Carba-Tec tools

[Ben]

Hi all,

Long time no post! I have manged to save up some money and have been looking around at some bandsaws, jointers etc and have noticed that carba-tec seem pretty cheap. Any opinions/recommendations?

Cheers

Ben

[kiwigeo]

Hi all,

Long time no post! I have manged to save up some money and have been looking around at some bandsaws, jointers etc and have noticed that carba-tec seem pretty cheap. Any opinions/recommendations?

Cheers

Ben

Ive got a Carbatec drill press and 14" bandsaw and they're ok. Jet stuff is often a bit better but where I am the Jet service is c%%p so Ive stopped buying their stuff.

If youre going for the 14" carbatec bandie then factor in an upgrade for the fence and the blade guides...

[TKAY]

I have had a 19" Carbatec B/Saw for about 9 months.Has sawn accurately with blades from 4-32mm and timber incl.Sheoak (ug)110 mm thick,bowl blank and English Ash 220 mm ,Lime 80mm, plus very thin stock.Maybe I was lucky in the original adjustments but it saws as it should or at least hope!!

[TKAY]

I forgot to mention most of the work has been resawing and milling!!! ex garden trees. The guide and tilting table seem very effective. I also have a digital angle measuring device (Carbatec) which makes setup a breeze.


Regards Tom

[Ben]

Thanks for the tips.

I was just looking at buying the 10" one. Would that still be ok or would I be better off in spending another couple of hundred and getting the 14" with 2 speeds?

Ive also been looking at their jointer 6" economy and their oscillating sanders. Any tips of those??

Cheers

Ben

[Dominic]

Ben, I have mostly carbatec stationary tools and can't fault them. Never had any problems and am very happy with them. I used to have the 14" heavy duty bandsaw from CT and it had good bearing blade guides with easy and solid adjustment and a good solid fence so not sure what martin is refering to. Perhaps one of the cheaper 2 speed 14" models. With a good blade and a good setup I was able to resaw 18mm huon pine boards just under 200mm high into 4 nice even slices for sides and 3 piece backs. No problems. I have since upgraded to their 17" model and sold the 14 for the same price I bought it after 3 years use.

Save your money Ben and get the heavy duty 14". I wouldn't recommend anything smaller.

I have the following CT stationary tools
drum sander http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-40 ... nder_c2950
benchtop jointer http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-6- ... nter_c2340
drill press
industrial spindle sander http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-in ... nder_c2890
12" table saw(which is just beautiful and smooth and accurate) It is like the large panel saw but without the scribing wheel
Belt/disc sander
17" bandsaw http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-17-ce-bandsaw_c590
And 2 2hp dust extractors
I want one of the new spiral cutter head 8" long-bed jointers http://www.carbatec.com.au/spiral-head- ... ter_c20860 to complete my workshop.

If you were in Canberra you'd be welcome to drop over and check them out but I am happy to answer any questions you might have about these particular machines.

One tip, I quickly found its worth going bigger/heavier than I originally thought. Heavier more powerful machines run smoother, far more accurately and will last a lot longer. You can waste more money by having to upgrade tools that are not quite up to what you want to do than paying a bit more to begin with. And if you are like most around here you will become addicted to making guitars and will be in it for the long term.

Have fun.
Dom

[kiwigeo]

Thanks for the tips.

I was just looking at buying the 10" one. Would that still be ok or would I be better off in spending another couple of hundred and getting the 14" with 2 speeds?

Ive also been looking at their jointer 6" economy and their oscillating sanders. Any tips of those??

Cheers

Ben

10" bandsaw...go for a 14". Much more useful....
Jointer.......I'd give other machinery priority over a jointer unless I was building electrics.

My prioritised machinery list:

1. bandsaw
2. drill press
3. drum sander (and dust extractor)
4. table saw
5. sander/linisher

[kiwigeo]

I used to have the 14" heavy duty bandsaw from CT and it had good bearing blade guides with easy and solid adjustment and a good solid fence so not sure what martin is refering to.

My CT band saw came with block guides and a crap fence (not adjustable for drift). I upgraded to bearing guides and a Kreg fence.

[Puff]

Drum/spindle sander with good fences will do what a jointer does, very adequately.

[Kim]

One tip, I quickly found its worth going bigger/heavier than I originally thought. Heavier more powerful machines run smoother, far more accurately and will last a lot longer. You can waste more money by having to upgrade tools that are not quite up to what you want to do than paying a bit more to begin with. Dom

That is the single best bit of advice you will get in this thread Ben...read it and take it on board if you want to avoid being disappointed in the long term. Even if you decide that wood working is not for you down the track, if you buy decent stuff now and then sell later, you will get most all of your money back because good machines hold there value. Focus too much on price now and later if you change your mind you will soon discover that no one wants it...some times you can't even give it away and most 10" bandsaws I have come across fall into that category....landfill.

Cheers

Kim

[Ben]

Thanks for the advice very very helpful!

I am looking at getting a jointer because I do plan on making electric guitars and basses.

I better get saving!

Cheers

Ben

[Dominic]

Ben, I assume you mean using a jointer to join body halfs, drop tops etc. The bench top jointer I have will do an adequate job on that stuff but the bed is too short for anything longer. I use it to square up tops and backs, archtop plates etc but I then use a hand plane to clean up the surfaces ready for gluing. But you really want the longer bed if you want to true up neck blanks. A good quality thin kerf glue line blade on a table saw will do as good a job. You could even make a guide and use a hand held power saw and get glue ready joints with the blade and a bit of practice. You'd be surprised at some of the clever ways people on this forum have made all manner of instruments without a lot of power tools. So if you follow some of these ideas you can still do some building while saving your money for better tools later on.
Cheers
Dom

[liam_fnq]

Ben, might I suggest you contact Gary Pye Woodturning. http://gpwoodturning.sitesuitestores.com/ I've got a bandsaw, dust collector and 10-20 drum sander on it's way now. He's very easy to deal with. Granted I haven't got the goods yet but he came recommended from other forum members so I'm not concerned.

Very competitive pricing and very cheap shipping although you may be able to pick up.

[seeaxe]

One tip, I quickly found its worth going bigger/heavier than I originally thought. Heavier more powerful machines run smoother, far more accurately and will last a lot longer. You can waste more money by having to upgrade tools that are not quite up to what you want to do than paying a bit more to begin with. Dom

That is the single best bit of advice you will get in this thread Ben...read it and take it on board if you want to avoid being disappointed in the long term. Even if you decide that wood working is not for you down the track, if you buy decent stuff now and then sell later, you will get most all of your money back because good machines hold there value. Focus too much on price now and later if you change your mind you will soon discover that no one wants it...some times you can't even give it away and most 10" bandsaws I have come across fall into that category....landfill.

Cheers

Kim

Hi Ben,

Just to reinforce what Kim has said. I knew it when I did it, but ......

I now have about 6 crap electric screwdrivers, three of which I never use. The upscale Black and Decker 1/2 inch chuck drill I bought when I was 18 is still going strong 38 years later, it will outlast me. I have three routers, the oldest is a B and D 1/2 HP router I bought 35 years ago, miles bigger than I needed at the time, it's still A1.

I bought a 14 inch bandsaw at the same time as the router, it's still going strong. I wish I had a bigger one, but I'm very glad glad I didnt buy a 10 inch jobbie.

I now have three table saws - I replaced a $250 cheapie but OK table saw when the bearings on the blade were shot with another $250 jobbie from HAFCO and instantly regretted it. I eventually found a proper table saw on Trademe (kiwi Ebay). It takes two people to move it and I had to buy rollers for it so I could move it on my own, it cuts beautifully and is quieter and 5 times more powerful than the cheap shitty ones. Guess how much it cost?........... $250!!

So, if you dont want a shop full of dodgy tools you regret buying, save the money and buy a bit bigger than you think you think you need now.

BTW I rate the bandsaw as the single most versatile and useful tool for lutherie and woodwork in general - about the only thing they cannot do is cut up 8 by 4 sheets of ply and MDF. And thats only if you don't need them cut into 14 inch strips, in which case the bandsaw is fine.... Coupled with a thicknesser, you can make any size of wood you like, fast

And yes, I am in the advanced stages of TAS, its got me now and there is no cure but there are worse ways to go so I am resigned to my fate.

Good luck with the purchases and with convincing your better half that this is really is what investing is all about.

Richard

[kiwigeo]

Richard you haven't experienced crap until you've got your hands on an Ozito. The Ozito router is a beauty....motor sounds like one of the anchor winches out here at work, depth stop has a tolerance of +/- 1 metre and the only way to stop it jumping out of a rosette trench is to lay a building block onto of it.

[Ben]

Everyone,

Again thank you so much for your helpful advice!

Take care and talk soon.

Ben