 This handy gadget combines two of my favorite things, pizza and power tools, granted not quite as awesomely as the blender and food processor attachment I am working on for my router, but it's close. http://www.worldwidefred.com/pizzaboss3000.htm |
During my most recent remodeling project, I needed to replace an older baseboard hydronic radiator with a newer Runtal wall mounted radiator (FWIW: Runtal makes a very high quality product right in in MA USA). At the local Home Depot, one of the Homers turned me on to these Shark Bite solderless fittings. These things are For The Win ! They cost a bit more money than regular copper fittings, but they go together as easy as Lego's, and the really cool thing about them is that you can rotate the pipe without them coming loose or leaking, making assembly really easy. If you screw something up, they are also a snap to remove. I would highly recommend that you give these a shot on your next home project, they really makes things a lot easier and faster. I wish somebody had told me about these things sooner. |
From what I gather, sawhorses with three legs were at one time quite popular, no doubt for the same reason three legged stools are, that being stability on uneven ground. While I could not find detailed plans for this one, it's pretty self evident how it hangs together. Check out the site for different views and some of the unique ways this unit can hold stock. Being tall, I would want it to be much higher which would probably require increasing the leg's splay for stability. |
| I was getting tired of my wobbly old sawhorses and went searching for some good designs online, I found I wide variety of designs ranging from complete hack jobs to what could best be termed heirloom sawhorses made with fancy joinery and expensive wood and finishes. I do most of my work singlehanded and I am always clamping stock to saw horses in one orientation or another, so a design with a number of faces is important to me. I cobbled together the design above in Google Sketchup combining some of the best features from the designs I found online. The modified I-Beam work surface is comprised of a verticle 2x12 and two horizontal members, one 2x4 and one 2x10, both providing anchor points for the legs. The 2x4 horizontal surface secures long stock clamped to the verticle 2x12 for planing or routing or whatever. I haven't put the finishing touches on the design yet, and I am tempted to make the top horizontal board wider to allow you to clamp horizontally oriented stock more securely and to possibly provide more reinforcement via trusses or shelves to the lower legs, after I finalize and build I will post an update. |
Growing up a right hander on the East Coast, I only knew one type of circular saw (as I recall they were all called "Skil Saws" no matter who made the actual saw). Needless to say, I grew up using "sidewinder" saws, ( that is to say, saws where the motor was perpendicular to the blade as in the top most picture). I never really noticed it before, but the blades were always on the right. I have no idea what the intention was behind the right side placement of the blade, but I can only assume that it was to keep your left hand (holding the stock) out of the path of the blade. This is all well and good, but the problem is (of course) the blade guide is out of your line of site (being on the opposite side of the saw). Not that this ever troubled me, it just seemed like the way it was, and I was used to it. A few months ago, I was talking to a colleague who was also a carpenter type and he was bemoaning the lack of saws for Leftys. Since I had spent some time on the West Coast I was familiar with worm drive saws (e.g. the saw in the lower photo), which in the traditional configuration are more or less ambidextrous and I thought they might be the answer to his prayers. Which they probably would be excepting that the blade is on the left, which puts the guide out of sight of someone holding the saw with their left hand. A further search found a somewhat newer class of sidewinder saws with the blade on the left. So what is the story? Is it better to have the blade on the stock side (which you are likely holding with you left hand) or on the opposite side with an obstructed view of the blade guide. Personally I prefer sidewinder saws, they are lighter and are more easily one handed, which honestly makes them more versatile for re-modeling, worm drives may be better for from scratch framing, but that's not what I do. I would like to hear from some Lefty's, would you rather have a better line of sight or your hand out of the way? FWIW Bosch makes an intriguing worm drive saw that has the handle on the top for one handed operation (as opposed to the traditional rear handle pictured above) |
One of the biggest PITA of home improvement projects is cleanup, ( well, that and previous owners). Dust intensive power tools like sanders and routers can really make an awful mess and I often hook them up to a shop vac to keep the dust down. Hi end wet dry vacs are often equipped with a special switch which turns the vacuum on whenever you turn on an attached power tool for just this reason. The problem is that you have to buy a $300-$400 vacuum to get this capability. Lee Valley tools (whom I have had good luck with in the past) sells a stand alone switch for $40 which can turn on any vacuum into a tool vac. What is different about this one is it's ability to drive a 30 amp load by plugging each of the two cords into a different outlet on a different circuit. More...There are a lot of uses for this thing other than it's intended use though, you could hook it up to your TV and plug a power strip into the vacuum outlet and plug the VCR, cable box, DVD player and whatnot into the strip so that when you turned on the TV everything else would go on. Other than making life easier for the audio/visual technophobe, it has the added benefit of making sure all the "Vampire" appliances were deprived of power. A few caveats are in order though, the attached electronics would probably loose their setting (like time/date), and I am not sure if the TV current draw in a standby mode would inadvertently turn on all the switched components. Might be worth playing around with though. |
1. Drywall Square/T-Square Though I originally bought this for a drywall job, it really is the handiest thing since handles. It's perfect for plywood or any other large stock. You will be surprised how often you reach for this. 2. Clamps, Clamps and More Clamps. If you generally work single handed like I do, you really need a good selection of clamps to serve as extra hands when needed. Here are a few of the common types, you might also want to opt for a corner clamp or pipe clamp too. Jorgenson Bar Clamp.  I waited many moons before I got one of these, partly because they always seemed like a "nice to have" and partly because they are not cheap. They are worth it, believe me especially with today's dubious warped lumber. I used mine all the time during deck construction to hold warped boards straight while screwing down the board. Buy the longest one you can find. Quick Grip Bar Clamps  This is another thing I waited too long to get because of cost. I use these most often to secure stock to the sawhorse or mitre saw, but the are invaluable wherever you need an extra set of hands. Traditional Wooden Screw Clamps & Metal C Clamps  Stronger than quick clamps, these two are what you want when you need something to stay put. 3. Stair Gauges  These little guys clamp onto your rafter square on the reach and rise measurements planned for your stair stringers. They are cheap and makes laying out stringers a snap ! Good thing they are cheap, because the are easy to loose (I am on my third set) |
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