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While Cutech is a name new to most, its president and managing partner, Doug Davenport, has been around the woodworking tool business for a very long time. He started out selling fasteners and component parts to Delta Machinery, RIDGID and several other power tool manufacturers in the mid-1990s. Then, after 13 years in the nuts and bolts business, he became a manufacturer’s sales rep where, as fate would have it, he happened to meet the owners of the factory that currently produces Cutech’s planers and jointers. After that, there also was a stint at the former Steel City Tool Works.

“When Steel City reorganized about nine years ago, I agreed to become an independent rep for Steel City and worked with them for years,” Davenport says.

Initially, Steel City sold the jointers and planers that are manufactured by the factory Doug already knew overseas. But by fall 2014, Steel City no longer carried those machine models, and Davenport decided to leave Steel City as a tool rep. In March 2015, Steel City Tool Works shuttered its operations in the US.

“I saw an opportunity to continue to offer [these discontinued planers and jointers] to the market under my own brand … since the factory only had rebranded a couple of their machines in the U.S. market,” Davenport recalls.

He was also excited about design improvements the manufacturer had made to its spiral cutterheads — from a segmented head to a one-piece extrusion that allowed the cutterheads to hold much tighter and consistent tolerances on the location of the carbide inserts. That translated to better surface finish on the wood.

So, after a trip overseas in 2014, Davenport drafted a business plan to launch his own benchtop planer- and jointer-based company, Cutech Tool LLC, in April 2015.

“It took about three months to get the doors open, and our first sale was made in July of that year,” Davenport says. The company, which currently has three full-time employees and a 5,000-square-foot warehouse, is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

“Cutech” stands for “cutterhead technology,” which Davenport says captures the idea that Cutech Tool planers and jointers have improved cutterheads.

“While working at Steel City, the industry was always debating the differences in spiral cutterheads versus helical cutterheads. I thought it was important to show that (our) new cutterheads could perform much better than the previous versions of the spiral cutterhead.”

And to that end, Cutech currently offers five base models of benchtop planers in straight knife or spiral cutterhead variations. The company also carries a 6-in. spiral cutterhead jointer with a 30-in. table length and a 1.5hp (110-volt) dust collector.

Davenport says the Cutech 40200HC-CT Planer is its best-selling planer model. It has the new-style spiral cutterhead with carbide inserts and a patented snipe-lock feature. Previously, this machine sold under several brand labels, including Steel City, with the original spiral cutterhead on it.

“There are literally thousands of these machines still in use today,” Davenport adds. “As Steel City and other brand owners find out about us, we are enjoying a brisk business in offering and supplying repair parts to support them and keep their machines running.”

In a few weeks, Cutech’s product offerings will grow again when the company adds a $240 straight-knife planer and $120 6- x 4-in. disc and belt sander. Davenport says Cutech may also add a benchtop lathe to its catalog in the foreseeable future, “if we can locate the right machine with the right price point and quality.”

Quality is one of the cornerstones of Cutech’s business model, Davenport explains, and he feels it’s a characteristic that can be hit-or-miss among distributors in the benchtop tool arena.

“We strive to give the best customer service and technical support available on these types of machines, which is lacking in a lot of cases. We do have a few dealers, who were old friends from the Steel City days, who know the value of these machines and have a lot of experience with them.”

However, Cutech sells primarily through its website rather than an extensive dealer network, to help keep both street prices and overhead low. And, while his company serves as a distributor rather than a manufacturer, Davenport says the factory that makes Cutech machines has been very responsive to his input on design and quality control issues.

Reflecting on the past year and a half of business, Davenport is pleased that Cutech has exceeded its short-term goals and is on the road to long-term stability. He also is proud to share that the company started without debt, “so we should be able to continue to grow through cash flow — the old-fashioned way!”

The biggest challenge so far has been visibility within the marketplace. But, as woodworkers become aware of Cutech, Davenport says they seem to be rooting for the “little guy” and “the new kid on the block.” That support makes him and his employees work harder to maintain a level of quality and customer service that seems, in his estimation, to be getting lost in today’s “throwaway society.”

“As a new generation of woodworkers emerges and they become serious about their craft, I want to be in a position that Cutech is the first name they think of when starting their new collection of benchtop power tools,” Davenport says. “We want to make sure their buying experience is pleasant and quick and, most importantly, that they are getting the best quality tools possible for their money.”

Learn more about Cutech Tool and its product offerings by clicking here.

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The FX EXTREME Sharpening Stone (item DWS/P5/FX) has a street price of $43, and Trend backs it with a five-year warranty.

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Chris Marshall: In more than a century, drill presses for the consumer market haven’t seen much breakthrough innovation. That is, until now.NOVA’s all-new Voyageur 18-in. drill press, with an intelligent digital variable reluctance motor, is going to change the way woodworkers, DIYers and makers of all sorts think about what a drill press can do. It’s a feature-rich, all-purpose machine.

CM: NOVA equips Voyager with a 1.75hp DVR motor. It has no wire windings, brushes, magnets or electrical connections to moving parts. So there’s little that can develop heat during use or wear out over time. It’s been a proven platform on NOVA’s wood lathes for many years.

CM: But what’s even more innovative is that this motor is controlled by an onboard programmable computer with a touch screen interface. And the computer is what unlocks Voyager’s many useful and practical functions.

CM: For one, the computer gives the motor digitally controlled variable speed over an impressive speed range — from just 50 rpm to 5,500 rpm. And you can change speeds instantly just by turning a dial

CM: And unlike most other drill presses, there are no pulley clusters or drive belts to change here. That old-fashioned mechanical drive system is obsolete with DVR, and so is the vibration that often goes with it.

CM:. Just try this little nickel test on top of your drill press, and you’ll understand how smooth-running Voyager really is. The computer constantly monitors the motor’s performance. Even on the toughest drilling jobs Voyager’s CPU will make sure that the motor receives the precise power it needs to deliver constant torque for the speed you’ve set. It analyzes motor efficiency hundreds of times per second. No other consumer drill press does that!

CM: And if you’ve ever wondered just what speed you need to set your drill press to for the bit and job at hand, it’s guesswork with a standard drill press. But Voyager is programmed to make speed selection easy. To set drilling speed, just select the Speed Chart icon on Voyager’s picture menu and choose one of 12 different bit options. There’s twist, brad point, bullet pilot point, Forstner bit, glass/tile bit, hole saw, spade bit, spade with with spurs, countersink, shearcut countersink, Powerbore and circle cutters.

CM: Now select the size of the bit, and the material you’re drilling into. Confirm this with the computer, and Voyager sets the correct speed you need for the bit and job at hand. There’s no need to guess.

CM: Want to drill accurate-depth holes? Who doesn’t? With an ordinary drill press, even that can be hit-or-miss using this threaded rod and stop setup. Voyager has it if you want to do it the old way. But, computer accuracy can help you here, too.

CM: Just toggle over to the User Set Depth icon, and tell Voyager how deep of a hole you want to drill. Then lower the bit to the drilling surface and zero it out on the home screen. This registers the surface of the hole. Voyager now knows precisely how deep the hole needs to be. It beeps to tell you you’re getting close, and once you reach the preset depth, it stops automatically. You can’t over-drill or under-drill. Perfect hole depth, every time.

CM: Voyager can be also be set to reverse direction at the bottom of a hole to help clear the debris. It can operate in forward or reverse, depending on your drilling, drum-sanding or polishing application. And you can even set this machine to start spinning automatically every time you pull the quill handle. The self-start option is ideal for repetitive drilling operations–no need to use the On/Off switch for every hole.

CM: And if you’ve ever been frustrated by bits that tend to wander when you’re trying to drill a pilot hole, especially on a hard, curved or irregular surface, Voyager can help you drill pilot holes, too. Just select the Pilot Hole setting in the machine’s advanced modes. Voyager dials down the bit speed so that the bit’s tip has a chance to engage in the material. When it does, the motor ramps up to your preset drilling speed to bore the clearance hole. You’ll get the pilot you need exactly where you want it. You can even program Voyager to save four speed settings for the bits and accessories you use most often so they’re ready to go when you need them, just by pressing the right “F” button on the display.

CM: Voyager offers a full 6 in. of quill travel in just two revolutions of the handle, and it has a quill lock. It also has a spacious 16-1/2-in. square, cast-iron table. And while it looks like a woodworking drill press, with all it’s computerized features it’s clearly not just for woodworkers. Whatever projects you’re into, and whatever you need to drill, sand or buff, NOVA’s Voyager Drill Press has the capacity, build-quality and most of all — computer-controlled intelligence — to help you get the job done quickly, smoothly and effectively. It’s truly an all-purpose machine.

CM: NOVA’s 18-in. Voyager Drill Press is designed to transform the way we approach drilling. As NOVA promises, it’s a “Smart Tool, with Powerful Solutions.” Learn more about it at novatoolsusa.com or by visiting a NOVA dealer, near you.

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Tim Inman: I remember back in the 1970s when wooden cutting blocks were replaced by white poly cutting surfaces. The idea was that wood was somehow inherently unsanitary and plastic was clean. Later, after research (ref. Forest Products Research Station @ University of Wisconsin), it turned out that the wooden surfaces were not necessarily unsanitary. They could be used and kept clean with ordinary maintenance. Plastic, on the other hand, turned out to be more problematic in its cleaning and sanitation needs. So, wood is not automatically to be rejected. However, from your description of your cutting surfaces, it would seem to me that inferior joinery makes your blocks unusable for food prep work. I would replace those tops and not look back. Weeping food goo isn’t good and certainly could make folks ill. Get new tops.

Chris Marshall: I worked for many years during high school and college breaks at a corner grocery store. There was a meat counter in back with an enormous butcher block for processing all manner of fresh meats. I spent many hours deboning scraps, cutting up chickens and processing deer on that block. It was a “true” butcher block, too — glued-up maple laminations with the end grain of each piece facing up toward the work surface. Being a close-grained wood, the end grain never seeped juices down through the block and onto the floor. We simply scraped off any residue periodically throughout the day and sprayed it down routinely with a solution of ammonia water followed by a good scrubbing–no sanding or sealing, ever.

Maybe your church butcher blocks are made of an open-grain wood that could be draining those fluids right down the hollow xylem tubes in the end grain or, as you suggest, the joints between the laminations are separating enough to allow for seepage. Regular water exposure can certainly delaminate wood joints, especially if the correct glue wasn’t used in the first place.

In any case, I agree with Tim on this one. While it’s unfortunate that the butcher block is leaking, what’s coming out the bottom is probably both disgusting and possibly even a lure for insect pests. I’ll bet a health inspector would take one look under them and require that those be replaced, especially in a public-use kitchen.

Here’s a suggestion: have your church woodworkers build replacement butcher blocks instead. Or, as a cost-saving measure, replace just one of those large surfaces and put a conventional countertop over the other set of cabinets. I’d make the cutting surface from hard maple in 8/4 thickness, glued up with a waterproof glue, such as Titebond III. With donated labor, it won’t cost thousands to replace — and I’ll bet if you approached a local lumberyard with a request on behalf of your church, they’d probably give you a neighborly discount on the lumber. As Tim suggests, just because a food prep surface is wood doesn’t make it bad. But, choosing the right species and gluing it up with the correct adhesive could make all the difference in terms of the surface’s longevity and how sanitary it can be kept.

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-Paul Douglass

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