Dan Shapiro

Kevin is a woodworker in San Jose, CA. He mostly works with smaller hand power tools. Most of his projects to date are home-improvement related, but he’s starting to tackle some serious furniture construction. His background is in engineering, and we spent many long nights together in the subterranean machine shops of Harvey Mudd College. His non-woodworking jobs include a position at Amdocs and cofounder of Curosoft. –dan
Here are some of my favorite tools:
1)
Have you tried the Porter Cable variable tooth saw blade? Maybe it is just that I upgraded for an old worn out blade to a new sharp blade but I am amazed by the cutting. My wussy little 10″ craftsman table saw was having a very hard time cutting the 3/4″ oak for my shelving. My friend kept telling me a 10″ saw was never going to have the umph to deal with oak. I kept arguing that size doesn’t matter. (That’s what my girlfriend keeps reassuring me). It’s horsepower and blade quality. (yeah bigger saws usually have bigger motors but it’s the motor not the blade size that counts.) So I bought the Porter Cable variable tooth blade and now… like butter. When the wood is passed through you almost don’t hear it cutting. The wood just disappears, it’s almost freaky. The cut quality is just amazing, the cut comes out looking sanded it’s so smooth. Not having tried any other new blades I can’t compare it but I can’t imagine any blade being better (except maybe longevity which is unknown). For $35 who care about longevity, if it wears out, buy a new one.
The New Woodworker did a good review of it here, too.
2)
I also like my husky portable air compressor.
It’s as far from industrial strength as you can get. But that’s what’s so great. It’s exactly what I wanted. Small, quiet and cheap. It doesn’t take up valuable shop space, the sound doesn’t annoy the neighbors or the S.O. and it’s portable. The only drawback is the lack of power but look closely at the ratings and you’ll notice it’s not as far behind larger compressors as you’d expect. This demure unit will produce 2 SCFM @ 90psi and 3 @ 40. That only starts being beaten when you compare it to 5 gallon units. I particularly like how quiet it is (not silent but quiet for a compressor) and it’s portable. It even has wheels and a retractable handle like a suitcase. I am using quick connect fittings so when in my garage I have it plumbed to an external reservoir which gives it a 5 gallon capacity, with this addition it cycles less and can power serious tools (intermittently). If you aren’t willing to sacrifice shop space, you aren’t willing to have your ears ringing and you aren’t willing to shell out more that $200 then this is the perfect compressor. Heck, if you are willing to spend $200 I recommend you buy 2.
3)
Dremel. Everyone has a dremel (or should) the question is which model. I’m always disappointed when I see someone buy the standard model. I always wonder why they didn’t buy the High speed rotary saw kit. It’s just better. In every way better. OK, so it’s about $10 more than the other models but other than that it’s simply better. It works with all the same attachments but it has more horsepower, it comes with a plunge router kit, it comes with the Flex shaft and the rotary saw bits. Unless you are going with a cordless model this is the one to get. The motor unit is bigger to house it’s extra horsepower but with the Flex shaft the motor unit’s size doesn’t matter. If all that weren’t enough, to seal the deal it comes with a great case.
You can buy it here.
-Kevin

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