Welcome to my blog. Let what you see stimulate your imagination and inspire your own creations.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Air cleaner for my shop

Decided that it was time to go the next step and take care of those little particles that elude the dust collectors that I have.  Did some research, and decided on a JDS Air-Tech HP Air Filtration Unit.

Fortunately, I had some tall friends willing to handle the installation (and ceiling outlet) and I really notice a difference.  When I leave the air cleaner running after I'm finished working, then come about about a half-hour later, that woodsy smell is completely gone.

And, for the time being, except for consumables like blades and sandpaper, I think I have all that I need.  Right!


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A really nice drill press clamp

Needing a way to hold small pieces safely at my drill press, I bought a Harbor Freight special, which is essentially a vise grip.  It worked, but was a nuisance to use.

When I received an email from Peachtree featuring this Kreg drill press clamp, and watched the video, I couldn't resist.  There were, however, a few glitches.

The video failed to mention that the bolt from the adapter that goes into the clamp needed to be firmly seated or it can bend.  It also didn't mention that although the clamp self-adjusts to different thicknesses of wood, there is an adjusting screw to set the amount of pressure that will be applied.

Needless to say, I didn't have the bolt fully in, and applied much too much pressure.  Fortunately, after I sent them a picture of the bent bolt and explained what happened, they sent me a new one.

It's quite impressive what a difference the clamp makes compared to holding the piece by hand, and since any tool that rotates has the potential to hurl something in your face or across the room, I feel much more comfortable using it.


Friday, October 3, 2014

Bowl press variation

I've been needing a press that's just slightly higher than the 6" carriage bolts allow, without the fuss of  coupling nuts and rods.  I bought 8" carriage bolts, but the only kind I could find did not have thread running all the way to the end.

My solution was to use spacers that I no longer need, thanks to Dave's quick clamps, so that I could secure the carriage bolts easily.

Works great!