Machinery, Tools, Research, Reviews and Safety

I picked one up at the BORG when I was trying to figure out how to throw up a peaked roof on my shed build. I paid about $39 for the "Construction Master 5" It was handy. I could have done it using CAD or a trig formula book but I wanted to try it this way. But it has since migrated into the shop and I gotta say I really, really, really like the thing. I can convert back and forth from all systems of measurement CM MM Inch Decimal whatever. I think in Decimal and prefer inch standard but my tapes are all in fractions. And once in a while I'm dealing with metric and it gets crazy. This thing sorts it all out for me. I hit the convert bu…

Hey gang, I need some info. I just ought a Continental 8" X 62" jointer for a song. It is quiet and cuts like a dream but the guy bought a Grizzly with a spiral head and he needed the room. He hasn't found the manual but I need to know where this thing was made. Internet has yield nothing but I suspicion that it may be kin to a General. Any thoughts?

Would it be of any real advantage in woodworking to convert a band saw to continuously variable speed? This would be fairly easy to do, just change the motor to 3-phase and power it with a VFD. My thoughts are the cost wouldn't justify the change and if it was such a good idea, they would be available commercially.

Today I finished the dust "management" on my contractor saw. I do not have a dust collector system so I needed some sort of management. I built a simple box drawer to catch the dust from under the saw and used hardboard to block off the back of the saw. The hardboard was cut to overlap by 2" and screwed into the back of the saw. Cutouts were made for the belt and the motor hanger. To test things out I made about 30 cuts on 3/4" MDF. The only noticeable discharge was on the table itself. Please see the pictures below for an idea how I did it.

I've had my 18 volt Hatachi For about 3 years and it was really great. Light, powerful and quick recharge. Yesterday it quit. Just quit. Then got hot and started to smoke. I have 2 batteries and a flashlight that came with it. I thought about getting an exact replacement to have 4 batteries. So I did a lot of web searching and pricing. I stopped looking when I found an industrial Porter Cable 20 volt with all the goodies on sale at Amazon. A $269 drill with 2 batteries and free shipping for $99 It will be here on the 16th......I'll let you know what I think, it had a ton of great reviews

https://www.consumerreports.org/cordless-drills/best-cordless-drills-of-the-year-a1168250583/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_FB&fbclid=IwAR2NeRqRciLnvC6jyGRR5OsfRk0lvW9XWDOM-pRCPRqAt05PSEEVfHrZU54

Wood Magazine just did a review of the four available - DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, and Metabo. They all did pretty well with the Makita having things they liked best. The Metabo came in as best buy at $100 less. And the DeWalt was ridiculously expensive as it included the kit of batteries and charger. I'm never more than a few feet from an outlet, and I have 7 routers, so file me under "not interested"

Wood Magazine just did a review of the four available - DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, and Metabo. They all did pretty well with the Makita having things they liked best. The Metabo came in as best buy at $100 less. And the DeWalt was ridiculously expensive as it included the kit of batteries and charger. I'm never more than a few feet from an outlet, and I have 7 routers, so file me under "not interested"

some months ago I used a big project to purchase a couple of pricey tools one was a milwaukee 18 volt circular saw. The weight took some getting used to as I was used to the old school heavy grade worm drive skillsaw. SO I've been using the thing. I gotta say I am really impressed. The prior experience I've had with cordless has all been bad. No power what power there is is fleeting and the batteries run down. They were awful so I didn't buy any. But I'd been reading lately that things have really improved. So I got one. Just one. The saw and two batteries ( two because I still didn't have faith that they had any staying power) and…

Here a month ago I went on a hunt for a good countersink. I I settled on one for an aircraft tools company Brown Tool Co. https://www.browntool.com/Listview/tabid/344/CategoryID/62/Level/a/ProductID/219/Default.aspx I used it today for the first time and it did what I expected of a good countersink. It took a few minutes to set up for depth, but after that it did a nice job. No whirling rim to mark up the work. It is a countersink only, have to dill the holes first. Can be set to counter bore for plugs too. Herb

I just picked but a Delta model 10 Contractor's table saw. I got a real good deal on it, but it has a cracked cast iron top where one of the fence mounting holes are. I was going to flip the saw, but the more i look into fixing it, the more I think that I should just part it out, unless I can find another top for a really reasonable price, which could take a long time.

It's fairly obvious that K mart is closing a lot more stores in our region. ll of a sudden a lot of N-I-B Craftsman tools are coming up for sale on CL. One guy posted an odd collection of individual, unrelated tools still on their peg board cards wanting a lump sum for all. I still think it's sad to see what's happening to them (well, Sears...I don't care much for K mart). But they shot themselves in the foot.

Went to Lowe's today and noticed they are giving their tool department a makeover. Looks like they are dedicating a large area to Craftsman Tools. It appears the Kobalt brand is staying too. I saw a special section for Dewalt also. They are nowhere near done with the improvements so we'll have to wait and see what else is planned.

Craftsman #113 TS decommission Yup my old buddy is retired for good. Sort of. About 40+ years ago I got it from Sears as some kind of defect. Some kind. I can't recall what was off about it. Damaged box? Over time it got a new rip fence and I made a heavy steel miter fence for it too. Anyway I mounted it on a frame and ran the daylights out of it up until some years ago when I got a Hammer K3. The old TS served as my metal cutting saw for a while and eventually I got a better option and it's sat silent ever since. So I took it apart today. Ahh the memories. That saw never bit me. Trunion is off, cast iron top is of…

I have a craftsman 10 inch compound miter saw (model MODEL NO. 137.212360 SN#041300896). A few weeks back i noticed that when adjusting the angle of the blade it was becoming increasing hard to turn the blade assembly whether it be to 45 degrees right or left. today I got motivated and disassembled the (part X3RS - TABLE) from the (part X3SS - BASE). There is a (part X3SQ - SLIDE PLATE) between the two. I noticed that it looks like the saw has been 'rubbing' one side of the slide plate to the point where it has made a groove in the metal. The table now falls into this groove and is what is making it so difficult to turn. I tried lubricating it to cut down on the friction …

Hello all, I have an inherited Craftsman 113 from my Grandpa, to my dad and now mine. I have restored and it works pretty great for my weekend adventures. This past week I have finally gotten fed up with stock rip fence and I am wondering what your opinions are for the Delta T3 rip fence as a replacement. Thank you.

Ok so bI picked up a Craftsman 11320680 jointer that v really needed to be cleaned up. I removed the fence and cleaned everything up, replaced the blades. When I remounted the fence it is square to the outfieed table but is out about a 1/32 or so to the infeed table. The bottom of the fence needs to come in some on that side. Having issues getting the bottom of the fence on the infeed side to move in some without throwing out the outfieed side. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A while back I bought a couple of these http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-12-in-bar-clamp/p-00931482000P And posted that I rather liked them. I still do, but they are not 12" I was doing a glue up of some drawer boxes and wanted to use the clamps to put the squeeze on the Box Joints. They didn't fit. I measured the box measured the clamp it was a mis match But I observed a limiting factor. The factory drove a plastic stop in the bar. The intent is to prevent one from letting the head slip off the end and at the same time serve as a mounting location stop to flip the little clamp end around for spreading. So I dr…

These go pretty cheap. What do you think it’s worth.. = 1 1/8HP = 6" Depth Of Cut = 2 Speeds = Built In Work Light = Working Condition High bid $16

Does anyone have any experience with the latest Craftsman 14 inch bandsaw? I have been drooling over the grizzly g0555 but it is about 250 more after shipping and I can't swing that for awhile. The Craftsman seems to be a RIKON clone and has really good reviews as far as I have seen. I currently do not have a bandsaw and have been ready for one for awhile now.