Well its that time of year again and you may be shopping for yourself or that special woodworker on your list.  I had an interesting talk with the folks at Bench Dog last week and they have told me about their latest promotion that they are having.  If you did not see it, they have a 2 page spread in American Woodworker Magazine.  They are promoting the Bench Dog 40-200 router table and the Bench Dog 40-150 Pro Lift.  These are both excellent woodworking tools.  So what would make them better in my book?  Cash back. Right now if you buy either the 40-200 router table or the 40-150 router lift you can get a $50 rebate direct from Bench Dog.  You go to your favorite retailer and just buy the product like you normally would and then download the rebate form and send it in.  For some reason they have a 8 week processing time for the rebate to come back to you.  I am not sure why most companies wait that long, I personally could not stand having that much stuff on my desk to do.  You can find details about the Promotion Here.  Bench Dog Holiday Promotion.

Bench Dog 40-200

This is a solid table that is capable of doing any router table chore you have in mind.  Keep in mind this table is solid phenolic and has a solid steel stand.  Bench Dog also requires you to buy your insert seperate now, so make sure you do not forget.  The fence comes with it and is a split fence design.  We have done a review of this table and your can find that previous review here for more information.

Bench Dog 40-150 Router Lift

This is a solid lift made specially for Bench Dog tables.  You can put a variety of routers onto the lift, so make sure you have the correct adaptor for your router.  It comes standard issue for the Porter Cable 7518 Router.

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 By Jennifer Akre

Once you finish a cabinet remodel you still need to install the new cabinet pulls. There are a few simple tricks to use to ensure the job goes quickly, smoothly and will look great. So here’s a quick guide on how to install cabinet door pulls.

The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out just where you want to put up the new door pulls. Use a little bit of paste to tack the first cabinet pull up onto the cabinet door. You can adjust the pull up, down, left or right until it looks just right.

Now go to the furthest cabinet and stick up another knob in the same general location. Adjust it until it’s in line with the first handle you stuck into place.

Grab a chalk line and a buddy.

Snap the chalk line across the row of cabinets above and below the two knobs you stuck up with the paste. This gives you a reference point for the height of the door pulls. You won’t have to worry about them sitting uneven on the door fronts.

Now you can just measure how deep the door pull is from the edge of the cabinet and you have the measurements you need to install all of the cabinet door pulls.

Now you’ll want to construct a quick template so that all the pulls go up in the same location.

Grab a piece of wood and mark off the offset you just measured.

Drill holes through the wood that line up with the cabinet door pull and attach bolts.

Now you can take the template and hold it up to cabinet door. Stick a pencil through the door and mark the front of the cabinet.

Next use a cordless drill to put holes in all the cabinet doors at the same time. This will save you time from having to switch out between screwdriver and drill after each cabinet.

Once you drilled out all the pilot holes grab one of the bolts from the cabinet and use it as a test fit. Increase the size of your drill bits until you reach the size of the bolt.

Go back and enlarge all the holes to the same size.

Now you can put down the drill and switch to the screwdriver for good.

Slide each bolt through the back of the cabinet doors. Use the screwdriver to tighten the cabinet pulls to the door facing. You don’t want to crank down too hard on the screws you’ll risk stripping the screws and warping the door pulls.

All that’s left to do is clean up all the saw dust from the drilling. Just vacuum it all up and you’re finished!

Hopefully this guide on how to install cabinet door pulls will make your remodeling job a little easier. These are but a few tips to make the job go smoothly. Just snap a few chalk lines make a template and you’ll have new cabinet pulls up in a few short hours.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is knobs for your bathroom or cabinet hardware for your kitchen there are many tips you can use to make those spots both functional and beautiful. Click today and indulge your senses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Akre
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Install-Cabinet-Door-Pulls&id=2557483

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I found a nice contest over at the Router Table Depot.  They are giving away a 50 router bit set for joining their newsletter.  I thought this was one of those “no brainer” things since their newsletter gives out sales information, tips and coupon codes.  Considering the holidays are here, the chances of winning are way better than the lotto.  The 50 Piece set is nice too, 1/4″ carbide tipped and comes with the cabinet.  They even pay the shipping.  The drawing is on the 26th of November.

Enter the drawing Here

You can see the 50 Piece router bit set here.

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• Router Table or Shaper Considerations
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Here is a free download of a router table review.  It is not exhaustive, but it will give you an excellent idea of what is available and where to get them.  Some of this links are not working correctly since its a PDF file, but it will give you some excellent information.  Get it by clicking the link below.

Router table review

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This holiday season its time to either buy yourself a gift or get one for someone special.  I put together a little poll to gather some information.  Some people are focused on only buying brand named tools.  Some don’t care or maybe even do not know any better.  Truth is most brands manufacture somewhere else and you can find the exact same table with either different color sequences  and different brand names.  This is very common and happens often.  Does Price motivate you?  How about customer service?  Sometimes things get damaged in shipping, having someone to call can make the day!  Considering the fact that router tables have a lot of parts to them, its inevitable that one of those parts are not going to be perfect.  Having someone to contact can save the day in getting a replacement part.  Go ahead, say whats on your mind.

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By Woody Samuals

Router Bits – Defined as “a cutting bit used in a router”, these multi-tasker tools are a very important part of our lives. You may scoff at such a thought, but consider the number of things in our lives that we come into contact with everyday that a router bit has touched… CNC router bits are used for the sign on the front of your workplace and the numbers or name on your mailbox, stile and rail router bits are used to make the windows of your house, and dovetail router bits are used to make your dresser drawers. Router bits have been used in some kind of mechanism used to create a high speed spinning action for many years, but it was only recently that routers and the router bits that are designed to be used with them came together in a marriage that has made this tool combination so useful to the woodworking tools craftsman of today.

Typically made of HSS, or high speed steel, router bits are designed to withstand very high temperatures and still maintain a sharp cutting edge that enables the router bits to glide through the material it’s cutting with relative ease. Most routers and the router bits they use have recommended RPM ratings to help insure tool longevity and safety to the user. Carbide tipped router bits have the cutting surface covered with carbide, and some router bits contain no steel at all being made completely of carbide. These carbide router bits are slightly more expensive than the traditional HSS router bits, but offer a longer, sharper tool life and are designed to be used when cutting composite woods such as MDF, plywood, and other manmade materials.

It won’t take long to realize that there is no shortage of router bit manufacturers to choose from, so how do you know which one is right for you? Some of the best known names in the industry such as Freud, MLCS, CMT, Amana, and Jesada were put to the test and the results may shock you. In all, 17 different company’s router bits were put to the test known as the Router Bit Matchup. When the sawdust had cleared, Whiteside Router Bits emerged the winner proving to stay sharper, longer and producing the fewest imperfections in the material used for the test. For full details on this test, search “Router Bit Matchup, Whiteside” on your search engine.

Whiteside router bits is a small, 30 year old company located in Claremont, North Carolina. Featuring over 300 different styles of router bits in just about any size requirement, Whiteside router bits is a great choice for the beginner hobbyist or the experienced craftsman. Whiteside router bits are made in the USA and offer the perfect tool for any woodworking project you may be working on.

Once you decide to try Whiteside router bits, you will need to find a dealer who carries the Whiteside product line. There are a few local stores who may carry a limited selection of Whiteside router bits, but for the best selection and pricing, the Internet is the best place to shop for your router bits.

You can also find more router bits and router bit sets here.

Woodshed Tools, Inc is proud to offer Whiteside Router Bits. We offer secure purchasing, great customer service, and the small company attention for your big company needs. For more information about Woodshed Tools, Inc or to browse the entire Whiteside Router Bits product line, please visit http://www.woodshedtools.com or http://www.router-bits-shaper-cutters.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Woody_Samuals

http://EzineArticles.com/?Router-Bits&id=341179

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This video is from The Wood Whisperer and gives an excellent overview of dust control with routers.  This video focuses on the Festool line of routers but it can give you  excellent information if you are thinking about buying a new router.  Dust control is important and these routers have some features that you just have to know about.

Video Overview:

• OF1010, Integrated connector, chip catcher, excellent for edge routing
• OF1400 Dust extraction hood, tool less on/off chip catcher, inline hose attachement
• MFK700 multiple bases and extraction, each base has its own strategy
• OF2200  36o degree spring loaded shroud, 45 degree offset to keep hose out of the way and a snap in chip catcher

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We did a review of the video series for Sommerfeld tools and its only fair to have a look at the router table that was featured in it.  If you are doing some research to figure out which table to buy, this table should certainly be included.  However it is not the cheapest and should be rightfully compared with router tables in its same price class.  It is well thought out and offers a very nice fence.  Below are the particulars for the table and the fence.  You can find the table at their website, www.sommerfeldtools.com

Table Top

Huge 36″ x 27″ extruded aluminum Table gives you plenty of support for your largest workpieces

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This is a very interesting series by Sommerfeld Tools.  This particular video covers the “router tables made easy” DVD.  First off, a lot of people do not know much about Sommerfeld tools, they are not really lumped in with the big brand names.  In some ways that can be very good.  This 6 minute video shows a lot of information of what’s on the DVD, that is a good thing.  Here is an overview of the video:

• Preview from the “Made Easy” series
• New extruded table top overview
• Review of the cabinet DVD
• Table overview size is 36” x 27”
• Fence is 48” x 4 ¾”
• Fence uses retractable pin and good dust collection
• Sub fences
• 3 zero clearance inserts on fence
• 3 insert rings for the router table insert

Cabinet

• Building the face frame first
• Self aligning Tongue and Groove Joinery
• Laying out the parts
• Uses pocket hole joinery
• Matched tongue and groove router bits
• Uses a jig for bit height (available at their site)
• You cut all grooves at once
• Assembly of the case
• Drawer assembly
• Dovetail joinery for drawers, another cool jig that you use on your router table
• Easy set jig for cope cuts
• Drawer fronts
• Drawer pulls
• Easy board jig for mounting drawers
• DVD is only $9.90 plus free shipping

You can find this video here at there website.

Related posts:

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• Why You Want A Router Table In Your Woodworking Shop