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Great blades at a great price
I build a lot of handplanes and when I was looking for an inexpensive high quality blade set I.came across there blades. Woodcraft’s house brand, they offer blades for the #3 (153917 $15.99), #4&5 (153918 $16.98) and the #6/7 (153919 $20.99). After using the V3 handplanes extensively, I was familiar with how well the blades preformed. They are ground at 25 degrees and require honing out of the packaging but the hold an edge well and are very flat. At almost an eighth of an inch thi...
To expensive and kind of gimmicky
I got a chance to see the Easy Wood Tools new Easy Chuck. I was pretty excited because I wanted to see how it worked and after looking at it I have to say I’m pretty disappointed. The first thing I noticed is that it is direct threaded. This I think is a bad idea. If you start turning with a midi lathe with a 1” x 8 tpi spindle and move up to one with 1 1/4” x 8 tpi spindle you’d have to buy a new chuck. There is no way to use a wrench to remove the body from the ...
Festool CMS Router Table, A lot of money, a lot of design issues
So, I had the opportunity to play with the new CMS Router table that Festool just brought to America. Now, I’m not a big Festool fan to start with, I agree that there tools are well made and dust collection is top notch, I just feel they are greatly over priced when there are numerous other options available. The CMS I feel is another example. The one we have set up is the stand alone complete set (retail price $1600), in the box is a table with folding legs, the router lift plate, a...
Good personal filter, but disappointing
This system was purchased when we started up our turning program with the patients from Walter Reed with the intent that if someone needed better filtration then just a dust mask. During operation it provides excellent filtration and fresh air along with the obvious face protection one likes when turning. The motor is quiet so you’re not deafened by the constant hum of a fan near your ear. However, it does fail in a few respects. The battery takes a while to charge and the last time...
PSI Variable Speed Midi Lathe Conversion Kit
Here at the arts and Crafts Center we’ve been doing a lot of turning classes (mostly pen, but also the occasional bowl or bottle stopper) in conjunction with the Wounded Warrior program at Walter Reed and with the help of the local chapters of the American Association of Woodturners. Through them we’ve been able to have donated or loaned to the shop, lathes, chisels, chucks and other supplies. One of the lathes that was donated to the program was a Fisch Midi Lathe (essentially ...
Possibly the best pushblock ever made
Ok, so maybe that’s a bit strong of a statement, but it is a great push block. This push block allows you to feed stock through a table saw on both sides of the blade, parallel with out any slipping. One of the sides is 1/4 wide, the other is a 1/2 inch and there’s an adjustable center foot that can be slide to the left or right to make way for the blade. On the bottom is a great gripping surface that will find positive grip on just about any surface, well every surface I’...
Set of 8 Benjamin's Best HSS Lathe Chisel, good chisels, great price
With our wood turning program growing here at the shop, we were able to get new equipment, and part of that were two sets of the 8 piece Benjamin’s Best HSS lathe chisels from PSI ($69.95). I had never heard of Benjamin’s Best before I started pen turning and looking through the PSI catalog. So when I saw a 8 piece set of HSS tools for $70 I was skeptical of the quality. When they arrived I inspected them and they all needed to be re-ground, not a big deal since we also got a n...
A leg up on the work bench
I had first read about this bench in the September ‘07 issue of American Woodworker. Earlier this month I met the inventor and got to try out the system. The system allows you to have a work surface at a height that you need. I ordered the leg set, the caster set and their “one rail” system. Here’s what they all looked like when the packages arrived. Here’s the legs. They are made from 11 gauge powder coated steal. Here’s the whole ba...
General Maxi-Lathe 25-100
General makes two mid size lathes, the 25-100 and the 25-200. They are almost identical except that the 25-100 has a 1/2 HP motor with 6 speed stacked pulley, compared to the 25-200 having a 3/4 HP variable speed motor and the headstock assemble is capable of rotating for outbound turning. I was lucky enough to have a 25-100 donated to the shop and I’ve enjoyed using it now for the past few months. It is capable of turning small bowls, pens and spindles. I did notice when turning a ...
