Popular Woodworking 2003-10 № 136, страница 85
HITACHI 9.6-VOLT CORDLESS DRILL While we routinely recommend 12-volt cordless drills as adequate for most woodworking applications, we've also been happily using a 9.6-volt drill in our shop for years. Our Hitachi 3/s" drill (now sold as model DS9DVF2) offers two variable-speed settings (0-280 and 0-850 rpm), two 1.3 amp-hour batteries, a one-hour charger, a five-position adjustable clutch, a keyless chuck and a moveable-head flashlight, all for about $80. This tool performs! And if you still think you need more power, check out the DS12 DVF2 12-volt. It's about the same price, but comes with 195 in./lbs. of torque - and a flashlight! Hitachi: 800-448-2244 or hitachi.com/hpt MAKITA B05010 RANDOM-ORBIT SANDER Random-orbit sanders have changed our lives in the shop, providing quick good-quality finishes, and no other sander has made us as happy as the B05010 from Makita. Priced about $60, this lightweight (2.6 lbs.) 2-amp tool removes material quickly while not reducing your hand to a* shivering wreck. The pad motion utilizes a pad-control system to maintain a controlled speed at start-up to reduce "pigtail" patterns.The hook-and-loop | 5 "-diameter pad design makes it easy to quickly change and reuse sanding discs, and the through-the-pad dust collection system is one of the best we've seen. It's been the sander of choice in the Popular Woodworking shop for six years and it continues to be the random-orbit sander we prefer. Makita USA: 800-462-5482 or makita.com EXCEL MARKING KNIFE We've tried dozens of marking knives to find one that is long enough and thin enough for marking dovetails. Most are too short to effectively reach into the joint or too thick to maneuver. The Excel marking knife with the company's #102 blade is a perfect $8 solution.The cutting edge is 1V2" long and just 0.03" thick. Don't like to sharpen? Replacement blades are just $1 each. Available at many hobby stores. GOOD OLD TOOTHBRUSH Don't laugh - every shop should have at least one. They are especially good at keeping up equipment, cleaning accumulated sawdust from tight corners and scrubbing pitch off saw blades. My cabinetmaking teacher always carried one in his shop apron.Available in any bathroom cabinet. TITE-MARK MARKING GAUGE If you're satisfied with your current marking gauge, you should never lay your hands on theTite-Mark gauge from Glen-Drake Tool Works. Once you use this tool, there is no turning back.TheTite-Mark($79) is everything other marking gauges are not: It scores perfect lines and is easily adjusted in small increments to put a line exactly where you want it. Sharpen the cutting blade and you can even remove waste from between dovetails pins and tails. Genius. Glen-Drake: 707-961-1569 orglen-drake.com 5-IN-1 SCREWDRIVER You can find one of these handy tools in almost every home improvement store. Whether it's a 5-in-1 or 15-in-1, for less than $10 you'll have the tips you use most in one handle. We like the 5-in-1 with #1 and #2 square-drive tips, a #2 Phillips tip and a medium straight bit. Remove one of the tips and it's a V4" nut driver! Put one in your car, your workshop and the fix-it drawer in your house. Available at many hardware stores. GRIZZLY CABINET SAW If you're looking to spend about $800 on a contractor saw, don't. Since its release a few years ago, the G1023S cabinet saw has been a better deal than any contractor saw - as long as you have access to 220-volt power. Offering a totally enclosed, 3-horsepower, fan-cooled motor, two solid cast-iron wings, a very nice T-style rip fence and a magnetic safety switch, this saw outperforms any contractor saw. Regularly priced at $825, you often can find it on sale for $795. And this saw now is available in a variety of models with affordable options such as a left-tilt or 110-volt motor. It's a great bargain. Grizzly Industrial: 800-327-2520 or grizzly.com LEE VALLEY 4" DIAL CALIPER Nothing beats a dial caliper for zeroing in on the perfect fit for a joint or the perfect thickness when you're at the planer. But most dial calipers are bigger than you need. (When was the last time you worked with 6"-thick stock?) This inexpensive 4" version from Lee Valley Tools is perfect. It has all the features a woodworker needs and it's small enough to slip into your shop apron.With a price tag of just $22.50, this is far more useful than its more expensive 6" cousins. PW Lee Valley: 800-871 -8158 or leevalley.com popwood.com 85 |
