A simple push stickI’m in between big projects, so I’ve been keeping my self busy with little shop maintenance projects. Monday night I cleaned every saw blade I owned. While waiting for a particularly nasty blade to loosen up, I looked over at my saw and realized that I really didn’t like my push stick; so I decided to make a new one. After a little tinkering in Sketchup & an evening in the shop I came up with what you see below. It’s made from 3/4″ Baltic birch, and is roughly 15″ long by 8″ tall . I’ve played with it a little bit and I like it a lot better than my old one. The long base creates a large gripping surface, which does an excellent job of keeping the stock tight to the fence.
Router Table (wrap-up)It’s finally done… When I first started this project, I thought I would be done in a month. Now 6 months later, I don’t know where all the time went. I lost a week to a neck injury, but other than that I’ve worked on this project 10 to 15 hours every week. Either I work a lot slower than I think I do, or Norm has some magic tool to warp time. All kidding aside, I’m really pleased with the results. I’ve gained additional storage space (always a plus in a small shop), and a valuable tool that I’m sure will be make many of my future projects much easier and pleasurable. And now it’s time for the obligatory final photos. ROS dust collection hoseI purchased a new ROS about two weeks ago, as my old palm sander is on its last legs. After a lot of deliberation, I settled on the Milwaukee 6021-21, and I have to say so far it’s been great . Last weekend I spend a few hours in the shop, and made the adapter shown below, to connect the it to my Shop-vac. The total cost of the project was around $25; $20 of that being for the pool vacuum hose.
The best tape measure I’ve ever usedSaturday, I went into my local Rockler looking for some 2-1/2″ dust collection hose, unfortunately they where sold out. While chatting with the clerk, she pointed out the new FastCap ProCarpenter tapes. As soon as I examined a tape, I knew I had to have one. The tapes have several interesting features, but the one that really caught my eye, was that the hook doesn’t jiggle like every Stanley I’ve ever handled. Below is a YouTube video covering some of the tapes other features, along with some close-up shots of mine. For reference, I purchased the 16 foot Flatback model. eBay Scratch AwlBack in February, I wrote about a great marking knife I found on eBay. I’ve been so impressed with it, that when the same seller had a scratch awl listed a few weeks ago, I just had to have it. The seller goes by the screen name cdnrx1, and he does excellent work, so if your in the market for a quality marking knife, or scratch awl, be sure to check him out. The awl handle is made of Lacewood with East Indian Rosewood accents. The shaft is made from O-1 steel, and its sheath is made from East Indian Rosewood. |
