Blog
Your Guide to the Coolest New Tools
Aug 30, 2010
Our editors have busted the gates to tool heaven.
Welcome to Tool Heaven
The 2010 International Woodworking Fair (IWF) is in full-swing and we’ve dispatched crack tool sleuths Asa Christiana, Matt Kenney, Roland Johnson to report on the coolest new tools headed to the marketplace. Check back here often for the most up-to-date reports as our editors scope out what’s hot and what’s not.
*NOTE: Additions to this page will be made chronologically. For the latest tool announcements, please refer to the last page of this post.
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DeWalt Router Combo a Real Show-Stopper! DeWalt’s new trim router comes with a plunge base with built-in lights for inlay work. There is nothing like it on the market. |
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Teeny-Tiny Router Bits from Amana Amana has a new set of very small bearing-guided router bits (the bearing is just 3/16 in. diameter) that cut profiles proportioned for boxes and other small pieces. |
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Easy-Install Tail Vise Thanks to a steel mounting plate, Veritas’ new quick-release tail vise can be attached to any workbench. |
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Combo Blade for Cleaner Cuts Freud’s popular Premier Fusion tablesaw blade is now available in a thin-kerf version for saws under 3 hp. |
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Router Table Roundup New router-table systems from Woodpecker and Bench Dog bring convenience closer than ever to a full-fledged shaper. |
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A Drill Built for Your Palm The new Bosch PS-31 12-volt drill-driver has a bigger drill’s chuck and clutch, packed into a size that is bound to be handy in any woodshop.
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WoodRiver Planes, Take Three When they first came out, WoodRiver planes had a few problems. But Woodcraft, the company behind them, has made an effort to improve the manufacturing process. We’ll have a review of them soon. |
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New Rikon Jointer/Planer Rikon’s 12 in. jointer/planer combination machine has big capacity and faster turn over. Be sure to catch Rollie Johnson’s take on the new tool. |
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New Cyclone is a Smart Heavyweight The latest Oneida cyclone is big and smart. It modulates its power automatically for increased efficiency for any size hose or port.
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12V Drill Combo is Best Deal at IWF Porter-Cable is offering a 12v lithium ion drill/impact driver combo for $139. I can’t imagine much in a woodshop that these tools won’t handle. |
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Porter-Cable Jig Makes Pocket Screws Faster and Easier Porter-Cables QuikJig is a thoughtfully engineered pocket-screw jig, at a surprisingly low price. It makes the process super quick and repeatable. |
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Router Dust Collector Cleans Up on the Cheap This inexpensive router dust collector is a snap to install and allows bit changes with the collector in place. |
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Rikon Bandsaw has Big Capacity at a Small Price Rikon’s new saw has 12-inches of resaw capacity, the ability to run on 110-volt power, and double roller guides. It’s small enough to fit in nearly any shop but serious enough to provide big-saw ability. |
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Student Furniture Wows Crowds Once again at IWF, the Design Emphasis show drew crowds with top examples of student work from around the U.S. |
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Ready-to-Assemble Furniture Contest Woodlinks USA hosted a student contest at the 2010 IWF in Atlanta that challenged student woodworkers to design and make a piece of RTA furniture. |
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A Chat with a Couple of CustomMade Brains We caught up with two of the guys behind Custommade.com, to talk about what they do, how they started, and their new partnership with Fine Woodworking to bring business advice to woodworkers interested in selling their work. |
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Is CNC Coming to Your Shop? Four tool makers have introduced CNC machines sized for the small shop. They’re cool, but do they make sense in a hobby or small professional shop? |
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Machine Setup Gauge is Best We’ve Seen The Betterley Una-Gauge uses a dial indicator like lots of other similar gauges, but the ingenious attachments and $200 price tag are what make this tool stand out. |
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Comments
The "Student Furniture Wows Crowds" link appears to be bad. At least my browser won't open it.
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