Please check my list to make sure I'm thinking straight

With the 30% -25% off sale, I think it's time for me to pull the trigger. After you guys look this list over, I only need approval from my wife . Money is tight for us, so I'm looking to get the most I can for my bucks.

Prices below include the discount. I don't know what shipping is likely to run.

Let me know what else I should get or if any of these things look like I'm barking up the wrong tree.

SGS 70" system		$148.46
	70" Guide
	Guide Edges 140"
	Two smart clamps
	Smart Base
	AC1 x 2
	AC2 x 2
32" Guide		$43.84
Set of two connectors		$22.46
Center connedtor		$11.44
Guide Edges 150"		$12.04
Smart Table Top Kit		$52.46
Dust Shield		$3.38
Dust Port		$11.96
B-300		$185.50
Connector Extrusion 24"		$12.94
Smart Router Kit		$110.21
			$614.69
Makita 5008MGA saw		$220
Freud Diablo 8 1/4" Blade		$30
Lumber & Materials for Power Bench		$75
Lumber for Smart Table top		$20
Materials for stops, squaring fence, etc.		$50
Material for rip fence		$150
Lumber for side supports		$20
Material for squaring fence extension		$50
			$1,229.69

I just ordered some items also, the discount came at a good time! I was going to use an existing
bench to turn into a power bench, but Id be giving up my woodworking vise and an awesome platform for storage. It seems every loose item ends up on top of the bench.
I just got the power bench kit. I talked to George, very helpful and he's a good salesman. I got a few extra items .
did you know the complete 70" rail system comes with the bench? they also upgraded the 200 bridge to the 300, standard. you are close to the power bench kit price with your order if that helps.
my shipping was 65.00

I'm torpedoed. One of my "justifying projects" was a set of three full size platform beds to have ready by this summer. I priced it out with no charge for labor and was told that they could buy them at Ikea for just a little more. I modified the design to bring it down and they still didn't bite.

What I would build would be ten times as durable as Ikea, but not quite as fashionable.

I suppose what you need in parts depends on what you plan to build. A 70" guide rail sounds good for a PBB but do you ever plan to rip anything longer like a full sheet of plywood? You might want to add another shorter guide rail in addition to the 32". It's good to have plenty of room on each end of the cut to hold the saw before and after the cut.

I see you included a Smart Table Top Kit and that's a very good idea. That's where a little longer guide rail combination will be very helpful. An alternative is the PBB 2 STK Kit to turn the PBB into a Smart Table. I don't have it but I wish I did. I currently have the Smart Table and I like it a lot but it takes up more room than I'd like. Overall I'd say that the stand alone Smart Table is much more versatile but if your limited on space then the adapter kit looks very good too.

You may also want to consider the Smart Square. It's very handy for use with the Smart Table. However, since you'll have a PBB you probably won't need it. Still, if you have the extra bucks you probably would find it handy.

As far as the rest goes you should call Dino or George at Eurekazone. They can help you sort things out and will give you good advice without trying to sell you more than you need. they might even put together a, "Package deal" of some sort for you if you ask.

I'm not sure I understand the deal with the platform beds. Are these for a customer? Are they friends, relatives, or strangers? I guess you could break it down farther into close friends or acquaintances. Unless you're just bored and feel like getting in some practice, your time is worth quite a bit. If I was doing this for a family member I would let them pay for the materials and donate the labor. I might do that for a close friend too. But how close? If they were a dentist friend would they work on your family's teeth for free? If not then they aren't close enough for you to work for free. If this was just some customer or even just an acquaintance/casual friend I wouldn't give my labor away at all. And no matter who it is, if they are balking at the idea of something built, (With FREE labor!) versus a mass produced item from Ikea then I wouldn't work too hard to convince them otherwise. It sounds like they are somewhat clueless when it comes to value. Maybe just shrug your shoulders and offer to help them unload their truck if you feel compelled to donate your time. Honestly, I might feel a little insulted if they turn down your generous offer and then asked you to assemble the Ikea furniture for them. I don't have anything against Ikea and I'm sure I don't understand all of the subtle nuances surrounding your relationship with them and the potential deal. I suppose if the, "They" in this situation are other members of your own household then you have a whole different set of problems to iron out. If that's the case then you have a long and hard row to hoe when it comes to future projects after this issue is resolved. It might be a good time to exercise the, "Executive Order" part of your contract and just tell those involved just how it's going to be...Good luck with that.

Bruce

Good point on the length. If I had my druthers, I'd get a 70 for the PBB, a 106 for sheet goods and some smaller ones for portable crosscuts and in jigs. When I need to cut sheet goods, I think I can manage by taking the 70 from the PBB and using it with the 32. 102" of rail to cut 96 or 97" stock is not optimal, but is it adequate?

To keep costs down, I'm not using any of the sliding module extrusions, so the PBB 2 STK won't work. I figure I'll be able to put a STK with it's boards on top of another table, or on top of the PBB if necessary.

The platform beds were for my daughter and her two best friends who will be moving into a house after living in college dorms for two years. I enjoy doing the work and I would have been glad to donate some of my time to make some furniture which they might keep for many years. It's also a rare way for a 45-year-old dad to make connections with his 20-year-old daughter.

I don't think Ikea is the best decision for them, but they are old enough to make their own decisions. And, I probably will end up helping them assemble the Ikea particle board future landfill, and smiling about it.

SchreiberBike wrote:

Good point on the length. If I had my druthers, I'd get a 70 for the PBB, a 106 for sheet goods and some smaller ones for portable crosscuts and in jigs. When I need to cut sheet goods, I think I can manage by taking the 70 from the PBB and using it with the 32. 102" of rail to cut 96 or 97" stock is not optimal, but is it adequate?

Above you said you would get, "...A 106 for sheet goods...". Maybe this isn't what you meant but you don't need a one-piece rail that long. Just connecting shorter rails works quite well and you avoid shipping and storage issues.

Yes, 102" of rail will work for ripping a full sheet. It's definitely not the ideal setup but I got by with it alright for a couple of years and so have many other people. Actually, most people, including me, had/have the 100" system so adding a couple of inches will help. The problem is that you have to be pretty careful when starting and stopping a full length cut like that. At the beginning of the cut you don't want to start the saw with the blade up against the wood so you have to have much of the EZ Base off of the rail. This can sometimes mean that you have to be careful not to wobble the saw a little when you start the cut. The same goes at the end of the cut. With only 3" of rail hanging off of each end it does require your attention. But it's not like it can't be done. Since the 100" system was/is the standard offering for so long most people have been making these long cuts successfully and I'm sure you will too. But when you finally substitute a longer rail or just add another short rail you will wonder why you didn't do this from the beginning. I'm pretty sure Eurekazone still sells short scrap pieces for pretty cheap and then all you'd need is a couple more connectors. The connectors aren't that cheap, in my opinion, but you'll probably find that having some extras around are pretty handy.

SchreiberBike wrote:

To keep costs down, I'm not using any of the sliding module extrusions, so the PBB 2 STK won't work. I figure I'll be able to put a STK with it's boards on top of another table, or on top of the PBB if necessary.

I see. No problem with that. I think a separate STK is better anyway if you can only have one and you have the room to set it up. That's how I'm set up. I have about 90% of a 22' x 22' two car garage dedicated to my shop and it's filled with full sized WW machines on wheels, tables, and a large mobile wood storage cart. I do have enough room to work if I'm tidy and organized but that has never been something I'm especially good at. My STK is set up on folding banquet table legs so it isn't too hard to fold it up and either store it on the wood cart or up against a wall. But then when I need it again I don't always have the space to set it up again. That's when just sliding those fancy new extrusions into the SMEs on my PBB might come in handy. But I don't have the money for such things these days so I'll just try to be better organized instead.

SchreiberBike wrote:

The platform beds were for my daughter and her two best friends who will be moving into a house after living in college dorms for two years. I enjoy doing the work and I would have been glad to donate some of my time to make some furniture which they might keep for many years. It's also a rare way for a 45-year-old dad to make connections with his 20-year-old daughter.
I don't think Ikea is the best decision for them, but they are old enough to make their own decisions. And, I probably will end up helping them assemble the Ikea particle board future landfill, and smiling about it.

Ah, I see now. Well, I can see where donating free labor would be the way to go but I can also see where trying to convince 20 Y.O. girls that what you can build would be a better value might be a hard sell. On the plus side, I read a big thread on the SMC General WW forum about Ikea and it doesn't sound like it's all bad there at all. I've never been in one since there isn't one in my town and Swedish furniture stores aren't generally on the itinerary when we travel. But judging by the comments made by some people who know their way around a woodshop you can buy some pretty decent solid wood furniture for stupid-cheap prices. Others were going on and on about how it's all crap and made from particle board. From what I gathered there is some of that but not all of it.

Just be glad you're still communicating with your daughter and she's in college. I'm the same age as you are and just minutes ago I felt my blood pressure spike as I got an earful of 13 year old girl attitude. She may get straight A's right now but teenage girls can be downright ornery sometimes. Man do I hope we only have the same relatively minor problems as you are in 7 years when she's in college. Good luck with the furniture building, (Or maybe assembling ) and feel free to ask anymore you got. By the way, what first name do you go by?

Bruce

Thanks Bruce,

I'm John Schreiber & when I first got on the net, I was a serious bicyclist, hence SchreiberBike. Unfortunately, my knees are now shot and I need a cane to walk any distance. Fortunately as a woodworker, I can make very nice canes.

As for daughters, there were years when we didn't think any of us would survive, but there were also good years too. Fortunately, since she's been at college, they've been (mostly) good. She's got an eight year old sister who is 12 years behind her and coming up fast. But her personality is totally different. We will see.

Thank goodness we only had one boy.  That was enough to drive me nuts. Happy note: He's now grown and supporting himself nicely without any help from me. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz......Ooooooooh, what a relief THAT is!