Popular Woodworking 2006-02 № 153, страница 28
Tool Test Makita Offer Lithium-ion Tools in a Smart Size News of Makita's new 18-volt Lithium-ion drill was well received in the Popular Woodworking shop. While we're always happy to hear about improved performance in a tool, we're not so excited about it coming at the expense of increased weight and size. An 18v that is sized like a 12v is just right. The LXT BDF451 drill/driver is one of the tools in a new line of cordless tools from Makita that are powered by the new Sony-made Li-ion battery. The drill offers all the best features available, including a ^"-key-less locking chuck with a 16-position clutch, three-speed transmission and a clever and handy shift-lock to quickly move between drilling and driving functions. The LXT also includes a new four-pole motor designed to increase the tool's performance. The motor generates energy every 90° of rotation rather than the standard 180° generation found in two-pole motors. This makes it possible to use a smaller, yet more efficient motor. The 18v, 3 -amp hour batterie s are charged by a fan-cooled 45-minute smart charger that communicates with a computer chip in the battery, recognizing battery history and condition to increase battery life. Plus, there's a light for dark corners and the drill is backed by a limited 3-year warranty. We ran the LXT through a test used in our recent 14.4v drill review (December2005). Using a 1" spade bit to drill through 13/4"-thick poplar boards, the 14.4v drills averaged 18 holes per charge (with the best producing 25). The Li-ion Makita produced 42 holes on a single charge. This is a good increase in performance from a drill sized slightly larger and heavier than a standard 12v drill. In the same test, a Milwaukee 28v Li-ion drill produced 66 holes. Bottom line: This is smart-sized technology for the wood shop. The LXT drill/driver is well-made with solid performance and lots of features. The price is steep when purchased alone, but if you buy the drill in a four-tool combo kit (LXT400 includes a hammer drill, SPECIFICATIONS Makita LXT BDF451 Drill/Driver Street price: $309 Speeds: 0-300/600/1,700 rpm Max Torque: 560 in./lbs. Performance: ••••O Price range: $$$$$ Makita: 1-800-462-5482 or makitausa.com impact driver and 6V2" circular saw) for $629, you'll make the price much more palatable. — David Thiel For more information, circle # 180 on Free Information Card. Veritas Router Plane Tweaks Joints for a Perfect Fit The Veritas router plane won't replace your electric router. In fact, it's actually an excellent complement to the power tool with which it shares its name. I turn to a router plane to clean up and tweak the joinery created by my power tools or the coarser hand planes that cut joinery. The router plane absolutely shines at cleaning up mortises for hinges, trimming tenon cheeks to perfection and making the bottoms of dados and rabbets flat and smooth. It also can clean up the background of low-relief carvings, and (with the help of a fence) produce grooves and recesses for inlays. The Veritas router plane is superior in every way to the Stanley No. 71 I've been using for years. The Veritas has a precise adjuster with an ingenious depth stop that is far better than the odd depth stop on the old No. 71. And the Veritas is made to a much higher level of fit and finish than my vintage tool. The Veritas comes with V4"- and V2"-wide cutters and a third cutter that has a V-shaped V2"-wide cutting edge (the skew cut from the V-shape is supposed to leave a smoother surface when required). All of these are a bit of a challenge to sharpen because of the post, and so you can remove the cutter from the post on both of the V2"-wide cutters. Even with this improvement and a small sharpening jig included with the plane, it's a trick - but you'll get used to it. The optional fence screws to the side of the plane and works against both straight and curved surfaces. You can screw a longer shop-made fence to the Veritas fence to use the tool as a small plow plane for making grooves, although it isn't as ergonomic or fast as my dedicated plow plane. I found the balance of the tool and the angled knobs to be superior to my old Stanley. But if you don't like the handles, Veritas sells an inexpensive kit that allows you to make custom knobs. All in all, I'm thrilled that Veritas has introduced another excellent plane for joinery. SPECIFICATIONS Veritas Router Plane Street price: $125 Body: Ductile iron, 2 lbs. Optional fence: Aluminum face, $15.75 Performance: ••••• Price range: $$$ Lee Valley Tools: 800-871 -8158 or leevalley.com And this one isn't just for the hand-tool crowd - a router plane can refine joinery created by even the most fussy power-tool user. — Christopher Schwarz For more information, circle # 181 on Free Information Card. 26 Popular Woodworking February 2006 |
