Intelligent Workshop Tools BLOG

I have been putting off this blog post for far too long. But as it's still January, it's still a little relevant. :)
So a week before Christmas my wife reminded me that we had 8 coming for dinner on the big day and only had a table that comfortably fit 6 people. Apparently I was to provide a solution in time for Christmas lunch and she would prefer the table to be circular. The simple option would have been to just cut an MDF circle and use to brackets to fit to the existing square table. But that seemed to easy and we had wanted a round table since we moved to this house. So I sat down with Sketchup and started throwing ideas around.
As far as design requirements go, I could take the height from the existing table which was 735mm. I looked around the web for standard sizes of round tables that would seat 8, but didn't seem to find an obvious rule of thumb. So I took and average size and used a tape measure in the dining area to make sure it would fit in the space comfortably. The final top radius I decided on was 1300mm. Taking into account the time constraint and the fact we have small children, hardwood was out. I already had a couple of 18mm MDF sheets in stock, so that MDF it was. The rest of the design was down to personal preference. Though I was trying to keep it within the 2 sheets of MDF and not be overly complicated to build. This is what I came up with.

Very simple design, using 18mm throughout. The four legs are 2 sheets to add rigidity and also for aesthetics. So with the design sorted I could load the dimensions into CutList and work out my initial cuts. I optimised for cross cuts as my 2700mm Festool Rail was out on loan to a customer. Although it would have been simple to join 2 1400's together, I felt I could move quicker with just the one 1400mm Guide Rail and wasn't too concerned with saving offcuts.
At this point it's taken me a day or two to work out the details and what with the insanity that was the run up to Christmas, it was Monday 21st December before I could start making saw dust. Using some rigid insulation boards, I set about knocking down the MDF into manageable pieces.

The TS 55 & Guide rail made this task very quick and simple. I only needed to make about four cuts before I had pieces I could safely push through the table saw.
Using the Festool CMS TS 55 Table Saw I made quick work of processing the MDF into parts.
The sliding table is great for accurate cross cuts and a block of wood and lever clamp made for a quick impromptu stop.
The next step was marking out for the curves in the legs. Normally I would have printed off the profile from the drawing[...]

Intelligent Workshop Summer Open Day 21st July 2012

10am-4pm

Yes that's right it's a super summer woodworking and power tool spectacular of gigantic proportions! Well ok, perhaps not that grand, but there will be tools & biscuits! The week after Peter Sefton's Open Day is our turn. On the 21st July 2012 we will have Leon from Festool demonstrating all of the new products (and the old ones too). He will be on hand to offer any advice or help with your Festool queries. We will also have the Festool CMS Table Saw & Router Table on show with demonstrations on how it all goes together and your options. All tools will be available for you to play with ...er, test! The superbly designed and built Walko Workbenches will also be making an appearance. These versatile little workbenches make the humble Black & Decker workmate look somewhat inferior. The Bamboo tops have a perforated top which is the same configuration as the Festool MFT, making the accessories interchangeable. It's also very useful for cutting up sheet goods, with replaceable strips to save the saw blade. The rest of our product lines will also be on display with all the quality digital measuring devices from iGaging and the innovative, problem solving FastCap range. The ever reliable Bessey Clamps will be here (you can never have too many of those). We also stock all of the Titebond range of glues, micro plane rasps and other workshop essentials. There will be some special offers and discounts on the day. We may even have a few goodies to give out. On the day, free teas & coffees will be provided and maybe even a biscuit or two! We are located next to Staplehurst Rail Station. Parking is available on Lodge Road or Staplehurst Station car park. Please do not park in front of our unit. Call us on 01580 388 131 for any further details or if there is something specific you want us to have for you on the day. We look forward to seeing you!

We have just had our delivery of the NEW TS 55 R Plunge Saws from Festool. This new saw features some simple but innovative new features that are aimed at making your life easier. This isn't just a few new bells and whistles, some parts of the saw have had a complete redesign. The right side of the saw has been upgraded to improve dust extraction and also allows cuts up against a wall. This will be great for trimming flooring to within 12mm of the wall. Also now at the front right of the saw there is a removable window that give you full viability at the point in which the blade is plunging. A great feature for cutting openings or cut outs. If you need splinter free cuts on the right of the cut, you just take out the clear window and insert the green splinter guard that prevents the material from chipping out. The saw will now tilt to 47 degrees, giving you more flexibility when cutting mitres and scribes. Finally the upgraded riving knife improves safety by plunging before the blade to offer protection from the wood pinching the blade. We think you will love the new features. The Festool TS 55 R is in stock in our Festool Tool Shop.

I just came across a video on YouTube of a company called SolidLine who are doing interesting things with Corian. They use a plethora of Festool tools to achieve a very high level of finish.

Also check this one out from the same company, using the MFS 400 routing jig to cut out a hole in corian for a circular sink.

This is one company who know good tools when they see them!

Late last year I came across a design collective led by a guy called Jory Brigham. His work is very modern and contemporary and fuses different materials to achieve quite a unique look. He has just posted a video that shows the making of one of his benches, named 'The Comfortable Silence'. The whole video is in the stop animation style and shows the entire process from start to finish in under 5mins. It includes some concrete form work, as well as plenty of woodworking. See how many Festool Power Tools you can spot? List them in the comments if you like ;) There's even a bottle of Titebond Wood Glue near the end!

The Comfortable Silence from Jory Brigham on Vimeo.

Festool just released information on the upcoming new release of the TS 55. Now called the TS 55 R, this new Festool Plunge Saw includes some great new features. I wondered how they could improve on the very popular TS 55 saw, but they really have come up with some clever innovations. Probably the biggest change in the design is the new flat body, which allows you to cut up against a wall or other vertical surface. This means you can make a clean cut between 12mm and 43mm close to the wall. Other features include a new clear window where the blade is cutting, improving visibility for scribe cuts or captured plunges, and a new riving knife feature that protects against kickback. But easily my favourite new feature is the blade depth control. I've always cursed Festool for not including a scale that allows for the thickness of the guide rail. Well now they have! Now the TS 55 R has a scale for on or off the guide rail. It also has a micro adjust for dialling in exact cut depths. Check out the promotional video below. We'll have more on this new saw as soon as we get our hands on it!