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Hi,

I'm thinking about picking up a band saw and drill press for
my build. What sizes should i need? 9", 10" or larger?

Thanks, Mark

How much space do you have and what do you want to do with it. I have a 17" drill press (an 81/2" throat) That allow me to drill holes in larger jigs. I have a 14" band saw, that is large enough for occasional somewhat wasteful resawing, but great for all of the profiling work I do including cutting out necks from a neck blank.

johnnparchem wrote:How much space do you have and what do you want to do with it. I have a 17" drill press (an 81/2" throat) That allow me to drill holes in larger jigs. I have a 14" band saw, that is large enough for occasional somewhat wasteful resawing, but great for all of the profiling work I do including cutting out necks from a neck blank.

Hi,

With the band saw I would like to cut the top and back woods to dread shape. Eventually,
I'd like to learn how to cut out a neck from a blank. With the drill press I'll be using it for
rosettes and the holes on the headstock for tuners. i just don't want to get something and
regret it later. I have my whole basement but I really don't want a bunch of huge tools
swallowing the space up. This is my first build so I'd like some affordable tools that will
make certain things easier.

With the drill press to understand the size you want, figure out how deep into a plate you need to drill and double that number.

I really like my 14" band saw. I can profile a top or back without having to flip it upside down as the 14" has a deep enough throat to work with the plate.

johnnparchem wrote:With the drill press to understand the size you want, figure out how deep into a plate you need to drill and double that number.

I really like my 14" band saw. I can profile a top or back without having to flip it upside down as the 14" has a deep enough throat to work with the plate.

Hi John,

So, for a dread, to do the rosette and cut the sound hole I guess i need at least a 12" drill press?
Because the upper bout of a Martin dread is about 11 1/8"?

I like the idea of the 14" band saw.....

Thank you!

Legolas wrote:

johnnparchem wrote:With the drill press to understand the size you want, figure out how deep into a plate you need to drill and double that number.

I really like my 14" band saw. I can profile a top or back without having to flip it upside down as the 14" has a deep enough throat to work with the plate.

Hi John,

So, for a dread, to do the rosette and cut the sound hole I guess i need at least a 12" drill press?
Because the upper bout of a Martin dread is about 11 1/8"?

That is how I understand it.

johnnparchem wrote:

Legolas wrote:

johnnparchem wrote:With the drill press to understand the size you want, figure out how deep into a plate you need to drill and double that number.

I really like my 14" band saw. I can profile a top or back without having to flip it upside down as the 14" has a deep enough throat to work with the plate.

Hi John,

So, for a dread, to do the rosette and cut the sound hole I guess i need at least a 12" drill press?
Because the upper bout of a Martin dread is about 11 1/8"?

That is how I understand it.

Thank you for the help!

I have a 14" bandsaw with riser blocks that does everything I need it to do, including occasionally resawing. First thing I did when I bought it was order the riser block kit and install ceramic blade guides. I also have a table-top Delta drill press that's plenty big enough for cutting soundholes. Remember that your Martin 11-1/8" upper bout width is from edge to edge, but when you're cutting the hole, you only need half that width -- about 5-1/2" from the edge of the bout to the center line of the sound hole. Thus, even my smaller drill press works just fine for this sort of job.