A couple of years ago I ordered a Dust Bee Gone dust mask with little expectations. Sure, I read the hype that it was guaranteed not to fog my glasses but I had been down this road before. Still, I had to try it.

Over the years I had tried practically every type of dust mask out there but each of them fell by the wayside for one reason or another. They fogged up my glasses, they didn’t give a good seal, they were hard to breathe through or they were so cheaply made they simply fell apart. The bottom line is that they just didn’t work. Consequently, I seldom wore them, exposing myself to the risks of toxic wood dust.

Within minutes of the Dust Bee Gone mask arriving I tried it on and tried it out. I quickly realized that it was a winner – my glasses didn’t fog up and it was very comfortable to wear. It fit perfectly to the shape of my face, even over my beard and moustache.

The Dust Bee Gone dust mask is made with a patented interlaced monofilament polyester structure that’s effective against non-toxic dusts (it is not NIOSH or OSHA approved) down to 3 microns in size. This unique material allows the exhaled hot air to pass through the filter material so your glasses don’t fog. That’s right, your glasses don’t fog up! Guaranteed.

Continue reading 'Dust Bee Gone “No Fog” Dust Mask'

Thanks to my good friend, David Wilkins, I had a chance to try out the Rolly Munro Articulated Hollower recently and let me say from the outset that I was very impressed with it! It cut quickly, left a clean finish and it was comfortable to hold. I was able to turn a hollowed vase in record time and, well, in short, having one of my own has now moved to the top my wish list!

Here you can see the handle, the shaft, the heads, sharpening jig and wrenches that comes with the set:

Rolly Munro spent over ten years experimenting with designs for hollowing tools that has culminated in this fine tool.

It has been designed around the Technatool hollower cutting tip, which is coupled with a stainless steel depth gauge. The cutter head has an adjustable hood to control the depth of cut. When dull, the round cutter is simply rotated to reveal a fresh edge. The cutter can also be easily resharpened by rotating it on a grinder using the supplied jig. There are 3 cutters supplied.

The articulated head allows for a multitude of configurations to get into even the toughest of areas. You can use it alone or you can combine it with the short 1-1/4″ straight linkage and the longer 2-3/4″ curved linkage for a variety of angles.

The 5/8″ diameter steel tool shaft is just over 16-1/2″ long and the hollow aluminum handle is about 19-1/2″ long by 1-1/2″ in diameter. There is a knobbed screw on the handle that allows easy control of the back and forward motion as well as provide a visual reference of the cutter position within the hollow form.

Here’s a video showing it in use (The quality of the video isn’t that great but it does get better as it goes along):

Continue reading 'The Rolly Munro Articulated Hollower'

In my quest to find the perfect finish… ah, it’s every woodworker’s dream… but seriously, as I mentioned in earlier posts I’m in the process of trying different finishes so I picked up the double whammy combo of U-Beaut’s Shellawax Cream and EEE-Ultra Shine.

These products give a finish that looks like a French polish that brings out lights and grain in the wood. It adds a whole new dimension to a turned item in a matter of seconds. Sounds too good to be true, but it is. They were initially designed for use on high end, exhibition, museum, gallery and collectors quality, woodturned items.

Shellawax Cream is a friction polish that also doubles as a buffing polish. On the lathe it gives a brilliant shine in seconds, can be handled immediately, is non toxic and water resistant. On woodcarvings and flat surfaces it gives a rich deep shine in a matter of minutes. It is a fusion mixture of pharmaceutical grade white shellac and a number of highly refined, non-toxic waxes with a shelf life of several years.

EEE-Ultra Shine is a cut and polish paste wax containing Tripoli powder, an ultra fine abrasive. The polish is designed to be used in conjunction with the Shellawax Cream.

Continue reading 'U-Beaut Shellawax And UltraShine Polish'

Who’da thought that woodworking would bring me back to the computer? As much as I try to get away from this electronic life-sucking gizmo I’m always drawn back, but this time in a real good way.

One of the latest cool tools to hit the woodworker’s workbench is Google Sketchup, a 3D computer aided design (CAD) software program that you can use to design, create, and modify your project plans. It’s like Etch-A-Sketch on steroids!

SketchUp was created by @Last Software, a small group of AEC software industry veterans. Founded in 1999 and based in Boulder, Colorado, this group envisioned developing 3D design software that would make design exploration accessible to everyone. In March of 2006 @Last Software was acquired by Google, and shortly there after released a free version of SketchUp.

It’s easier to learn than other 3D modeling programs, which is why so many people are already using it. SketchUp’s simplified toolset, guided drawing system and clean look-and-feel help you concentrate on two things: getting your work done as efficiently as possible, and having fun while you’re doing it.

Continue reading 'Google SketchUp For The Woodworker'