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Having recently returned from our “Woodworking in America” conference, I immediately went to my shop and turned on a couple power tools. Whew! I needed to do that.
The weekend was great. I met so many woodworkers and I picked up so much hand-tool information that it will take me a week or two to record and arrange the vast amount of knowledge. I learned secrets to sharpening. I learned about handsaw blade setting. I learned the intricacies of how handplanes work, and how to correctly set the blade given the job the tool is asked to do. But after eight classes, I yearned for a three-pronged plug. I can also say that I stood up to St. Roy and refused when he cheered us to come together and “Just Say No To Power Tools.”
So that’s why I scurried into the shop for a quick dose of motor hum.
More About Power Tools
It’s been three months since the mega-power-tool show in Atlanta. That would be the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair-USA (IWF). And we’re beginning to see some of the tools shown there come to market. (Click here to see our coverage of IWF including videos.)
A case in point is Steel City Tool Works. The granite specialists in the woodworking machinery area introduced us to a number of tools that feature the igneous rock. A jointer that features a full granite fence , a feature that we saw from Steel City last year , along with a full granite table is now available. A 6″ granite-bed jointer with quick-change knives is priced at $949; with a helical head it will be $1149. An 8″ jointer with the quick-change knives is $1349. That machine with a helical head will set you back $1,649.
Also displayed at IWF in the SCTW booth was a 14″ band saw with a granite table and lower wheel. The newly designed solid granite lower wheel makes sense because it’s perfectly balanced as it’s machined. The heavy mass of that wheel gives it more inertia when spinning, and the granite absorbs the vibrations from the motor, belt and shaft. “The result,” says Scott Box, Steel City president, “is a smoother running machine.” You can pick up a granite-wheeled band saw for around $750 right now. And you know you can expect more “rock” from Steel City.
In fact, granite is about to show up in another tool that’s not from Steel City’s stable. SCTW has worked with the manufacturers of and will supply the granite tops for a new Ridgid table saw that’s about to hit the market. We have one of those saws in house and should have some basic information for you shortly. Stay tuned.
Have you purchased or used a piece of machinery that has granite in the mix? Would you do so?
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