What's In Store Archives - Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To

FlexiPort Hose Kit

Chris Marshall — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 15:00:14 +0000

One of the biggest pains of using portable power tools is connecting their various-sized dust ports to a shop vacuum hose. You’ve likely tried all manner of shop-made “adapters” or even just used wrap upon wrap of duct tape, only to have the hose disconnect anyway. That problem will be a thing of the past with Rockler’s clever Dust Right® FlexiPort Power Tool Hose Kit. It includes a ribbed stretch hose that expands from 3′ to 12′ with a pair of Click-Connect fittings that thread into either end — one serves as an adapter and the other is a 2-1/4″ O.D. port for plugging into a shop vac inlet.

Four gray rubber swiveling FlexiPorts conform to fit dust outlets on a variety of portable power tools. Then, the hose adapter simply clicks onto each FlexiPort so it can be left on the tool for quick connect/disconnect convenience. The FlexiPort sizes are 3/4″ I.D. x 1-1/4″ O.D., 1″ I.D., 1-1/4″ I.D. and 1-1/2″ I.D. Individual FlexiPorts are also available separately.

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Router Bit Storage Inserts

Chris Marshall — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:00:03 +0000

Drilling holes in a board is one option for storing router bits by their shanks. But if the board shrinks across the grain, it can lock the bits in their holes, making them very difficult to remove. If it absorbs moisture, the shanks can rust. And it can’t be mounted vertically to save space without running the risk of the bits falling out. That’s why Rockler’s Router Bit Storage Inserts are so helpful. They’re made of a durable, non-absorbent molded polyethylene that remains flexible, yet holds the shanks securely enough for either horizontal or vertical storage.

The interior of these inserts is stepped to accept either 1/4″- or 1/2″-diameter shanks. And installing them in a board, shelf or drawer is as easy as drilling 5/8″-diameter holes and pushing them in. Their ribbed exterior keeps the inserts in place when bits are pulled out. Here’s a neat, low-cost storage solution to finally get all your router bits organized and accessible.

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Laguna 14|CX Bandsaw

Journal Staff — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 15:00:28 +0000

While the majority of what you probably need to cut on a band saw is wood or sheet goods, wouldn’t it be handy to be able to slice through metal as well? Unfortunately, woodcutting band saws spin the blade too fast for that task. But with the DAKE/Laguna 14|CX Bandsaw, ferrous metals such as steel, iron, stainless steel and more are fair game because this machine’s blade speed can be set to as low as 60 surface feet per minute (SFPM).

Most consumer band saws are limited to wood cutting due to a fixed blade speed. But sophisticated variable speed on Laguna’s innovative 14|CX Bandsaw makes both metal and wood-cutting a reality.

The saw’s two-step pulley system provides a mechanical high speed range for wood and low speed range for metal, which are easy to switch between by shifting the saw’s poly-groove drive belt from one step to the other. Then, just twist a variable-speed control knob on the saw’s column to increase or decrease the blade speed incrementally and on the fly. A digital readout below the knob reports the blade speed in real time.

Blade speed can be adjusted on the fly with the twist of a dial. Digital readout reports the speed.

Laguna provides electronic speed control by way of a pulse width modulation (PWM) system. It uses an inverter to control the output to the machine’s 1-3/4hp DC motor. PWM offers the added advantage of quickly stopping the cutting action when the saw is turned off.

Ready for Resawing

A beefy extruded aluminum fence beam offers 5-1/2″ of vertical support for resawing or thick rip cuts. It can be tipped to the “low” position for thin cuts. The fence moves by way of a gear-driven crank.

Blade momentum is crucial for demanding woodcutting operations such as resawing. And to help ensure it, Laguna outfits this saw with heavy, precision-balanced cast-iron flywheels. It offers an impressive 13″ of resaw capacity and can be outfitted with 115″ blades up to 3/4″ wide; a 1/2″ bi-metal 10/14 variable TPI blade is included. In the event that a quick stop is needed, just step on a foot pedal to engage an oversized disc brake in the saw’s lower flywheel housing. When the time comes to switch blades or de-tension them between uses, a quickrelease lever makes the job easier. Other Noteworthy Features For many years, Laguna has outfitted its band saws with long-wearing, cooler-operating ceramic blade guides, and you’ll find them on the 14|CX. They off er a total of 10 contact points above and below the workpiece for precise blade tracking.

Precision-balanced, heavy cast-iron flywheels keep the momentum up during demanding cuts. A disc brake behind this lower flywheel stops the cutting action in an instant with a foot brake.

This saw has a generous 16″ x 21-1/2″ cast-iron table with a conventionally sized miter slot. The table tilts 7 degrees left and 45 degrees right. It’s mounted on a heavy-duty cast-iron trunnion. The rip fence is also beefy, with a 5-1/2″-tall aluminum beam that moves on a gear-driven crank; this 18″-long fence beam can be set either to a high position for thick cuts and resawing or tipped over to a low position for cutting thin materials.

Long-wearing white ceramic blade guides keep the blade tracking accurately.

To mitigate sawdust, two 4″-diameter dust ports — one just below the table and a second near the saw’s base — help to keep the machine’s interior clean.

An optional three-wheel mobility kit makes it easy to roll the saw to wherever it’s needed or out of the way when it isn’t.

For shops with space constraints or poor lighting, Laguna off ers a three-wheel mobility kit and an industrial work light as optional accessories.

Laguna 14|CX Bandsaw

Motor: 1-3/4hp, 110-volt

Speeds: 160-4,400 (High) / 60-1,600 (Low) SFPM

Resaw Capacity / Throat Depth: 13″ / 13-5/8″

Blade Length / Widths: 115″ / 1/8″-3/4″

Blade Guides: Laguna ceramic

Weight: 258 lbs

VIDEO: Best Jigs for Flattening Slabs and Cutting Boards

Dan Cary — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 15:00:45 +0000

Working with live edge slabs can yield truly unique projects that showcase swirling continuous grain. But without a very large planer and jointer, flattening and smoothing a rough slab can be very difficult indeed. The Rockler Slab and Board Flattening Jig’s precision guide rails, along with the low-friction carriage and trolley let you guide your router over the entirety of the surface, machining it flat and smooth—no need for a big planer or drum sander! Not only that, since you’re using a router bit with a shearing action, tear-out during slab flattening is almost completely eliminated, meaning much less sanding.

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July/August 2024 What’s in Store

Matt Hocking — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 21:42:40 +0000

Rockler 10″ Shop Shears with Sheath

Bench Dog Small Chisel Plane

Bessey One-Handed Trigger Clamps with Rotating Handles

Rockler Rule Stop with 12″ Steel Ruler

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J-Weight Cloth-Backed Sandpaper Rolls

Matt Hocking — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 15:00:28 +0000

While all sandpaper eventually wears out, the difference in durability between cloth- and paper-backed abrasives is only something you’ll truly appreciate after using both. Cloth backing lasts much longer, particularly in high friction applications such as sanding turned spindles and bowls.

This J-weight cloth-backed sandpaper will outlast paper-backed options, and the 2-3/4″-wide rolls will help to minimize wasted abrasive.

That’s why Rockler’s J-Weight Cloth-backed Sandpaper Rolls will be so useful to turners. But this aluminum oxide abrasive will be equally helpful for general detail and finish-sanding, loading onto a sanding block for smoothing flat surfaces or even mounted to a piece of float glass for flattening and honing chisel blades, plane irons and plane soles.

Each 2-3/4″-wide roll has 20 linear ft of sandpaper. Tear off just the amount you need to complete the task at hand while minimizing waste. Rockler sells individual rolls in many useful grits: 100 (item 77435), 150 (item 70444), 240 (item 79292), 320 (item 76961), 400 (item 72776) and 600 (item 71319) for $9.99 apiece. Or, save some on the per-roll cost by buying it in a 3-pack of 20-ft rolls in 150-, 240- and 320-grits (item 76783).

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General Finishes Dead Flat

Journal Staff — Fri, 31 May 2024 15:00:16 +0000

General Finishes Dead Flat, a durable matte sheen is included in its High Performance Topcoat lineup. It’s a single-component water-based cabinet and furniture-grade finish that can be brushed, sprayed or rolled.

Christine Adams, marketing director for General Finishes, reports that this cross-linked polyurethane is an ideal topcoat for protecting figured woods and can be used over paint that already has a flat sheen. “With Dead Flat, the beauty of the wood grain displays with natural clarity, and the color of painted projects shows with more intense saturation,” Adams says.

Dead Flat imparts no color and doesn’t alter the sheen of painted or bare-wood surfaces once it dries.

Due to recent advances in its patented polymer technology, General Finishes has formulated Dead Flat without the use of the durability reducing matting agents required in the past. This gives it the durability of higher gloss finishes with a more natural appearance and low luster.

Adams reports that Dead Flat has a <5-degree sheen (compared with the company’s Flat Out Flat product that has a <10-degree sheen), with improved chemical and water-resistance properties. It meets KCMA durability standards, contains no Prop 65 chemicals, uses renewable resources and is VOC compliant nationwide.

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Rockler’s New Benchtop Lathes

Journal Staff — Fri, 10 May 2024 21:07:55 +0000

If you’re ready to take up woodturning this spring, two new lathes from Rockler can get you started off right and aff ordably! Rockler’s 10-18 Mini Lathe is compact but nicely appointed. It has a cast-iron bed with non-slip adjustable feet for excellent vibration dampening and a powerful 1/2hp induction motor. Pulley clusters, accessible through two swingaway doors, enable the Mini to be set to five speeds: 760, 1,100, 1,600, 2,200 and 3,200 rpm. The drive belt tightens with convenient cam-locking ratcheting levers.

Switching speeds on the 10-18 Mini is as easy as opening a pair of swing-up doors, loosening the motor’s locking lever and moving the drive belt between pulley sheaves.

This 80.5-lb lathe off ers a maximum turning diameter of 10″ for creating moderately sized bowls or vessels, and an 18″ span between centers is sufficient for turning all manner of small furniture legs, pens, tool handles, spindles and other decorative items.

Both the headstock spindle and tailstock quill are machined with common #2 Morse tapers, and the spindle threading is 1″ x 8 threads per inch (tpi). The 10-18 Mini Lathe comes with a 6″ tool-rest, 3″ faceplate, spur drive center and ball-bearing live center. When equipped with an optional bed extension, its distance between centers expands to 38-1/2″.

VS 12-24 Midi Lathe

If a benchtop isn’t available, both the 10-18 Mini and 12-24 Midi Lathes can be mounted to Rockler’s accessory steel stands that are width- and height-adjustable.

For even more capacity and ease of speed changing, consider Rockler’s larger VS 12- 24 Midi Lathe. Its 1.2hp induction motor can be infinitely controlled between two speed ranges — 300 to 1,100 and 750 to 3,500 rpm — by simply turning a speed dial. A digital readout reports the speed setting. You can also switch the lathe to turn in reverse, which can be helpful for sanding. The 93-lb Midi Lathe will turn bowls up to 12″ in diameter or 24″-long spindles. Its bed, headstock and tailstock are all made of cast iron for durability, rigidity and low vibration. Adjustable rubber feet keep it firmly planted on a benchtop. The bed can be expanded to a 54″ distance between centers by installing an accessory bed extension.

The included tools for setup and adjustment, plus the drive or live center, can be stowed on the VS 12-24’s onboard storage rack.

Like the Mini, this larger lathe has #2 Morse taper spindle and tailstock bores, and the 1″-diameter spindle is threaded 1″ x 8 tpi. Standard accessories include a longer 7-7/8″ tool-rest, 3″ faceplate, live center, drive center and an onboard rack for storing the tools. Rockler includes a helpful plastic spindle washer to prevent the faceplate and chucks from getting stuck on the spindle.

While both of these machines will be quite at home on a bench or shop-made stand, either can be mounted to dedicated, adjustable-height steel stands, if desired.

VS 12-24 Midi Lathe

Motor: 1.2hp, 110-volt

Speeds: 300-1,110 / 750-3,500 rpm

Swing Over Bed: 12″

Distance Between Centers: 24″

Spindle Threading: 1″ x 8 tpi

Weight: 93 lbs

10-18 Mini Lathe

Motor: 1/2hp, 110-volt

Speeds: 760, 1,100, 1,600, 2,200, 3,200 rpm

Swing Over Bed: 10″

Distance Between Centers: 18″

Spindle Threading:: 1″ x 8 tpi

Weight: 80.5 lbs

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May/June 2024 What’s in Store

Matt Hocking — Thu, 02 May 2024 21:55:57 +0000

Rockler Cabinet Scraper Holder

Bench Dog Small Chisel Plane

Rockler’s Router Bit Maintenance Kit

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Rockler Thin Rip Tablesaw Jig

Chris Marshall — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 15:00:32 +0000

While you may not rip thin strips for shelf edging, kumiko or bent laminations on a regular basis, a simple, sturdy and safe jig certainly comes in handy when the need arises. That’s exactly what Rockler’s Thin Rip Tablesaw Jig delivers.

Made of two beefy sheets of phenolic, the jig slides open or closed to set the thickness of the strips you need to make. Its aluminum miter bar underneath fits standard 3/8″ x 3/4″ table saw or band saw miter slots and locks securely in place with a star knob. Mount the jig to the left of the blade for table saw use, set the thickness of the offcut and then use the saw’s rip fence to support the workpiece to the right of the blade. A ball bearing on the jig serves as the contact point.

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