Apparently the story behind Clear Vue’s closing was the owner retired and was attempting to close the sale to a new owner. The sale succeeded and Clear Vue is once again open for business.

Still wouldn’t buy one, though. I just don’t like the idea of a plastic cyclone where I have to glue it together, make my own mounting brackets, cut a hole in a trash can, etc. Make sure you read the instruction manual online before committing to this machine.

I own and highly recommend the Grizzly G0441 instead.

I’ve been looking at buying a mill/drill for quite a while, there are so many times I could have used one making parts or for precision drilling. Well, the issues with my old drill press finally pushed me over the edge and I placed an order for Grizzly’s new G0704 mill. Only problem: It’s very popular and they’re backordered, it’ll be mid-October before I get it …

I’m making a new version of the mobile platform for my tablesaw, incorporating the lessons learned on the old versions. Narrower, lighter, easier to build, taller, using the new mini-pallet jack. Details on the Mobile Platforms page.

My dad’s old (1970s?) Craftsman drill press has started emitting this horrible rattling noise. Bad bearings?  Cracked support? I don’t know, hoping someone can give me a clue …

A quick review on some new turning tools I picked up. After many failed attempts to turn a bowl, I had immediate success using the Ci1 Easy Rougher, Ci0 Easy Finisher and Ci4 Easy Detailer from Easy Wood Tools. My initial attempt was going so well that I caught the rest of the rough hollowing and the finishing on video. Check it out!

OK, well, not quite a ninja. But my new Shop Vac brand shop vac has been impressive. I have a Rigid 6.25 hp model and I’ve always hated how loud it is, even with the muffler attachment. I got the Shop Vac 5.5 hp a couple weeks ago and was really impressed at how quiet it was. A discussion on shop vac volume came up on woodnet this morning and I decided to see if my subjective impression held up under testing. The results:

So, for all practical purposes, the Rigid muffler is useless. A perfect human ear can barely detect a difference of 1dB, for average people a 3dB difference is barely perceptable.

On the other hand, an 11dB difference is huge. The decibel scale is non-linear, 50db->55db is far smaller than 55-60db. Each 10db increase is perceived as twice as loud. So the Rigid is more than twice as loud as the Shop Vac.

As with their cordless drills, the Rigid’s lifetime warranty just means you’re stuck with a very noisy vacuum the rest of your life.

I spent a little time using my new TS55 to cut down some sheet goods. This thing is amazing. Super accurate, it cuts exactly and precisely where you set it. If you set the track edge on the center of the pencil mark, when you’re done you have half a pencil mark. And if you use the outboard splinter guard, you have tablesaw-quality cuts on both pieces.

And it’s a little freaky how well the track stays put. It just doesn’t move at all. I only have the 55″ track. One day I’ll probably get another 55″ and the connectors, seeing as the 106″ version is $300! Right now I’m using my 108″ self-clamping guide and putting the rail against it. I cut halfway, move the rail down, and plunge back in. Works great, there is no indication of the point where I did the stop/start.

Amazing.

Well, after my little adventure with UPS, Grizzly checked out my fence and agreed that it was a little twisted. I even got a phone call from the tech who was working on it, letting me know he had it. I received my new fence this afternoon, de-cosomolined it, and checked it out. Awesome, totally flat within .002 across the whole face.

One thing that I forgot to mention in the original post: I did not discover the twist until my jointer was over a year old. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it was out of warranty. Grizzly still made it right. I can’t say they’d do it for everyone, but it’s that kind of extra-mile stuff that keeps me coming back for more.

By the way, have I mentioned that Cosmoline is gross?

A few weeks ago I decided against refurbishing my dad’s old 1970s Craftsman radial arm saw. I can get $100 for it from RadialArmSawRecall.com and would apply that to a new Festool TS55.

Well, while I was waiting on it, I stumbled into a chance to pick up a never-used TS55 and track in a barter situation. Just proves the old adage “it never hurts to ask”.

I’ve only had a chance to make a few cuts so far, but this thing is incredibly nice!

It turns out that because of confusion between myself and the driver, the jointer fence was actually shipped under a different tracking number. UPS graciously canceled the original shipment and removed the “missing documents” fee on the new shipment, so I actually ended up paying less than the original!

Also, big-time kudos to Grizzly. I had posted on a woodworking forum about my woes. Robert from Grizzly read it, contacted me directly for information, and worked UPS from his end. After the confusion was straightened out, he verified that Grizzly had indeed received the fence and asked his service supervisor to hand-walk the return though processing and personally inspect the replacement fence. In addition to selling good machinery at a very nice price, Grizzly’s customer service has always been phenomenal. This is just the latest example.