Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on November 1, 2019 at 6:17am

The old B & D stuff was fantastic. Then they moved overseas and their quality took a dive. Now their quality is steadily going back up.

As for Battery operated power tools, the only ones I would personally buy would be Makita. They were the only reliable ones that I knew about. If you do buy a battery operated tool, get one that comes with 2 batteries because one replacement battery costs almost as much as the tool.

I prefer a power tool with a cord for real power that lasts more than 5 minutes. Okay, rant over.;)

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on October 30, 2019 at 10:22am

Everyone, just stand to the left, kickbacks happen, just don't let it hit you. and second, keep the blade low and don't use your hand to pull the piece from the top. one kickback, I had the blade too high and the kickback pulled my fingers into the blade. Wasn't focused. Stay focused.

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Permalink Reply by KOOL DOG HOOCH on October 30, 2019 at 12:08am

You can solve a lot of kickback issues by mounting the splitter permanently behind the blade on the riser arm for the motor. There's a YouTube video on it which explains how and why. Mounted that way it keeps your workpiece off the back teeth which grabs and slingshot it. Its proportional to the blade height. It maybe a pita to install, but it beats a hole in the wall or someone! If I can find it I'll post the link. Also make or buy finger/feather boards. They keep the material against the fence and table, as well as stopping kickback. Check out the one called 'HedgeHog'! I'm not affiliated with the product or am I receiving a compensation for them! I like the design over the straight ones I use to make.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on November 1, 2019 at 6:19am

Good to know.

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Permalink Reply by MadGomer on October 30, 2019 at 2:49am

That hedgehog featherboard looks interesting, might have to check one out!

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on October 30, 2019 at 6:01am

Michael, I've had the same Dewalt drill for over thirty years now. Burned out two Black and Deckers. Got this one and never looked back. Personally I'm not a fan of battery powered tools. If the manufacturer wants to make an upgrade this may mean changing the battery. When that happens older tools become obsolete. As far as micro routers go my father in law had two Rotos die on him. Both after light use. Nether of them lasted more than a year. 

Cool Dog Hooch, kick back can happen at the front of the blade when the fence your relying on moves. Dig feather boards. I've seen the home made ones but never made one for myself. 

Guess this all proves a wise old saying I heard years ago. "Cheap tools are expensive to use." 

All this cold and wet weather is slowing my builds down. The only place I have to spray is outside. 

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on October 30, 2019 at 11:32am

Hi again, I just tried, before offering this tip, at cutting two strips of timber on my 10" table saw. One was 10mm wide and the other 1mm wide, and neither one spat back from between the saw blade and fence. The wider piece I had to push back out and the thin strip just slowly "rattled" its way back out with slight friction from the rotating blade. 

I think the reason for this is good saw set up. The saw blade and fence being perfectly aligned.

If you take the slot in the table top that guides the mitre fence, as a reference, line up the saw blade with this slot, this will mean looking for adjusting bolts under the table. wind the saw blade up high and measure from the front and back of the blade to the edge of the slot in the table. When the the two measurements are the same the saw is in line with that slot.

Now do the same with the fence measure the front and back of the fence face to the same slot in the table, and adjust the fence until it is also true. Also check that as you tighten the fence into position that it is not being pulled out of square for some reason.

You can use an adjustable sliding carpenters square, or a device like shown here that I made up some years ago.

I also have my blade a bit higher so the stock does not try to ride up onto the blade, but the blade is rotating down onto the surface of the wood.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on October 30, 2019 at 12:01pm

Don't leave out the zero clearance saw slot. You make this by purchasing or making an insert, then raise the blade up through it. so cool. pieces don't get to fall into the wider slot, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on October 30, 2019 at 12:19pm

Taffy, I have to add leaving the blade high isn't the best idea. The best idea is a good quality super sharp blade. Lots of carbide teeth will slice like butter. I swap out blades for different cuts, have one blade still like new. A "bit" higher is fine. however, the higher the blade the squarer the cut (at the end of the cut), if for some reason you may not want to go all the way through. Again, dicy. A high blade likes to cut body parts rather than wood. I may be contradicting former advice. Stay focused and don't rush. Multi purpose blades can be trouble.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on October 30, 2019 at 1:32pm

Yep dead right. Body parts only get cut if you put them where the wood should be. I keep my body parts the same safe distance from a blade if it's high or low. 

Taff

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Permalink Reply by KOOL DOG HOOCH on October 30, 2019 at 11:08pm

Okay, I found a video on blade height,  Hi vs Low(click here)

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Walter on October 31, 2019 at 5:50am

Wrong link? This one for intonation. Put up the other one KOOL DOG. Thank you. 

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