Portable tornado
Dewalt 20V MAX Jobsite Blower DCE100B
I recently started teaching classes at my local Woodcraft store. At the end of the first session, I turned on the air compressor to clean up, when the owner came in, shut the obnoxiously noisy machine off, and pressed the store’s cordless blower into my hands. I was quickly hooked. When I got home that night, I ordered one of my own. Unless you keep your compressor on at all times, it’s much quicker than waiting for a tank of air to charge. There’s no hose to worry about and, with three speeds, you have better control over the intensity of the air stream and the noise generated. Even a tool with as many nooks and crannies as a Pantorouter can be cleaned in a snap. As a plus, you can use it outside for cleaning off your driveway or even blowing up pool floats. I went with Dewalt’s unit as it is compatible with my other cordless tools, but several other manufacturers make similar blowers.
Ken Burton
My fine folded friend
Wood Folding Rule with Brass Extension
My shop has plenty of measuring choices: from a vaguely correct wood yardstick to a dead-on micrometer, and each has its use. But for certain tasks, I don’t have anything that beats the quick accuracy of a folding wood rule with a six-inch brass extension. I got mine from my grandfather, but they’re still sold in big box stores (about $17.00 for a Lufkin model X46SLN).
With its sliding extension at one end, I can accurately gauge between two fixed points: for example, figuring the length of a hanging cleat that spans between the side walls of a cabinet. Notice that I didn’t use the word “measure.” I couldn’t care less how many inches the cleat needs to be—I simply want to transfer the length, mark, and cut.
Another great use is gauging assemblies of all kinds for square by checking for equal diagonals. Again, actual measurements don’t mean anything—you’re simply looking for equality.
Robert J. Settich
