Grumpy MSG

That is what black Fridays are for. I am sure someone will have some for sale in November. Now Lowe's and Home Depot have spring ones, seemingly on different weekends. The price is pretty good while the sale is on, but if some are left over after the sale and they are still in the store a month later, that is when the bargains happen.

I am going to be building a decent amount of small boxes, so I will have to both crosscut and rip sheets. For now, if I do the cross cuts first, I won't need to do 8 foot rips. I can see the utility of being able to do full sheet cuts, that is why I was asking for the advice. I just don't know how straight and stiff the connection and joint is between the 46" and 59" tracks when you join them. I am not in a rush, so I may watch for a bargain to come along.

I was on Ebay and pulled the trigger on a DWS520K new in the box for under $350, now it is time to buy a track or two. I will definitely purchase the DWS5022 (59 inch) first. I tentatively do not need to rip a lot of long boards or sheets of plywood right now. So what you opinions when I pick u a second track, buy the DWS5020 (46 inch) and a connector or two to save room and store it in a DWS5025 track bag or wait and buy the DWS5023 (102 inch) when I need to do a number of full sheet rip cuts?

I got a home made one several years ago, made my own fence for it out of MDF, it worked decent. I was going to make a bigger and better one but about 2 years ago I got the chance to pick up a Kreg portable table that needed parts (model off the sales floor of a Woodcraft store) I couldn't pass it up. A little time, research and nuts, bolts, washers and screws and I love it. An aluminum fence with the dust collection port built in and the ability to adjust/ replace the fence faces are so nice.

Sounds like gears and that old too, I probably wouldn't bother either. The great thing about the 352VS is they have been building them since before they changed colors and target markets. They take a 3" X 21" so they are easy to come by at most big box stores. Like Jimbo's comment, it does have some weight to it. I just looked the weight up and it is 10 3/4 pounds. It is very similar in design to the 4" X 24" beast they have which comes in at a svelte 15 1/2 pounds. That big one is just the thing to do small bathroom or closet floors though.

I have Porter-Cable 352VS, I love it. I had been taping a small diameter hose to the bag adapter on it, but I just got the Rockler Dust Right hose kit, so hopefully that just got lots easier. Have you thought about getting your old sander looked at? It could be a relatively low cost repair perhaps new brushes or a replacement trigger.

The XPS light system works because of the shadow cast from the light. Hugh Jass have you run your 780 outside in the bright sunlight? Throw the su in the mix and it lights up where the XPS should be casting a shadow. It is just a thought.

I was in my local Home Depot, Waynesboro, VA and they had a decent quantity of DeWalt cordless Lawn and Garden products headed to the shelves, one if the items I noticed was several 20 volt Max hedge trimmers, bare tool for $129 on the box headed to the shelves as well as a bunch of string trimmers.

Here is the funny part, I have a similar sized Porter Cable that I just plug in and charge up the tank and carry it out to air up the tires on the car or truck when needed. It usually gets the job done without needed to be plugged in again. If I need to go out and change a tire or two it will also work again without needing to be plugged in. I pretty much use it in place of an air tank any time I need one. The whole story reminds me of the folks who used to come into the farm equipment dealership where I worked and wanted to buy a 2200 watt generator and run a whole house with it. I was the guy who went to generator school, learned all the basics about electrical math and had to help folks learn about needs versus wants.

Several of the items that were listed had doors for battery retention/covers, the vacuums and radios come to mind (they would run off 12, 14.4 and 18 volts, just shorter run times). As for chargers a lot of the 18V chargers that came with kits would not charge the lithium 18 volt batteries. The rule of thumb for the 18 V line is a black charger can charge the older standard and XRP packs and the yellow chargers can charge both NiCd and Lithium. I am pretty well situated for now in 18 volt batteries with 5 XRPs and 2 Lithiums right now. I will probably eventually get the adapter to use with some of my lesser used tools that only have a little use on them.

I guess I look at it slightly differently. I have seen the 18 volt tools that managed to survive being blown up in IED explosions in Iraq (literally laying on the ground after a truck was hit). Pick them up put a battery in them and they run. I think a few drops won't hurt them too bad. These same tools, batteries and chargers were used at temperatures that rarely dropped into the upper charging limit for DeWALT, but somehow worked.

I use it with the fabric trashcan adapter and the hose that comes with it. When you turn on the planer the adapter inflates like a boy house. It will keep blowing chips in until the adapter fills up too. I actually walk over to it and poke it once and a while while planing to make sure it isn't full. The built in blower works great.

Not knowing which way you are going on your tool trailer, some guys on here have done some great racks for use with the ToughSystem boxes, another great source for ideas is Youtube, Ron Paulk in particular has a series about the trailer he just did.

Locally, in western Virginia, Lowe's has a good selection of DeWALT power tools, blades and accessories, no ToughSystems, no tool boxes, no clamps and no hand tools (hammers, chisels, prybars, pliers, tape measures) . Home Depot has a similar amount of power tools, probably fewer blades, slightly different accessories, some ToughSystems, various tool boxes, clamps and hand tools. The Home Depot just got in some new nailers, both pneumatic and 20V Max cordless and the new 20V screw gun kits for $199.

That makes sense now, I didn't even notice the differences between the chargers until you mentioned it. Then I went and looked at what I had and it turns out I have DCB100 with no keyholes, which only charges 12 volts and is the smallest footprint charger and the DCB107 which does have the keyholes. I then took a quick look at the bottom of my DC9320, double 18 volt charger and no keyholes there either. I only have 3 of the 12 volt tools now, and the are my first choice on a ladder or in a tight space. The rest are 18 volts and not close to being ready for retirement.

I have to ask a dumb question, why do all the hard work? Why not use the two key hole slots on the back to mount them to a board? If you are worried about knocking them up and off, you can be real lazy and just put one screw above it to prevent it from sliding up or you can run a small strip of wood across the top of the two or three chargers to prevent it from sliding up. It would be a whole lot less work and no potential overheating worries.

Looks like you have a good start on a Ron Paulk style/ Festool MFT work bench. If you haven't heard of Ron Paulk check out his Youtube videos for some great ideas.

Staples sells the P Touch label makers. They work great for toolboxes. and you can even get them with yellow label/ black writing. They are reasonably inexpensive.

I just looked at the bottom of my charger. It is not multi-voltage and lists 0.5 amps. Just for giggles I looked up the models for the 12 volt DC charger it was DCB119. I don't know the prices for it versus the inverter versus the 230V charger where you are.

I haven't run into trouble with it, but I don't run them out all the way. The biggest stock I have run is 6/4 oak, I tend to run boards that are 8 feet or less in length, so I usually set the roller set at about 4 1/2 to 5 feet from the planer head. It allows me to set them up on the rollers and the bed extensions, lined up to run and them slide them in. Then I walk to the other side and ensure when it gets closer to the outfeed roller that it lines up to go across the roller instead of bumping into it. I make sure I wear gloves (a subject of controversy to some I am sure) and guide the board from the side a few inches away from the end. Don't grab it from the end and try to hold it up that would be a good way to get a finger pinched or mashed between the board and the roller.

I just did a quick google search of it, you better have a pretty special set of circumstances to purchase that one, it has a price tag of more than $4000. Whether it is Lincoln or Miller, I can buy a big AC/DC stick welder, a decent wirefeed (convertible flux-core or gas) and plasma cutter plus supplies for that kind of money.

This just in my Email today from DeWALT Insights: http://www.dewaltinsights.com/MediaServer/3/documents/020415%20DEWALT%20DCF620%20Drywall%20Screwgun%20Release%20-%20FINAL.pdf So it will be known as the DCF620, it is brushless, depending on the kit 2.0 or 4.0 Ah batteries and they are estimating 38-65 sheets of drywall to a battery. I don't hang much drywall, but that adds up to at least an hour or two run time per battery in my estimates. Bare gun will be $139, with 2.0 Ah batteries $199 and $269 with 4.0 Ah batteries. The screw strip attachment will be tool free installation and $99 for the DCF6201.

This video just popped up on my Youtube account: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH4xptvt_mo

You have done something similar to what I have done mounting mine. You have to be careful using aluminum for your adapter rails, the wrong alloy will develop stress cracks from the vibration when the planer is running. I used some Unistrut or Kindorf rail and nuts that you can pick up at Home Depot rail for less than $20 for a ten foot length. The roller height and distance from the planer are adjustable so it works well for additional infeed/ outfeed support. Folded up it tucks neatly up against the wall, but I wouldn't leave it stood up in the middle of a room for fear of someone knocking it over.

I realize you mentioned a work surface in the trailer. I am a big fan of Ron Paulk's workbench and he has done several trailers, one of which he is just finishing now and a truck that use some great ideas. His YouTube channel is: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEaIzMzCEkTy547iHSs2xUg You mentioned your portable planer, Here is a picture of mine. I have my DW735 mounted on the DWX726 rolling miter saw stand. I have it mounted with the infeed and outfeed facing the wing mounted rollers. It stands up nicely when it is collapsed, with a relatively small footprint, but I would secure it to the wall of the trailer if I were to transport my set-up.