Popular Woodworking 2006-04 № 154, страница 24

JeSSElll Love At First

Tool Company

...Slide!

THE NEW

JessEm's New Mast-R-Slide™ Precision Sliding Cross-Cut Table is the ultimate add-on for your tablesaw. Thirty double-sealed precision bearings in an innovative linear guide mechanism provides an exceptionally smooth and accurate cross-cutting solution. Fits most tablesaws and offers a maximum cross-cut of 36 inches. Upgrade your saw with a Mast-R-Slide™ from JessEm Tool today.

CIRCLE NO. 135 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

Band Saw Precision

Introduce a new level of accuracy to your band saw. The Kreg Precision Band Saw Fence adjusts in two dimensions allowing you to resaw even the thinnest veneer with unprecedented ccuracy.

Easy to adjust and easy to remove from the table

Adjustable for blade drift and parallelism

Visit your local KREG Dealer or our website to learn more.

800-447-8638 • www.kregtool.com (QTUUui Mark of Quality.

CIRCLE NO. 137 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

Tricks of the Trade

continued from page 21

A Better Brass Ball Catch

I often like using brass ball catches for fine cabinetry. The hardware is low-profile, classy looking and can be mounted in a variety of orientations. Being brass, it's also rust-resistant, making it ideal for any high-humidity environments such as bathrooms.

However, I have experienced a couple of problems with these catches over the years. The first is that the springs exert too much pressure for most circumstances, making you tug too hard on a door. Yes, I know you're supposed to be able to reduce the tension by backing off the end caps, but that just doesn't do the trick; the springs are simply too stout. What I do to correct the problem is to replace the heavy springs with a couple of ball-point pen springs that I've clipped to the same length. Works great.

The second problem with the catches is that the end caps can back out by themselves over time, just from the vibration of use. To solve this, I dip into my wife's make-up kit for some fingernail polish. I've found that applying a drop of it to the threads of an endcap keeps it in place over time.

Paul Anthony PW contributor

Ball point pen spring is cut down to size

Apply a drop of nail polish to threads before assembly

A Solvent Solution to Pitch

One of my students decided to make his class project from pine. It was lovely, clear stuff, but the pitch in some of the boards seriously gummed up the wrap-around belt on my stationary drum sander. Unfortunately, I've found in the past that commercial "eraser-type" crepe belt cleaners don't work very well to remove clogged pine resin, so I experimented with various solvents.

When I tried lacquer thinner, I knew I had found the magic solution. It dissolved the pitch within seconds. Dipping a large toothbrush in a jar of the thinner, I very quickly and lightly scrubbed across the length of the drum, working in narrow bands, and rolling the drum as I advanced. By the time I came back around to the beginning, the thinner had flashed off, leaving a softened pitch residue which quickly and easily came off with a large scrub brush. Cleaning the whole 18"-long by 5"-diameter drum took all of about three minutes, and it restored the sanding belt back to prime condition. In fact, the operation was so efficient and effective that I did it several times during the course of sanding the boards.

Paul Anthony PW contributor

22

Popular Woodworking April 2006