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My first real, full-time job with benefits out of high school was working for a coatings (“paint”) manufacturer. I worked for about twelve years in the research and development lab. Years later, as part of an unrelated job, I helped set up quality assurance labs inside of manufacturing facilities. Needless to say, I’m pretty familiar with the supplies that are used on a day-to-day basis in the lab. So you should have seen the looks on everyone’s face in the office when I ordered in some “lab” supplies for an article I’m working on for an upcoming issue of ShopNotes magazine.

I ordered inexpensive beakers, disposable pipettes (“eye droppers”), aluminum weighing dishes, wash bottles, and all sorts of other “lab supplies.” Now if you don’t know what any of these things are, you’re not alone. But as a woodworker, I’ve realized that a lot of these items can be real handy in the shop. Beakers can be used for measuring and mixing stains and finishes. The pipettes are great for squeezing glue into tight areas for repairs. Disposable aluminum weighing dishes make great mixing containers for epoxy or for holding small amounts of glue during assembly. Wash bottles are a lot more convenient for storing and dispensing solvents like paint thinner than those square metal cans.

My two favorite sources for lab supplies are U. S. Plastic Corporation and Lab Safety Supply. Take a browse through their web site or order a catalog. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find that’ll be handy to have in the shop.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2007
Release #07-275

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (866) 761-5572
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Robert Bosch Tool Corp. Recalls Skil® Circular Saws Due to Laceration Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Skil® brand Circular Saws

Units: About 811,000

Manufacturer: Robert Bosch Tool Corp., of Mount Prospect, Ill.

Hazard: The trigger switch on the circular saw can be locked on or the switch can be turned on without the use of the safety lock-out. This can cause unexpected operation of the saw, posing a risk of laceration.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received five reports of the saw staying on after the user released the trigger. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recall involves Skil(r) brand circular saws with model numbers 5650, 5700, 5750 and 5755. The model number and date code are printed on the nameplate located on the front of the saw. The recall includes the following date codes:

28101 – 29231
38101 – 39231
48101 – 49231
58101 – 59231
68101 – 69231

No other models or date codes are included in this recall.

Sold at: Home centers and independent hardware retailers nationwide from January 2002 through December 2006 for between $70 and $80.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled saws and contact the firm for instructions on obtaining a free repair.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact the Robert Bosch Tool Corp. toll-free at (866) 761-5572 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at http://www.skiltools.com/en/CustomerService/SafetyInfoRecalls/

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07275.html

When the Dremel folks stopped by our office a couple of weeks ago, one of the products they were showing us is the new MultiVise. I’ll admit that my first thought was, “This can’t be a serious tool — it looks like it’s made out of plastic.” But I was soon to be impressed. The way this thing can twist and contort to clamp almost anything is amazing. 

It clamps to your workbench or table. A ball-and-socket joint can rotate the clamp 360° and tilt up to 50°. I was skeptical that this ball-and-socket couldn’t be locked too securely. But once you tighten the blue ring, it’s there to stay. The clamp itself as a 7½” capacity. And it has removable “soft jaws” for clamping delicate or irregularly-shaped objects. I was impressed.  Really.

Now, as a woodworker, the first question I had was if the clamp was available in longer lengths. The Dremel reps said that they honestly hadn’t considered it but really appreciated the comments. I suggested that they offer “accessory kits” with longer clamps for us woodworkers. The reason is that the clamps are great by themselves. They’ve got large “feet” that sit on your benchtop and won’t topple over as you clamp down. The only problem I had with the clamp was that the screw was rather stiff and took some effort to turn. But I suppose it would loosen up over time without compromising it’s clamping ability.

Oh…I almost forgot. It comes with an adapter and wrench so you can fasten your Dremel rotary tool to the vise. It’s great for grinding or sanding operations.

I’ve got to get one of these for my own shop.

Kenneth Owen of Tulsa, Oklahoma is proud of his wife. And he has every right to be. They were looking to outfit a new bedroom and fell in love with a Moser-style bed. So she decided to build one. That’s right — she did the milling and gluing and bending and clamping.  Everything.  And the results are outstanding.

Ken posted photos of the process of building this bed. You can read all about it over on WoodNet. It’s an amazing story of how the project was completed and Ken gives all the details of how his wife progressed from start to finish.

Back in March, the folks from ProTool (the folks that make the Drill Doctor) came into our offices to show us their new Work Sharp system for sharpening woodworking tools. You’ll be hearing it advertised on the Paul Harvey show.  They left their WS3000 for us to play with in our shop.

One day not too long ago, I went to use the Work Sharp to hone some chisels for our new public television show, The Woodsmith Shop (more on that later).  Well, I couldn’t find all the parts to the Work Sharp, so I resorted to honing the chisels by hand using wet/dry sandpaper.  A few weeks later, I asked Steve Johnson, our shop craftsman, about the Work Sharp’s missing parts. He said that they weren’t missing and walked me around the corner of his work area and showed me the box that contained the “missing” parts. Turns out he had the Work Sharp squirreled away to keep it from disappearing.  He says he uses it all the time for touching up his chisels. For example, when he’s chopping mortises or cleaning up mortises, all he needs to do is walk over to the Work Sharp, and in just a few seconds he’s got a sharp edge.  He thinks it’s a great addition to his shop for keeping an edge on his tools.

Work Sharp has come out with a homeowner/DIY version of their system called the WS2000.  It uses the same motor as the WS3000 but doesn’t have the built-in speed reduction and doesn’t come with the finer grits of abrasive that you’d use for honing.  It’s meant for grinding a quick edge or, as one homeowner did, ground a sharp edge on his garden shovel.

You can read more about the Work Sharp systems here.

One of the fundamental definitions of a sharp edge is the intersection of two flat surfaces that meet at some angle. Whether it’s a chisel or plane iron, if one of the surfaces isn’t flat, you can’t expect to get a sharp edge.

There’s a running discussion over on WoodNet about if, when, and how you flatten the backs of your chisels. Then there’s the question of what “flat” really means.

Personally, when I buy a new chisel, I’ll use wet/dry sandpaper on a granite tile and work through the grits until the back is polished. Then I’ll work on the bevel to get a sharp edge. After that, the only time I work on the back is to remove any burr after I’ve honed the edge. I’ve had good success with that method and my chisels seem to be plenty sharp. The same holds true with my plane irons.

With western chisels, I only worry about polishing the last ½” or so of the back. Japanese chisels are hollowed out on the back side, making them easier to flatten.

Head over to WoodNet and leave your 2¢ worth.

Some folks aren’t aware that they can get a free woodworking tip in their email inbox every week. It’s something we’ve been doing for years and has proven to be very popular. A lot of woodworkers have been printing their favorite tips and storing them in a 3-ring binder.

If you’ve wondered what tips you’ve missed, we’ve got some handy links for you look up any of our past eTips. For our older eTips (prior to August 2003), click here.  For more recent tips, you can click here. Between these two web pages, you’ll find a complete list of all our past eTips.

Remember to sign up here for free eTips if you don’t already receive them.

At the AWFS Fair in July, I had the wonderful opportunity to get a close look at some extraordinary woodworking exhibits by some very talented students. AWFS sponsors the “Fresh Wood” competition that spotlights outstanding student works being produced at some of the best high school and post-secondary woodworking programs in North America.

I had a chance to chat with one of the exhibitors, Chris Hedges. His furniture project (a high-boy/secretary) was getting a lot of attention. And it should have. Chris won three awards with his project: First Place in the Reproduction category, the People’s Choice award, and Best of Show.

He’s 32 years old originally from the Circleville, Ohio area. He says he’s happily married and has a 3 year old daughter. When not making furniture and spending time with his family, Chris enjoys trap shooting and golfing. Chris says, “Although my wife and I lived in Athens, Ohio for 12 years before relocating to Knoxville, Tennessee. I earned a Masters from Ohio University (I taught sociology for four years after graduating) and then spent two years at University of Rio Grande in the Fine Woodworking program.”

When I asked him how he got started in woodworking, here’s what he said: “I really had no experience with woodworking as a child, other than nailing end grain to make ‘bookshelves’ for my dad. Most of the training I have before starting Rio’s program was theoretical — meaning I read as many books as I could. Although I could take apart a table saw in my head, I didn’t actually touch one until I started at Rio.”

As for the secretary Chris built, as a second year student he was encouraged to build something that was both technically and academically challenging. Having seen a number of similiar secretaries in the DuPont collection at Winterthur, Chris was highly intriqued by their swiss army knife-like nature and thought that building the secretary would truly challenge his acquired skills. “While plans were provided, I felt it would be to my benefit to stray as far from those plans as possible in an effort to distinguish myself from the rest of the pack,” Chris said. 

All in all, the research and production process took nine months, including the creation of scale drawings from photographs, designing the upper case, getting materials, then building the project. Chris used curly quartersawn cherry (from Irion Lumber Company) as the primary wood and madrone burl for the veneer from Certainly Wood. All secondary wood is poplar.

All wood was dimensioned to within 1/32″ of the final dimension with power tools and finished up with hand tools. As for joinery, all dovetails were cut by hand. Mortise and tenons and sliding dovetails were cut using power tools. While most of the work was done at school, a lot of the hand work was done at home, including dovetails, carvings, and turnings. “At the time that I built the desk, all I had at home was a lathe and a bunch of handtools,” Chris stated.

I think Chris has an excellent future as a woodworker based on what I saw. His craftsmanship is excellent and his attention to detail is impeccable.

Erich Lage has been a senior illustrator (and editor) for Workbench Magazine for 12 years now.

Before that he owned his own remodeling-design business. In 1977 he started his journey in residential construction as a concrete finisher and ultimately worked as a trim carpenter and service manager in the Home Building Industry in the Midwest. During this month’s Woodsmith Woodworking Seminar Podcast, Erich will provide you with suggestions on how to troubleshoot all your home repair questions. During the seminar he’ll talk about everything from basement window repair to installing box beams in a family room.

Once again, the seminar guide is available for sale at the Woodsmith Podcast Store.

 

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I remember about a year or so ago, Tony Schrank called me. His uncle had patented a new type of clamping system called the VersaClamp™. Tony and his brother designed it for manufacturing. I had him send me one to take a look at. I recall at the time that it was unique in its ability to transform from a clamp to a vise with the addition of a couple of brackets you can mount to your bench. 

Since that time, Tony has licensed the VersaClamp to PennTek Tools for manufacturing. (I wrote about PennTek Tools in this post.) 

Here are some of the key features of the VersaClamp:

• Cam Locking Feature is easily activated with the Easy-Grip Handle and locks the work piece in place with up to 400 pounds of force
• Power of the clamp is not limited by the hand strength of the user
• Handle has multiple positions and pivots out of the way as needed
• When mounted as a vise, jaws turn to work at any angle 
• Soft, non-marring jaws firmly hold the work piece
• Available in 12”, 20”, 36 and 48” openings – comes with mounting brackets and hardware
• Patented Cam Locking System
• Made in the USA
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

You can order the VersaClamp from Garrett Wade, Woodcraft, or directly from the VersaClamp web site.