KS Woodwork Blog

I recently posted about the expensive Festool product line that Rockler is offering. Since many of the Festool products are outside the price range of my hobbyist budget I was able to locate a review.

The Festool TS 55 and TS 75 Plunge Cut Saws Review shows the benefits of the $400 circular saw. When combined with other components of the Festool product line production work is faster and easier.

Related Posts:

Rockler / Festool Product Offering

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Material prices seem to go up faster than the price of gas. Wood Magazine published an article with 16 tips on how to save money on lumber purchases. I found out a few new ideas to try. I frequently use the second suggestion. The grain of smaller pieces can be arranged in panels where the seams blend in.

2. Buy lower grades.
The next two grades below FAS and Selects are #1 and #2 Common. These boards are narrower and shorter than the higher grades, and yield fewer clear cuts. But prices can range 30-50 percent lower than FAS. So even if you have more waste, you may have a real bargain. If you can’t find #1 Common at your regular dealer, try one that caters to contractors and cabinet shops.The entire article can be viewed at the following address:

http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?Site=woodworking&ID=875

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Dewalt is giving away a 10″ Compound Miter Saw – DW713. All that is required is to fill out a form on Dewalt’s website: http://www.dewalt.com/us/members/register/homepage_1/

There are 6 more days to register.

DW713

15 Amp Motor
5,000 RPM
3 1/2″ Base Molding Capacity (Verticla)
4-1/2″ Crown Molding Capacity (Vertically Nested)
6″ Horizontal Cross Cut Capacity
2 X 4 Max 90 Cross Cut
2 X 6 Max 45 Cross Cut
0° – 50° Miter Capacity
-3° to 48° Left Bevel Capacity
35lbs Tool Weight

Includes:
Carbide blade, blade wrench, dust bag

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Here is a good buying guide for anyone looking to buy a bandsaw. I found this link on ToolKing’s website when shopping.

Bandsaw Buying Guide

They have a wide variety of power, hand tool, air tool and welding reviews on the main page.

Tool Buying Guide

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I watched an episode of The New Yankee workshop today. I have recently read about Pen Turning on various woodworking forums. Pen turning would work well as a winter project as it could be setup in our utility room. The workshop is not currently heated or air conditioned. The video clip can be viewed at:http://www.newyankee.com/video.cgi?0506

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In a recently received woodworking catalog I noticed a new product. A straight cutting bit for routing using a top or bottom mounted template. This bit was different due to the slight angle of the cutting edge. The catalog states that cuts on difficult or end-grain have less tear out compared to conventional bits. There is a full review on Rockler’s website that can be viewed at: http://www.rockler.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=233

Shear Cutting Flush Trim Bits Produces a smoother cut than traditional straight-fluted bits. Eliminates tear-out problems from routing end or cross grain on hard woods. .. Shear Cutting Flush Trim Bits

Image retrieived 21 Sept. 2007 from http://www.newyankee.com/yankeecam.php

I recently checked out the New Yankee Workshop site to look at their schedule. They now have webcam photos posted online. The 2008 shows will be the 20th season. Their webcam can be viewed at: http://www.newyankee.com/yankeecam.php

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Recently Rockler.com began offering a line of Festool woodworking tools. When scanning through the offerings they seemed to be competitive with the offerings of Dewalt, Porter Cable and other well known brands. That is until I saw the price of the tools. I do not see any improved features or quality to justify the high costs of the Festool product line. Maybe someone with more experience with the Festool brand can provide more insight. Below is a list of the product offering.

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Product Price
MFT 800 Table $340.00
MFT 1080 Table $460.00
RS 2 E Sander $300.00
Rotex RO 125 FEQ Sander $360.00
DF 500 Domino Joiner $700.00
HL 850 E Planner $440.00
OF 1400 EQ Router $405.00
TS 75 EQ Circular Saw $560.00
TS 55 EQ Circular Saw $440.00
Duplex LS 130 EQ Linear Sander $290.00
DTS 400 EQ Sander $190.00
ETS 125 EQ Sander $165.00
Deltex DX 93 E Sander $265.00
ETS 150/5 EQ Sander $260.00
RTS 400 EQ Sander $190.00
OF 2000 E Router $430.00
TDK 12 CE Drill $350.00
TDK 15.6 CE Drill $415.00
OF 1010 EQ Router $330.00
Trion PS 300 EQ Jigsaw $280.00
Trion PSB 300 EQ Jigsaw $280.00
Rotex RO 150 FEQ Sander $440.00
CT Mini $300.00
CT Mini Dust Collector $330.00

I intended to post the Freedom Pens article yesterday afternoon. Technology and weather were not playing nicely yesterday. Our internet provider went down for an extended period of time. Most likely due to the massive storms moving through the mid-west. The ISP informed me the outage had just been reported and there was no ETA. About 2000 modems were down. I had the great idea of using dialup…. One slight problem consisting of 4 letters. (VOIP) It is slightly difficult to dial without internet connection. Even if the weather improved there would be no wireless hot-spots in service. I guess the technology gods were not on my side. And so we shall move on to another day.

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I recently found freedom pens website when reading a woodworking forum. This group supports our troops by sending hand crafted pens. These pens are made by individual woodworkers with donated materials. For woodworkers without a lathe you can still help. Wood blanks would be a welcomed donation. Please support our troops by visiting the Freedom Pens website at http://www.freedompens.org. By getting the word out a goal of 20,000 pens a year can be met. These gifts are appreciated by our troops as stated on the website:

“When one of our hand made writing instruments is used to write a letter home it is a symbol of our support and physical evidence that the people of America care deeply about their safety and are praying for their safe return home.” (Freedompens.org)
A photo gallery can be viewed at: http://www.freedompens.org/pens/pens_01.html

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I recently found Google SketchUp. This software can be used to design 3D models. The software is free and competes with AutoCAD’s product offerings for an occasional user. There are a lot of powerful tools I recall seeing years ago in a CAD class. Even with past drafting experience the learning curve seems to be high.

Toying around with different features I managed to create a basic drawing. If you could not tell it is supposed to be a workbench with multiple drawers on two sides.

I do not know if I will use the program extensively in the future. I can complete drawings with a drafting ruler, triangles and some grid paper in less time. These paper drawings seem to meet my design needs. If I do master the software it will be another tool used in woodworking. The software can be downloaded from http://sketchup.google.com/. The User Manual is available in PDF form from http://dl.google.com/sketchup/gsu6/docs/ug_sketchup_win.pdf.

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