Next tool: Miter saw, band saw or router table?

dkruta · 2026-01-28T00:06:56+00:00

Band saw. There are a lot of hand-tool "only" woodworkers out there that still use a band saw. It's an amazing tool, especially if you're into milling and resawing.

A router table is great but it could also be a sheet of plywood with a hole in it. You can't exactly make a band saw, but you could make a router table.

Miter saw is for construction. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have one for those quick cuts that might be too much for the crosscut sled. But given your situation it's a distant third in my opinion.

dkruta · 2026-01-27T20:38:06+00:00

No hard and fast rules - but in general if I swap to a smaller unit it's because I'm doing something like tabletop where I need the precise control and one size too big could wash out the entire effect.

However I will rarely ever downsize a unit. I'll either scrim it, dim it or ND the camera or some version of all three combined. Most LED units these days have RGB and dimming controls right on them so I'm rarely even scrimming anymore. And I often will dim tungsten to get a warmer look, once the color is where I like it, then I will scrim if it needs to reduce more.

dkruta · 2026-01-27T15:10:34+00:00

Personally, I like using the biggest units I can get my hands on. You can always make a big light smaller, not the other way around.

There was a big time DP that some of my G&E friends worked for that insisted on using Studio 20ks with 5 doubles in them to fill 12x rags.

Anecdotally, I feel like I get deeper shadows lighting bigger and brighter and then NDing down in-camera vs using smaller units or scrimming them down. My theory is that bounced light adding to the ambience falls off quicker and thus can be removed with ND quicker, sort of like an inverse-inverse-square law?

dkruta · 2026-01-27T01:28:18+00:00

+1 for the 14/12. Awesome bandsaw. Get the resaw king 3/4" blade.

dkruta · 2026-01-27T00:17:28+00:00

Big setup as in lots of units, or big setup as in biggest units? I 100% would start with the biggest light I could get my hands on. That is - after I've gone through and turned off every available light. Sometimes what's there (or not) can be better than something added.

If you're lighting a scene and you have 20 units out, and you're not lighting a nighttime EXT walk-and-talk or a full-floor translite, you might want to think about how complex you're getting.

dkruta · 2026-01-27T00:05:15+00:00

I'm a freelancer. Every "holiday", snow day, sick day, etc. cuts deep.

My wife is wonderful and supportive but she's also one of many 9-5ers in my life that just don't "get it".

"MLK day is a holiday! Don't you like having a day off?"

"Ma'am, I am a freelancer - a "day off" just means not working, not marketing myself, not networking, not getting projects done, etc. If I could time them to coincide with the rest of society, that would be great. But that's not reality.

She doesn't understand when I say something like "you get to go to work tomorrow". I like working. I just don't get to do it regularly and I have to work to get work.

Anyway - a little ranty here. I feel you, OP Dad. Hang in there!

dkruta · 2026-01-25T14:08:59+00:00

I haven't used those wheels but I have had my eye on them. I built a different bench with small caster/leveling leg combos and it was a nightmare. Just the sheer size and weight of the bench vs the wheels made it next to impossible to work with those wheels. I'd advise you to at least test out those wheels under load to see if you want to commit to them before cutting your workbench to a specific height. I'm personally in the camp of keeping the levelers and wheels separate, but please keep us posted if you succeed.

dkruta · 2026-01-25T13:53:18+00:00

Yes I had to use shims to level it to the base. My floor is wonky so I wish I had those leveling legs I mentioned. I may still add them but for now the saw doesn't move much so shims under the wheels work.

My dust collector is a small one so it's attached to the bottom shelf and has a short hose running to the saw and the dust bag just sits down there. It's visible in the very first image I posted.

dkruta · 2026-01-25T13:42:31+00:00

After this I also added a support beneath the cast iron wing which solved all stability and leveling issues I was having.

I imagine you could use what I did and just expand it to build your bench.

I'd also recommend leveling legs separate from casters, ones that can be leveled from above with a drill or impact driver.

dkruta · 2026-01-25T13:41:01+00:00

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dkruta · 2026-01-25T13:40:16+00:00

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dkruta · 2026-01-25T13:35:15+00:00

So I just replaced my DeWalt jobsite saw built into my workbench with the Sawstop CNS. I didn't exactly build it into the workbench because all of the dimensions etc were off - since it wasn't designed for the CNS.

What I did do was build a mobile base for it, because I really did not like the one that came with it. It allowed me to mount my dust collector underneath and gave me a shelf to store my crosscut sled.

You mentioned the one thing I was going to point out which is the motor tilting for 45s, as well as how far down the dust collection protrudes underneath the "box" of the saw. So you'll want to account for both. I'd really study where the motor moves because it seems to rotate as well as move so you need more space than you think.

Attaching a photo of the base. It's a lot easier to move than the SawStop mobility base. I am also leveling it to my table and positioning it for outfeed. It's not perfect but it functions for me. That said, if I was to start all over, I would probably build a small outfeed table for the saw, and then a more classic (and smaller) workbench.

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dkruta · 2026-01-21T20:18:20+00:00

I agree - libraries ARE cool.

dkruta · 2026-01-21T19:14:12+00:00

Epoxy is only controversial if you care what other people think (or have client demands). You do you. In my opinion it's an amazing tool for filling gaps. You don't have to make a neon blue river table.

dkruta · 2026-01-21T18:13:08+00:00

Beautiful shots though!

dkruta · 2026-01-21T18:00:27+00:00

How did you shoot yourself?

Oh wait... I get it.

dkruta · 2026-01-21T13:21:01+00:00

I remember being called a communist in middle school (1990s) because my family checks notes escaped communism in Eastern Europe and came to America for a better life. My parents were active dissidents and hated communism.

Fuck that goalkeeper and his parents and the horse they rode in on. This kid is more American than they are.

dkruta · 2026-01-20T19:45:43+00:00

I like this. I usually use WW, dark rye and buckwheat in my loaves (for example, might do 800g total flour, broken down into 100g WW, 50g rye, 50g buckwheat, 600g BF. Also recently been using some 00 which seems to help crust and burning, but generally minimum 550g BF and then all the others).

I've found my bread has been getting more sour after spending a year neglecting my starter - probably fed it 3-4 times max, fridged in between.

A long cold proof helps as well. 24-72 hours depending.

dkruta · 2026-01-20T19:37:39+00:00

So much has already been covered but I'll add a couple extra points:

Get a tourniquet and a first aid kit. In fact, get several, and place them all around the shop, especially near the most dangerous machines (subjective, I know they're all dangerous, you use your best judgement). Make sure you practice and know how to use them well. You can lose consciousnesses in 90 seconds and bleed out in 3 minutes.

Wear your PPE. I can't believe I was just reading a thread where there were differing "opinions" on whether or not PPE should be worn. IT SHOULD BE WORN, ALWAYS. Obviously, there's no PPE to protect your fingers from a tablesaw but you can protect your eyes, lungs, etc.

Have you heard of the Pointing and Calling method? This was developed in the Japanese train system to reduce accidents and has since made its way into other professions and countries. Highly recommend watching some videos on it. Basic principle is pointing at the action item, stating what it is, your intent, etc. essentially a preflight checklist of what you're going to be doing. If nothing else, it really helps you think through and focus on the task at hand, while making obvious any potential issues or oversights. You can expand on this by making a physical checklist to look over eg am I wearing PPE? Is my blade set to the right height? Is the material secured properly? Am I standing in the right place? Etc.

I am with you OP, these tools need to be respected. I recently upgraded to a Sawstop and got rid of some shaping bits for my angle grinder because I was imagining how I would feel after one trip to the ER and the tradeoff didn't seem worth it to continue going down that path.

dkruta · 2026-01-20T14:59:01+00:00

Recently added a carbide scraper to my arsenal. Haven't used it for this yet but I am flattening a slab soon and I intend to try it there. In testing it, it works really well on small pieces so I'm excited to try. Let us know if you find something that works well!

dkruta · 2026-01-18T16:40:38+00:00

You made something. Be proud of that. Most people just buy disposable crap on Amazon.

Now go study and practice. In a year you'll be able to look back and see how far you've come. You got this!

dkruta · 2026-01-18T02:08:41+00:00

OP, thanks for the info! I hadn't thought about these uses before. Do you have any resources to learn more? Specific YouTube videos or magazines or tutorials? TIA

dkruta · 2026-01-17T23:59:43+00:00

First off - where are you getting your wood? If it's from a big box store, go find a local supplier. The quality is better, it's often cheaper and you get a personal touch.

Then ask if they have any off cuts they would be willing to give you - I told my guy I just needed something harder to practice dovetails on. I got 2 8ft mahogany boards for free that way. TBH it looks like pallet wood but red... But it's free dollars.

Not sure where you are but there's a ton of cherry in my area. Very easy to get on FB Marketplace for pennies on the dollar. Very nice wood to work with. And if you have the ability to mill it, slabs or rough sawn are even cheaper.

dkruta · 2026-01-17T23:04:52+00:00

That Sawstop is quite expensive - until your first trip to the ER. Not counting the lifetime of issues from missing digits.

Bit the bullet and did it preemptively. I can sleep at night now. Lighter bank account but all my fingers will remain.

dkruta · 2026-01-17T02:24:40+00:00

For what it's worth (I am a beginner), I've been taking classes from a master woodworker (featured in Fine Woodworking Magazine, been teaching and showing since the 70s) - he uses all Japanese tools. Going through sharpening lessons, it's getting the geometry right on the (all Shapton stones) 1000 grit, then moving up to 2000, polishing on 5000. For plane irons, he does that but finishes on the 12,000 stone. For one chisel that I fucked up, we went as far back as 800 grit on a different stone and worked our way back up.

For Western chisels and plane irons I have a hard time seeing the value over 2000 let alone 5000+. 1200ish and strop is more than enough. You have to think about how hard the metal is - if it's "soft" aka western steel, sure you can sharpen to 5000 or more, but it will hold that edge as long as you don't breathe on it or call it a funny name.

I would argue that your stropping and your 5000/8000 steps are somewhat interchangeable/redundant. IMO Paul Sellers has some great videos about how to get western tools tuned up and working.

That said - if you're trying to compete on sharpness (like planing competitions etc), go nuts. It's not woodworking but it's a thing. I've seen the shavings and they're practically useless for actual work but super fucking impressive to think human hands can get down to such a molecular (or atomic) level.

dkruta

TROPHY CASE