cash for Christmas each year. Last year I put it towards the purchase of my lathe. After a year of pen making I now have gathered plenty of kits and blanks and had a lot of fun with this hobby. I've even managed to sell a few and make a couple of bucks.

I'm thinking that investing the money into a table saw, a bandsaw or a belt sander might be helpful. I have a CMS, a scroll saw, plenty of chucks and turning tools, drills, etc. While most of what I work with are blanks that are pre-cut from the various suppliers, I've also picked up various pieces of wood that need to be cut down into pen or bottle stopper blank sizes and I just can't do that with the equipment I have so that's a vote for a saw. I'm also not incredibly thrilled with the barrel trimmer process for squaring blanks so I'd like to get a sander and jig to do that with, as I think the results might be a bit nicer.

So what would you do?
 
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$100 won't get much of a saw (or sander), but it would make a nice down payment towards one. So I went with 'Other'. Save Mr. Franklin until you have a few more of his brothers to go with him.
 
I voted Belt or Disc Sander. I've been shopping for a means to sand/shape some items.

Enjoy your Holiday and have fun with what ever you decide to do with the cash...
 
For $109 you can get a Ryobi sanding (disc and belt) station. This station is more than enough to square tube ends, knock corners off of difficult blanks, etc. It is also very useful for most woodworking projects.

$100 will only buy underpowered band saws and table saws.
 
Put it toward the vet bill one of my dog's incurred this morning for $834.00. Merry Christmas to me. This sure wasn't expected but I am able to pay it and still have a good christmas. Hope she enjoyed her cat box candy.
 
I voted other. You can check Craigslist for a deal on sanders and saws. You may have enough left to get a squaring jig. Hope this works out for you.
 
Harbor Freight has a half-decent belt/disc sander that they sell for $50 with their coupon. I really like mine for squaring blank ends and other odd sanding jobs.

I'd put the other $50 into your savings towards a 14" bandsaw. Bandsaws and lathes just seem to go together very well. I use mine all the time.
 
Dave Turner said:
Harbor Freight has a half-decent belt/disc sander that they sell for $50 with their coupon. I really like mine for squaring blank ends and other odd sanding jobs.

I'd put the other $50 into your savings towards a 14" bandsaw. Bandsaws and lathes just seem to go together very well. I use mine all the time.
Click to expand...

Much to my amazement, I have a belt-disc from HF that has lasted at least five years. We use it several times a week, so I thoroughly expected to have it break. Amazing value, if you want a sanding station.

FWIW
 
Other- I'd stock up as much as possible on slimline kits. I turn a LOT to help keep from getting to restless, as it gets me in trouble. I also am still learning a lot of basics.
 
For myself, I'd stock up on some good kits and casting goodies. In your case, (oh it is so easy to give advice when it isn't my money) I believe I'd save it toward a good bandsaw. Mine is a griz 14" with riser block. I use the woodslicer blades from Hartsville, i think. Of course, a good table saw is very handy also. Buy a good one, not one of those cheep pieces of junk. DAMHIKT One good lathe tool can run close to this. Ken's Bowl Pro is a good example of that.

Is there any possibility that they might be very generous this year and kick in, say $2,000? Or even more? That way you could almost outfit a small beginning shop. I just can't get started on a $100 bill.
Charles
 
I could relate to your frustration with the barrel trimmer. I was similarly frustrated when I was getting started. I too was looking at the sander idea with the jig. Fortunately, I experimented with scrap wood and a sander and learned that it really wasn't the ideal solution for me either. What I ended up with was the Penn State jig to cut blanks, in combination with a miter saw. Once I had learned to set up the jig properly (details can be supplied if you're interested) I discovered that the precision cutting I can achieve with this method greatly reduces the amount of barrel trimming that is required. I am not sure yet, but I believe that the accuracy of this combination will allow me to eliminate barrel trimming altogether. AND, a miter saw that would be adequate for this project could be purchased for roughly $100.

I would STRONGLY advise against buying a cheap bandsaw or tablesaw. Both are far more problems than they are worth.
 
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