Popular Woodworking 2001-12 № 125, страница 10
Tool Test continued from page 16 Clamp Competition Gets Tighter With New Parallel-Jaw Clamp from Gross Stabil We've been in love with Bessey's K-Body parallel-jaw clamps from the first day we tried them. But now our eye is wandering a little and our affections are being toyed with. Gross Stabil has introduced a new parallel-jaw bar clamp that offers many of the same features as the Bessey clamps, and a couple of new ones as well. The Gross Stabil PC2 adds removable soft pads for easier cleaning and "gentle" work, removable clamp heads in case of damage (rather than replace the whole clamp) and increased clamping area on the jaws (13/4" x 35/8" with the removable pads in place, and 1?/16n x 31/2" without. Bessey's offers 13/s" x 33/8"). Gross Stabil has also added 3/4" to the clamp screw's length. If you're saying, "so what?" you may never have run out of screw during a glue-up, forcing you to back off the clamp, unscrew the spindle and readjust. If you've had to do that more than once, you'll recognize the benefit. For those of you who've been paying attention to clamps over the years, you may recall that Gross Stabil already offered a parallel-jaw clamp. Quite true, but the design wasn't without some problems, including imperfect parallelism over the entire depth of the jaw and a higher retail price than the Bessey model. Both of these issues have been addressed in the PC2. This clamp maintains its parallelism nicely, and Gross Stabil informs us the pricing will be directly in line with Bessey's. This clamp feels good, operates well, has improved versatility and is priced to compete. We're looking forward to adding some to our shop. But we won't fill up all the space on our clamp rack as we're waiting to test a new parallel-jaw clamp from Jorgensen as well. We love competition, and you can never own too many clamps! For more information, circle #164 on the Resource Directory Coupon. SPECIFICATIONS: Gross Stabil PC2 Street price: 12" - $32,48" - $43 Jaw depth: 3//2" Stated clamping pressure: 1,100 lbs. Rail material: Galvanized steel Jaw material: Polyamide nylon Performance: ••••• Value: •••OO Contact Gross Stabil at 800-6710838, or www.grossstabil.com Tool Dock Brings Machinist-Quality Storage to the Woodshop Many of us woodworkers have looked at machinists' steel storage cabinets with envy, and even bought a few, but they haven't been designed for woodworkers. Now Waterloo Industries (the folks who have been making those cabinets for machinists and grease monkeys for 65 years) have turned their sights on us. Rolling out a new line of eight storage units and five inserts, the Tool Dock system allows you to mix and match the units to fit your needs, space and style of woodworking. With sturdy, well-constructed steel bases (which go together easier than the average contractor saw), 1V4" replaceable MDF (medium density fiberboard) tops and slide-out tool stations inserts, it's simple to design your own workshop space. In fact, Waterloo's website gives you a program to help do just that. One of the things that makes the system unique is the ability to mount benchtop tools to one of the inserts. The insert boards fit into cutouts in some of the tops and lock down to hold the tool in place during use. Afterward, unlock the insert, lift out the tool and slide it into one of the tool storage units. The insert becomes the shelf. Doing some sanding? One insert is designed as a sanding station, and three of the units offer integral dust collection hook-up. There's a router table and a workbench as well. This is a nice system that offers lots of good ideas for anyone looking to set up shop with little fuss and mess. But organization does come at a price, and there could be a few more drawers built in. Waterloo, thanks for the attention, and keep up the good work. PW SPECIFICATIONS: Tool Dock Modular Workshop Street price: $149 - $309 Tables: 1 MDF Bases: 18-gauge molded steel Performance: •••OO Value: •••OO Waterloo Industries: 866-866-5365, or www.tooldock.com For more information, circle #165 on the Resource Directory Coupon. 18 PopularWoodworking December2001 |
