Popular Woodworking 2002-12 № 131, страница 43

JET's Super-fast Jointer Clamps

For mid-piece joints

One of the woodworking products du jour are corner squares that - with the help of a couple bar clamps - hold cabinet parts square while you screw or nail them together. Nifty? Yes. Should you buy them? Nope.

Instead, take a look at Jet's new assembly clamps, which are corner squares and clamps all in one. Here's how they work: Put your parts together and slide the assembly clamps over the joint. The springs hold them in place at 90° as you screw, nail or clamp the joint.

The clamps work with any 90° joint, such as securing a top or shelf to a cabinet

side. We were impressed by the holding power of these clamps. When attaching a 34" x 24" cabinet bottom to a side, it took only one clamp to hold the bottom in position perfectly. Thanks to these clamps, we were able to assemble huge cabinets easily without a helper.

The clamp bodies are made from a tough fiber-filled composite material - dropping them won't hurt them. The springs themselves are made from thick stainless steel.

Priced at just $20 for a set of two, these clamps are essential for accurate case construction, especially in the one-person workshop.

Contact JET Tools at 800-274-6848 or jettools.com

Excalibur's Merlin Splitter - One We'll Use!

Splitter guards on table saws are always a pain to use, but we know they serve a useful purpose. So we grumble and stick it back on the saw. If only it were easy to remove and replace the splitter. Happily, after a year of refining, Excalibur has an answer for us.

The new Merlin Splitter is a toolless, thin-kerf splitter with twin pawls. It's toolless because a universal adapter replaces the front mounting bolt, making it possible to simply press the release bar and swivel the splitter up and out of the way.

By drilling a small hole in the throat plate of your table saw, you can use a pencil to remove the splitter without removing the plate.

Another common annoyance with stock splitters is solved by Merlin's thin-kerf design. On most splitters, when a thin-kerf blade is used, the splitter blade is too thick, causing binding, rather than curing it. Also, the twin, alternate-height pawls effectively stop kickback problems in thin and thick stock.

Priced at $110, the Merlin splitter, when used with a good overarm guard, finally makes it convenient to work smart and safe on your table saw.

Contact Excalibur at 800-357-4118 or excalibur-tools.com

Jointech's SmartMiter Sled

We've tested a lot of aftermarket miter gauges and sliding sleds, but the Jointech SmartMiter is hands-down the best of the whole bunch.

The sled base is computer-machined from solid and tough phenolic, which lends this smart miter sled accuracy and durability.

The miter fence is adjustable at ¹/2° detents between 50° and -50°, or it can be locked be

tween stops if need be. A bit of clever engineering from the Jointech people keeps the fence edge right against the blade at any miter setting.

The fence also telescopes out to handle 48"-long crosscuts or miters, which is all most woodworkers will ever need.

We were impressed with how easy the sled was to set up and zero on any table saw. And after months of heavy everyday use, the SmartMiter has stayed as accurate as the first day we set it up in our shop.

At $260, the SmartMiter isn't cheap compared to its competitors. But thanks to its high quality and repeatable accuracy it promises to be the last table saw sled you'll ever build or buy.

Contact Jointech at 800-619-1288 or jointech.com

44 Popular Woodworking December 2002