7 of my favorite woodworking tools

[Music] welcome to the 28th edition of cool tools where i get to show you some useful and interesting tools that we use here at the stampin up's woodworking journal shop this time we have what may be the best machinist rule out there a combination tool for hand tool woodworkers a clever combination square that's come back from the dead another reason diamonds are forever a two-part putty that functions like epoxy and amazing shrinking assembly table and my favorite glue dispenser as always we'll be moving quickly to fit all of it in so i'm placing links to each cool tool in the video description below so you can find answers to any questions that i may not have anticipated now let's get started shinmo rules may be the best kept secret in measuring tools the quality and precision is outstanding and the price is almost ridiculously low for a precise japanese made tool this is a six inch stair rule everybody agrees that starrett's a top brand in measuring tools and it is a nice rule this is a six inch xinhua rule they both feature etched scales that are crisp clear and will not wear off they both have precise graduations that are easy to read they both have scales on the ends for greater versatility they're both hardened stainless steel with a nice baked on satin finish to eliminate glare honestly if it weren't for the brand names marked on the other face i don't believe the average woodworker would know which ruler was thirty dollars and which one was thirteen that's right the shinwa rule is less than half the price of the stair in fact if you don't need the little scales on the ends you can get the same shin with quality for a third of the price 10 bucks of course the real reason i like them are the options they offer several versions so you can find the one that best suits you my favorite is the 4r model because while i may occasionally need the fine 16th and 32nd inch scales on one side most the time i'm working in 8th and 16ths so i love the uncluttered easy to read obverse i think this is more suited to a woodworker of course not all woodworkers live in the u.s so they make metric versions for the rest of the world with millimeters on one side and a fine imperial scale on the other they also have larger versions in 12 inch 24 inch and 36 inch and some pocket versions with conversions and other references on the back all are available in either metric or imperial don't let the prices fool you remember these are not those typical cheap stamped out rules even if they're priced like they may be they are of machinist quality precisely ground and etched with a premium finish i'll put a link below so you can check them out the bridge city tool works mt1 has quickly become one of my favorite layout tools the mt i believe stands for multi-tool because it combines several important tools into one it's a bevel gauge for setting up machinery or laying out odd angles it's a dovetail marker with both eight to one and six to one options and it's a saddle square for carrying lines precisely around a corner like all bridge city tools the mt1 is of top quality the body is aircraft grade aluminum and the blade is stainless steel it has a matte finish over the whole thing that's both beautiful and easy to maintain and you can mark the blade with a pencil and then wipe it off when you don't need the reference anymore i've been using an mt1 for two years now and it's replaced three tools that i used to consider my favorite i'll link to it below because i think you're going to want to check it out along with a lot of the other clever stuff that's on the bridge city site while we're on the subject of layout tools i have one more for you this is a magnetic combination square that i've been using for about 10 years it's not the only combination square i use but it may be the one i reach for the most because i love how fast it is to adjust and even take out the rule and put it back in without messing with that little spring-loaded mechanism that's typically found on combination squares i've talked about this in the past but unfortunately the company that used to make them stop making them several years ago so you haven't been able to get one for quite a while but a couple months back a viewer pointed me to another company that has started selling them so i bought one of the capro versions just to make sure that it was the same quality and it's pretty much the same square so this is great news because for quick layout you cannot beat this thing i'm not sure i would consider it as precise as a high-end starrett but i've never been disappointed in the accuracy the only thing i don't like is that you have to be careful not to bump the end of the rule especially if you have it extended to a precise distance from the body because the magnets aren't going to lock it in place like a regular combination square if you wanted one when i first showed it a few years back and you couldn't get it or you want another one i'll put a link below but i grab it quick i suspect they may sell out fairly rapidly another tool i've been using for many years is my tormek water cooled sharpening system and for most of the time i've sharpened with the standard stone wheel which has worked just fine i really had no complaints but then i discovered their diamond wheels and everything changed let me explain unlike a stone a diamond wheel does not wear away it never needs truing it never needs dressing the surface always remains flat and square and the wheel diameter always remains exactly the same this is important because i like to record and repeat certain jig settings and this way they will never have to be altered due to the wheel becoming smaller with wear over time and my tool edges will never be affected by a groove or uneven wear across the surface of the wheel the coarse stone is about 360. it's for rapid steel removal this might be my favorite of the three because it really speeds up the process when i have a lot of work to do with an edge i think if i could only get one grit of diamonds i might choose the coarse stone and use it as a complement to my regular stone when i need to do that extra grinding they also have a fine grit stone which is about 600 it's a good balance between speed and edge quality it's not as fast as the course wheel but it'll get the job done and the edge it leaves behind is ready to be moved right to the leather stropping wheel they also have an extra fine 1200 grit wheel this is not for fast steel removal it's for tools that must always have a razor sharp edge such as carving gouges and smoothing planes and really nice kitchen knives you can get a razor sharp edge with the fine wheel but you'll have to do more strapping afterwards the extra fine wheel reduces time spent on the stropping wheel while it is really nice to have all three grits you don't need to invest in all three all at once you might just add one grit to complement your regular stone wheel the tarmac diamond wheels are not inexpensive upgrades but if you use them properly and you don't abuse them they should last many many years maybe even a lifetime the grit also continues down the side of the wheel so you have a nice large surface for flat grinding when you don't want a hollow grind i don't want to spend all day going into all the technical details but i will link to a video below the answer is some frequently asked questions such as why coat them in diamond instead of cbn why they're steel instead of aluminum core and how they were developed i think you'll find that very interesting wonder putty from woodturners wonders is like sculpting clay which hardens like epoxy it may be used for all sorts of things but in the workshop it excels as a filler both on flat surfaces and turn projects such as bowls it comes in two parts that are kneaded together to activate the chemical reaction which cures it without shrinking or cracking in about an hour and then it becomes nice and durable and hard don't let the gray color fool you it may be transformed by adding paints and stains and powders and pigments for example here some blue oil paint is needed directly into the putty for lighter colors you may first need in white to create a neutral base then add lighter tones with paint or dry pigments metal flake mica powder whatever you may put into clear epoxy for a decorative effect except this doesn't have the runs and other issues that come with liquid filler it won't completely replace liquid epoxy filler especially for those fine cracks that do require something thin to seep down in but it really shines as a large crack or not filler it's definitely worth checking out the link below the video i first saw the centipede work stand at a woodworking show in atlanta several years ago it wasn't a borah booth it was in i think the southern woodworkers booth or the tool masters booth it wasn't for sale but just as a portable fixture in fact i and other youtubers were sitting around it to meet fans its clever design and durability really stood out to me then and i immediately understood its potential as a portable work surface both inside and outside the shop the borah centipede comes in three sizes each of which collapse into a compact little carrying bag even the big four by eight version stores in about one square foot of floor space but it instantly expands to the size of a full sheet of plywood their 2x4 and 4x4 versions are even more compact but they may be combined to create as large a surface as you need and the accessories make them even more versatile than saw horses in my opinion they're also super strong the big one supports up to 6 000 pounds you could park a full-size pickup truck on top i use them for outdoor projects or when i need an extra work surface inside the shop such as for finishing or big project assembly i think they'd be ideal for job sites for camping for craft shows tailgating anytime you need a table that collapses and stows away in a small place because the centipede system is all about portability it's not often that i find such a unique versatile workshop accessory like this i highly recommend you check them out at the link below i'm not sure why we haven't featured this on cool tools before because i've been using glue bots for years here's what i like about them they're easy to refill so i can buy glue in bulk and save money it features a dual chamber that pushes glue up from the bottom which makes it possible to dispense glue both in horizontal and vertical positions even when it's only partially full when you finish dispensing the glue it sucks the excess back inside so it doesn't drip it has an actual cap instead of one of those annoying pull up and push back down nozzles that have to be regularly disassembled to clean out old glue it comes with other accessories such as fine tips and a yoke to help keep the bead in the center of an edge all of which are replaceable if you lose one or wear it out and it comes in 16 ounce sizes which i think is the most useful but also little four and six ounce sizes it's worth mentioning that the old versions had this hard plastic cap and it does allow a little bit of air to seep in so if you let it sit for a long time it could dry a little bit of the glue in the nozzle but as good companies tend to do fastcap seems to have listened to customer feedback because the new versions have softer kind of silicone caps that seal much better it's just another example of what makes the glue bot unique while regular glue bottles are designed by glue manufacturers these are designed by woodworkers who actually use them in real world situations and know what works best and what doesn't seriously once you use one of these you'll never want to go back to those regular glue bottles again i'll link to them below this video that's it for this edition of cool tools don't forget to check out the links below and we'll see you next time wait don't go yet if you're new here please subscribe and remember to ring the bell i would really appreciate that give us a thumbs up or better yet leave us a comment i always read them and be sure to check out the latest issue of stumpynub's woodworking journal it's always packed with tips tricks and tutorials designed to make you a better woodworker

Channel: Stumpy Nubs

Views: 188,941

Keywords: woodworking, stumpy nubs, tips, workbench, table saw, scroll saw, drill press, quick tip, band saw, bandsaw, lumber, hack, hand plane, sharpening, tormek, worksharp, diamond stone, water stone, wood turning, bowls, lathe

Id: 0qVP9W65jSc

Length: 12min 46sec (766 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 15 2021