Popular Woodworking 2007-12 № 166, страница 37

MIRKA Abranet

It was hard for us to imagine that sandpaper could be improved significantly. Sure, we've seen some advances in the longevity of the abrasive during this century, but it wasn't until Mirka introduced Abranet to the world that we saw a major improvement in reducing the worst parts of sanding: the dust and the drudgery.

How does Abranet do this? It's porous, somewhat like drywall sanding screen. So instead of having five holes or eight holes that suck dust through a sanding disk, you get thousands. The difference is incredible the first time you try it. And after using the stuff for more than six months, all of the woodworkers in our shop have switched over to Abranet for power and hand sanding. It's that good.

The fantastic dust extraction of Abranet also speeds your sanding because the stuff is much less likely to load up with dust during use. We're getting about three times the life out a piece of Abranet compared to our old premium brand - so the increase in expense is more than worth it to us. Abranet is available in all the grits you need (#P80 to #P800) and in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. If you're looking for it locally, a good place to start is your neighborhood Woodcraft.

While no product will ever transform sanding into blissful joy, Abranet comes awful darn close.

BOSCH 4100 Table Saw

Tool snobs might scoff at our inclusion of a bench-top table saw in this list of the best woodworking equipment, but we know this tool. While traveling the country to do woodworking shows, we used the earlier version of this Bosch to build projects. It's more than accurate and powerful enough for most woodworking tasks (and is a lot more portable than a cabinet saw).

Now Bosch has released a new model with some important changes. Most significant is the European guarding system, which is a vast improvement over standard U.S. guards. Other manufacturers are introducing this style of guard to the market soon, but this is available right now. The guard has a riving knife, pawls and blade covers that can be snapped on and off in seconds. Of all the new guard systems we've seen, Bosch's is the friendliest we've used.

The new saw also is available with a digital rip fence that works down to 32nds of an inch. While this is a nice feature for some woodworkers, we're mostly enamored with the guard, which is still in place on the saw that we've been testing for months.

Jim-

Mirka Abrasives Inc. ■ 800-843-3904 or mirka-usa.com

APOLLO AtomiZer HVLp

Apollo has always made excellent spray equipment that has performed well in our tests. But the company's new 7500 line of premium HVLP guns is head and shoulders better than the guns we've tested and used for the last 11 years.

We've been testing the A7500QT AtomiZer Quick-Release Cup Gun with an HVLP turbine and have been impressed not only with the workmanship and controls, but with the astonishingly small amount of overspray generated by the gun. We're still testing the A7500, but there's little doubt this is the best HVLP gun we've seen in a long time.

FEstooL Domino

So much praise has been written about the Festool Domino this year that it's hard to add anything new. This new handheld loose-tenon tool is quite simply one of the smartest new tools we've ever seen introduced. Yes, some people complain about the price tag, but they haven't used the tool. Once you cut a few mortises with the Domino, you'll j oin us in our applause for this German company.

Festool ■ 888-337-8600 or festoolusa.com

58 ■ Popular Woodworking December 2007

PHOTOS BY AL PARRISH