Recent content by Dr. D

I've had the 745 for a year and it's proven to be plenty accurate for making cabinets. First thing to do is toss the miter gauge in the trash. Replace the blade (I use a Freud rip blade) and spend an afternoon making a good crosscut sled and you are in business. For angled cuts I use my miter...

I have had great success with Evaporust as well - you can run it through a coffee filter to remove the gunk and reuse it many times. Advance sells gallons of it for $23 so I pick it up when they have one of their $50 off $100 sales.

The sale prices listed are good, especially if you want just one set of pliers. But if you aren't in a hurry and wait for a Zoro flash sale, most of these will be a few dollars cheaper. An example is the 8" grabbers (38-91-200), which are $30 now but will be $20.46 when Zoro has a 30% off flash...

As mentioned before, one difference is the Cobras have teeth while the plierswrench jaws are smooth, which is good for working on pipes that you don't want to mar the finish. But another key is the plierswrench has parallel jaws. This makes it usable as an adjustable wrench but better gripping.

I ordered 3 on Sunday morning and the Staples order confirmation email said it wasn't coming until May 26, but they arrived in my email this morning.

I have been watching out for a coupon on this jack - I have seen a couple of coupons for $129 come around but the days of getting this one for $99 are long gone I'm afraid.

I have the portable Dewalt 745 which HD/Lowes sells for around $300. It's got a good fence and is great for ripping but you don't want to use it for sheet goods, the table is way too small. It has enough power for hardwoods too -3/4" is no problem and I have cut 1.5" hard maple although that...

Assuming you take care of your tools, I would spend a few extra dollars now and get high quality saws. Cordless drills are fine but don't go cordless on saws unless you absolutely have no outlets accessible - you'll always notice and appreciate the increased power of a corded saw. For a...

Thanks for the compliment but I am not very skilled, I speak from the frustration of experience - "just a little off" in woodworking means so much more than anything else I have ever done before.

The Starretts are considered the gold standard for measuring tools like squares, which are absolutely essential for woodworking accuracy. You set all your tools and blades with your square - saw blades, planer tables, jointer tables, etc. With wood being off by 1/64" or even 1/128" can make a...

Here is the 4" square, model 13A ($62.65 before sale, $62.75 at Amazon, $77.50 at Woodcraft) http://www.zoro.com/i/G3739321/ And the 6" double square, model 13C ($79.90 before sale, $80 at Amazon, $92.50 at Woodcraft) http://www.zoro.com/i/G0774252/ Zoro has several other squares as well -...

By far the best thing I have found for woodworkers is a Starrett double square. They have both 4" and 6" versions. Other items I have found that are less than Rockler/Woodcraft/HD/Lowes: Makita random orbital sander Kreg adhesive tape and tracks (for building jigs) Kreg router table - they have...

Clerk-to-clerk variation on phone coupon use has been my experience as well. One checkout clerk at my local store (a woman in her early 20's) asks to hold the phone and critically examines each coupon. Instead, I get in the line for one of the two older clerks (in their 50's) and zoom way in on...

The last 25% off paper coupon I saw was in Family Handyman last summer (I think it was August). That magazine usually has a 2 page spread of HF coupons but the most recent issue was just a single page with nothing unique.

The code for the $13.99 brad nailer is 87391814. I just tried and it still works online so it should be good in-store as well.