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I wanted handsaw sharpening experience, and I got more (sharpening experience) than I expected
This past summer, I had to repair some molding along the exterior of a bay window. Given that it was a very small number of molding cuts to repair, I opted to get a plastic miter box and backsaw to do the work rather than pull out a power miter saw. I saw it not so much as an additional expense, but rather a chance to get some handsaw sharpening experience. My criteria was to find a cheap handsaw that I wouldn’t feel bad ruining by experimenting with sharpening. After playing with a few...
Many times more useful than I expected. Weight your uses to figure out if a-la-carte works better
I purchased this Rockler Bench Cookie set as an impulse buy about a year ago. This purchase has proven to be my best impulse buy to date. Everyone in my family loves using the bench cookies, including the wifey and my 2 year old daughter who keeps trying to steal them, so she can do curls. I’m going to split my review into the 4 components. What I will say, is that while the set is awesome, if you find you only want the cookies and/or the cones (like me), you may be better off buying...
A barely viable alternative to the Bora, but most are duds
After I fitting my power tool collection with both a circular saw and router, I wanted to add a few easy to clamp edge guides to my tool collection. After playing with a variety of different edge guides in the market (Bora, Emerson, Woodriver), I settled on the Bora as the one that felt the best, given the long handle. All reviews about clamp edge tools I read highlighted the aluminum bar’s had a tendency to flex midway through a cut operation, making me think the wide track model was...
The Go-to standard for Pipe Clamps
After discovering the inadequacies of F-style clamps in the greater than 12” range (too much flex), I decided it was time to begin my pipe clamp collection. Binge watching episodes of New Yankee Workshop must have done a number on my perspective of pipe clamps, as the only one I thought would fit the bill was “Pony Orange”. Thankfully, my cheapskate tendencies kicked in and made me look for alternatives, making the HF 3/4 Pipe Clamp Fixture the first of my pipe clamp collection....
A great alternative to the Jorgensen Pony, worth all $8 I spent for each fixture
The HF 3/4” Pipe Clamp with Base fixture is probably the only of my many HF acquisitions that has never given me a problem. After discovering the inadequacies of F-style clamps in the greater than 12” range (too much flex), I took the road traveled by many a woodworker before me and began looking to pipe clamps. I began pricing out Jorgensen Pony pipe clamp fixtures and found them to be a bit more expensive than I had anticipated, so I took a chance and bought 1 fixture from HF ...
The Harbor Freight way of jump starting your clamp collection
When I first began dabbling in woodworking, I had zero clamps and high aspirations. Stocking up on the well F-style Harbor Freight clamps seemed like a good idea. For months, I impulsively made trips to HF and picked up one HF F-style bar clamp (using a 20% off coupon) and 1 freebie per trip. Fast forward 2 years, and I now have 8×6”, 6×12”, 2×18” and 2×24”. Overall impression is that the HF F-style clamp was the most inexpensive way of jump sta...
Great budget square - worth 5 stars at the price
For the past few months, I have been looking for a replacement to an inexpensive contractor’s combination square (a freebie I got from my in-law’s hardware store during a trip many years ago). I had the opportunity to use a Starrett at my guild shop, and convinced myself I needed a replacement. To ensure I could focus my search, I came up with 4 criteria: – A solid cast head – Etched measurements that go up to at least 1/64 intervals – A more palatable price...
For $2.50, I'll deal with the shedding grit...at $3.50, definitely not.
I wanted to post a quick review of the Harbor Freight Aluminum Oxide Sanding Sponges. I purchased a set of coarse, medium, and fine sanding sponges for $2.50 per pack of 10 (total cost was $7.50), using a coupon I found in Wood Magazine. All recent coupons for this item has been at $3.50 per pack of 10. My logic was, why not take a chance for what I might spend on lunch while the coupon is still valid. My first usage of the coarse grit could only be described as “epic fail”....
