Reading a tape measure upside-down is a good way to make errors, so FastCap makes a tape measure in their ProCarpenter line that reads both left-to-right and right-to-left — you don’t have to twist your neck to read the scale.

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Using simple geometry, Rockler’s mortise-centering router baseplate can help you make perfectly centered mortises. Rockler makes the baseplate from 1/4″ clear acrylic, so you can see exactly what you’re routing. Two solid brass, 11/16″ pins screw into one of three sets of inserts drilled into the baseplate to accommodate different board thicknesses.

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Sometimes simple tools make our lives easier, like this bench stop from Big Horn. It sits flush in a mortise on your bench top and pops up when you need a stop. Sure, you could use a bench dog — but when you’re planing or sanding, it’s handy to have a stop that doesn’t extend past the top of the board.

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Until recently, if you wanted a CNC machine you had two choices: buy one online, or build one yourself. Today, a guy can actually go to the store and buy a CNC machine. Sears was the first big retailer to start selling a CNC machine — the CarveWright — and WoodCraft shortly followed suit. Now Rockler has announced they’ll be offering the CNC Shark. What’s more, supposedly you can watch live demos at your local Rockler.

The CNC Shark can route wood, engrave or cut plastic, and etch or cut tile. Constructed from steel, aluminum, and HDPE, the Shark’s X and Y axes can travel 24″ and 13″ respectively, while the Z or vertical axis can travel 4-1/2″. It also moves pretty fast — 120 inches per minute or more — and it moves precisely in increments as small as 0.0000625″. A 269 oz/in stepper drives each axis. And each axis also utilizes four precision linear bearing guides for rigidity. A Bosch Colt palm router mounted to the Shark supplies the cutting power.

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Conventional feather boards exert downward force at the point where the bit removes material. This results in the tendency of the panel to tip towards the bit. Bench Dog’s Panel-Loc solves this problem by moving the hold-down pressure two inches away from the fence, where the table fully supports the panel.

The Panel-Loc isn’t just useful for panels — it works well for most router operations on wider boards. The hold-down strip won’t mar the workpiece surface because it’s made from a low-friction, ultra-high molecular weight plastic. The Panel-Loc also makes cutting panels safer, since the wide hold-down doubles as a guard to protect your digits from large bits.

The Panel-Loc comes with a 20″ T-Loc track which mounts to most fences, including all Bench Dog router tables and fences. Expect to pay about $60 for the Panel-Loc.

Panel-Loc [Bench Dog]
Panel-Loc [Rockler]

Dovetail joinery can be one mark of excellent craftsmanship, but woodworkers have been joining with ‘em for hundreds of years. You can always spice dovetails up a bit by varying the distance between the pins and tails — but if you really want your project to be noticed, you should check out Leigh’s Isoloc joint templates. Isoloc templates allow you to create curved and rounded fingers that are only possible with a router.

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When you create something you’re proud of, you want people to know — you want to leave your mark. For instance, you can show your pride in your work by marking it with your personal brand. Rockler sells custom branding irons for between $50 and $90.

Rockler offers their “HANDCRAFTED BY” branding irons in either torch-heated or 110V electrically-heated. You can add one or two additional custom lines of text — all CAPITAL letters — after the “HANDCRAFTED BY” text.

The torch-heated branding irons run slightly cheaper, at $50 for one custom line or $80 for two lines. The electrically heated irons sell for $65 and $90. If you’re looking to buy a custom branding iron, plan ahead, because the delivery time is about three to four weeks.

Branding Iron [Rockler]

Next time you have to bundle boards, pipes, siding, or whatever, don’t reach for tape or rope or twine — grab your roll of Stretch Wrap Flat Twine. If it’s good enough to withstand shipping by UPS, it’s good enough for Toolmongers.

Unlike tape, Flat Twine only sticks to itself, so there are no knots to remember — wrapping the Flat Twine over itself is sufficient. Since it stretches, you can bundle your stuff tighter than with rope or twine. And when you need to separate the materials, just unwrap the flat twine; no knots to untie, no sticky mess left behind.

Pricing starts at $4 for a 2″ x 178′ roll with dispenser. If you can find a rope that length for cheaper, I wouldn’t trust it.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What's This?]

Conventional rollers work just fine for some operations, but positioned incorrectly as table saw out-feed supports, they can push your workpiece to one side or another. A better option, ball bearing rollers allow smooth movement in any direction — so a misaligned out-feed support won’t skew the workpiece.

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With water-based finishes becoming more and more common, it pays to be prudent in your choice of abrasives. For instance, you don’t want to use steel wool on a water-based finish unless you’re a big fan of rust stains.  Luckily, synthetic non-woven finishing pads are gaining in popularity — they don’t share the shortcomings of traditional abrasives.

The non-woven pads won’t shed abrasive particles onto the finish, meaning less prep work before your next coat. And you can wash the longer-lasting synthetic pads, renewing the cutting surface by removing dust and debris.

You can get them in different “grits” for about $1 a pad.

Synthetic Finishing Pads [Rockler]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon(B000H570E2) [What’s This?] [What's This?]

Rockler’s running their winter clearance sale. You can get a T-track starter kit complete with 4′ of track, eight knobs, and eight t-bolts, for $12 — one of the better deals. This track probably won’t accept standard hex head hardware, but that’s easy to overlook since the price is so low.

They’re offering a lot of decent deals, so search hard and order quickly before they run out. Although Rockler’s tiered shipping rates are a bit high, you can offset it by purchasing lots of sale products. Warning: The website will add some sale products to your cart two at a time, but you can usually purchase a single unit without losing the discount.

Outlet/Clearance [Rockler]
50% Sale Items [Rockler]
T-Track Kit [Rockler]
F-Style Bar Clamps [Rockler]

Router bit manufacturers must be taking a cue from the razor blade companies — more blades are better. First there were two-wing bits, then triple-wing bits, and now Freud has come out with the Quadra-Cut bit. Freud claims the new Quadra-Cut bits leave a surface that requires no sanding or reworking - even in cross grain cuts.

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Ever nicked your hand changing the blade in your table saw? The Saw-Jaw may be just the safety accessory for you. Changing a table saw blade involves using wrenches around a sharp blade — one slip and either you put a wrench into the brittle carbide teeth or, worse, your hand. Even though the blade isn’t spinning, it can still do a number on unprotected flesh. The Saw-Jaw encloses and protects the blade (and your hands) so you can complete the job safely.

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We’ve previously posted the EasyCoper, a jig that takes advantage of your jigsaw to make coping crown molding easier. Now Rockler just discounted a more flexible solution — the Speed Cope. The Speed Cope handles more than just crown molding. It can be adjusted for base, chair rail, crown molding, or just about any other trim under 7-1/4″ wide. And where the Easycoper was a fixed angle jig, the Speed Cope adjusts to almost any compound angle.

Of course, this expanded versatility comes at a price: where the EasyCoper sold for only $35, this jig normally runs about $190. But Rockler is currently offering the Speed Cope on sale for $129. We don’t know when the sale ends, so if you’re interested act quickly.

Speed Cope [Rockler]
Speed Cope [Manufacturer]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What's this?]

Rockler is currently offering free standard shipping if you enter promotion code U8101 at checkout. Obviously very large or heavy items that require special handling don’t apply for this promotion.

But quite a few of the items previously featured right here at Toolmonger are included, like a set of brass setup bars, all in one clamps, and abrasive cleaning sticks, linked below. If you decide to browse around, don’t forget to check out Rockler’s Outlet Store. The Outlet deals vary periodically, so don’t forget to check back after payday!

Precision Brass Setup Bars [Rockler]
All-In-One Clamp Guides [Rockler]
Abrasive Cleaning Stick [Rockler]
Rockler Outlet [Rockler]

For a limited time, Rockler has several All-In-One clamp lengths on sale. To refresh your memory, an All-In-One can be used as a clamp, a fence, and edge guide, or an adjustable T-track. All-In-Ones are accurate, reliable, and can endure a fair amount of abuse.

And at $26.24, the 50″ clamp gives you the most bang for for your hard-earned buck. But bigger isn’t always better. Personally, I prefer the 36″ clamp – on sale for just $24.50 – since it can be used with greater ease on small tables and mobile project centers. Of course, if you’ve got some excess scratch, you could always buy both.

All-In-One Clamps [Rockler]
All-In-One Clamps [E. Emerson Tool Co.]

Boring doesn’t have to be boring. Why not shake things up sometimes and drill sideways? With this 3D bit from Trend and a variable speed 3/8″ or larger drill, you can cut straight holes, curved holes, slots, or even recesses.

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