Not mine but it’s kali in Florida:

https://treasure.craigslist.org/tls/d/ve...89896.html

I saw this RAS on Marketplace.  It looks really clean.  My friend is looking for a RAS, and doesn't want spend much and at $40 this meets the not much criteria.  The elevation handle in the front makes me wonder if it was made by Delta.  I also wonder if there is a lump of cast iron underneath that aluminum cladding on the arm.  So, does anyone know anything about these?  I have a line on a Dewalt MBF, which are great little saws, but I'm concerned the 3/4 hp motor won't be up for what he likely will ask of it.  





Thanks,

John

Question for those of you that go back a few years on this board.

Years ago there was a hardware store that offered a discount for WoodNet members, was trying to remember the name of the business.  I am not worried so much about whether the discount still applies or not, just wanted to see if I could throw some business there way.  They were always pretty helpful to members.

I think they were based up north.

Thanks in advance

Todd

Hey, gotta use up the leftovers, some how.....Maybe resaw a stack down to 1/2" thick...glue a few into panels?  


IF anyone wants to follow along.....will start this after all the errands for today have been run....

Stay tuned...

Lee Valley has an interesting chip carving kit for Christmas ornaments
here

I have an 8yo great nephew who is really good at assembling advance lego vehicles, but I have not spent any time with him in the shop.

Any thoughts on age-appropriate guidance for chip carving. The family members around him have all done some woodworking (largely turning) but none of them have experience at carving.

Alternatively, I also have a copy of the Swiss Army Knife book on whittling for when one of the great-nephews gets old enough and shows some interest.

I am 800mi away and have little personal experience at carving or whittling.

thanks for your thoughts.

I recently bought an extra silicone mat to protect the workbench where I solder, and went bigger than I really needed for that space.

I was doing some glue ups and I frequently use my table saw as a flat reference surface.  I really don’t like cleaning glue off the saw, so I flopped the bigger soldering silicone down and really liked it.

now I am thinking about getting something even bigger in silicone so the glue doesn’t stick to it.

You can get the silicone mats to protect the surface of outdoor griddles like the blackstone, I have one on the 24 inch restaurant griddle that I cook in my backyard on.

The problem with most of the griddle silicone mats that I have found, is they have sides that come up at a right angle from the surface.

So now I am off to look for a completely flat silicone mat to cover much of the table saw.

Duke

$27 for a 24 x36 mat on amazon, that should do the trick

I recently installed a variable speed drive in my MiniMax FS-35 J/P. I did it primarily so that I could lower the speed to reduce the amp draw on the motor so that I could take deeper passes as well as add a segmented head. A side benefit should be an improved surface finish because of the greater number of cuts/inch as speed is reduced. Today I did some testing to see if it really is a benefit. Calculations show how the cuts/inch will increase as I reduce the speed of the variable speed drive motor.



I found a piece of stock that I had planed before I changed to the variable speed drive, so that represents the "stock" condition on the chart above, approx. 26 fpm.




I don't precisely know the depth of cut that I used on that piece, but I suspect it was 1/32" because that's what I used almost all the time. All of the following photos were done today at 1/32".

With the new variable speed drive set to 100%, the drive speed is 22.5 fpm. This is what the surface looked like on another piece of white oak.




At 50% or about 11 fpm:




And at 25% or about 6 fpm:



It's clear to me that surface quality increased as speed was reduced down to 50%, or 11 fpm, but there was no additional benefit at 6 fpm.

To further evaluate the potential benefit of variable speed feed rate, I found a piece of ash that had some pretty good tear out in one spot. It was done at 26 fpm, before the change:




Here's what it looked like at 22.5 fpm with the same 1/32 depth of cut as used for the other tests:



And at 50% or 11 fpm:




There was not much or any benefit at 22.5 fpm, but if not for that one chip at 11 fpm, I would call it a dramatic improvement. Even with that chip, it's a major improvement over either of the higher speeds.

The improvement in cut quality in difficult wood now has me reconsidering the merits of a segmented head, beyond the obvious of longevity compared to straight knives. I'm going to do more testing when I get a chance to see if the tear out results are consistently better at lower speed.

John

Here's something I came across recently that may be the answer to a problem I've had in the shop forever: not enough room to store things. I have a particular issue storing backsaws. I'm not a fan of traditional saw tills: they get the job done but it's not always easy to distinguish one saw from another. This device, sold by Blue Spruce Tools, is called a backsaw holster. It's made of metal and has a slot for the saw plate and spine. As you can see from the pictures: it's an easy add-on item that holds the saw securely and lets you see the entire saw.

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Blue Spruce Backsaw Holster

I need to install some grab bars in my inlaws' shower.  It is a one piece acrylic/plastic shower unit.  Typical install where there is space between the shower unit and the wall.   It is only attached around the edges on the flange.  I think the studs are 24" OC.  I could locate them from the other side of the wall in the bedroom and then measure or confirm the location above the shower.    What can be done/is typically done in this situation?  I could open the wall on the other side and put blocking in if necessary, but I'd prefer not to.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/d/o...24163.html