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Subject: Re: Shop Fox Widebelts

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Message Thread:

Shop Fox Widebelts

11/27/17       
Jason Holtz  Member

Website: jholtz.com

Anybody own a Shop Fox widebelt? Looking at moving to a 43" machine from my old 37" Ramco. It works perfect, has no bells or whistles. A newer machine has a lot more electronics, and that makes me slightly nervous. We had a Shop Fox jointer, and it was a solid machine.

11/27/17       #2: Shop Fox Widebelts ...
David R Sochar Member

I am firmly in the armchair, ready to offer opinions.

You have a working sander, and you are only looking for the extra width, correct?

Personally, I would stay away from ShopFox on anything requiring high precision, long or hard service, electronics, control panels, or similar. The joiner that is 'solid' is based on a century old design and is very easy to make, with only a few moving parts, with a few of them critical. I would ask if you have some broad experience with various joiners and can evaluate them fairly - no offense meant.

I will also bet that if you use a Martin Joiner for 30 minutes, you will go back the the ShopFox joiner and find it like a model T.

A used wide belt that has been gone through with a service tech will cost less and be much less hassle than a new 43" machine. I'd ask ShopFox how many of these machines they have built, and where can you go see one in operation. I would look high and low and buy the ShopFox if my only other option was a Grizzly. Will they set the machine up, or is that yours? I once bought a new Butfering. They set it up, and instructed the shop personal on its use. Then they came thru about once a year and upgraded bearings and things, no charge.

11/27/17       #3: Shop Fox Widebelts ...
Jason Holtz  Member

Website: jholtz.com

Thanks David,
Agreed, an 8" jointer is a pretty simple machine. The Shop Fox had a helical head and did a fine job. Just used for edge jointing on smaller stuff. Not a Martin for sure. Our Canadian General 880 is our main machine and is a joy to use.

I talked to my widebelt tech about the Shop Fox sander. The one I was looking at is used, barely at about 50% off new price. He says its the same machine as the Powermatic. One gripe is they are still using pneumatic tracking. I'm going to pass on it for that reason alone. Used a machine for a while with that system and it was problematic. I'm ideally looking for a Timesaver ( I'm in Minneapolis and they are local here) or a SCM Sandya but haven't found the right one yet, or I'm too cautious in my investigation and they get snagged by somebody else. The hunt continues.

 

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