Steve's Wood Butchery: Some New Tools

(Click any pic for a larger image)

I have purchased the following ~~toys~~ tools over the past few years, and enjoy them immensely. From oldest to newest...

1. Ringmaster Lathe Attachment

This device bolts to the lathe bed near the chuck and cuts rings from various-sized disks, which are then glued together, forming a bowl.

In the photo above, there is a red circle around the cutter making its angled cut through the blank. More about the Ringmaster in a future post called, 'What the Heck is a Ringmaster"?"

2. Rikon 14" Bandsaw

Before this saw, I had one I'd purchased 30-ish years ago from the long-defunct 'House of Tools'. It was a terrible saw and eventually became dangerous. I removed the motor and took the saw to the recycle, rather than sell it to some unsuspecting woodworker who might be injured while using it. The new Rikon has a 6" high fence and 14" of clearance for resawing.

For more pics, click 'Read More' below

3. Bosch 10" Table Saw

For years, I used heavy, cast iron table saws that while good, at 200-ish pounds, were beasts to wrangle around the shop, especially as I became longer-of-tooth. Finally sold my last one and bought this light-weight saw. When the fence is locked, it locks perfectly parallel to the blade -- no more measuring at each end to ensure it's straight. In my small shop, I can quickly and easily move it out of the way or into another room.

For fine cutting of segments, I added a sliding miter gauge that cost 1/3 of the price of the saw... but it's worth every penny.

4. 16" Drum Sander

I've had a Delta thickness planer for years now, but it is a nasty snipe-hog. This new 16" drum sander, sands any piece of wood so that its opposing sides are perfectly flat and parallel. It has greatly improved the 'alleged' quality of many of my projects.