Hey Rick;
I meant to get back with a couple of comments from my experience:
First, I have all good things to say about Grizzly. I bought seven (?) woodworking machines from them back in the mid-1990's. They've all served me well for 20 years, and were well worth the money. Several I've modified to customize them for my purposes. A few have had electrical problems, with failed switches. In my experience, the Grizzly machines are sturdy and well built mechanically. I understand that they've improved their electrical switches and wiring over the years.
One machine that you left off your list, which I would put up near the top of your priority list, just behind the bandsaw and the drill press:
You need an Edge Sander, either the G1140 or the G1531. Mine is an earlier G1531, which I've modified quite a bit. That is the single most frequently used machine in my shop. I probably use it an average of 20 times a day. I think every Luthier I know has one, and can't live without it. It's the all-purpose woodworking sander, much handier than the G0547 on your list.
Two other Grizzly sanders that I highly recommend, for both woodworking and metalworking:
The G1276 6" x 48" Combo sander. This is the slower 1725 rpm combo belt/disk sander. It's very heavy duty, and smooth running. I use mine about 10 times a day.
The G1015 Knife Belt Sander. Another machine that I use many times every day. More for metalworking than woodworking, but very useful. The open spindle can take a pneumatic sanding drum, buffing wheels, etc.
A few other comments on your list:
My spindle sander is a Ryobi, which has been a surprising workhorse. The Grizzly G0538 is a similar machine, and well worth the money.
The G0555 bandsaw, G7946 Drill Press, G0725 Jointer and G0790 Planer are good choices, worth the money.
I'd forget the G0436 Scroll Saw. I have two nice similar Scroll Saws, a Delta and a Ryobi and they are basically useless. I never use them.
The Bosch router is a good choice. I personally have mostly Porter-Cable routers, but almost anything from Bosch is a good sturdy tool.
Likewise the Bosch angle grinder is a good tool that you'll use a lot. Forget the Galahad discs. They look good on paper, but I've found that they are too coarse cutting and clog up too easily. Normal 60 grit sanding discs on the angle grinder work great.
For the orbital sander, you definitely want to get one that's variable speed. I have a Milwaukee 6021-21 (about $80 at Home Depot) and it's great. Very smooth running and adjustable. I like it better than my Porter-Cable orbital sander. The Bosch is probably good, but get the variable speed model. I rarely use mine anywhere above 3 0r 4 on the speed dial. Get the hook & loop pad for it. It's really nice to be able to quickly switch disk grits, without harming the disks. With the PSA (pressure adhesive) disks, you'll waste a lot of them.
I hope this helps!
Hey Bruce
This helps a lot, manohman! Exactly the kind of considered feedback I was looking for! Thanks so much for taking the time, I really appreciate it. I will research everything that you mention here, for sure. Nice to hear about the switches being better now on the Grizzly stuff. My shop guys made the exact same comment.
We used the scroll saw at the shop I am working in to cut the "F" holes and it worked like a charm. I much prefer it to trying to cut them by hand. I don't know of any other machine or tool that would do such a quick and precise job on those, do you? They turned out really nice and that is the only reason that I have the scroll saw in the budget. We just had to clean them up with a couple of files and a little sandpaper and they were really perfect.
The edge sanders look a little pricey but I can see how handy they would be. When we were doing the edge work on the bodies in the shop, we used the combo and spindle sanders a lot - and for our purposes they worked really well. We didn't run into a situation on these bodies where we needed a bigger belt area - but I can see how valuable it would be. When I can ratchet it into the budget I should pick one up. As it stands right now, I can get the spindle and combo sanders for less than half the price of the edge sander and my budget is pretty tapped out.
I would never forego the Galahad grinding blade - man it was incredible, it was the way we carved and shaped all of the bodies. I was very nervous when Glenn pulled it out and fired it up. The blade appears very aggressive. More than one person on this forum told me that tool was a total loser, too aggressive, and inappropriate for woodworking. However, it never got clogged and I found it to be perfect for what needed to be done. They taught me how to use it on some scraps but I wasn't confident enough to do the body shaping yet myself. It's one of the things I can't wait to get into. When I asked Jens Ritter if he had ever considered CNC for his body shapes, he laughed and said - "No way, shaping the bodies is the fun part". Glenn uses it every day to carve and shape wood. I told him about the comments on the forum and he just grinned and said - "A lot of tools are deemed inappropriate until you learn how to use them properly". And use it he did! There is very radical shaping and lots of carving involved and that grinder just worked perfectly - both on the maple and on the mahogany. It was surprisingly not too aggressive at all - and saved us lots of time. It you use it in broad strokes it takes off surprisingly little material. He did the radical carving work on all five bodies with just the Galahad disc and then I helped by going over it with the orbital sander. They look awesome, I would post a pic - but I can't reveal them yet.
I also love the wooden handles on the Bosch router, everything else being pretty equal - that makes it a winner for me. Anytime my hands can be directly in touch with wood, I prefer it. Variable speed on the orbital sander is a great suggestion. From what I have read the Bosch orbitals have better vibration control than some other brands. This upgrade won't break the bank so I will follow your advice on this and switch to this one:
I also already picked up a pneumatic 2" orbital sander and that was a life saver for smoothing out the inside of the clamshells. It uses the hook and loop pads too, so you can swap sandpaper easily. It's great for delicate work. However, I will need an air compressor for it, and picking out a compressor is a bit overwhelming. I can see how mapleglo was having so many problems. Finish work for me at this point is a pipe dream, I have far too much to learn and concentrate on before I ever get to that. But if I buy a compressor, it would be nice if it were good enough to use with a paint gun later on. I understand that the sanders really use a lot of air power, so I can't go light duty. If you have an air compressor recommendation, I am all ears. I will also need to get a good buffing wheel at that point, but the G1015 knife sander for now seems like a luxury for me at that price.
You have a great point on the combo sander upgrade, but again, the budget is maxed out and I have used the smaller one on my list with great satisfaction. Maybe later I can afford to sell it and move up a notch. By the way - building necks is (gulp) also not in the cards right now either. Your build diaries on the two necks you made for me caused me to go running for the hills - at least for now.
Thanks again Bruce, much appreciated!
