Black & Decker sucks ass!

[Rexedgar]

Yes, but the problem is having to constantly readjust while using it. It doesn't stay calibrated.

I looked up the Ryobi unit. It doesn’t look very robust. That plastic housing won’t take much rubbing by the belt. Have to tried eternal hold, (customer service?)

 

[iguanaman]

Yeah, the thread got derailed pretty quick. Anyhoo, we had a Trane HVAC that lasted 20+ years, about twice its life expectancy in FL. It was still working OK but showing its age, so we decided to replace it before it died in the summer heat. Two years ago, we got a new Trane heat pump/air handler which is more energy efficient but that's about it. Bought a 10-year parts/labor warranty that we figured might outlast us. Good thing as it's already paid for itself - system has had several problems of which the worst was needing a new evaporator coil after 1-1/2 years. Warranty requires we also buy annual maintenance contract (which includes two visits) but we'd do that anyway. Company has excellent reputation but only about half their techs seem to know what they're doing, the rest are numb-nuts.

That's sad to hear about Tranes. I have one that is still going after 31 years. It is my 3rd floor bedroom unit so it is off all day but it has been phenomenal still. I did replace a relay and the top fan motor but still.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

That sounds like my mom's experience with her Bosch refrigerator. The fun time was when it started smoking, because of a short, during a dinner with family and we had to call the fire department out. We didn't know where the short happened at the time - the kitchen just filled with smoke that smelled of burning rubber/plastic. Nice guys in full fire gear told us to unplug the Bosch unit.... Then it took about 10 days to get the part, then fix the unit.

We've had really good luck with Kitchen Aid, and our OLD Sears appliances. Our HE "Kenmore" washer/dryer set, which is super simple, has been going strong for about 17 years now without a single service call....

Yeah, you're right about Kitchen-Aid, that's for sure.
And you're right about the OLD Sears stuff too.
The remodeling contractor hooked us good, and I feel embarrassed because I fell for that whole "Cher-r-r-rmunn engineeringk!" nonsense.
Pffftttt, used to be that German engineering really WAS that impressive but not so much anymore.

A friend of mine owns TWO Mercedes, one is an ancient 1969 Merc 220 with a 2.2L inline four banger which will outlive the both of us, I am sure.
The other is his rather new 2016 Mercedes A Class, don't remember the model number, but it's a POS from the get-go.
I swear to God it makes me think of the scene in "Enemy of the State" where Will says "Wow you carjacked a really nice car" and Gene Hackman says,
"This? It's a piece of shit".

Hate to say it but Gene's right.

 

[Taylor]

I looked up the Ryobi unit. It doesn’t look very robust. That plastic housing won’t take much rubbing by the belt. Have to tried eternal hold, (customer service?)

I haven't yet because most of my projects have been pretty small - you are right about the housing, it's eaten a small groove into the side on the front (that's with me trying to be careful). One of these days I'll spend some time figuring out what's going on. I'm well past the warranty period, so I'm kind of stuck with it.

 

[RetiredUSN]

Looking at the reviews for the Bosch and the DeWalt, I'm seeing that the DeWalt has a better line of sight, which seems to be pretty important. Is the Bosch considered better in the article you linked to just because it's 7-amp vs 6.5-amp? Because if that's the primary difference then it seems to me that a good line of sight would make for more accurate and intricate cuts. For what I do, I don't think that that the .5-amp difference is going to make or break me.

.5 doesn't mean squat pards. Jigsaws are meant for intricate cutting and are not designed to be meat eaters.

A quality blade and a good line of sight is what matters on a Jig Saw.

 

[RetiredUSN]

I can't set it upside down because of the location of the cord, but I can certainly put it in a vice. The only thing is that goes off alignment based on the power setting and how hard I press.

But I don't even know what you mean by whether it's a directional belt, so my inexperience is a really big factor here.

I probably bought the wrong tool for my shop because I just end up using a random orbital sander for nearly everything anyway. The only reason I got it in the first place is because I built a table top by joining 2x6's together with glue, pocket screws and bread boards, and because I didn't own a planer I thought a belt sander would be the way to go to level out the imperfections. That...didn't go so well, and I haven't used the belt sander since.

But I'm holding on to it because this would hardly be the first time I abandoned a tool until I learned how to use it.

Look at the inside of the belt. (cloth side)

If it has a directional arrow, then it's meant to run in that direction.

 

[RetiredUSN]

Then that's what I'm getting next (the Bosch). Since I recently finished outfitting my Bosch table saw, my jig saw is now The Thing That Sucks The Most in my shop.

And the writer for that article might as well have been writing it about me. When forced to use a jig saw, I really do think, "Well crap, I have no choice -- I HAVE to use a jig saw for this next action. Goddammit."

And lookit that! Bosch put the insert for a guide in the front instead of the back!
In case anybody's wondering why I'm talking about, I got this thing thinking it would help make straighter cuts, but BD put the insert in the back for reasons I can't imagine, rendering it totally useless.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006U66ES/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know it says you can use it for circular saws, but I couldn't imagine using anything so puny with that.

Great choice in the Bosch table saw, it's a beast.

I only chose the Rigid as my "work-a-day" TS because of the slightly larger table surface.

I gave my Bosch portable to my son although it's still a better quality saw.

 

[SILVER SURFER]

Black and Decker is garbage, and yet that company also owns DeWalt, one of the most high reliable handy-man tool manufactures on the market - still. Go figure.

I'm not a heavy-duty user, just DIY stuff. My Dad was a Craftsman fan and started me out on them - course that was back when they were good tools. I've since migrated to DeWalt for my power tools - still have a bunch of old Craftsman hand tools (the good kind). The Harbor Freight, Home Depot and Lowe's house brands are cheap and OK, especially non-power and/or if long-term reliability isn't a concern.

 

[Rexedgar]

Great choice in the Bosch table saw, it's a beast.

I only chose the Rigid as my "work-a-day" TS because of the slightly larger table surface.

I gave my Bosch portable to my son although it's still a better quality saw.

I bought a RIGID contractor saw about twenty years ago at HD. It served me very well. I only ever moved it into the house when I finished the basement. It was simple to make things like zero clearance inserts to fit it. I sprang for a Sawstop about four years ago and it is a beast. The only thing I don’t care for is the opening for the blade, making a zero clearance insert cannot really be done, at least by me, as the inserts are specific to the opening.

 

[Rexedgar]

I'm not a heavy-duty user, just DIY stuff. My Dad was a Craftsman fan and started me out on them - course that was back when they were good tools. I've since migrated to DeWalt for my power tools - still have a bunch of old Craftsman hand tools (the good kind). The Harbor Freight, Home Depot and Lowe's house brands are cheap and OK, especially non-power and/or if long-term reliability isn't a concern.

I started with Craftsman hand tools in the early 1970s. They have gone to hell over the years. Last time I was in a Sears tool department, I couldn’t get mugged……I know they sold off the name.

Reminds me of Steve McQueen’s last film, “Hunter,” iirc. His character rues the replacement items that are nowhere near the quality of the originals.

 

[SILVER SURFER]

I made a phone call to a appliance repair friend of mine about my ice maker and mentioned your dehumidifier problem to him. Without knowing what model B&D you have, he says the two most common problems are either the bucket not being seated correctly, or the sensor needs to be cleaned or replaced.

That's one thing I like about our two Soleus Air - they won't run without the bucket being seated correctly and doing so is pretty much idiot-proof. The only maintenance is cleaning the filter which is easily accessible on the back. The machine helpfully turns on a red light on the console when it's time - just take the filter out, wash it and put it back. Both of ours are several years old - they run continuously (and fairly quietly) half the year, then sit idle for the other half. Then turn them on and they fire right up no problem.

 

[RetiredUSN]

I bought a RIGID contractor saw about twenty years ago at HD. It served me very well. I only ever moved it into the house when I finished the basement. It was simple to make things like zero clearance inserts to fit it. I sprang for a Sawstop about four years ago and it is a beast. The only thing I don’t care for is the opening for the blade, making a zero clearance insert cannot really be done, at least by me, as the inserts are specific to the opening.

Sawstop is the future and they will only get better.

Yeah, the brake cartridge's are not cheap, but what are your fingers worth to you?

 

[Rexedgar]

Sawstop is the future and they will only get better.

Yeah, the brake cartridge's are not cheap, but what are your fingers worth to you?

Everything is getting easier! I was using an aluminum jig for something and it got just a bit too close the the blade. The charge goes off real quick. Price of the cartridge and a blade.

The videos show it only nicking a hotdog.


Another feature is that all of the fasteners used to assemble the unit come on color-coded individually bubble packed cardboard cards.

 

[Cardinal]

Look at the inside of the belt. (cloth side)

If it has a directional arrow, then it's meant to run in that direction.

I'm confused about the point of this. It runs in a certain direction, but what does that have to do with constantly needing to realign the sandpaper.

 

[Cardinal]

.5 doesn't mean squat pards. Jigsaws are meant for intricate cutting and are not designed to be meat eaters.

A quality blade and a good line of sight is what matters on a Jig Saw.

That's what I thought. So why do you suppose people are consistently giving the Bosch higher marks when (according to the reviews) it has the poorer line of sight?

Frankly, though, this is an easy thing to see for myself. It's never more than three days between Home Depot trips.

 

[Cardinal]

I bought a RIGID contractor saw about twenty years ago at HD. It served me very well. I only ever moved it into the house when I finished the basement. It was simple to make things like zero clearance inserts to fit it. I sprang for a Sawstop about four years ago and it is a beast. The only thing I don’t care for is the opening for the blade, making a zero clearance insert cannot really be done, at least by me, as the inserts are specific to the opening.

Ooh, I have a fun zero clearance insert story. I just started getting into those because ultra thin cuts falling into the well and getting spit back at me finally got old. I bought a couple inserts, one for the regular blade and one for the dado stack. For the first insert (regular blade) I locked the insert down with a couple pieces of wood (overkill, as it turns out -- if you press it down with a featherboard that's more than sufficient) and slowly raised the blade all the way. I ended up cutting more than was necessary for the riving knife, but all things considered it turned out well.

Now we get to the insert for the dado stack, which I'll attach an image of. You tell me if you can predict the hilarity that is shortly to follow:



I installed the dado stack, lowered it all the way, clamped the wood down with 2x4's (again -- overkill), and proceeded to raise the blade all the way up while it was running.

If your first response is, "But Cardinal, the face of the dado blades isn't flat. You can't raise it all the way up," congratulations: you're smarter than me.

The pin holding the stack together slams at a zillion revolutions per minute into the bottom of the insert and the resulting vibration threw off the 2x4's and the clamps, scaring the bejeezus out of me.

The insert was ruined and I had to start over with a new one. Looks like I'm just going to have to be content with dado cuts that are only 1.5" deep, unless I want to go with cutting over an open well and...no.

 

[Cardinal]

A directional belt will have arrows on the backside that indicate the direction of travel over the rollers.

What do those arrows mean on the back of my sanding belt?

When sanding with a belt sander, you always want to make sure your belt is oriented properly. Some sanding belts do have a preferred dire...

abrasiveresource.blogspot.com

I have a PC jig saw and it is a good tool although I don’t care for the way the blade mount or the blade supports. Have you looked into saw guides?
They come in three lengths. Or you can use a known true piece of wood clamped to the piece to be cut and run the base of the saw against it.





What use do you find for a belt sander? For me it’s a tool to knock down big differences until I can use a finish sander a little easier.

Yep, I've been using a piece of wood as a guide, mostly, but that's not always practical.

I bought the belt sander to even out large imperfections in a tabletop I built. In retrospect I should have been more patient with the random orbital sander or practiced on scrap wood. I ended up eating into the wood pretty badly and it took a long time to fill in with polyurethane.

 

[Rexedgar]

Yep, I've been using a piece of wood as a guide, mostly, but that's not always practical.

I bought the belt sander to even out large imperfections in a tabletop I built. In retrospect I should have been more patient with the random orbital sander or practiced on scrap wood. I ended up eating into the wood pretty badly and it took a long time to fill in with polyurethane.

Are you making dado cuts with only the saw? What I do is use a sled and a shop made “kerf maker.” If there are many long dados, I prefer a router and guide. For box/finger joints I have a couple of mini sleds 1/4” & 1/2 inch. I tried a commercial kerf maker, but prefer my home made one. It gives you you dado limits and then you nibble out in between.

That pin on your dado stack, is that always exposed? I have always relied on Freud blades and things. When shit comes unglued is how you learn and get better.

Bridge City Tools KM-1 Kerfmaker

Quickly cut close-fitting lap joints, grooves and dados, using only a piece of the actual stock to setup the jig.

www.rockler.com

I’ll send a picture of my design if you are interested, the commercial one is available from the maker, I avoid Rockler as much as possible….


I rarely use my belt sander except for hogging out a lot of differences. It‘s not a finishing tool, imo.

Edit: you need a crosscut sled to use the kerf maker.

 

[Rexedgar]

I'm confused about the point of this. It runs in a certain direction, but what does that have to do with constantly needing to realign the sandpaper.

Are you sticking to straight line sanding only. Belt sander isn’t meant to be used with any side to side pressure.

 

[Cardinal]

Are you making dado cuts with only the saw?

For now, yes. But a proper router is on my future shopping list. I just wanted to max out my table saw first since I knew that would be the work horse of my shop.

Ugh. You just reminded me that I'm NOT finished outfitting my table saw. I built a crosscut sled with t track and flip bar (no clamps, unfortunately -- that will be in crosscut sled 2.0) and still need to build a dado sled.

What I do is use a sled and a shop made “kerf maker.” If there are many long dados, I prefer a router and guide.

I've never used a kerf maker. I'll have to look into that because that would definitely make it easier to construct panels for my paintings. I back 1/4" plywood with a lattice-work of dado-cut pieces of wood to support the panel, so anything to make the process easier is welcome.

For box/finger joints I have a couple of mini sleds 1/4” & 1/2 inch. I tried a commercial kerf maker, but prefer my home made one. It gives you you dado limits and then you nibble out in between.

That pin on your dado stack, is that always exposed? I have always relied on Freud blades and things. When shit comes unglued is how you learn and get better.

Yeah, the pin is always exposed, which is moot because even if it wasn't you would still have the part jut out from the rest of the face of the blade, which means that no matter what, I'll never be able to raise the blade all the way on a zero clearance insert. So I'm either content with only making 1.5" deep dado cuts or I drop money on a new dado stack.

Bridge City Tools KM-1 Kerfmaker

Quickly cut close-fitting lap joints, grooves and dados, using only a piece of the actual stock to setup the jig.

www.rockler.com

I’ll send a picture of my design if you are interested, the commercial one is available from the maker, I avoid Rockler as much as possible….

What's wrong with Rockler?

I rarely use my belt sander except for hogging out a lot of differences. It‘s not a finishing tool, imo.

Edit: you need a crosscut sled to use the kerf maker.

Yeah, I learned that the hard way.

Are you sticking to straight line sanding only. Belt sander isn’t meant to be used with any side to side pressure.

Hmm. I can't absolutely say that I wasn't moving it side to side. It's quite possible that I was.

 

[Cardinal]

I've developed a few rules for determining which youtube tutorials to spend my time on:

1) Person in tutorial is an old white man with mustache, glasses, an apron and a stern look. He looks like he'll yell at you if you put his hammer back on the wrong hook. People like him are deadly serious and know their shit.

2) Video start with country guitar: yes.

3) Video start with rock/rap/anything but country guitar: no.

4) Man in video describes power tool as bitching and powerful: no. Also, this man is soon to have fewer than ten fingers.

5) Person in video is a woman: yes. Let's not beat around the 50-ton elephant in the room: woodworking is a man's field. So if a woman is in the woodshop it's because she absolutely wants to be. She's deadly seriously and is on par with any old-white-man-with-mustache-and-glasses.

 

[CaughtInThe]

"A whole bunch of the top power tool brands — including DeWalt, Black & Decker, Craftsman, Porter-Cable and more — are all owned by the same company, Stanley Black & Decker."

 

[Rexedgar]

For now, yes. But a proper router is on my future shopping list. I just wanted to max out my table saw first since I knew that would be the work horse of my shop.

Ugh. You just reminded me that I'm NOT finished outfitting my table saw. I built a crosscut sled with t track and flip bar (no clamps, unfortunately -- that will be in crosscut sled 2.0) and still need to build a dado sled.



I've never used a kerf maker. I'll have to look into that because that would definitely make it easier to construct panels for my paintings. I back 1/4" plywood with a lattice-work of dado-cut pieces of wood to support the panel, so anything to make the process easier is welcome.



Yeah, the pin is always exposed, which is moot because even if it wasn't you would still have the part jut out from the rest of the face of the blade, which means that no matter what, I'll never be able to raise the blade all the way on a zero clearance insert. So I'm either content with only making 1.5" deep dado cuts or I drop money on a new dado stack.


What's wrong with Rockler?

Yeah, I learned that the hard way.

Hmm. I can't absolutely say that I wasn't moving it side to side. It's quite possible that I was.

I have found Rockler to be over priced and lacking in customer service. IMO, Rockler is the J&P Cycles of wood working. High priced and some questionable products. Not to sound too snobbish, they are for beginners. And I had a bad experience…..Try Highland in Atlanta and for real quality, Lee-Valley, you can download their catalog. They have a soup to nuts approach to everything but power tools.

If you are interested, i have a couple of tips when you build your next crosscut sled.

 

[Rexedgar]

I've developed a few rules for determining which youtube tutorials to spend my time on:

1) Person in tutorial is an old white man with mustache, glasses, an apron and a stern look. He looks like he'll yell at you if you put his hammer back on the wrong hook. People like him are deadly serious and know their shit.

2) Video start with country guitar: yes.

3) Video start with rock/rap/anything but country guitar: no.

4) Man in video describes power tool as bitching and powerful: no. Also, this man is soon to have fewer than ten fingers.

5) Person in video is a woman: yes. Let's not beat around the 50-ton elephant in the room: woodworking is a man's field. So if a woman is in the woodshop it's because she absolutely wants to be. She's deadly seriously and is on par with any old-white-man-with-mustache-and-glasses.

I get sucked in now and then when bored.
Yesterday I fell for some 8:00 video on how to mount a partial bicycle chain to your weed whacker; talk about shrapnel moving at light speed……

 

[Cardinal]

I have found Rockler to be over priced and lacking in customer service. IMO, Rockler is the J&P Cycles of wood working. High priced and some questionable products. Not to sound too snobbish, they are for beginners. And I had a bad experience…..Try Highland in Atlanta and for real quality, Lee-Valley, you can download their catalog. They have a soup to nuts approach to everything but power tools.

I'll check them out.

If you are interested, i have a couple of tips when you build your next crosscut sled.

Definitely interested.

Here are pictures of my first (and only, for now) sled. It's not winning any beauty contests, but it's got it where it counts: it slides smoothly and evenly, and it makes perfect 90 degree cuts. In case you're wondering what the holes are for, I used adjustable miter bars that I got on Amazon. The only thing is that the adjustment screws are on top where you can't get at them. I didn't know if I'd need access in the future, so I thought it couldn't hurt to drill holes there, just in case.

I was shocked at how often I ended up using this. They weren't kidding when they said how essential a crosscut sled is.