Scraper writes: “If any of you are trying to decide between a finish nailer and a brad nailer, Rockler has a deal for you: if you buy the Porter-Cable finish nailer, you get the brad nailer for free.”

Rockler also has a Porter Cable compressor and nailer kit on sale for $130 as well as a bunch of other items ranging from clamps to porch glider plans.  Check out the site for details.

The sale expires April 8, 2007.

Outdoor Product Sale [Rockler]

Michael B. writes: “I picked up this set over a year ago and use them all the time. The spring loaded center punch is great for making sure you drill on center.  It makes a nice little divot that the drill bit or screw nestles right into.  The scribe is harder than anything else in my shop so it does a great job of marking where a pencil can’t.”

I have cheaper versions of each and use them regularly — mine are hand-me-downs – though I suspect that for $14 there’s no reason not to have a nice set like the one from Rockler.  A little Froogling shows the punch sold under some other names, but all pretty much more expensive — Sears sells it as the “Skill Tech,” for example, for $12 alone.

For what it’s worth, there’s really not much reason to ever drill without punching first.  Once you start, you’ll never go back to chasing the bit around trying to land it on the mark.

Center Punch and Carbide Scribe [Rockler]

Listen up all you Little House on the Prairie freaks:  Log furniture is your thing – your secret passion.  You don’t have to admit it.  We won’t tell anyone.  But we’ve got the tool for you: dual blade tenon cutters.  They can make your rustic-farm-lovin’ life easier.  So kick your feet up and listen for a sec.

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While you can lubricate a metal band saw with oil — or even use a flowing cooling fluid to keep it cool – that kind of moisture would collect sawdust and damage wood in woodworking applications,  Olson offers a “cool” alternative: small blocks made of graphite-impregnated phenolic laminate.  They lubricate the blade, but don’t leave it oily.

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If you’ve ever tried to “freehand” anything more complex than a squiggle — much less letters – with your router, you know that it’s impossible, not to mention a bit unsafe.  Now Rockler’s offering a kit to make routing letters and words for signs easy; They call it the TurnLock Router SignCrafter System.

The system consists of a 7″ clear plate base that mounts to most 6″ and 7″ routers, two self-clamping side bars, four metal rails with joiners, and two TurnLock bushings.  Using it is straightforward: You clamp the side bars to your workpiece, assemble the metal rails between them, then insert the included 2-1/2″ or 1-1/2″ self-spaced letter templates to create the sign lettering.  Then, you simply follow the templates with the router to route the lettering into the workpiece.

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The guys over at Rockler’s woodworking blog are recommending a couple of tools that’ll help you increase the speed and accuracy of your trim work: the Starrett ProSite Protractor and the Infiniter RS-1 Laser Cutting Guide.

From Rockler’s blog:

If only Don had a Starrett ProSite Protractor, he’d know that the corner he’s trying to miter is a hair under 89 degrees, not  “about 90.”  And if he had an Infiniter RS-1 Laser Cutting Guide, he’d have put the cut he was shooting for in exactly the right spot on the first try, and he’d be three or four pieces down the line.  “Nice job, Don,” his boss would have said. 

The protractor is pretty simple and straightforward; You physically place it in the angle, and you get two readings: one showing the measured angle and another that’s the correct angle at which you’ll need to set your miter saw to make the cut.  The laser is an attachment for your miter saw that converts it to a modern, laser-guided cutting tool.

We’d be interested to see how the Infiniter RS-1 compares to Irwin’s laser miter saw attachment.  The RS-1 is cheaper — Rockler sells it for $20 as opposed to a street price of around $40 for the Irwin.  We couldn’t find you a link to Infiniter’s product page as we couldn’t find Infiniter online.  We did find a site selling laser pointers under that name, so maybe they manufacture this on the side.  Anyway, when we get a chance, we’ll check it out and let you know.

Two Tools for Faster, More Accurate Trim Work [Rockler]
7″ ProSite Miter Saw Protractor [Starrett]

Here’s another one of those “why didn’t I think of that” tools: Rockler’s Clamp-It assembly squares.  They’re just simple polycarbonate squares to which you can clamp any two pieces of wood you’d like to assemble in a 90 degree angle.  Rockler suggests that they work weel for simple joinery, as a drill press jig, for drawer assembly, and for deck rails, but we can think of hundreds of other uses as well.

Clamp-Its aren’t just for the nuevo riche – they sell for only $12 each.  Rockler also sells 5″ “Mini Clamp-It” bar clamps sized to fit perfectly with Clamp-It squares for $6 each, or for $5 each in quantities of four or more.

By the way, while you’re over at the Rockler site give their blog a look.  They offer some pretty sweet free woodworking advice.

Clamp-It Assembly Squares [Rockler Woodworking & Hardware]

Rockler’s blog mentioned a cool product of theirs yesterday: the Table Saw Magnet Micro Adjuster.  According to Rockler, if your table saw has an accurate locking fence, this little device will help you make adjustments of less than .001″ increments quickly and easily.  Or, you can use the old-fashioned way; from the Rockler blog:

How do you make ultra-fine adjustments to your table saw fence position? Here’s a common method: First, hunch over your saw and train one eye on the fence’s positioning cursor (if you are fine-tuning the fence position based on a test cut you’ve made, remember to take note of the exact position of the cursor when you begin). Watch the cursor’s movement closely as you make precision position adjustments by alternating tapping on the left and right side of the fence with the heel of your hand. When you get close, switch over to using your knuckles (most woodworkers agree that knuckles are far more accurate for adjustments of 1/64″ or less). With this method you’ll find that, as your skill increases, and with a little luck, you’ll be able to make reasonably accurate fence position adjustments on your table saw a good percentage of the time.

The unit attaches to the fence rail (without tools) and you can then use the screw-type adjuster to push the fence.  Looks pretty sweet and simple.

Of course, if any of you avid woodworkers out there have given this a shot, we’d love to hear from you.

The Table Saw Magnet Micro Adjuster [Rockler Woodworking Blog]
Table Saw Magnet Micro Adjuster [Rockler Woodworking & Hardware]