Thinking Glue and Gluing Up

Is watching glue dry the same as watching and waiting for paint to dry; both have a way of postponing progress, when both, in their own way, are actually the progressing action of moving things forward. The inference in the common saying, “It’s like watching paint dry.” is, of course, that waiting for something you...

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Making Finishing Easy, Micro-Adjustment for any Fence, Table Saw Calibrator | Tools Unleashed 03

Welcome to another Tool Unleashed, where I provide first impressions and mini tool reviews for your enjoyment. UNLEASH THE TOOLS!

• Makrs Stain Pads (affiliate link) Use Code TWW for 15% OFF!
• Simple Varnish Finish Video
• Canyon Fire Tools MicroMag Adjuster
• MicroJig Magnet that works with the Canyon Fire Adjuster
• Stupid Simple Tools Saw Calibrator  (Affiliate Link)
• A-LINE-IT Calibration Tool

Makrs Stain Pads (Sent to me for free. Affiliate Link)

When these stain pads showed up at the shop I kind of dismissed them. I don’t stain very often so I didn’t think I would use them. Oddly enough, I ended up with a large staining project and finally had a chance to use them. I was very impressed with how well they laid down stain that I decided to see how they would work using clear finish and was very impressed with the results. The microfiber outer layer leaves an incredibly smooth finish and the foam interior drinks up a ton of liquid. That means each dip into the finish lasts longer and goes further. I liked the product so much that I approached them about working together and we now have a coupon code that will save you 15% on your purchase. Use code TWW at checkout.

Canyon Fire Tools MicroMag Adjuster (Sent to me for free, but no affiliate link)

This is a micro-adjuster that can be added to pretty much any fence, table saw or otherwise. A large rare earth magnet holds the unit to the fence while a larger Magswitch magnet tuns on and off as needed for use. With the fence unlocked and the Magswitch magnet engaged, you can rotate the thumb wheel 5/8” in each direction for a total of 1 1/4” of micro-adjustment. So if you’re really sneaking up on a measurement, no more tap tap tap business. You can simply make your test cut, unlock the fence and then use the adjuster to push or pull the fence as needed. Most importantly, this thing doesn’t get in my way and stays on the saw permanently.  It’s not cheap, but it is made in the USA by a small maker.

Stupid Simple Tools Saw Calibrator (Sent to me for free. Affiliate link)

The saw calibrator is a pretty straightforward. It drops right into your miter slot for checking the alignment of your blade and fence with the miter slot. I used the tool to recalibrate my saw and it worked like a charm. While I do enjoy the aesthetics and functionality, I do have to mention that there are other comparably-priced solutions on the market that do more, such as the A-LINE-IT Calibration Tool.

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Handling Your Work Part II

The handle for the dressing table/computer desk came on a spur of the moment. I definitely did not want to buy something in, and I didn’t want to turn them on the lathe, though that is always an option. I saw a couple of strips of offcuts on my benchtop left from the drawer support...

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Handling Your Work Part I

I designed the doorknob below in early January 2009 for a special job I was engaged in, but a friend turner actually turned the six I needed. This one is the original prototype. The woods are ebony and oak and whereas it’s the ebony that’s more dominant and distinctive, it’s the oak that sets it...

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Cross-tie Combination Joints

This is my dovetailed housing dado. I think you will like trying it out. Another joint emerges from a maker who’s conscious of loss in handwork to his craft. In the moment, he decides on a new-ish joint. It’s an off-the-cuff decision made in seconds intended to last a lifetime, and takes a perhaps less...

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Making and Making Steps…

… The Hidden Gems of pure joy in creating your own hand-cut joinery can seem all the more lost in the modernity of today’s methodology surrounding joint making and joinery, but when the hands cut and shape every part using the maker’s energy, something changes forever in him and her. There is no going back....

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Election Memory

In thinking about a new USA President about to come, I was reminded of a Craft Fair on the weekend of Thanksgiving in 2008 where I sat with a man, a friend, who I had known for eighteen years. We were having a nice chat when a message came to me that mentioned the possibility...

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Ancients and Passed Paths

There was a gentleness about him––a gentle settledness, I’d say, really. His frailness belied the determined outlook of this now shrunken man who said little, but when he spoke, and said what he said, no one else spoke, for after he’d spoken, there was nothing more to be said. I looked at his denim overalls,...

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Volunteering

I thought about all of the woodworking joints that I must’ve made with no use of a machine, along with the few thousands of others I have machined in making my production line products. For several years, I made around 100 walking canes a week using a single mortise and tenon joints, but still realised...

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Kreg MortiseMate Review – Should Festool Be Worried?

Kreg recently released a new tool that appears to be a straight shot at the Festool Domino. It makes the mortises with any drill and does so via a clever mechanism that advances the bit about 1/16″ per pass. Kreg also sells Domino-like tenons that complete the system. But is it a Domino killer? Watch this Kreg MortiseMate Review to find out!

• Kreg MortiseMate (Save 5% – affiliate link)
• Festool Domino (affilaite link)
• Rockler Beadlock (affiliate link)
• DowelMax (affiliate link)
• JessEm Pocket Mill Pro (affiliate link)
• Ava’s Vanity (showing the Dowelmax in action)

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Talking Perfection…

…is it perfect? How is perfect defined? I often ask myself this question, being as I use the word so often in my day. Riding my bike here and there to do most of what I do outdoors, come to an obstacle, negotiate the potential issue to get through or past the crowd, the narrow...

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A New Week

It’s a seamless transition for a maker to slip through each of his days knowing the direction ahead and identifying every obstacle he knows he’ll face long, long before he gets there. That carcase, in some ways, might be mistaken in its spelling where a word is spelled out wrongly as carcass to name a...

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It’s All a Bit Twisted

When I cut the dovetail and sank the screw into the countersunk seating, I knew the joint settled tight that way would annoy some and not those that knew the reason behind the pull-power beyond the inventor-man’s invention 2,500 years ago. This “father of mechanics” started something when he created a continuous thread, others followed...

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