Archive for July, 2008

New Radial Arm Drill from General

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

radial arm drillI’m a fan of General’s tools. No silly lumps of plastic and gadgets just tough, no nonsense woodworking kit built to do a job and do it well.

The 75-550 M1 radial arm drill press is the latest new tool for woodworkers and offers almost infinitely variable drilling.

The head tilts 0-30 degree left or right and pivots 360. If you can imagie a drilling position, this can do it.

The main column is 2 7/8” steel so it’s very strong. It’s fixed to a cast iron base so it’s stable. If you thought you were short of possible angle settings the 11 3/4” square cast iron table will tilt 45 degrees either way for even more variations!

For safety you’ve got a clear chuck guard and a front mounted kill switch. Drive pulleys are cast iron to reduce vibration and there’s a 7 3/4” table extension included in the price.

Like I said, a woodworking tool to last a lifetime.

Woodcraft stock a range of General International tools. I’m not sure whether the new radial arm drill is available yet but you could drop a note to them via their website.

Woodcraft.com - Helping You Make Wood Work

Selling Your Woodwork Online?

Friday, July 18th, 2008

Selling Crafts OnlineSlightly off our usual woodwork subject I suppose but I’ve just seen a copy of a new book which will be of interest to anyone thinking of selling their woodwork online.

Selling Crafts Online” (which is a digital book you can download and read on your PC) is written by Gordon Carew, by all accounts a bit of a marketing and internet whiz who got out of the rat race a few years back to concentrate on his woodworking.

Gordon realized that for many craftsmen and women it was difficult to find good, independent advice if they wanted to sell their work online. It’s something that Gordon knows a lot about and so he’s produced this Fact File.

If you’re just starting out it’s a good read, packed with lots of useful pointers to get you headed in the right direction. I’ve been doing this a while now and it even showed me a thing or two!

It’s not the answer to everything you need to know. I’m not sure any single book could do that. It IS a great introduction to selling crafts online and I highly recommend it. Click here for details.

You might also like to get Gordon’s free newsletter. He sends out regular news of ideas he has or stuff he’s developing to help others sell crafts online. It’s free, so why not? Details here.

Thermometer and Hygrometer fit ups - 4th July special

Friday, July 4th, 2008

Thermometer and Hygrometer fit-upClockparts have yet another special offer - this time they say it’s to celebrate the fourth of July - I hope the offer lasts longer than that though!

The current savings are on some of their popular thermometer and hygrometer fit-ups, 2-3/4 inch and 3-7/8 inch units. These are easy to fit, just make an appropriate sized hole and pop them in. Remarkably you can now get them at up to 90% 0ff!

I’ve been a fan of Clockparts for some time now. Always good prices, regular great offers and the sort of service that’s made them the biggest (and in my opinion the best) in the business.

I suspect the offer will last more than one day but I can’t see and closure date so you probably ought to get over their quick if you’re in the market for thermometers or hygrometers. Click here for the site.

Kapex saw from Festool - Odd name, fantastic tool!

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Kapex sliding compound mitre sawThere’s been a lot of pre-release buzz about the new Kapex KS 120 EB Sliding Compound Miter Saw from Festool and now it’s arrived it’s easy to see why. This is some tool!

For a start, despite being a 10″ saw it has the capacity of a 12″ so you’ve got easier portability with no lack of ability.

It’s the first sliding compound mitre saw with variable speed. It has twin rails for greater precision while saving space. It has dual lasers for added accuracy, the FastFix system for quick blade changing… the list goes on.

The bevel angle guides, head adjustment and clamping system are superb. There’s even its own angle transfer device for virtually flawless copying of angles.

The best way to get a flavor of this terrific saw (if you can’t see one in the flesh) is to pop over to the Woodcraft site where they’ve not only got full details but also a nice little video.

Just at the moment Woodcraft also have free shipping for those who order more than $75 of Festool products.

I want one. Oh yes. I definitely want one of those.

Full details here: Kapex KS 120EB Sliding Compound Mitre Saw.