Popular Woodworking 2007-12 № 166, страница 23
Tool Test CONTiNUED FROM PAGE 32 Apollo's AtomiZer: A Tale of Two Types An investment in a new tool can increase your woodworking abilities; an investment in HVLP will do the same. If you spray your finish, you know already what I'm talking about. If you haven't ventured into spray finishing, it's time. Great results are so much easier to achieve that you'll never look back. Apollo Sprayer International Inc. makes the investment easy with the 7500 Series AtomiZer spray gun. The standout feature of this gun is that it's used with either a turbine - any turbine, from any manufacturer - as a standard HVLP system or as a conversion gun when you attach compressed air. And your compressor size is not an issue. All that's required is a minimum 3-horsepower, 20-gallon tank. With either method you have a superb performing spray gun. The AtomiZer is a multi-use, multi-purpose spray gun that allows the user to choose from three different methods of operation. Use the gun as a gravity-feed unit (cup above the handle), in a standard arrangement (cup under the handle) as we did, or as a production gun feeding fluid directly from the source. Another feature of the 7500 Series AtomiZer is that you adjust the fan of the spray pattern by dialing a ring located just behind the nozzle. Adjusting the fan spray makes finishing small objects or working in tight areas easier. Included with the AtomiZer is an all-purpose 1 mm tip and needle. While other tips are available, I used that setup for spraying thinned lacquer, thinned shellac and water-base aniline dyes and my results were better than expected. This covers most wo o dwork-ing project finishes. Worried about cleaning the gun? Don't be. There are no "O" rings in this gun; clean up is as easy as a thorough rinsing then wiping of the basic parts. And the coated interior of the cup eliminates aluminum-related finish issues, especially with shellac. — GlenD. Huey AtomiZer Apollo Sprayer 888-900-4857 or hvlp.com Street price ■ $349 (spray gun only) For more information, circle #165 on Free Information Card. Mallet Takes (and Gives) a Good Beating For more than a decade, I've meant to make a good wooden mallet that fits my hand and my style of work. I can now cross that off my "to-do" list thanks to a new mallet from a Pennsylvania company that does a greatj ob of hitting both chisels and all my hot-button issues. For starters, it looks like a traditional mallet you'd find in a catalog, but this one has been soaked for many weeks in linseed oil. The soaking adds significant weight, without having to increase the size of the mallet's head. The mallet is 13" long overall with a 23/s" x 45/8" head. So it's a nice small size - you're not going to smack yourself in the head and you can get into fairly tight places. The mallet I tried is listed as approximately 22 oz., but mine weighs 19 oz., according to our postal scale. That weight offers plenty of punch for mortising hardwoods or chopping out the waste between dovetails. Lighter-weight mallets make my forearm sore and require more effort than necessary. Smaller and larger sizes of mallets are available from the manufacturer. Other touches to the tool are strictly traditional. All the correct edges are chamfered (I like chamfers), and there's a nice leather wrist strap. This strap is great for hanging the mallet over the bench or ke eping it on your wrist should your palm become separated from the handle during a wild swing. I like this mallet. And so does Senior Editor Glen D. Huey, who chopped out about 100 dovetails for the cabinet base on his workbench with it. The mallet packs a ton of punch for its size and is a good fit in your hand. The mallet comes in four sizes between 18 oz. ($22.95) up to 32 oz. ($29.95). The 22 oz. model we tested is $24.95. Some woodworkers might scoff at pur Di Legno ■ 877-208-4298 or DLWs.com Street price ■ $24.95 For more information, circle #166 on Free Information Card. chasing a tool they could make themselves. However, making a mallet that looks correct is harder than making a mallet that works well. This one handles both tasks. PW — CS 34 ■ Popular Woodworking December 2007 |
