Popular Woodworking 2000-12 № 119, страница 21
BLACK AND DECKER'S PLUNGE ROUTER One of the most vexing questions for beginning woodworkers is which router they should buy. The answer to that question just got a lot simpler with the introduction of the Black & Decker RP400K plunge router. Priced at a paltry $99, this router shares a lot of features with its professional cousin, the DeWalt DW621, which is a thoroughbred among plungers. The RP400K has variable speed, dust collection, a rack-and-pinion depth stop, soft start and a spindle lock on its 1/4" collet. No other plunge router on the market has all these features for this price. Add to that an oversized base (which makes the tool more stable and easy to use for beginners) and you have a router that novice woodworkers should flock to. You can also use this tool in a router table, though like most plunge routers it can be fussy to adjust up and down. Black & Decker has been making an effort to burnish its image lately with a handful of well-designed inexpensive tools including the RP400K, Firestorm drills, a scroll saw and new chop saws. And we woodworkers are the clear winners. Contact Black and Decker at 800-544-6986 or www.blackanddecker.com MAKITA'S 2012NB BENCHTOP PLANER We've seen a lot of benchtop planers come through our shop, and we've watched them get better every year. This year's standout is the Makita 2012NB, which comes closer than any other benchtop planer to producing a perfect snipe-free finish. It's also bristling with features, such as a depth stop that gets you to the same thickness every time, two depth-of-cut indicators, on-board tool storage, easily adjustable infeed and out-feed tables (finally!), blades that change quickly and easily and a motor that will take almost an ^"-deep cut on a 6"-wide board. What you won't find on the Makita planer is a cutterhead lock. Relax. The 2012N B uses a new spring-mounted nut on the cutterhead to reduce snipe. It works really well. All of this comes at aprice, of course. At $500, the Makita 2012NB is just about the most expensive benchtop planer on the market today. Is it worth it? If you have limited shop space and can't afford a floor model planer, or you need a planer that can go anywhere but produce professional results, the 2012NB is your new best friend. Contact Makita at 800-462-5482 orwww.makita.com WOODEN PLANES FOR A GREAT PRICE Wooden-bodied handplanes aren't for everyone, but if you're interested in hand tools or passionate about hand planes, you should try one of the planes made by Steve Knight and his small operation in Portland, Ore. We were particularly impressed with his 9" finish plane (some would call it a smoothing plane). For just $95 you get a plane made from white oak with an Ipe sole and an ebony strikeplate. The iron is 2" wide, an impressive V4" thick and is really something special. Hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 62 to 64 (that's about as hard as you'll ever need), these irons are then cryogenically frozen to give more use between sharpenings. Thanks to an adjustable throat and the angle of the beefy iron, you can plane even the wildest curly maple with minimal tearout using this plane. If you've never owned a wooden plane, it takes some time to learn how to set it up. But once you do, we think you'll turn to this tool more and more as you prepare your stock for finishing. By the way, Knight has other planes for sale on his website and will do custom work. Contact Knight Toolworks at 503-771-6180 or www.knight-toolworks.com 36 Popular Woodworking December 1000 |
