Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-1, страница 66

Today's Shop

A power miter saw, also know as a chop saw, makes quick work of cutting long stock down to size, forming accurate miters and making repetitive cuts. While a table saw can cut miters, this saw can be set up for specific tasks and be a timesaving addition to a small shop.

Shop Vacuum —

for More Than Just Cleanup

In a small shop filled with benchtop tools, a shop vacuum is an absolute necessity. Yes, of course, you can use it to clean up floors and bench-tops, but more importantly, having a vac connected keeps chips and fine dust liberally churned out by bench-top machines at bay. Collection of sawdust not only saves your lungs, but it also actually reduces the dulling of blades, bits and abrasives.

When choosing a shop vacuum, buy the one with the largest capacity drum you can live with, especially if you'll use it with a thickness planer. Large chips quickly fill up a vacuum's drum, and the bigger the drum, the less often you'll need to empty it. Models with 2"-diameter flexible hoses are least likely to clog and are the easiest to connect to the majority of benchtop tools. Use an adapter fitting to mate hoses to ports of a different size.

The author recommends a combination belt and disk sander as an essential benchtop tool for a small woodworking shop. Few projects will leave your shop without touching a power sander.

done. Smaller benchtops fit on a shelf, under a bench or in a cabinet when not in use, then clamp atop a workbench, tool stand or utility table for operation. The B&D Workmate® is a particularly handy tool stand. Its built-in clamps hold small machines steady, and when you're done working, the Workmate folds flat. If you have the space to mount several machines on a single work-table, make sure they won't interfere with each other during use. To make heavy tool bases or large stationary machines easier to move, fit them with locking casters or mount them on mobile bases. ^

Sandor Nagyszalanczy is a writer/photographer and regular contributor to Woodworker's Journal. His book "Setting up Shop" is available at rockler.com.

"The B&D Workmate® is a particularly handy tool stand. Its built-in clamps

hold small machines steady and when you're done working, the Workmate folds flat."

Setting up Benchtop Tools

One thing that makes benchtop tools a great choice for small shop woodworkers is how compact, light and portable they are. You can use them when you need them, then store them out of the way when you're

Portable workstands are one key to a versatile small shop space. They can be set up for a variety of tasks, then folded up and put away.

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February 2009 Woodworker's Journal