Popular Woodworking 2001-02 № 120, страница 5

Out on a Limb

Of Poachers & Game Wardens

For many years I've subscribed to the theory that poachers usually make the best game wardens. And why shouldn't this be so? A successful poacher would know both the habits of his prey and the habits of the people who protect the prey. So after converting to the "straight and narrow," a poacher cum game warden would know all the wiles of the most cunning poachers in the territory. And so equipped, his ability to protect his charges would be hugely advanced.

I tell you this because in my current responsibilities as editor of this magazine, I consider myself a sort of woodworking tool and machinery game warden. As we test and evaluate tools, as we do in this issue with chisels, combination squares and low-angle block planes, I see it as one of my jobs to make sure that the tools we test are identical to the merchandise you get out of the box when you bring it home from the store. We don't want to have any ringers in our "test lab."

Now what you don't know about me is that long ago I was a fair to middlin' poacher who worked the fields of public relations and product promotion. I didn't push woodworking tools, mind you. But it's fair to say the tricks to hustling cross over many a product.

Knowing this, we are vigilant in looking for signs that a tool arriving from a manufacturer might show signs of tampering, that the manufacturers' engineering lab had tweaked an off-the-shelf tool before shipping it to us.

What baffles me is just how little of this "puttin' your best foot forward" behavior actually happens. Not only do we see little evidence of this when examining tools, but we actually receive a number of tools that are truly defective.

Of course, this runs contrary to what many woodworking magazine readers think happens. And in many ways I don't blame them, for I too would be somewhat skeptical were it not for the unique position

I'm in. And as a former "poacher" I guess I'd have to say that this new breed of PR man/product promoter is either too ethical to rig the tools, too lazy or simply needs to learn at the knee of some retired practitioner. I don't want to encourage this behavior for it eases my duties, but I'm still surprised by its absence.

Now for those who still don't believe we get tools that have been given "extra attention," consider this parade of tool problems that have marched through our shop over the past few years. This is just a partial list.

• The switch on a DeWalt scrollsaw that broke after five minutes of use.

• A Delta planer that arrived on our doorstep with many of its internal parts missing.

• Random orbit sanders from Bosch and Black & Decker that stopped spinning after a few weeks of use.

• A Grizzly table saw that wouldn't bevel to 45°.

• The fence on a DeWalt table saw that could not be squared to the blade.

• The motor on a Delta sander that quit after 10 minutes of use.

• A Great Tools cordless drill battery that wouldn't take a charge.

After investigating each of these broken tools we discovered that we had received one of a handful of tools that was defective — rarely was our one bad tool indicative of an entire line of bad tools. This goes to show you two things. First, that we face many of the same issues that readers do when acquiring tools. Sometimes you need to send a tool back. Secondly, tool reviews are rarely rigged, in our opinion. Manufacturers know that a good review in a magazine isn't worth a hill of beans if almost every customer that buys the tool wants to return it. PW

CONTACT INFORMATION

Steve Shanesy

Editor & Publisher Specialties: Projects, techniques, article and project selection 513-531-2690 ext.238 steves@fwpubs.com

David Thiel

Senior Editor Specialties: Projects, new products and tools, tricks of the trade 513-531-2690 ext.255 davidt@fwpubs.com

Christopher Schwarz

Senior Editor Specialties: Author liaison, website, projects, photography 513-531-2690 ext.407 chriss@fwpubs.com

Jim Stuard

Associate Editor Specialties: Projects, carving,turning, project illustrations 513-531-2690 ext.348 jims@fwpubs.com

Tricia Barlow

Art Director

Specialties: Magazine and cover design, photo direction

513-531-2690 ext.599 triciab@fwpubs.com

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SAFETY NOTE

Safety is your responsibility.

Manufacturers place safety devices on their equipment for a reason. In many photos you see in Popular Woodworking, these have been removed to provide clarity. In some cases we'll use an awkward body position so you can better see what's being demonstrated. Don't copy us.Think about each procedure you're going to perform beforehand. Safety First!

6 Popular Woodworking February 2001