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Offcut Fence For MFT-1080 (wohoo!)

The limits of me keeping busy in the shop lately consist of some pretty trivial projects for my neighbor... eh, rather do that than something long and complicated when it's so hot. How hot is it? Well the picture is of a fairly robust plastic container I left in the car...

Today I had to cross-cut a 28" wide piece of plywood into two 18"-wide shelves.  If you've been reading, I recently did a trivial modification to my MFT-1080 to gain 4 1/2" more cross-cut capacity (a hair over 28").  So cross-cutting the ply isn't difficult.  In that other posting, you'll see that I added a tape measure to the MFT fence so I can pretty much drop the flag and cut.  But that means the piece to the left of the saw is the correct size.

My problem is that the ply is 96" long.  I could cut it the traditional way, but need to open the garage door (meaning 18" is under the guide and to the left while the other 80" sticks out to the right and into the driveway).  Hell's heat is on the other side of the garage door; it stays shut.  So, I thought this problem is something I want solved and is more interesting than my real project anyway :)

If you recall, I purchased a couple other replacement parts when I did the cross-cut modification.  Two additional fence rail clamps and another fence.

I put the fence rail clamps on the back rail just like I did for the cross-cut modification, except these two are to the right of the cut line.  In this photo, you see the flag stop on the second fence to the right of the cross-cut guide rail.  The wood just shows that the fences are aligned perfectly for me (if you've changed your MFT top, you might need to shim the fence rail clamps).  When the clamps are loosened, the fence simply pushes into it from the front.  A quick turn and you're done.  I don't plan on leaving the fence there as it sticks out over my disappearing miter saw stand.  Wanting to remove it poses a couple problems.

First problem is that I really want a tape measure on it so I can quickly set the flag stop and cut accurately on the off-cut side of the saw.  This is easy, add a Starrett self-adhesive metric/imperial tape measure to the fence just like I did to the main MFT fence (except this one reads left-to-right).  Since there is a gap between the actual saw kerf and this fence, I put my tape on starting at the 7/8" mark so the "1" of the 1" mark would be clear.

Second problem is that I don't want to calibrate this thing every time I attach it.  To remedy this, I attached a piece of scrap walnut to the back of the fence with two #10 screws with the nut in the back T-track (visible in the previous picture).  To calibrate, I put one of the MFT calibration blocks I made for the cross-cut modification against the fence, dropped the flag stop at 142mm (the length of this block) and abutted it to the dropped blade of the TS-75.  Now the fence is in the correct location.

While holding the fence in place, I pushed the piece of walnut until it abutted to the MFT top then tightened the screws.  Now, I can clip the fence into the fence rail clamps and slide it to the left until it abuts to the MFT top, tighten and get to cutting.  A quick 10 second calibrated setup.

Here's a shot of it in use.  Flag stop at 18", plywood pushed under guide rail until it hits, make the repeatable cut.

Lastly, I stood both shelves on their edge to see the repeatability.  In technical circles, this is called dead-nuts on.  Thing is, to me dead-nuts isn't a positive thing...

Now, back to that plastic container... it's what I used to store my tea in.  I go through a lot. It was in my car to remind me to buy more on the way home.  Thankfully, between my two aunts and a visiting cousin, I've been stocked up for a long time.  Voilà what my tea shelf looks like now! wahoo!  Red Rose rocks, and it's only available in Canada.  Pitty.

For the curious, that's 984 bags, which at the rate I drink it will get me through Tuesday... (thanks Jocelyn, Marc, and Cecile!)

HF Gem: Terry Wrapped Staining Pads

Long ago, I bought an 8-pack of terry-wrapped staining pads from Harbor Freight.  They were for a different non-staining use, but I can't recall.  Anyway, today I pulled them out to apply a water-based stain to a shelf.  These are proverbial "HF Gems".  Definitely worth the couple bucks they cost.

For applying the water-based stain, I soaked the pad in water, squeezed it out, and let it sit.  Once it was just damp, I used it.  Preloading with water keeps it from sucking up all the stain and applying somewhat dry from absorbed water.  Letting it sit a bit keeps the pad from watering down the stain.

Put it on your list.

Powertank Sidearm CO2 Kit

As you can see from the massive flow of content on this blog... (?!?) summer's hellish heat is here so I'm doing minimally interesting projects in the shop until relief...

Some recent non-shop projects are crown molding and flooring.  I used to loath the idea of either because of needing to carry around a pancake compressor, its noise, the oily footprints it leaves, its noise, the hassle of a 50' air hose, and lastly its noise.

I looked into CO₂ systems a bit (more later) and decided on the Powertank Sidearm CO₂ kit.  The Powertank kit comes with two 20-oz CO₂ bottles (very heavy duty), caps for the bottles, a sidearm holster (foreground of picture) and a smaller belt strap (on the bottle to the right), bag, mini braided 10' air hose, and the Sidearm COMP regulator.

Before describing the parts, what's the benefit of this system over a (noisy!) compressor/hose combination?  For one, all you need is a bottle hooked on your belt, the coiled air hose, and gun of choice and you are set.  I recently did some crown molding in a room and it was night and day difference from hauling a compressor, stringing the (usually dirty) hose through the house, and dealing with noise and that compressor smell.  Just run up and down the ladder with the bottle hooked on one side and gun on the other.

Now some details...

The heart of the system is the COMP regulator.  The knob on the top controls the output pressure that you can see on the gauge facing the camera.  The COMP regulator lets you dial the output pressure up to 160 psi; plenty for nailers.  A more advanced regulator is available as an option that goes to 300 psi, which is more for seating off-road tires than for driving nails.

The knob under the output pressure gauge is actually on the bottle and allows you to turn off the flow before the regulator.  It is an option.  I chose it since a bottle laid on its side has liquid CO₂ at the pin valve and the regulator.  Some regulators have issues with this and freeze up.  The COMP regulator is not supposed to have issues with it, but I'd rather just not have the liquid CO₂ in the regulator during storage.  Since I go long months without using a gun, it seems smarter.

The gauge on the other side of the regulator shows the pressure of the CO₂ in the bottle.  Whoa!  Yes, you are reading 1,000 psi in the bottle.  This is actually another reason I went for the on/off valve on the bottles: if you accidentally dropped a bottle on the pin valve, a dent could give that 1,000 psi an unregulated way out.  Rocket scientist call this thrust.  I don't want a heavy aluminum bottle thrusting through my house!

The bottles all come with a blow-out valve if there is too much pressure inside.  That shouldn't happen, right?  Well, CO₂ expands greatly with temperature.  If you leave your bottle on the front seat of the car... in summer... in the sun... for a long time... you might exceed the pressure and it will vent.  This isn't something you want happening.  As an aside, as you use the bottle, the released CO₂ greatly cools the bottle, which is awesome in summer.

Okay, so how do you stuff 1,000 psi of CO₂ into the bottle?  These bottles refill anywhere paintball CO₂ bottles get filled.  I got mine done at Dick's Sporting Goods as they are just up the street.  $4 for 20 oz of CO₂ in the bottle.  Fifth refill is free so it works out to $3/bottle.

How many shots do you get with a full bottle?  750 brads (18ga) or 350 finish nails (15ga).  You can even get 190 8d framing nails.  I have some soffit repairs to do in the fall; it will be nice to take this to the roof rather than a hose trying to pull me down.  Obviously disconnecting guns or quick-connect leaks can affect these numbers.  For a full table, look at this construction-series brochure from Powertank.

As a cost comparison, this system costs more than a 50' air hose and pancake compressor.  But, for my use, the cost is justified for the convenience.  I think every finish carpenter would want this (or comparable) CO₂ system.  Also, if you don't use it very often, a single bottle system could be very useful.  I tend to overdo things.

Now, I mentioned that I looked at different systems.  The best competitor was a Kobalt system from Lowe's.  With Lowe's, the system works a little like those propane replacement systems: you buy a full bottle and exchange your empty for a rebate.  The cost per fill-up is definitely higher than the $3-4 at a paintball supplier, but there are advantages: Lowe's are everywhere and you don't have to worry about bottle lifetime.  Lifetime?! Yes, bottles are pressure certified and the certification lasts 5 years.  After 5 years, you can't get them refilled.  If you exchange an old bottle at Lowe's, it gets discarded, but that doesn't matter to you.  For my Powertank bottles, I'll have to simply toss them out and replace them at a cost of $50 each (less if you don't want the on/off valves).  That's $10 a year for the bottle.  If you get 1 exchange a year for a bottle, you've paid that.  Still, the Lowe's option is compelling for availability.  My Lowe's gave me blank looks when I asked about their regulator and bottles; at that Lowe's, it is very new so consider that in your choice.

Now I need a nailing gun worthy of this setup :)  Recommendations for a decent pinner?

General Finishes Sample Packs

I'm doing a trivial stand for a friend's new 55" flatscreen.  He bought a nice low stand for the components, but need a smaller stand on the top to get the TV to a good viewing height and house the center speaker.  Thing is, they want an exact match on the finish.  This comes up too often.

Rockler Woodworking sells a fantastic sample pack for General Finishes' stains and dyes.  There are 5 packs available depending on the type of dye or stain (water or oil-based) along with one for milk paints.  The boards are a good size, have a clearcoat on them, and are dual sided: one side is oak the other birch.  Getting a match to my friend's entertainment center took all of a minute and best of all, I didn't have to carry the drawer to the store to match to the samples mounted way up high.

The packs aren't cheap at $20 each, but I got them on a sale and really only use the water-based dyes and water-based stains.  Definitely worth considering.