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Rockler Pen Starter Kit and turning kits
I decided to finally give up my boycott and try my hand at pen making. I didn’t want to become one of those “pen guys”. There are a lot of things you need to get started on pen one. I bought the starter set as it seemed the simplist way to go about it. Having turned a couple pens now, I might have done it differently. The pricing is good considering the a la carte prices of the components. I found, however, I would have opted for different components. The mandrel work...
A Very Nice Surprise
I recently got one of the PS40-2 Impactors as a freebie from a WoodSmith Tip they picked up of mine. I felt I owed it to Bosch (and August Home Publishing) to let my fellow jocks here about the product. I just got it three days ago so I’ll preface all by saying that I obviously am speaking from first and very limited impressions. This is the first impact driver I’ve used. I’ve picked it up at Lowe’s a dozen times and thought it was very small and possibly very...
The good and bad. . .
I have not been giving much praise to HF tools that have a motor or battery in the past. There are the occasional decent values though (The Dust Collecter is nice for a small setting, for example). This router has a ton of negatives. The adjustments are sloppy and the collet seems less secure than a Dewalt and Bosch router that I use as well. The attacthments such as the edge guide, aren’t very precise either. That said, I still am glad I purchased it. I got it for under $20. I o...
Starrett Fixed Sqaure
I’m hesistant to post this given I’ve heard nothing but praise concerning Starrett. This square was inexpensive, but I thought given the reputation it would be accurate if treated properly. After struggling with some botched miters I checked the square for accuracy. I did the simple test of using a known straight edge and drawing a line with a sharp instrument. Flip the square and draw another. Lines intersected after 5 inches. Tested a few other measuring tools to verify the...
Good value, but there are issues
First off, this is a decent DC for my small shop. It is better than a ShopVac, but not at all like a 2HP DC from the major manufacturers. The CFM claims, are skewed. I’m told by a third party (can’t be sure of accuracy) that the CFM test they conduct is without any hoses or other needed attachments. The motor has to have some type of piping and such, so the CFM is not a real measure without them. I paid less than $150 and it does more than $150 of work for me. Happy, but don...
Most useful literature in my shop, easily.
While this is not a tool, this book has earned its spot as one of my most useful assets in my shop. After posting numerous threads that requested help from the more experienced Jocks, I was told that Flexner’s book was the “Bible” of finishing. While I laughed at that, it turned out to be the case. In the last several months since the purchase, I have yet to have a finishing question that wasn’t explained in detail within the pages. My favorite feature is the indiv...
