I guess I am a bit of an accessory wood junkie, I love to see what's new, not just in tools, but in accessories. I am amazed at what people can come up with and I am equally amazed by things that I saw many years ago at wood shows, that I did not purchase, but now when I decide I want them they are now gone from the marketplace.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/a2VXspQycRo
Here are a few new items I have discovered and I decided to get in on them early ... or at least early for me, and pick up these items ... some new, some used.
Like most woodworkers I use a measuring tape A LOT ... and because I don't wear a smock or apron, I have to invest in different tape measures around the workshop, and by now I have them color-coded and I know where they live and for the most part that works well ...
I was "alerted" to these 2 measuring items a few weeks ago by Michael. I know how much I am a bit fan of "left-hand tapes" and this one is even better. It's what is called a Bindman's Tape because the numbers are extra large and bold and very easy to read. I have seen these tapes before but they always seemed a bit rudimentary to me .... but this one is different, Big Bold Numbers .. then markings down to 1/32" and when you look at the markings on the tape they are Tear-drop shaped, so large in the center then they come to a fine accurate point right where you need to mark the wood. Very well thought out, easy for rough measurements, and still works for very fine measurements ... excellent idea.
They are also available in left hand or right hand, that is ... read left to right or read right to left. Most tapes you buy are what we call right-hand tapes because the numbers are the only right way up if you hold the tape in your right hand ... and I already have a few of these that I no longer use.
Available direct from LeeValley.com or click HERE
To add an accessory to an accessory ... the Tape Tip would qualify for that. A neat little idea the extends the use of your tape measure, particularly when you are measuring diagonals, like when you want to check to see if something is square ... we measure the diagonals and if they are equal, the box, legs, table, picture frame ... or whatever ... is square. The tooltip has 6 different ways you can measure and to make it even more attractive, it contains little magnets on top and bottom that helps to grab onto the tape and make it secure ... a super handy little item.
Available directly from LeeValley.com or click HERE
Next is the "finishing saver" ... I love this idea. How many times have you opened a half-empty can of finish ... of whatever, varnish, paint, hardening oil ... and discovered that there is huge "skin" that has formed over the finish that now has to be broken through, AND we know that during this process little chunks of hardened finish will get into our liquid finish and end up being applied to our wood project. And after making the video decided to start using the bag below is a look at the leftover chunks I filtered out that would otherwise have ended up on the finished projects ...
Someone has developed a thick plastic bag, that comes with a couple of caps and includes filler parts to help fill it up and now you can have your finish in a plastic container with all the air squeezed out so that "skins" will not form and end up getting mixed up in your finishing product.
Stop Loss Bags available directly from LeeValley.com or click HERE
As an incurable second-hand snooper, I often drop in on garage sales, swap meets, used stores, antique stores, you name it. Not long ago I spotted this little electric pump that is used most often for blowing up air mattresses or similar swimming pool floating items. I plugged it in at the store and it worked, it was listed for $5.99 and if it had a yellow sticker, it was half price, so I ended up at $3.00 for this super handy blower.
This blower is perfect for blowing the dust off your wood projects after sanding. By blowing the dust away you can often do a better job, which in turn means a better finishing job on your wood project ... and I can even use it to clean off tools and machinery when I need.
Lots of cool ideas to help save time and money and make woodworking a bit more fun ...
Copyright Colin Knecht
woodworkweb
