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Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’ve got a bunch of tool news, I inspect a cheap table, and more.
Tool News Quick Bites
Festool Has A New Giveaway: Festool is continuing their 100th anniversary celebration with a sweepstakes to win a limited-edition TS 60 K and Guide Rail. Enter by July 6th for a chance to win!
Milwaukee Expands Nexus Shop Vacuum Platform: “Expands” is a bit of a misleading term here — there are so many improvements it’s practically a new system. The big deal here is that the new Nexus wet/dry vacs are now Packout compatible, as well as adding Vaclink and new modular additions for dust separation and filter cleaning. Keep an eye out on our site for more info in the future.
Woodpeckers Releases New Setup Square: When preparing to make a cut, there are all sorts of measuring tools you might use, like a square, a stopped ruler, or a set of calipers. The new Setup Square is what happens when you combine all of those tools into one versatile form. Order soon to save $20.
And Also Releases The Freehand Guard 2.0: When working with curves on the router table, a full fence just tends to get in the way. The Freehand Guard allows great access to the router bit for your work, while still providing a level of protection and dust collection that would be missing. Version 2.0 works with thicker material and has improved mounting knobs vs the original.
Cheap Crap: Target Edition
This pair of tables caught my eye at Target the other day. It was refreshing to see something on shelves in this style, a sort of 17th-century Jacobean flair. A bit of a throwback to when furniture was made well.
Though I could see that something was off with one of the tables right away. What sort of strange wood failure was that?
Turns out it’s the type of “wood failure” that happens when you cover cardboard with veneer and then drop something heavy on it.
It’s not even a cheap table! They’re charging $150 for it! *Rubs temples*
On the upside, junk like this is why people get into woodworking, so some positives come from it.
Video of the Week: Let’s Learn Something
Youtuber Germán Peraire is a furniture maker and teacher based out of Spain, and his channel is full of useful advice presented in a clear way. This video focuses on defeating tear out, which plagues many woodworkers. He even covers how to work around it with figured wood. It’s well worth the watch.
Anything interesting I missed this week, or that you want me to highlight in a future Splinter Report? Let us know on social media or drop me an email at cknoff@aimmedia.com.
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