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Ryobi Benchtop Table Saw BT-3000
I purchased my BT-3000 used through the newspaper classifies. The owner had upgraded to a Delta cabinet saw. Not within my budget, at least not yet. Along with the purchase came the extension rails and table. He threw in a set of zero tolerance throat plates.
From other owners I have been told that the motor [...]
Delta 37-195 6″ jointer
As I continue working with the rough stock I have been using the table saw to clean up the joint for glue up joints. I have been looking at several different joiners from table tops to full stand units. I am seriously considering the delta 6” professional joiner model 37-195.
One of my main requirements is [...]
Sharpening carbide tools
The beauty of carbide tipped blades is that they can be sharpened many times before they need to be replaced. Depending on the quality of the saw blade sometimes it is cheaper to buy a replacement blade than sharpen it. But that is a whole different discussion.
In my area there are a couple of tool [...]
10” contractor by SawStop
Contractor style saws are a great medium level table saw. For the home wood worker, a good contractor table saw will provide years of reliable use and have enough horse power to cut through most wood stock.
There are many different manufactures of contractor saws. Most all have the same basic feature set with differences typically [...]
Air Compressor
You need one! It is kind of hard to power the pneumatic tools without one.
There are several different types of air compressors on the market from oiled, oil less, to pancake. The oiled compressors have a separate motor and compressor units on top of the tank. The compressor’s piston and crank shaft run in an [...]
Nail guns
I learned wood working from my father. Back in the day, this wasn’t that long ago, every nail was driven by hand! Oh boy the fun that caused. Imagine you trying to nail two 3/4 inch pieces of plywood that have been beveled at 45 degrees and you are nailing on the joint. While pounding [...]
ShopSmith Mark V
A very versatile and functional tool, it is a table saw, horizontal boring machine, drill press, disk sander, and lathe. There are several additional attachments available for the system: band saw, scroll saw, planer, etc.
Several years ago my father-in-law purchased a ShopSmith from his brother-in-law. At the time he did not have space to store [...]
Roller stands
I typically work alone in my wood shop. Often when I am cutting long stock and sheets of plywood I need a helping hand. For Christmas my wife gave me a nice set of three adjustable folding metal roller stand. They are nice, but they have a significant draw back, tipping over. If the stock [...]
DeWalt DW705S 12″ Heavy-Duty Compound Miter Saw
For Christmas, several years ago, my wife gave me a DeWalt 12” compound miter saw. It was a wonderful surprise. This was the third major power tool that I added to my home shop. The first is still ‘wintering’ over and the second was air compressor and 18 gauge brad finish nailer. More about these [...]
DeWalt Heavy-Duty Plate Joiner Kit model DW682K
I have a DeWalt Heavy-Duty Plate Joiner Kit model DW682K since 2003. It is a very nicely balanced tool. It is a little bit on the heavy side, but what do you expect from DeWalt! It supports cutting slots for #0, #10, and #20 biscuits. It comes with a 6.5 amp motor gives it plenty [...]
Delta 13″ 2 Speed Planer 22-580
I finally developed a compelling reason why I needed a [tag]bench top planer[tag]. I gained access to some used rough cut mahogany lumber. So, naturally I need a planer to clean up the lumber and dimension it.
I looked at review sites and bench top planer shoot outs. Finally I came down to the DeWalt 13” [...]
Delta ShopMaster AP400 Dust Collector
For years my dust collector was the shop floor, shelves, tools, etc. And the dust removal was a big broom and dust pan. There are several problems with this method the most important is that the dust can lead respiration problems. In one of Norm Abram’s books he talked about his early days when his [...]
Does anyone ever have enough power tools?
I recall have seen an episode on New Yankee Workshop where Norm was building some shop furniture. As he emptied out his existing shop cabinet he had a wheel barrel full of routers! I think he said he had over 20 routers! When working on a project with a router, don’t change bits, he changes [...]
My home wood shop (a/k/a the ‘shed’)
My wood shop is a home built 16’ by 12’ shed with a barn style roof in the back yard. A nice size building; however, over time I wish I had a larger space. I just completed building my eldest daughter’s dresser bed (storage bed) and it was a fun dance to move parts around [...]