We’ve covered miter sliders before, but here’s a different take on the problem from Micro Jig. Rather than use set screws or “adjusting disks” to fit into a miter slot without slop, their ZeroPlay guide bar uses two stacked half-bars that expand and contract along the entire length of the bar so it’ll work in any 3/4″ wide by 3/8″ deep miter slot — even Shopsmith and General miter slots.

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To get a piece to fit an irregular wall, you can scribe the contour of the wall onto the work piece, make the cut with your jigsaw, touch it up with a belt sander, and check it against the wall — then repeat the process until you get it perfect or you give up and call it “good enough.”  Rather than go through all that trouble, the QuickScribe lets you cut the piece with a router in one step. (more…)

JessEm has created a featherboard that lets you adjust its height (or width) independently of position. What’s more, while positioning the height, guides keep the featherboard parallel to the fence or table.

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At a race this past June, a little help from the armed forces’ vast array of load-carrying equipment saved me a good six miles of walking back and forth between the car and the pits. The equipment goes by several names, but it’s most often called a leg rig. It’s designed for quick access to small items, and it accepts a variety of tools perfectly. Leg rigs compatible with the MOLLE standard will be compatible with a staggering number of pouches and holsters, so once you get your hands on the basic rig you can customize it to hold just about anything.

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For those woodworkers who like the hand-shaped look, the smaller curves on trim can be a nightmarish proposition — or at the least a time-intensive one. Enter the mini-sized spokeshaves from Garrett Wade.

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I.D. Wood is one of the first woodworking iPhone apps we think might be worth coughing up $2.99 for. Simply put, it’s an app that does just what the name implies — it helps you identify over fifty types of wood with full screen samples and a search function that helps you get where you’re going.

It’s a standalone app that, once downloaded, doesn’t require net access, so if you’re somewhere the phone doesn’t have a signal you’re still good. Basically it will display samples and grain patterns as well as tell you what part of the tree it was cut from and how — plus all the more handy stuff, like woodworking properties and common uses.

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While rummaging through some of my toolboxes, I discovered I had a variety of screwstarters and screwholders as pictured above. The four on the right are true screwdrivers with a screw-holding spring clip that slides down the shaft. They work well, allowing you to start the screw, release the clip by simply pulling back on the handle and giving a little flick, and then finish tightening the screw. Two (Hold-E-Zee) are made by Upson Tools, and two “clones” by Stanley and VA; the Upson versions have a patent number, but neither the Stanley or VA do — perhaps the patent expired? I don’t know if any of these are currently available.

The next two brass-colored rods are — ta dah! — brass screwholding screwdrivers made by the H.J.J. Co. These two (one for slotted and the other for Phillips screws) are my favorites when I’m working inside a computer on a motherboard and such, as they are long and thin and do allow a reasonable amount of torque to insert or remove screws. They also make versions with vinyl handles.

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There’s a scene in the film Battle of the Bulge where Telly Savalas siphons gas from a drum to fuel his Sherman tank and winds up spiting diesel. Every time I’ve ever siphoned anything I remember it and think to myself, there’s a real man. Me, I’m a big sissy; I’d use something like the Drill-Powered Pump from Northern tools.

Jack a drill into the side to crank up to 650 GPH through a standard garden hose up to fifty feet. The pump is 5 1/2 in. from inlet to outlet, 3 1/2 in. thick x 3 in. high and will require a few band clamps to fit to either end of the section of hose you’d like to use, but other than that just add a 3/8″ or 1/2″ drill.

For us, $5 -$10 is worth it not to have to suck down non-potable liquids the three or four times it would take to get a steady flow going — and we’re not as cool as Telly Savalas anyway.

Drill Powered Pump [Northern Tools]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

We all remember the original magnetic pickup tool. Someone stuck a magnet on the end of a telescoping antenna and life was made a little simpler. Next thing you know, we’re adding hinges and pads and flex shafts and LED lights. Everything under the sun has been added to the basic magnetic pickup tool to make it more effective. The funny part is, it all works.

You don’t really plan on going out to pick one of these bad boys up until you need one, so we’re letting you in on a little secret now: if you don’t already have one, you need to get one the next time you’re out. Be it a small old-school kind or one of the new generation flex-shaft, extendable variety, the time will come when an errant bolt will pop down into or behind an immovable object and you’ll be boned. Don’t be without a way to retrieve it.

Street Pricing [Google Products]

The Brownells Top Dead Center Punch is an interesting tool. It’s a vee block that has a level visible on the top of the tool, with the vee below. There’s an adjustable stop that comes out from the front of the tool and a punch that rides in a hole perpendicular and centered on the vee. I bought one at a yard sale without knowing what exactly it was, so it took a bit of sleuthing.

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I was surprised to find EGGM Enterprises has a 6″x6″ Solderite Soldering Pad for $6.75. The ad proclaims one of the features is it’s a non-asbestos pad — you know, like you could buy an asbestos pad anymore.

It is extremely heat-resistant and work can be placed directly on the pad for (hard, silver) soldering. The white surface reflects the heat as well. It is relatively soft and can be shaped to hold workpieces for production soldering. It’s pretty handy, if only to protect your benchtop.

6″x6″ Solderite Soldering Pad [EGGM Enterprises]

For decades Metal Lathe Accessories has been offering kits of castings for making useful accessories for the metal lathe. I’m considering buying their Steady Rest kit as the price for a used/import steady rest for my South Bend 10K lathe is three times as much ($150-$200). Other useful kits that stand out are the Die Filer, Milling Attachment and Quick Change Toolpost, but everything they offer looks useful.

While the amount of work needed to make these kits into useful accessories is somewhat hefty, the kits are a great way to learn metalworking techniques while adding to your shop. In my years of following internet discussions I have only heard glowing reviews of the quality of the MLA castings, drawings and instructions.

Metal Lathe Accessories [State College Central]
Steady Rest [MLA]

The guys at the Bosch accessory department really hate switching bits. Evidence of this can be found in the AutoStart bit system. Bosch says that there’s no need to switch out to drill a pilot hole when putting holes in hard surfaces like marble anymore — it’s all done with one bit. Here’s the kicker: Bosch says the AutoStart doesn’t walk when you’re putting the pilot in, either. 

We have yet to see any completely walk-proof bits, but this does look pretty close. The heart of the bit system is a spring-loaded retractable pin that sports a cone-shaped carbide tip. The tip makes a super-small dent to place the hole and stays in the dent while you start the hole, so the bit gets a good hold before the teeth get to the surface and start grinding away bits of material.

Bit sizes range from 3/16” to 4-1/8” for the initial launch. It looks like a simple, rugged system that will make a bunch of tile guys happy at the very least.

AutoStart Bit System [Bosch]

At one time in my life, the Dremel was the only power tool I owned and I used it for everything. It still finds its way into almost any carving or fine-scale modeling project I manage to undertake. Now Dremel has added another bullet to the already extensive accessory-laden gun with the new detail abrasive brush.

Each of the finger-style bristles on the brush has a bit of sanding abrasive embedded in it that wears down as the brush is used up to expose new grit, eliminating the need for abrasive compound. It also negates the need to replace the wheel after you wear the first bit of abrasive off. The entire wheel is abrasive, instead of just a bunch of sanding grit glued to paper.

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We’ve covered a way to turn your reciprocating saw into a power rasp, but that was just a single use tool.  With the Reciprotools adapter chucked into your Recip saw, you can power accessories like stainless steel or nylon brushes, a cleaning pad, rasps, and files.

The the double tang adapter works with most reciprocating saws. Once you’ve inserted the adapter into the saw’s chuck, the adapter provides a quick-change hex chuck for holding the accessories. The hex-shaped shank on the accessories allows you to position each tool in six different orientations.

Pricing for the adapter starts at $16 and accessories start at $6 a piece.

Reciprotools [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Ever have an air line or tool go shooting off accidentally when you disconnect it? Besides being dangerous, it could damage the connector as it whacks the ground. To prevent this uncontrolled reaction, safety couplers like this one from Milton Industries make connection and disconnection a two-stage process.

Several retailers of the safety coupler describe the operation as follows: “First click locks coupler and plug; second click engages air pressure. When disconnecting, first click will relieve air pressure; second click allows coupler and plug to be safely disengaged.” Not having laid our hands on one yet, this sounds a little vague. Has anyone used one that could provide a better explanation of how the coupler works?

This 1/4″ M-style safety coupler comes in either male and female 1/4″ NPT threads. Milton retails the safety couplers for $10.

Milton Industries [Corporate Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

One of the best things about the Milwaukee M12 Li-Ion lineup is that Milwaukee recognizes that people who buy their tools have a life outside of work and adapt some of their products to it. I’m not talking beach ball inflators here, but handy gadgets like the 2349-20 Power Port. At first we thought it was a “marsh melon dispenser”* like in Star Trek V, but sadly that’s not the case. It’s a power charger that draws from the standard M12 battery on one end and feeds to USB and a 12v car-charger outlet on the other. We guess that’s just about as good.

Posted in Accessories, Hands-On, Milwaukee, Power Tools | 8 Comments »