Re: Shop Tour
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýDavid:I have the RP3001, with extra hydraulics (6 in total), the cabinet jaws (4 sets), the lateral press unit (1 in total), and the hold down units (2 in total) and yes the Barth is staggeringly expensive by most peeps¡¯ measure of value. The amount climbs to $20k USD very quickly. I looked into direct freight from Germany to Australia (from Barth), and I looked into using the local Martin rep to get me one. And I compared these to Rangate¡¯s price. Greg gave me the best price. Simple as that. You reiterated Anthony¡¯s question with ¡°valuable addition for the price¡±? That is such a difficult question to answer for all people. Here are my observations: 1. I¡¯ve wanted a press for a long time but baulked at the price. It is just too much money for what you get. The frame itself is nothing special and any competent steel worker could make one. It¡¯s the ¡°goodies" that go with the steel frame that make the Barth special. 2. The press allows me to work at a comfortable level. As I get older this becomes more valuable. Yes, I can clamp on work benches, but often my clamping jobs are either too large or too numerous to fit on my benches, and I¡¯m inevitably clamping on the floor. I¡¯m sick of fighting with large sash and pipe clamps on the floor, and then tripping over them. I¡¯m also sick of muscling large and heavy table tops off the floor when I have a Fat 300 which easily moves around tops which remain at bench level. 3. An unexpected perk of the press is tied to the power of the hydraulic units. When laminating lots of material together, I was previously limited to such and such a width, based on whether the material being clamped was perfectly straight or slightly bowed. The hydraulic clamps have clamping power far beyond any of my manual clamps. 4. Another unexpected perk is that the Barth is able to perform narrow face laminations with ease, which is simply much more convenient to me than using the VacuPress. John Ferandin who is on this forum is a door maker and has long advocated the use of cauls to clamp door parts. I¡¯ve done just that with great success (thanks John), and I believe that with the cabinet jaws, I will be able to clamp larger/wider furniture parts. I haven¡¯t tried out that option yet. Is the Barth Press indispensable? Absolutely not. Most of us get along just fine without one. Is it value for money? That¡¯s a harder question to ask. I¡¯ve finally ¡ª after many years of lust ¡ª have bought one and I love mine. Lucky
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David Luckensmeyer