Thank you Brian ! Although I wasn’t going to buy a top from Woodcraft or Grizzly, I did price compare between buying and making. If maple is that expensive in your area, then maybe it might be worth checking into.
Fortunately maple is cheap in my locale. Nevertheless, it’s real easy to rack up a $1000 bill when you include the vises, holdfasts, dogs, and all the other goodies.
My justification is passion and knowing this isn’t a fad or phase in I’m going through. I’m in it for the long haul. Something I strive for with everything is build it right (or at least the best of my ability) and build it once, and then you have it for a lifetime.
If you think in those terms, then that grand you invested in isn’t that much at all
Measure "at least" twice and cut once