Popular Woodworking 2006-11 № 158, страница 9

Letters

continued from page 15

I don't know whether any of the other routers in your test have this feature, but it certainly is a very big one.

Ron Abel Brunswick , Ohio

I don't know if I share your enthusiasm for the importance of a self-releasing collet for a trim router, but it is a nice feature for both trim routers and the full-size tools.

As you correctly identified, the Bosch does have a collet that keeps the bit from getting "stuck." It was the only router in the test with such a collet, and as such continues to earn our highest marks. I spoke with Jim Stevens at Bosch not too long ago about router collets and he mentioned that throughout the tool industry self-releasing collets are now close to standard on every machine.

He was speaking about 2-horsepower and larger routers, but I would guess that the standard will trickle down into trim routers during the next few years.

— David Thiel, senior editor

Rust Protection for Long-term Storage

I am a member of the United States Air Force, and I'm being transferred to England for the next four years. The houses are small there, and they use a different type of power supply. So, I'll be storing all of my larger machines. They will not be stored in a climate-controlled environment. What can I put on my cast iron tops to protect them from rusting?

Tech. Sgt. Garrett Pearce Little Rock AFB, Arkansas

I've had to store machinery for long periods, and the best way I found to protect the cast iron was to smear on a thick coat of paste wax on all the cast iron surfaces. Don't bother trying to buff it out or make it shiny, just put on a liberal amount. You can remove it with mineral spirits when you return. The other thing to consider is to remove the belts from the motors of your machines. If you store them with tension on the belts, you can actually create flat spots on the bearings over a long period of time. PW

— Robert W. Lang, senior editor

QUESTION? COMPLAINT? WRITE TO US

Popular Woodworking welcomes comments from readers about the magazine or woodworking in general, as well as questions on all areas of woodworking. We are more than happy to share our woodworking experience with you by answering your questions or adding some clarity to whatever aspect of the craft you are unsure about, and if you have a complaint, we want to address it whenever possible.

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