Get these 5 things from SMALL BUSINESSES while you can!

it's been a couple of months since we did a Cool Tools video and in that time I've gone through my shop and I've picked out a handful of really good ideas that were developed by regular folks like you and me so that's the focus of this edition of Cool Tools small family-run businesses that make great tools that are worth supporting not just for the things you're about to see but because they continue to innovate and I'm excited to see what else they could do if we all try to throw a little support behind them even if that just means to visit their websites and see what they got going on so to that end I'm placing links to all these Cool Tools below this video at the in the video description and also pinned to the top of the comments now let's get started this clever little invention from hand tool expert Rob Cosman is one of the most useful hand plane accessories I've seen for about 150 years or so Hand planes like these have been adjusted with a knob between the tote which is the handle and the Frog which is what holds the blade if you want to take a thicker shaving you turn that knob the problem is those knobs usually take two or sometimes even a three finger grip to turn them so it's difficult to make adjustments this really becomes the pain especially when you're resetting the plane after you've removed the iron for sharpening and so you're trying to push it Forward on your material and turn the knob at the same time to adjust to the proper cut if you use hand planes you know what I'm talking about it can be done but it's a bit of a pain especially with planes that feature smaller knobs the adjust star is simply a star-shaped knob that replaces the round one on your plane but it allows you to make adjustments with one finger as you continue to grip the tote and move the plane forward this may seem like a trivial thing but once you try one you'll see why I love it so much right now I have one just for my five and a half which is the plane I use most but I'm definitely going to get a couple for some other planes it is well made from brass and there are different versions for different types of planes I'm going to link to the Stanley version below but from there you can find one for a Wood River or for Lee Nielsen if you need those just try one put it on your smoother or your jack plane or whatever you use the most and know that you're also supporting a small family business that generously teaches thousands of folks to take up the craft and does a lot of good especially for disabled Woodworkers and those with PTSD I'll link to them below this video this next cool tool is special because it's based upon a great idea from a regular garage woodworker whose funding and marketing it all on his own and that is not easy these days it's called the Philip Miller adjustable mortise jig and Tenon system and it's designed to quickly and easily build tables of all shapes and sizes by simplifying the process of attaching the legs to the tops the system is based upon metal plates that sit inside shallow mortises this makes a very secure connection that is quick to produce easy to assemble and perfect for furniture that you may make for yourself or even to sell and ship commercially here's how it works the adjustable jig attaches to the bottom of the table with screws since this is the underside of the top no one will ever see the holes left behind then a plunge router and a template bit is used to precisely cut your mortise notice how it doesn't go all the way to the edge so the plate is not going to be visible once it's installed speaking of plates or adaptable Tenon Fasteners as they're called they come in three sizes and two thicknesses they're quickly aligned on the top of the leg using the same jig there are a wide range of holes for various leg sizes and long screws make a very secure connection the plate now acts as a Tenon which is secured in the mortise with more screws for narrow legs like these you might add stretchers for added strength larger legs may be self-supporting I like how the legs are flush with the edges of the top for a really clean look without the need for aprons the top can also move as it takes on and releases moisture from the air this joinery is simple and easy to create without a lot of special tools yet there's no visible Fasteners and it can be taken apart easily for moving or storage down the road or for shipping if you want to sell your work I'm not saying that this is a replacement for traditional mortise and Tenon joinery in all cases but it makes a lot of sense for a lot of folks and you just can't beat the speed and efficiency the idea came from a Florida Furniture maker named Philip Miller and he's set up a Kickstarter page to get it going I would really like you to at least visit that remember this isn't a big company this is a regular woodworker trying to bring his own idea to Market and I think that kind of innovation is just worth supporting so please use the link below this video to check it out and maybe consider adding your support for many years I've used and recommended Diamond Stones for sharpening because they work really well for all sorts of tools and they require almost no maintenance what I mean by that is a traditional water or oil Stone will wear unevenly as you use it so it has to be flattened regularly sometimes after each use depending on the stone if you don't constantly maintain the Stone's flatness you end up with poorly performing misshapen edges on your chisels and other Straight Edge tools a good Diamond Stone comes flat from the factory and it should stay that way with virtually no maintenance for its entire lifespan now I've used several good brands of stones over the years and they're all still great but a while back I got one from Empower because they're a small family-run business in Canada and I like supporting small companies whenever I can especially since their stones are of great quality but they're also less expensive than the ones that I used to use which I know is going to help some of you that have been looking to make that switch to Diamonds if I had one complaint is that the diamonds are embedded on a plate which is then attached to the aluminum core and I would have liked to have seen the diamonds embedded right to the core I had one that wasn't flat for that reason and needed to go back but the folks at Empower are great to deal with so no big deal Empower also includes some add-ons that make a big difference like the eight inch double-sided complete kit comes with 300 grit on one side and either 600 or my personal favorite 1200 on the other it also comes with a magnetic strapping cover that'll take your edge up to a razor sharp 5000 Grit and you get a pair of magnetic holders to keep the Stone from sliding around while you use it plus a really nice case Empower makes a lot of really nice Diamond sharpening gear and a bunch of other stuff you've seen some of this on Cool Tools before like my favorite they're side by side sharpening system which features three grits of diamonds three levels of strapping all in one and this convenient carry case so it's easy to store and move around they also have small pocket sized homes and other handy Jigs and tools too I highly recommend you just go and check them out at the link below this video even if you're not looking for Diamond sharpening gear at the moment like I said they got a lot of other cool stuff on the site they are real innovators that are worth supporting I admit it I've owned a lot of router tables in my life probably too many I just think that a good router table can rival your table saw as one of the most versatile Tools in your shop you can do a lot of stuff with them so it's worth doing your homework before you decide to build or buy one let me give you another option that just might make your decision easier because I think that this may be the best value dollar for dollar that I have ever seen because it combines a wide range of high-end features with exceptional quality at a very reasonable price point first the top is just under an inch and a half thick so it won't sag and it's covered with low friction laminate so your work Piece Will Glide easily there's a combination track on the front for the miter style bars that you find on a wide range of Jigs and sleds and accessories as well as anything that can be locked into a t-track such as featherboards and various stops the fence is very well made from extruded aluminum angle the MDF faces are also covered in low friction laminate and are adjustable to open and close the center there are dual t-tracks for mounting feather boards and other accessories to the fence including a flip stop which comes with it and an optional accessory bar for supporting panels and other work pieces on edge I love that feature another great feature are these metal bars on the back you slip them behind the outfeed face of the fence then that turns your router into an edge jointer if you've ever tried to glue up several narrow boards to make a wide panel and you had gaps in the seams this will solve that common problem what really blows this setup out of the water is the included high-end router lift it's designed for medium sized three and a half inch router Motors I'm using a Bosch but it'll work with other brands too the laser etch scales on top provide a visual reference for fence adjustments that make small adjustments a lot easier and it has a lift adjuster that has a display in the thousandths of an inch the left mechanism is very smooth it's comparable to the really high end lifts that I've used there's no backlash at all it is a little slow it takes 10 revolutions to raise or lower it just a half an inch but that allows you to make very fine adjustments easily there's also an above the table locking mechanism something I wish all router lifts had and of course the insert rings around the bit opening can be changed to match your bit size it's also worth noting that the base frame is really high quality it's made from steel tubes instead of the more common and less expensive steel angle that sometimes they use for the legs and the cross members the tubes are much more stable and less likely to move and rack and flex at the joints that plagues those type of router bases in my opinion another really clever feature is the switch it operates two outlets on its back so you can plug your router motor into one and a shop vacuum into the other and now both can be turned on and off simultaneously in fact I plan to add a shelf to the bottom of my frame and then put a small shop vacuum there so my dust collection is built right in so you get the base the switch the top the fence and the lift all in one package for a lot less than I've seen lower Quality Equipment sell for if you're thinking of getting a new router table or upgrading to a real Workhorse this is definitely worth checking out and it comes from Craftsman Gallery at chipsfly.com which is a small family retailer in Ohio that's run by a man named Lewis stepp I've known him for years and he's developed a bunch of really clever tool designs check them out at the link below this next small business creation is a handy idea developed by a builder who wanted to simplify the tasks he did over and over again every day I think it's best to just let him explain it to you the key features of the Morgan Square and for framing the tongue is an inch and a half same as the studs that you're going to be putting in the wall that you're framing Center Line right here is is directly in the middle of this so it makes it very easy to line the studs up properly when you start to put your wall up we have this Mark here at an inch and a half which we will explain a little bit later in our demonstration have your pencil right here you combine that with your tape measure already on the square and you don't have to do the minus three quarters because you have the center line right here that you just line up with the 16 mark on your tape measure sled on out here got your 610 Mark both sides that's your 32. 48 a single step to do both the measuring and the marking for your layout I can tell you about this inch and a half mark right here this inch and a half is for when you're doing an opening in the wall such as a door or a window so what you're going to do is simply measure out to where that opening is going to be we'll say in this case it's at 39 inches Make Your Mark here Mark both sides come back out and Mark it again and you have all three of the markings here you have your king stud your trimmer and your stud all in one quick accurate fast measurement is it going to completely revolutionize The Building Trades probably not because that's it's really hard for a small maker to get Traction in an industry that's dominated by big corporations but I do think this is a great alternative to the speed square that will really speed up the process of framing because I want to support them and since it was pretty darn cheap I grabbed one just so I would have it in my toolbox for future projects give it a look at the link below this final cool tool isn't from a small business but I wanted to share it because it came from a viewer recommendation and I like to encourage you folks to share what helps you out in your shops as well well some time back I mentioned how I like to use zebra pens in and outside the shop for decades and how I've always thought they were such a great value well a viewer said I should try the f701 model I was skeptical because I liked the regular ones but now I'm a convert it's entirely stainless steel on the barrel no plastic it feels heavier and higher in quality I've had no complaints with the way the other ones wrote but this extra weight makes this one feel different I really like it and I can't believe how inexpensive this was like a few bucks which is one of the reason I like zebra pens in general when people steal them from you which they do once they see how nicely they write or if you lose one which we do it doesn't hurt they also make a pencil version but as you know I am not trading my Pentel graph gear pencils for anything they are the best mechanical pencils I have ever used sorry zebra I'll link to them below this video both of them in fact you wouldn't think something as simple as a writing instrument would be so game changing but these are among the most used tools in any shop that's it for this edition of Cool Tools please be sure to visit all of the links just to show some support even if you're not in the market to buy anything but before you go I have one more small business worth supporting it's just a couple of cuts your ears will be fine right it will be if you have your isotunes Bluetooth earbuds in because you'd already have your ANSI certified hearing protection on because you're listening to your favorite music and podcasts and you're supporting a small family business at the same time please use the link below this video to learn more and to show them you support what we do as well

Channel: Stumpy Nubs

Views: 278,920

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: eQx5H80ifHA

Length: 15min 28sec (928 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 15 2023