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Woodworking routers are one of the most popular tools because of their unique versatility. Although using a router free-hand is useful for rounding over corner edges or even cutting dados, the real value of a router is when it is in a router table. Someone told me many years ago that 90 percent of things you can do with a router - require a router table. That comment has stuck with me for many years and I still agree with it.
The new Freud Router Table is not much different than their original version of a few years ago, with the biggest change being in the capabilities of the fence. In the older "Ultimate Router Table" in order to remove the router from the router table it was necessary to completely remove the 2 large hold-down/fence-adjustment bolts. Even more annoying was the fact that if you were making raised panel doors for example, after you made the rails and styles and wanted to move on with the the actual raised panel portion of the door, again you had to completely remove the 2 hold-down/fence-adjustment bolts. Now this isn't huge deal, but if you made a lot of raised panel doors like I do, this was very annoying to have to re-set up the fence each time.
The new Deluxe Router Table solves this problem by having not 2 but 4 hold-down/fence-adjustment bolts, and they, along with the whole new fence design, are all on slides now. This means the whole fence can slide back and forth the full distance of it's adjustment without having to remove any of the hold-down/fence-adjustment bolts. This also means that if you want to take the router out of the table, again, you can simply slide the whole fence back far enough with all the hold-down/fence-adjustment bolts in place, and still remove the router and base plate.
The other nice feature of the new router table is the micro fence adjustments on BOTH the left and the right have been re-instated .. and more, click Read More for more information on the Deluxe Freud Router Table
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Half the fun of making doors is deciding what kind of panel to use with them, and the list is endless. Once you have conquered making door frames or more specifically, cabinet door frames making the panels to go in them is often far less challenging. In our video we show how to make raised panels but this is only one of many possibilities. I have seen fabric panels, mirror panels, clear glass panels, stained glass panels and many varieties of simply plain panels of different specialty woods.
Making raised panels appeals to a large number of people because they are one of the "traditional" panels that are used in furniture and cabinet making, particularly kitchen cabinets. By mixing and matching wood some very striking alternatives are possible.
Making raised panels on a router is not difficult but there are some basic rules and techniques to follow. First and most importantly be sure to invest in a good quality panel cutting bit. Of course it will need to be carbide tipped but should also have the blade at a shear angle to make a better cut of the wood and to save wear and tear on your router. Freud bits are an excellent selection for raised panel bits.
Once you have decided on the type of wood you are going to use for the raised panels you will need to know 2 things, 1) what is the moisture content of the wood? and 2) what is the "wood movement" or wood expansion going to be for the wood and the environment that the cabinet will be in.
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But band saws have one inherent problem, and that problem is that most of them will tend to "drift" when they are cutting through wood. What this means is that if you are ripping a piece of wood, and following a marked line, there is a very good chance your band saw will develop a mind of it's own and start cutting off that line. This drift is caused by a variety of elements like the grain of the wood, they type band saw blade you are using (and how sharp it is), the tension on the blade and even whether or not the blade is running true on the 2 band saw wheels. It is often possible to reduce drift but in most cases you have to learn which way your band saw will drift and take that into account when you are cutting wood.
Another inherent feature of all band saws, particularly when they are ripping wood, is that at the beginning of the cut the saw will cut quickly but as it is cutting through the wood the speed at which the wood is cut is noticeably slowed. Again this is typical of almost every band saw, small or large, so if you find this happening with your saw ... it is not "your saw" it is all saws that have this quirk.
Setting up a band saw is an important step in order to get the best cuts and help preserve the life of your blades and your saw. It is important that power to the saw be turned off before any setup is attempted. The first step is to set the BLADE TENSION, which, on most 2 wheel band saws is done by RAISING the top wheel with the appropriate adjustment knob or wheel on your band saw ....
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Milwaukee Tools have been around for quite some time ... actually ... well over 100 years. Several years ago they were purchased by Techtronic Industries (TTI), who also own Ryobi, AEG, Homelite and others. The Milwaukee brand in the complex of businesses is considered to be the serious tool owners preference because of the high quality of Milwaukee tools.
If you get a chance to look at their website ... if the quality of their tools is anything like the high quality of their website you will be in for a treat of having a well made tool. Not only do they describe all their tools on the website (the same as everyone else) they ALSO provide excellent information on parts ... too bad others don't take this hint.
We tested some of the components of the M12 System which is their 12 volt cordless system, which consists of a drill, a driver, recip saw, rotary tool, inspection and camera viewers, lights, temperature measuring guns, a palm nailer, PVC shearing tool, a multi tool, and even a very cool radio/MP3 Player (that can withstand the rigors of a construction site).
The tools we looked at primarily were the drill and driver as we felt these would be among the most popular tools in the lineup. The 12 volt system is NOT for everyone. The power is ... well, 12 volts, which is great for driving smaller nuts and bolts and screws, or for drilling a smaller number of holes. The 12 volt system is not going to drill multiple holes though 2" fir beams if you happen to be running new power feeds from your 110 electrical panel. The 12 volt system is perfectly suited for smaller applications of drilling multiple smaller holes, or driving screws into a woodworking project. What we liked was that the 12 volt system is light but still packs enough punch to drive larger screws into Oak without any difficulty.
What was of particular interest is that these new tools are all using the same lithium ion battery system which recharges in something like 30 minutes.