| ShortCuts© |
October 14, 2011 |
Column
This week's column: #777 |
Previous Columns |
| May 10, 2013 #776 |
| April 26, 2013 #775 |
| April 5, 2013 #774 |
| March 28,2013 #773 |
| March 9, 2013 #772 |
| February 22, 2013 #771 |
| February 8, 2013 #770 |
| January 25, 2013 #769 |
| January 11, 2013 #768 |
| December 21, 2012 #767 |
| December 7, 2012 #766 |
| November 23, 2012 #765 |
| November 9, 2012 #764 |
| October 26, 2012 #762 |
| October 12, 2012 #761 |
| September 28, 2012 #760 |
| September 13, 2012 #759 |
| August 31, 2012 #758 |
| August 10, 2012 #757 |
| July 20, 2012 #756 |
| July 6, 2012 #755 |
| June 22, 2012 #754 |
| June 8, 2012 #753 |
| May 25, 2012 #752 |
| May 11, 2012 #751 |
| April 28, 2012 #750 |
| April 14, 2012 #749 |
| March 30, 2012 #748 |
| March 16, 2012 #747 |
| March 2, 2012 #746 |
| February 17, 2012 #745 |
| February 3, 2012 #744 |
| January 20, 2012 #743 |
| January 6, 2012 #742 |
| December 23, 2011 #741 |
| December 9, 2011 #740 |
| November 25, 2011 #739 |
| November 11, 2011 #738 |
| October 28, 2011 #737 |
| October 14, 2011 #736 |
| September 30, 2011 #735 |
| September 16, 2011 #734 |
| August 12, 2011 #733 |
| July 29, 2011 #732 |
| July 15, 2011 #731 |
| July 1, 2011 #730 |
| June 17, 2011 #729 |
| June 3, 2011 #728 |
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 SITTING ON THE FENCE
 I received a letter
from a subscriber the other day, complaining about the inaccuracy of his table
saw rip fence and wanting to change it to an after-market model that locks at
the top end. He claimed that when ripping, the fence moves to the right and
thus gives an inaccurate cut.
This is not a good
thing at all and in fact is downright dangerous. He is just inviting a serious
kickback accident.
Table Saw Maintenance
 At least once a month
I check the alignment of my table saw and a few other tools as well. With the
power cord disconnected the first thing I check on a table saw is the fence
alignment by bringing the fence tight to the miter slot. There should be no table surface showing through the full length of the fence. Next would be the
alignment between the blade surface and the fence. Bring the fence right up
tight with the saw blade and I rotate the blade by hand. The front edge and
back edge of the blade should be touching the fence equally.
To make the necessary
adjustments check with the tool’s owner’s manual. There should be at least two
adjustment screws on the front face of the ‘T’ on the fence.
Fences
There are three
better known after-market table saw fences in the US and Canada and one other
in Canada alone. There is the Biesemeyer fence made by Delta, the Unifence also made by Delta but is now discontinued and
there is the Red-Line made by the Saw Shop. In Canada Busy Bee produces an excellent table saw fence
they call the Align
A Rip. All of these fences are based on the ‘T-square’ system and ride on a
dedicated extruded aluminum rail attached to the front face of the table saw.
  
The
Delta Unifence has been (sadly) replaced by the Biesemeyer and is no longer
available from Delta but may be found on E-bay and/or Craig’s List.
 Red
Line
The
Red Line table saw fence was designed and built by the Saw Shop owner,
Dave Wooland perhaps 10 years ago. Dave is what I would call a table saw expert
but that designation falls way short of Dave’s overall expertise.
The
Red Line rip fence is an aluminum extrusion with ‘T’ slots that accept a number
of attachments to make the table saw much more versatile. The wide T assures
the user of alignment accuracy and it is easily adjustable. The Red Line rip
fence is extremely smooth to operate and very easy to install.
Align
A Rip
The
Align A Rip table saw fence is sold by Busy Bee Tools in Canada but may be
ordered and shipped to anywhere in the world. The Align A Rip is an aluminum
extruded fence with T slots on both side faces. The fence has a lever lock and
has alignment adjustments. The Align A Fence will easily adapt to most table
saws on the market. Like most T type fences, both sides of the fence may be
used.
Biesemeyer
Without
question, the Biesemeyer rip fence is the best available on the market today.
It is the industry standard. The beefy steel tube and the very large ‘T’
make it the most accurate fence on the market. The side panels are melamine
surfaced MDF and there are two magnified cursers, one each for left and right
side ripping. The lever locking handle positively secures the fence and a rare
earth magnet holds the handle in its resting position. Teflon pads add to the
smoothness of the operation.
A
BIRTHDAY
Back
when I turned 75 I predicted that I would live until I was 95 and on October
11, I was two years closer to that prediction. Now, if my doctors and
specialists can still keep that big C away (I had a narrow escape with it in my
liver) I’ll be just fine. I’m looking forward to my next 18 years.
SMOKED
MEAT
My
wife Gwen and I live 1200 km’s from Montreal, Toronto is about 600 km’s, New
York City about the same and Vancouver probably 3,700 km’s.
The
point that I am trying to make is that in Halifax, New York City, Vancouver and
all cities in between, there are restaurants that claim to serve the finest
smoked meat sandwiches outside of Montreal. Crap! I say absolute crap! First
and foremost, none of these restaurants even know how to serve this delicacy
properly and in most places like New York City, they think that Pastrami is
smoked meat! Far from it, Pastrami is cured not smoked. In other cities that I
have visited and there are many over my 77 years, the so called smoked meat has
been dry, over-cooked, and stale and …….. .
 There
is nothing to compare with the real Montreal Smoked Meat. The absolute
best comes from Schwartz’ on Main St., second would be Moe’s in several locations and in third place you’ll find Dunn’s on St. Catherine St.
Now,
you can also buy the whole brisket, steam it and slice it, slap it on mustard
covered rye bread and hope that it tastes as good and it may come close but
what you will be missing will certainly be the ambiance of a true Montreal
Delicatessen and that is where the flavor comes into play.
Gwen
and I visited Montreal to celebrate my nephew’s and my birthday and we stuffed
ourselves at Moe’s with a sandwich like this, the famous Moe’s #3. It was a
gourmand’s feast. We also brought a full brisket home with us as we learned how
to heat it successfully.
FYI
The
following chart was culled from the Tools
of the Trade web site. For those of you that want to buy a job-site radio
this will help you decide.
OUR SOMETIMES REGULAR
BOOK REVIEW
For those carvers on
our subscription list, these two books will be right up your alley. The first
is from the editors of Woodcarving and shows some of the best projects. The
second book in our review is a whimsical one that you should thoroughly enjoy.
Relief
Carving – Projects & Techniques
The
Best of Woodcarving
Fox
Chapel Publishing
144
Pages
Wow!
Thirty-seven beautiful patterns and projects are packed into these 144 pages.
Not only that, but there is expert advice and techniques to go along with it.
The authors show you how to hand carve or power-carve all of these great
projects. Carve a pin tail duck or a lighthouse, a majestic stag or even just a
simple apple, you will love the details found here. How about an elaborately
gilded address sign or a beautiful floral clock all carved in relief. This is
an excellent book for the beginner and the expert.
 Woodcarving
Noah’s Ark
Shawn
Cipa
Fox
Chapel Publishing
160
Pages
What
a delightful book! This book by Shawn Cipa contains full carving and finishing
instructions for Noah, the ark itself and 14 pairs of animals from the simple
house cats, doves, to owls sheep, toucans and elephants and more. Cipa covers
all the details like in which direction the wood grain should be. He shows you
in detail how to build the famous ark. Select the paint and color types and how
to apply them. The animals (in pairs) are described in great detail. This is
the perfect book to use to start a perfect Christmas gift for those young ones
on your list.
Not a Dragon or a
Shark
 In the US it’s called
The Shark Tank and in Canada it’s called the Dragon’s Den. The programs
consists of a panel of wealthy entrepreneurs willing to invest in new and
interesting inventions that fill a niche in the market place. Inventions or
presented to them with a request for financial backing.
Lloyd Kerry of Kerry
Woodworking in Prince Edward Island did not go to the Dragons or the Sharks, he
went to the market place on his own and Kerry’s invention seems to be doing
very well. Kerry invented and makes the Kerry-All Pouch. The Kerry-All is a
protective pocket or cover that protects plywood or drywall sheets in the back
of your pick-up truck during inclement weather.
 Tough
The Kerry-All Pouch
is made from 11 mil thick woven Polyethylene that is silver on the outside and
black on the inside. The Pouch is treated on the outside to deter ultraviolet
rays thus prolonging its life. The Kerry-All is fitted with tie-down loops to
both assist in the loading of your drywall or plywood sheets and to keep them
securely tied down in your truck bed. The Pouch is fitted with an overlapping
Velcro closing to seal the opening and keep it weather tight in pouring rain,
sleet, hail and snow.
When you have a job
to do you don’t want to wait for a sunny day, time is money.
 More to Protect
Kerry did not just
stop at protecting drywall or plywood; there is a Pouch available for MDF
moldings, an entire lift of plywood or drywall, a cover for power tools like a
table or miter saw and more. He is currently working on a portable generator
cover and more. In fact Kerry can custom make almost any size Pouch to suit
your needs. The Kerry-All Pouch is a great  idea that will save the
contractor both time and money.
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