Popular Woodworking 2003-10 № 136, страница 32
Vario-Pro Sander Follows Any Contour The Vario-Pro contour sanding form helps reduce the frustration woodworkers encounter when sanding odd shapes. The Vario-Pro sander uses 40 spring-loaded 1/32"-thick plastic forming plates (11/4" x 33/8" total surface area) to form against the profile to sand. Once you achieve the right contour, twist an allen wrench to lock the forming plates in position. Then wrap hook-and-loop sandpaper over the sole, sticking it to two hook-and-loop pads on the side of the tool. It's faster and more effective than custom sanding blocks. In fact, the Vario-Pro's only limitation comes from the thickness of your sandpaper, which can't easily form to the most intricate contours. If you sand a lot of moulding, this is a good investment. The Vario-Pro costs $30; packs of fitted paper (3V2" x 4") in #100 to #220 grits cost $20 per 100 sheets. — DT SPECIFICATIONS Klingspor Vario-Pro Street price: $30 Performance: •••OO Price range: $$$$$ Klingspor: 800-228-0000 or woodworkingshop.com Avenger Economy Dado Sets Avenger now sells a stack dado set that costs much less than half of what you would pay for a premium set ($125 to $250). But, as I'm sure you're wondering, how well does it cut? What surprised me is the Avenger has more carbide teeth than many bargain sets with six-tooth, full-body chippers rather than the typical two-tooth wing chippers. Despite that, the cut wasn't perfect and had a slightly irregular bottom. The outside bevel teeth left fine score grooves below the bottom of the channel. In crosscut dados, there was very little tear-out. So while we can't recommend these sets for fine-furniture through-dado work, as a work-a-day dado set the Avengers performed well at a good price. — DT SPECIFICATIONS Avenger Stack Dado Sets Street price: 6" x 20T - $40 8" x 30T - $50 Chippers: 4-^/,8", 1-^-^16" & 1-3/32" Shims: 2-.010",2-.020", 2-0.05" Performance: •••OO Price range: $$ Avenger Products: 702-293-7510 or avengerproducts.com All-In-One Straight-edge Guide While a clamping tool guide isn't a new idea, E. Emerson Tool Co. has done a nice job of refining the tool and adding useful accessories. The basic edge guide/clamp works quite well. It locks quickly and positively against your panel with three increasing pressure positions. Inch and centimeter scales built into the guide allow easy setup for stop blocks, or just for orienting your work. The guides also make great fences for drill presses and band saws, clamping right to your machine's table. The accessories that attach to the guide's T-slot track simplify a lot of common operations. You can add a jig for drilling pocket holes, stop blocks that are micro-adjustable, sliding router guide plates, featherboards and circular saw guide plates. — DT SPECIFICATIONS All-In-One Guide Street price: 24" - $29 36" - $31 50" - $38 Performance: ••••O Price range: $$$ All-In-One: 562-945-6759 or allinoneclamp.com PENN STATE CLAMPS ARE A GREAT BARGAIN You can never have enough clamps, but you can go broke buying as many as you want. Penn State Industries has a new clamp in a popular style at what should be a popular price. The Clamp-n-Spread is a one-handed clamp that's similar to some now sold in Sears stores.The major difference is the Sears clamps have a second spring-loaded lever to open the jaws of the clamps bit-by-bit one-handed.The Penn State clamps offer a release button that simply allows the clamping jaw to slide open on the bar. Oh, and the Penn State clamps are half the price! One-handed clamps aren't for panel glue-ups or case construction, but when you need to clamp a jig to your bench or temporarily hold some pieces in place, a one-handed clamp is a joy. Everyone should have about four of them on their bench. They'll also function as spreaders by relocating the fixed head. The 12" Clamp-n-Spread clamps cost $9.95 each and the 24" versions are $13.95 apiece.They're a steal. Penn State also sells one-handed clamps that have a threaded jaw pad for more clamping power. Called the PSI Power Spreader, these are the same price as the Clamp-n-Spread. — DT Performance: •••OO Price range: $$$$$ Penn State Industries: 800-377-7297 or pennstateind.com TOOL RATINGS Performance is rated on a one-to-five scale.You won't see a low rating ("one" or "two") because we don't publicize inferior tools. "Five" indicates the leader in the category. Five dollar signs indicates highest price in the category; three indicates an average price. If you have tool questions, call me at 513-531-2690 ext. 1255, e-mail david.thiel@fwpubs.com, or visit our web site at popwood.com to sign up for our free e-mail newsletter. — David Thiel, senior editor 32 Popular Woodworking October 2003 |
|||||||||
