The Jalopy Journal

Here’s something that I would never spend $80 on simply out of principle. Essentially, it’s a bluetooth module that you add to your Festool dust collector – allowing you to control the unit from the end of the extraction hose. Seems a bit ridiculous in principle, no? I got one for Christmas actually and can tell you this – in practice, this thing is worth every damned penny.

Here’s my use case:

I’m using my sander hooked up to the dust collector. (Obviously, when I turn on the sander, the dust extractor turns on as well.) I’ve finished sanding the piece and I’m ready to move on to the next, but before I do, I wanna make sure my bench is clean so I don’t scratch up the part I’m about to work on. I detach the extraction hose and instead of stepping over power cables and scrap wood to lean down and manually turn on the extractor, I just hit the bluetooth button. Sounds stupid… It’s actually amazing.

Bonus: Works great for turning on the extractor while drilling pocket holes.

More details here.

So I bought a 1591 around 10 years ago and the damned thing has been an absolute work horse. It has great guides, decent power, and the barrel grip feels perfect in the hands. In my opinion (and many others), it’s the one of the best jigsaws ever made… It’s a classic.

Anyway, it’s a long story but I ran over my 1591 with my truck a few months back…. The result was a functional jigsaw with a cracked case. And, of course, Bosch has discontinued the 1591.

The top of the line replacement for the 1591 has been reviewed really well, but I didn’t want to spend that kind of money. So, I hit eBay and found a decent NOS unit for $125… And I guarantee there isn’t a $125 jigsaw on the market that can compare.

Anyway, I still have my eBay alarm set and this morning a used saw popped up for under $100. If you are in the market, you won’t be sorry.

Check it out.

Note: I have no affiliation with the auction. This saw could be a mess… OR, it could be a great deal. Either way, if you need a jigsaw watch eBay for a 1591.

So this is the 3400-Watt inverter/generator from Champion Power Equipment. What sets this generator apart from the field are two obvious things really:

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I know… I know… I’m sure 90% of you fellas have been watching “This Old Tony” for years now. But, I haven’t. In fact, I just stumbled upon this home machine shop genius this past week and have been busy binge watching ever since. And all of this enthusiasm made me think, “Man, I ought to post this on TGJ just for the fellas that were hiding with me under that rock.”

So, here I am… If you don’t know who Tony is, just start watching.

So I have a project coming up that requires a multi-tool. Whenever I need a new tool, my first thought is to just buy the best. And in this case, I think most folks consider the Fein Supercut to be the best in the market. The thing is though, I don’t think a multi-tool is something I’m gonna use on the regular and spending $400 on an occasional is not something I’m prone to do.

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