We have a crappy little blast box that we occasionally use around the TM shop, but this is what we really want: a 46″ wide x 34″ deep x 36″ high cabinet made of 14-gauge steel with a foot-pedal-operated gun and a 250-300 CFM dust collection system. This is the real deal, and I want one.
Here’s another palm sander find from Amazon: this Black & Decker MS1000 Cyclone 1.4 amp orbital 4-in-1 multi-sander was listed at $87, but they’re now selling it for $28.28. Its interchangeable bases include a Random orbit sander, a detail sander, a finish sander, and a flush sander. It’s also got a 1.4 amp motor and a dust collection bag.
Black & Decker MS1000 [Black & Decker]
Via Amazon
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
Springtime means dragging the gardening tools out from their winter hideaway and returning them to service. Occasionally the last project of the year — and the multi-month cold storage — leaves ‘em with a rusty blemish or two to show for it. That’s where rust erasers come in handy.
They look and probably function a lot like a pliable foam sanding block. (In fact, that’s pretty much what they are.) A few minutes of wailing on the tool in question and mud, dirt, and light rust will come right off.
Here’s another piece of kit we came to love this week: good sandpaper. We picked up some of Norton’s 800, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit SandWet product from the paint shop after they got done laughing at our rattle-can project.
The real winner here, though, is the 2000 grit. It offers a totally different level of control from the 320 grit you find at the big-box stores. We were even able to make some minor repairs on a clear-coated finish, then add just a little clear to cover up the work.
The SandWet works for either wet or dry sanding — a function of the material used for the backing paper — and it’s great to have in the shop. Like I said, we picked up the other grits while we were there so we’ve got a variety to work with.
Eli writes: “I have a plastic file box I bought at Staples. It’s about a foot square, filled with hanging folders. When I grew out of it and started shredding my phone bills instead of saving them for four years — I still don’t know why I did that — I was too thrifty to just throw it out. So it sat on my workbench for a while.
“Then I started putting stuff in it: all my sandpaper and disks, all my tool manuals and warranties, the random hardware catalog. All the tabbed folders got relabeled with grit numbers. Instead of trying to paw through a bunch of boxes for sanding disks, I just pull the folder halfway out and they’re exposed. It’s the same with paper. And there’s room under the lid for a sanding block, always ready.”
Eli writes: “If you need to refinish a kitchen full of raised panel doors, an orbital sander is often overkill. All you need to do is rough up the surface, and a sanding block lets you hit every surface. 3M’s SandBlaster has inserts that lasted me through 27 doors and 11 drawers – a pretty average size kitchen. I used two pads. Buy two extra packs of sanding inserts for this job; They come two to a package, and that way you’ll have plenty for the job and refills for the next job. And remember, even if you paint over wood, you want to brush out the grain. Roller marks look weird over wood grain.”
Wet sanding can your ride’s paint job from “also ran” to “show stopper,” but if you’re not careful you can end up with irregular deep scratches that take you right back to square one. Norton Automotive claims that unique shaping of the aluminum oxide heat-treated grain on their Black Ice sandpaper provides a more consistent cut, which means less accidental deep scratches, more uniform finish, and less re-sanding.
Ever wonder how the A-Team guys got all that pin-striping off those late ’70s sedans? If they were around now, they’d use the Dynazip Decal Eraser wheel. Just think of all the hours B.A. could’ve spent “pittyin’ the foos” instead of scraping.
The eraser wheel uses its serrated “crepe” teeth to gently grind away decals and stickers from a painted metal surface. It’s most often used for auto body work, and the serrations provide improved airflow that prevents surface heat build-up on the soon to be graphic-less vehicle. (Less heat = less likely to damage the paint.) The design of the teeth also allows for a relative jump-and-vibration free experience.
Eastwood’s offering a nice price on this 50 lb bottom-feed abrasive blaster right now. One thought: Though they’re advertising it as a way to “get started abrasive blasting for just $99,” but that’s not entirely true. As anyone who’s done any abrasive blasting can attest, you’ll need media and protective gear as well. Thankfully, they have some pretty decent deals on those as well.
Skil announced today that they’re freshening up their grinder line with the introduction of an updated 4-1/2″ angle grinder targeted at homeowners, advanced DIYers, and occasional pros.
As you can see from the photo, the new 9290 is a barrel-grip type with a top-mounted switch, which we’re fond of. The bottom-paddle-switch types can really hurt your hand after a bit of use, and they also have a nasty tendency to turn on when set down on a workbench. It sports a 6 amp motor spinning at 11,000 RPM, and it features a special guard which can be rotated into different positions without the use of additional tools. This can be handy for getting to those tough-to-reach spots.
The grinder’s packaging will include a metal grinding wheel, wheel guard, flange kit, locknut wrench, assist handle, and the whole shebang in covered by a standard two-year warranty.
It’s going to retail for $39.99 through home improvement centers, so if you don’t already have an angle grinder you really won’t have any excuse after this one hits shelves in August.
Skil recently released a new finishing sander featuring a large triangle-shaped sanding head as well seven other uniquely-shaped detail attachments — hence, the “Octo.”
It’s a corded tool with a .8 amp motor which orbits 12,000 times a minute. It also features a built-in worklight and a dust canister to keep you from making too much of a mess (or breathing too much dust). But what sets the Octo apart are the detail attachments, which include the following types: finger, slot, outside corner, inside corner, concabe, flex, and extended delta. The nose of the Octo also locks into three different positions to let you reach those tough spots.
Street pricing starts around $40 for the kit, which includes the sander, attachments, 32 pieces of sandpaper, and a carry bag.
Octo Multi-Finishing Sander, Model 7300-01 [Skil]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Some people dream about having their own Ferrari or villa in southern France. We, on the other hand, dream about having our own waterjet cutting rig. But until that lottery-wining day comes, there’s always Big Blue Saw.
Big Blue Saw offers you the ability to create a part — using any one of a number of commercial or even free CAD applications — send off the file, and receive your part cut on their waterjet in 14-21 days. Their unit cuts with a 0.040″ stream, so that’s the smallest limit for your cuts and corners, and their automated quoting system currently offers parts made of aluminum, stainless steel, mild steel, clear polycarbonate plastic, and clear acrylic plastic. Big Blue Saw says, however, that if you give them a call they’ll work with you to cut other materials as well.
For those not yet in the drooling-over-it-gotta-have-one know, waterjet cutting works by mixing water with an abrasive powder, then using a pump and nozzle to eject the mix at exceedingly high pressure to cut abrasively. Since it creates very little heat — and the water carries away what heat there is — there’s no HAZ (heat-affected-zone) to warp the material or change its properties (via tempering or other processes).
There are lots of examples of things they’ve made for customers on their site (link below).
Custom Waterjet Cutting [Big Blue Saw]
Utilizing a ring instead of a straight or band configuration, Gemini’s ring saws give you the ability to cut inside and outside radius curves from tile and stone up to 6 cm thick.
The ring is covered in a diamond-based abrasive, which cuts hard materials such as stone, granite, marble, glass, non-ferrous metals, acrylic and plexiglass, yet won’t cut you if you happen to stray into the “blade.” (Gemini says skin bounces off the abrasive where as immovable materials don’t.)
The ring also cuts in all directions — as opposed to one direction with a band saw – which makes shaped cuts easier, and it doesn’t vibrate like a reciprocating saw. The drive belt in Gemini’s saws draws water up to cool and lubricate the cut, so no pump is needed.
The entry-level Taurus 3 saw (pictured here) is available on the street at around $375, though Gemini does offer much larger and more sophisticated versions.
Tile-Cutting Ring Saws [Gemini]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Removing old, hardened grout from tile joints can be a major pain. There are a lot of ways to go about it, but almost all of them involve either damaging the tile, generating tons of grout dust, or both. (We can tell you first hand that grout dust is not good for your health.)
We’re not saying that this is an inexpensive solution by any means, but if you’re re-grouting some priceless tile or are removing grout on a daily basis — we’ve been there and feel your pain — Fein has a tool that does the job without making a mess of the tile or your lungs.
Their FSN 400E dustless grout remover works by vibrating a sandpaper-like “blade” (using fine diamonds for grit) at up to 22,000 times per minute to pulverize the grout into pieces small enough to wipe away but not so small that they’ll fill the air. It features variable speed settings, and you can attach the blade in 12 different configurations to optimize its shape for your particular task.
The FSN 400E retails around — get ready for this — $675 in various kits. It’s easier to find in Europe than here in the states, but if you look around a bit you can indeed find it.
The Supercut FSN 400E [Fein UK]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Ironworkers love flap disc abrasives because they cut the middle between the finishing capabilities of a fiber disc and the bulk metal removal capabilities of a grinding wheel. Earlier this year Milwaukee released a new line of flap disc abrasives made with a “high-performance” zirconia grain that aims to increase that convenience by improving disc life.
Flap discs are made of small overlapping sheets of cloth to which grit is bound. As the wheel rotates, the sharp edges of the grit remove material. When the grain becomes dull, it fractures to expose new cutting edges. Eventually the grain fractures to the point that it’s too small to stay attached to the backing material and is ejected from the disc along with other grinding debris.
The grit used in flap disc applications commonly consists of aluminum oxide, but is often made of zirconia on higher-end discs. (The fact that aluminum oxide grit is “stronger” works against it in this application because it’s less likely to fracture.)
Milwaukee claims their “high-performance” grain improves upon standard zirconia by “micro-fracturing” — breaking off in smaller pieces when it fractures, thus maximizing the percentage of sharp grain edges exposed and keeping the particle attached to the disc longer. Milwaukee claims a 15% increase in life span over other zirconia flap discs and a 30% increase over aluminum oxide.
Milwaukee offers flap discs in both flat (Type 27, recommended for light to moderate surface removal) and conical (Type 29, recommended for moderate to heavy surface removal) form factors, and the Type 27 is also available in an extra thick configuration that yields 40% longer disc life.
Street pricing starts around $5/disc.
Press Release [Milwaukee]
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