Highdesert Splintermaker

Great little project. That should draw a crowd at Black Rock. I live about 40 miles south of there - Burning Man's regular annual location.

Dwain: That Bosch axial glide set up is way cool but way outside my justifiable budget.

I've recently been considering getting a 10 sliding miter saw. While perusing the net I came across the WEN Apex Pro model 70751 dual bevel sliding miter saw. It's under $300 and has quite a few features I like. I want to stay with 10" diameter blades so the blades will be interchangeable with my 10" radial and 10" table saws. I can also get a very good deal on one by ordering it through Lowe's. The problem is no one local stocks it so I can't go put my hands on one to compare it with others in the size, price, features, and quality categories. I don't know whether or not Lowes will order the WEN so I can do a hands-on comparison but then buy some other saw from them if I don't like the WEN. Any personal experience with one will be appreciated. My apologies for the typo (daw instead of saw) in the topic heading. Many of the letters have worn off my cheap HP keyboard. Anybody know how to fix that?

Anybody win anything yet? Maybe they're just not telling any of the winners 'till the whole thing is over, but that's not the impression the "click here to see if you've won" button gives.

Hey Tyler: Just tell her, every time I look and come back - it's just another compliment.

All I see is a blank post.

I certainly do hope you all realize you're bad influences on my drinking habits. I personally prefer Korbel's Extra Smooth brandy. Its about $12 for a 750ml bottle and is smoother than most brandys costing four times as much. I don't know whether its available back your way or not. It is distilled in southern CA. We can get it here in Nevada but Korbel doesn't normally ship it out of CA. I don't know all the details but I do know it's far less expensive to buy it by the case at their vineyard tasting & sales room in Guerneville, CA. I just heard, today in fact, that Costco had it in their Reno stores through the past holiday season. I do know Total Wine in Reno also stocks it. Capt. Morgan Black, that bottle pic sure made me thirsty, and coke sounds good as does mixing, perhaps old No7, with Mtn. Dew. Dew is sweet and caffeinated but with far less carbonation than most sodas/mixers. Well - bottons up!

You know you're getting old when your daydreams go something like this! http://vimeo.com/m/5865798 [ My copy & paste isn't working here so, if this link isn't hot, you may have to copy and paste it to your browser.] Perhaps we should adopt an official TIA vitamin!

Does that mean you found nothing under your kilt? Or was it Scotch instead of Irish?

Great advice twidget. Rugi: If your wiring hasn't been updated since the house was built its probably way out of date and totally inadequate for todays typical household demands. And, operating today's power tools is clearly a whole 'nother notch above today's normal household demands. Get an electrician to at least evaluate your complete electrical supply and distribution. Then, if you're the least bit squeamish about the recommended update suggestions, have an electrician do it. Much safer and probably a whole lot cheaper.

Nope! Didn't mean to be misleading. When I referred to 'getting snookered' I only meant that for some unknown reason I had made the stupid assumption that the tool you watched the video of would be your prize. That was before I saw the list of the other 700 prizes posted by DR99. But I am still trying every day I can. Anybody on TIA win anything yet?

I think Smiley face flunked barber school!

I'll be interested to read comparison reviews, all the while keeping my fingers crossed I'll be able to watch Stanley, Craftsman, and a few others step aside.

In California, to properly staff one of those crews that moves the portable holes around, you also have to have a translator. Sure glad I moved back to the United States.

A pocket knife, to me, is simply something I thought every guy routinely carried in his pocket. I've carried one since the first one I ever owned in Jr. High. No one thought anything of it back then. Imagine an 8th grader carrying one through the metal detectors in Jr. High now! I carry a single blade lock back buck knife. I's a buck knife 'cause it cost me a buck ($1). A decade or so ago Harbor Freight use to sell them and I'd go in and buy them out. At $1 each the price was right and they were great. With a 2-1/2 inch blade, wood sides, brass liners, and bolsters they did everything I asked of them. I'd loose them, or break them, or one of the rivets would come loose (smack it with a hammer and keep going). They didn't hold an edge long but I didn't have to worry about losing them. Just reach in the drawer, take out another, put a usable edge on it and stick it in my pocket. I'm on my last two of those and HF doesn't sell them any more. Guess the Chinese jacked up their price LOL! And, Ever since I first saw the Leatherman WAVE in Costco, around the turn of the century, I've been wearing one on my belt. One of these days I'm probably going to forget and get caught trying to wear it through TSA at the airport. Ooops! Actually, I can't even carry my buck knife on an airplane because it's a lock back and that's still a no no. Oh well, I won't need it to cut a steak up there anyway.

I remember when I use to actually want a Corvette. Right now I think I'd really prefer the Canadian version of the '64 Studebaker Avanti.

Got mine too! And they're the blue ones. Cool!

I must be going blind. I can't see who Red is talking about or see a link to Regopit's video.

Let's not forget about calculators for paint coverage, comparisons of conventional nails with pneumatic nails, electrical wire gauge sizes for various current demands at various distances, and the list goes on. There are even two different sandpaper grid schedules (American & European) which are identical in the coarser grits but vary quite a bit as you get into increasingly finer grits. Granted, these days, most of the applicable information is provided in the owners' manuals for new power tools. But some of us have older tools, manuals do get lost,

WOW! I like the sound of this. I usually have a copy of Thomas J. Glover's POCKET REFERENCE handy but there are dozens of topics of information you can't find there either. Correct RPM for various diameters of drill bits, router bits, etc. Correct blades for various applications and materials on the band saw, saber saw, table saw, etc. Compound miter/bevel settings for sloping angular joints, etc. There is even a set of rough grinding bevel calculators on Brent Beach's grinding & honing website I'd love to see TIA have here. We could also have a page of links to expertise (like the one I just mentioned on grinding & honing) on reciprocal web sites. I really have no objection to an app but my present understanding is that you need a cell phone to access an app. I am one of those old geezers who doesn't really want a cell phone, and there may be more of us out here, so please, if you put up an app, please offer the same info here on the TIA website.

Boy did I get snookered! All this time I was thinking, if you won, you'd get the tool you selected to watch the video about. Silly me! So ... Has anyone won one of those $6.99 spade bits yet?

Perhaps, since TIA's website is providing Bosch advertising exposure to their videos, TIA should consider making an official inquiry. It might be interesting to know just how many tools they plan to give away, how many of those have already been given away, and would Bosch consider supplying a list of winners, etc.? Then an intelligent decision could be made as to whether leave Bosch's link on or take it off the TIA website.

Considering how many of us have been doing this almost daily you might think at least one of us would have won something by now. And, now I'm wondering, is this is going to keep on disappointing us until the end of June? Frankly, I'm already getting to be just a bit pissed off at Bosch for all the taunting without rewarding us with so much as a run down battery.

To me the channel lock plier design simply inspires confidence. They are my go to tool whenever I don't need either finesse (needle nose) or retained clamping (vice grips).

So... How 'bout that NFL draft?