Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

tahanson43206 · 2023-05-02 07:16:37

For SpaceNut ....

We have several topics that contain the word "tool" but none of them provide a place for members to make recommendations about specific tools.

This topic is offered for anyone to post a report about a specific tool that they have actually used (or watched in operation).

This topic in NOT intended for posts about imaginary tools, or tools that might be useful but don't exist.

if there is need for a topic about tools that would be useful but which do not exist today, we can certainly create one.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2023-05-02 07:20:33

Following a recommendation by ChatGPT (reported in ChatGPT topic) I decided to order a stud finder that is reported to use sound waves to find wooden studs behind wallboard. i have a magnetic stud finder, but my evaluation of the device is that it is useless. In the hands of another person, it might be useful, so I won't name the device. What I wanted was precision that ultrasound offers, and I'm willing to pay extra to obtain it.

Zircon MultiScanner A250c All-In-One Stud Finder/Metal Detector/Live AC Wire Detection and Scanner
Visit the Zircon Store
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 978 ratings
List Price:
FREE Returns
Style: A250c
A250c
A150
A200
A250
A100
Stud Sensor SL
Size: Center Finding
Center Finding
Edge Finding
See available options
Brand Zircon
Batteries Required? Yes
Material Plastic
Power Source Battery Powered
International Protection Rating IP54
About this item
Ergonomically designed grip allows a comfortable hold on the tool for any size hand, at any angle
ACT (Auto Correcting Technology) automatically corrects common user errors, i.e. when scanning begins over a stud, as the Signal Strength Indicator help distinguish shallower targets from deeper ones
One fully charged 9V battery, not included, is required for the stud scanner to run at optimal performance to help you easily find studs, metal and live AC wiring while avoiding electrical hazards
› See more product details
Customer ratings by feature
Easy to read
4.4 4.4
Easy to use
4.1 4.1
Accuracy
3.7 3.7
Value for money
3.7 3.7
See all reviews

After the product arrives, I'll report on it's performance.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-09-30 12:37:37

As reported during the recent Google Meeting, I am attempting to learn about routers. I've used a table router for simple tasks, but am now in an enviroment with a full sized wood shop with professional/industrial equipment. The proprietor of the wood shop offered to teach me the old fashioned way to use a router to follow a pattern with bits that have a roller bearing in the tip.

The project I'm interested in is to make a pistol type wooden handle for a file. Most file handles are round, and for most folks that shape is fine and they just use the tool and put it back in the drawer. I'm interested in having a handle that has more of a surface to apply forward pressure on the work piece, and have sketched a design that might work if I can figure out how to make it.

Today I pulled the router table out of it's little cubby where it sits between work sessions. I removed all the clutter on top, and all the sawdust from previous projects. I puzzled out how to pull the router out of it's mount below the router table surface. Now I'm going to have to wait for the woodshop proprietor to show me how to install and use the new bit I brought home from WoodCraft yesterday.

While cleaning the router table, I found a collection of bits that included the exact same bit I brought home from the store. That was mildly annoying, but the woodshop proprietor had forgotten about it. Tools of every description are packed into the space provided, and many have no labels. The wood shop had to vacate a large space and cram into a smaller one. It will take years to find everything, I suspect.

The next post in this series ** should ** cover setup of the router with the new bit, and how to arrange the barriers on the table top to guide the work piece.

(th)

GW Johnson · 2024-09-30 13:49:48

If you just need to make one, cut it from a scrap of board with a simple jig saw. Then use a rasp to shape it as desired. Having a pattern to use with a router is how you make lots of them. But you might want to try it out, before tooling up to make lots of them. That's what prototyping is all about.

GW

tahanson43206 · 2024-09-30 14:22:11

For GW Johnson re #4

Thanks for contributing to the Tools topic, and specifically for taking up the router question.

To bring you up to date, I'm working with a gent with decades of experience doing all kinds of woodworking.

He has NO experience with computerized anything, but he's willing to teach me how to persuade a router to follow a pattern.

The technique (apparently) involves using a special kind of bit with a roller bearing in the tip.

To attempt to gain a very basic understanding of the process, I secured two boards to each other so they cannot move while the router is working. The template has a perfectly straight edge of about 12 inches, and the goal for the exercise is to round the test piece that sits below the template.

The local WoodCraft has basic minimal CNC router machine that goes for $800. and I am interested in learning how to program it. I've spent many decades programming all sorts of machines, so from my perspective this would be just one more. However, for the woodshop proprietor, this would be a first experience with any kind of computer control.

And to catch your drift, the idea is not to make just one handle.. that would be a nice hobbyist exercise. But to make more than one, I need a pattern, so that is the immediate learning objective.

(th)

GW Johnson · 2024-09-30 16:02:18

I think you ought to make one and try it out, before expending the resources to tool up and make a bunch. That's just prudence in a manufacturing operation. Which I did study for my PhD.

GW

tahanson43206 · 2024-10-01 15:30:04

This post is to report an incremental step toward the immediate goal, which is to run the test wood against the new bit.

Today (in the absence of the woodshop proprietor) I managed to tease a straight bit out of the router chuck, and then installed the new curve shaped bit with the roller on top. The result is promising, but it is not ready for use. The new bit is shorter than the old one, so it does not rise above the top of the router table.

I have ** no ** idea how to change ** that ** configuration. This is a Bosch router, with two handles. It is designed (I gather) to be manipulated overhead. There is a trigger switch on one of the handles. That switch can be locked closed for under-table use, which is how I found it.

In the next report, I'm hoping the woodshop proprietor will be available to explain what is needed for a proper mounting.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2024-10-03 06:22:12

Update: The solution to the positioning problem turned out to be a lever on the back side of the Router (as it is mounted in the table).

When the lever is pulled away from locked position, the router can be lifted to the correct elevation for the bit.

A new problem then arose... the opening in the router table was too small for the new bit, and the router would not run.

The woodshop proprietor fixed that (somehow), and now the router was able to accept work.

I ran the test article against the new bit (with the roller on top) and the result was the smooth rounded quarter circle I was hoping for.

The next step was to use a band saw to shape the template for the complex curved shapes of the rest of the handle. I used a floor standing sanding machine to smooth the edges, and the piece is ready for the next learning episode, which is how to (safely) guide the test article against the router to round off the curved edges.

Side note: I added four screws to hold the test article to the template, and removed the original two holder screws, because they were removed during the band saw operation.

(th)

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#1 2023-05-02 07:16:37

Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#2 2023-05-02 07:20:33

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#3 2024-09-30 12:37:37

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#4 2024-09-30 13:49:48

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#5 2024-09-30 14:22:11

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#6 2024-09-30 16:02:18

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#7 2024-10-01 15:30:04

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

#8 2024-10-03 06:22:12

Re: Tools - reports - evaluations - recommendations - Real Universe

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