- Read Time: 10 mins
- Hits: 10739
Despite that fact that woodworking in one form or another has been around since the dawn of man, and word "traditional" is thrown around like mainstay in the industry, there are always new tools, techniques and ideas being introduced and adapted literally every week. Many years ago, when working in another industry I discovered that a company down the street from us could provide us with some promotional products, including some very cool clear glass coffee mugs with our logo engraved on them. When I went to place the order, they showed me the machine that would be used. It was of course a laser etcher and I had never seen one before. That year was around 1995 ... and I wanted one of those machines from the first time I ever saw it. They were, and still are expensive for the commercial versions and I could never really justify the expense ... but move forward 20 years and technology has changed and now there are "hobby" or "home" versions of laser engravers that are affordable for non-commercial use, and the one that I am using was provided by www.banggood.com
Laser Engraver in Woodworking
I received the engraver in large cardboard box, well packaged in plastic packing and all in pieces, which is what I expected. Because of such a large international customer base there are NO instructions in the box, you go to their website to watch the video for assembly and how to download and use the software that drives the etcher. Think it took me ...
- Read Time: 4 mins
- Hits: 7321
Dremel was the original rotary tool, and when it came out in the market in 1932 it was quite revolutionary. Mr. A.J. Dremel was apparently quite the prolific inventor and it was easy to see all the applications that a tool like this could be and so began the marketing of the bits and accessories.
Over the years others have come along to make their version of this popular rotary tool in an effort to provide customers with a convenient way easing into a specific line of tools. Milwaukee brought out their 12 volt like of power tools a number of years ago and since that time they have been adding tools and accessories to the line that all operate with the same 12 volt capacity batteries. Such is the case with this rotary tool version.
Milwaukee 12Volt Rotary Tool Review
The tool itself is similar to many other rotary tools. One of the few added features of the Milwaukee version is display of battery charge left in the cell. While there are many battery operated rotary tools, few will let you know how much life is left in the battery before it needs recharging. That is one nice feature of the Milwaukee tool ...
- Read Time: 1 min
- Hits: 5374
In this video we look at the Panel Raiser on the table saw. With many thanks to George Vondriska from the Woodworkers Guild of America (see link at end of video) for his video on using the Panel Raiser with a wood router on a router table. Because woodworking has so many different way of accomplishing the same thing, we thought it would be good to show another way of using the Panel Raiser.
Demonstration - Panel Raiser on Table Saw
Be sure and and stay tuned for more great woodworking videos ....
- Read Time: 4 mins
- Hits: 6744
Battery powered hand drills have become a mainstay to almost every aspect of working with wood. In building construction they are an important tool especially for carpenters, plumbers and electricians. For woodworkers who are almost always working in a shop and with electricity, battery powered tools are handy, but not always vital. I like the portability and how handy they are so even though I have a couple of corded drills, my cordless easily gets the bulk of drilling usage.
I purchased a set of 12 volt drill/drivers a few years ago and fell in love with the system. Before long I also had the radio, the multi-tool and recip saw, all of which used the same battery packs. I loved the system but the only tool that I struggled with for power was the drill. I just didn't have the power I needed for a few jobs, especially when I was drilling into oaks and maples.
Comparing Milwaukee 12 & 18 Volt Drills
A short time ago I found myself in one of the home reno box stores ... again looking at Milwaukee drills, but this time 18 volt. I really didn't want to move to another battery size when I have so many great tools that work with the 12 volt. I discovered they had one of the Milwaukee 18 volt drills on sales for $99.95 but the catch is it only comes with one battery, and it is smallest 18 volt at only 1.5 Amp hours ... but still the price was attractive.