Festool introduced a new hand sander at the 2009 AWFS that uses the same 6″ hook-and-loop disc abrasives their orbital sanders use. I thought these sanders looked familiar, so I searched the Toolmonger archives and found this post from Rick. Hmmm, they look pretty similar, don’t they?  The question is, did Festool copy this design, or are they relabeling a pre-existing product?

The ergonomically designed sander design is reminiscent of a computer mouse. On the bottom of the foam sander is a hard pad that backs the sandpaper and helps with shaping and coarse sanding. The sanders use 6″ abrasive discs which wrap up around the sides. Festool claims it’s designed to use their 6″ abrasive discs, but in all probability you can use any flexible abrasive discs.

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Many woodworkers make drawers out to be a beast that cannot be tamed by fire or steel, when in fact they can be quite simple to build. Case in point: reader Flabby Boohoo stuffed these keepsake drawers into the bookcase he’s building.

Before anyone jumps the gun and lets loose the slings and arrows of carpentry finish work, we can see that when open, the drawers show the ply lines. However since Flabby Boohoo was going for a nice piece of furniture and not a woodcrafting showboat, we say well done.

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Bessey’s Maxis VarioPivot clamping system extends the versatility of your bar clamps by attaching them to your bench, somewhat like the previously covered VersaClamp.  It works best with Bessey’s K-Body Clamps, but they claim the system works with other bar or pipe clamps too.

The two C-clamp-like ends attach to your bench top and capture any length of bar clamp between them. The clamps fit into rotating holders which can lock the bar clamp at any angle between 0 to 270°.  The holders rest in an L-shaped track, which allows you to position the bar clamp along the side of the bench or over the work surface.

The Maxis VarioPivot Clamping system comes with the two c-clamp ends and runs about $50. You’ll need to provide your own bar clamp.

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

You know you woodcarving is in your blood when you carry a miniature gouge on your key chain. This isn’t a toy — Two Cherries manufactures this carving gouge in Germany with the same process they use for their full-size tools, only they mount it on a key chain and don’t sharpen it so you won’t turn your pockets into Swiss cheese.

If you really wanted to you could sharpen the gouge and use it as a woodcarving tool; just don’t put it in your pocket after that. You can pick up this miniature gouge for around $25.

Two Cherries [Corporate Site]
Key Chain Gouge [Tools For Working Wood]
Key Chain Gouge [Mendota Tools]

We always appreciate the small things that make life easier around the shop. This homebrew vise is a fine example of what a little tinkering around will get you. Reader Matthew Byrne lets us in on his little project and even went so far as to put together an Instructable on the process.

The idea behind this project was to create a simple and useful woodworking vice that could be clamped to my makeshift workbench (my desk). As I don’t have any metal working equipment, and only a few hand tools, a wood based vice made sense. Also, the wooden clamps I made a few weeks ago have performed so well that they seemed to be a good base for the project.

It wound up looking great, and as you can see from the above pics, it doesn’t take a whole lot by way of materials to build. Check it out if you have the time — you never know when this kind of MacGyvering will come in handy.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Wooden vice [Instructables]

It’s good to know that the next time Sean has a mishap that super glue won’t fix, he can pop out to the shop and turn a block of wood (red oak, rattan, and sipo apparently work best) into an artificial bone. Of course, first you have to carbonize it, spray it with calcium to create calcium carbide, convert the calcium carbide into carbonated hydroxyapatite, and then implant the artificial bone (surgical glue optional; square drive screws preferred). The process can take a week, and cost approximately $850 for one block — but hey, nobody said this was going to be easy.

Now if we can just get past all the innuendos, euphemisms, and snide remarks (including subtleties like “The researchers also note that they can create virtually any size or shape”), we might have an interesting TM post here.

Artificial Bone at Discovery.com [Web Site]

If you need to recess a large bolt when building a deck or other outdoor project, it’s usually a two-step process. This is okay if you only have to hide a few bolts, but if you have to recess a ton of bolts it’d be easier to slide Makita’s counter bore over one of their industrial ship auger bits and do it in one step.

Slip the counter bore over an auger bit with a 5/8″ diameter shaft, tighten the set screw, and you’re set to hog out a 2-1/2″ hole for recessing the bolt in addition to the through-hole. You can pay anywhere between $45 and $80 for Makita’s slip-on counter bore.

Counter Bore Collar [Makita]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Hitachi just announced the newest edtion to their already extensive nailer lineup with the NT50GS, the gas-powered 18-gauge nailer. You heard right — Hitachi has now made with the cordless gas in a small brad nailer format. We’re guessing it’s to try and slim the lead on those guys in orange.
 
The new NT50GS will hold a 5/8 in. to 2 in. 100-shot magazine-style load and, as you can see from the pictures, is not covered in the alien-skin green that brings such a polarizing cheer or groan from the masses. The system is powered through a “fuel-rod” gas cartridge that Hitachi says will send 1200 rounds home, and the spark that lights up the gas is provided by a rechargeable 3.6v Li-Ion battery.

The same battery will fit in the cordless screwdriver freebie that Hitachi is throwing in the kit along with a spare battery and charger.

The entire rig will run you about $299 retail and be available at the local home center soon.

NT50GS Gas Powered 18-gauge Brad Nailer [Hitachi]

Bosch’s model 4410L miter saw is the kin of Cain, the Terminator’s son, and ten inches of high-RPM fury rolled into one. As far as table-top miter saws go, it’s hard to beat the dual-bevel sliding arrangement found in the 4410L. You get the smooth action of a sliding miter saw, and as a bonus, two angles of adjustment. You can change the angle of the blade relative to the backstop and relative to the wood’s top surface, allowing very complex cuts. There aren’t many woodworkers whose trades require such an elaborate range of adjustment, but they’ll appreciate how this saw makes very complex geometries possible. Geodesic dome out of two-by-fours, anyone?

You do pay a price for both Bosch’s name and the saw’s extensive feature list. Amazon’s asking price is a cool $526, which is reasonable compared to the saw’s $1,100 list price. The money will get you excellent quality, with positive detents for precise adjustment and cast angle markers that won’t fade with time. Of course not to be left out, it also comes with a laser beam attached to the head stock.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]
4410L [Bosch]

Want perfect miters in applications where precision really matters, like making picture frames? This miter trimmer uses high-carbon steel blades that are razor sharp to shave fractions of an inch from miters, leaving a cut that some might call glass-smooth.

Since you can’t actually use the trimmer to make miters, you first need to make a rough miter cut with a miter box. Then with the miter trimmer you can shave the piece for the perfect fit. The trimmer is made from cast iron, so it weighs 35 lbs. It has angle presets at 90° and 45°.

We’re not sure who actually makes this trimmer. Rockler, Dieter Schmid, Grizzly, Highland Woodworking, and other companies sell what looks to be the identical tool for anywhere from $150 to $200.

Miter Trimmer [Grizzly]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

If you’ve never tried putting a 5-1/2″ hole in a piece of 1/8″ stainless-steel, my advice is to avoid attempting something so mad. However, if you need to put big holes in tough materials, there’s no substitute for a set of carbide hole saws outside of a knee mill, water jet, or EDM, and none of those are easy to find in the average home shop.

Carbide is a machinist’s darling, and the material is superb for this set of 14 hole saws from MK Morse. $125 for the set is steep, but discounted thanks to Amazon’s usual excellent prices. Milwaukee makes a similar set of five hole saws, but a careful user can cut just about anything with a good, high-torque drill motor or drill press. The ability to tear a sizable, accurate hole in just about anything can be a bit of a tall order for standard bi-metal hole saws, but carbide is up to the task.

Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Forstner bits are awesome. After discovering them for myself, I use my set every chance I get. Even the less-expensive bits leave smooth bore holes with almost no splintering. If you’re a serious woodworker you might want to take a look at some of the finer bits on the market: Bormax Forstner style bits from German manufacturer FAMAG.

The patented design is formed by razor-sharp teeth set in a “wave-form” pattern. It produces less friction and heat, requires less power, and wears slower than other Forstner-style bits. The “wave-form” pattern also clears dust and chips efficiently, producing tear-free and accurate holes. You can use the bits in wood, MDF, plywood, and plastic.

Precision machined from high carbon steel, the imperial sized bits either have a 5/16″ or 3/8″ shank and they’re sold in sizes from 5/8 to 2-1/4″. You’re going to shell out anywhere from $20 to $75 for a single Bormax bit depending on the size. To save some money, you can purchase kits with either 5 or 16 bits for $140 or $530, respectively.

Bormax [FAMAG]
Bormax [Traditional Woodworker]
Bormax [Dieter Schmid]

Frankly, I was going to post about the Alpha JackClamp a while ago, but when I went to their website to gather information, it was hacked, so I forgot about the clamp. As of late, I keep running into ads and reviews for the product and figured it was time to give it a fair shake.

The first thing you notice about the Alpha JackClamp it that it has this extra bar where other bar clamps just have a jaw pad. This extra bar gives the JackClamp some interesting abilities. As a bar clamp, it has a 13″ deep throat for clamping around obstructions. Flipping the handle around the extra bar gives the JackClamp a 33″ spreading span.

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This may be the most impressive woodworking feat I’ve ever seen. The photo above was made in the mid-1800s by a Mason named Henry O. Studley, a piano maker and carpenter. Materials include mahogany, rosewood, walnut, ebony, and mother-of-pearl, so finely crafted that each tool clicks snugly into place and remains when the wall-mounted box is vertical, even though there are no built-in locks. Two layers on one side and three on the other are enough to store around three hundred tools in 39″ x 20″ x 9″.

It takes a Toolmonger with a heart of stone to avoid falling in love with this remarkable chest. An expert craftsman with a lifetime’s experience in a demanding trade made this practical and fantastically beautiful box from scraps, and was probably the kind to use it every day. If this were your work, imagine the little twinge of satisfaction every time you reached for a tool. Mr. Studley’s work is a practical, gorgeous display of his incredible skill, and he’d undoubtedly be proud to see his work on display at its current home in the Smithsonian.

The H.O. Studley tool chest [Fine Woodworking]
Henry O. Studley [Wikipedia]

I was trained as a machinist, and finding angles always drove me up the wall. For some reason, I find it really hard to trust my own math when creating fixtures with Joe blocks and sine plates, and wind up verifying everything seven ways. Denali has a little something that may take the sting out.

While digital protractors like this have been around for a while, it’s hard to pass up Amazon’s $23 price on this one. Strictly speaking, it may not be accurate enough for precision work, but +/- 1 degree is more than enough for woodworking and sheet metal layout. +/- 1 degree is probably the best you’d get with a steel protractor. More accurate versions are available from Bosch, but ninety percent of the time, Denali’s little 11-incher should be plenty, and it’ll save you a lot of close-up guesswork.

Denali 11-inch digital protractor [What’s This?] [Via Amazon]

How do you drive a screw that’s all threads and no head, like a dowel screw? A few places sell drivers especially made for driving these screws, so put away your Vice-grips and chuck a dowel screw driver into your drill instead.

We found three different retailers selling these drivers. Westfire Manufacturing has 1/4″ and 5/16″ drivers for $38. McFeely’s has what looks to be the same drivers, but also has a 3/16″ version for $24. Stair Supplies’ C-905 driver is only $8, but according to their sales rep, it only drives their C905-2 dowel screws. Still, it might be worth it for the price.

Dowel Screw Driver [McFeely's]
Dowel Screw Driver [Westfire Manufacturing]
Dowel Screw Driver [Stair Supplies]

Reader JDwires put together this great-looking bookcase out of hardwood oak trim and veneered ply. It’s a combo that we’ve talked about before that comes out looking traditional without having to pay traditional amounts of cash for it.

Our bookcase project didn’t have the curved pieces on the capital and foot, but was essentially very similar. It’s amazing to see how the tiniest difference or adjustment can change the whole character of a piece with a little extra effort. It looks beautiful and we’re sure JD’s bookcase will be in service for a long time.

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]