what reviews would you most like to see?
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tim, i hope you don’t mind….
i posted this thread in the current issue folder, but got no responses, so i’m posting again here in the hopes we’ll get more action
in the last year or so we’ve seen a few articles on benches of various sorts. guys like me count on fww reviews for good information on all kinds of tools, especially large dollar items like tablesaws, etc. when are we going to see a review of the benches that are on the market? i know a lot of woodworkers build their own to suit (i’m working on my third), but many don’t have the time or shop set up to do so. how about helping us out with a comparison and review of professional grade benches (Ulmia, Dieffenbach, Veritas, Sjoberg, etc.) in the near future. does fww have any plans for this?
i’d also love to see a review of the few professional grade handsaws left on the market. not necessarily dovetail saws, but panel saws, frame saws, etc.
how about you?
Replies
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Actually, I would like to see reviews of bench hardware. I built my own bench and would like to see ways of improving its effeciency. Reviews of vices, hold fasts, bench dogs, etc. would be good for me. I would also like to see somes projects of under bench storage. I would like to build some draws for tools which pul out and tilt down, but have not figured out a good way of doing this.
TDF
*vanderpooch,This is great. We'd love to hear it.Tim
*Drill presses.Sliding compound miter saws.That would be my top two.Peace.-Rob
*I'd love to see a head to head review of all the HVLP sprayers out there, both compressor guns and the turbine systems. Mike
*I would really like to see a review of some large industrial size machinery. I haven't found any good reviews of 12 - 16" jointers or large planers. This makes these decisions very difficult. I know that these machines do not make a large volume of sales, but they cost a lot of money and making a mistake can have serious consequences. - Dave Beach
*robert, i believe fine homebuilding had a pretty comprehensive review of slide compounds in the last year or two. might be worth a search at thier website.
*I would like to see a review of 8 inch jointers. I know that FW reviewed 6 inch jointers (issue 115) but I don't think that they have ever reviewed anything 8 inches or larger. I think that 8 inch jointers are more affordable for more of us now and I plan to upgrade to an 8 inch or larger soon. Powermatic builds their 8 inch overseas now. I wonder if it is still as good as it was when it was made in the US? I have heard that General is making a larger 8 inch jointer in the near future. Is General the last North American Company to make an 8 inch jointer? Are Taiwan Companies just as good now? If FW does any reviews of any larger equipment I wish they would indicate the "street price" rather than the "list price". Some companies have ridiculously inflated list prices and this makes the comparison more difficult.
*How about one on the latest cordless drills? Or has that been done recenly? I don't remember one.JCR
*I would also like to see reviews of some larger machines. i also think it would be pretty cool for fww to track down some old vintage machines and do some articles on them.
*I would like to see a better comparison on the quality of various manufacturers 1/2 inch router bits....say pick two or three of the most commonly used styles of the smaller bits (i.e.-1/2" straight, 3/8 roudnover,etc., and one of the larger panel forming bits).
*Id like to see a comparison of the new cut off jigs, the Incra 5000, Dubby, Joint Tech, Woodhaven compared to even the home made ones.
*Is Crest REALLY superior to Colgate? I'd like to know.
*what about wooden planes like steve knight's, hida tools', japan woodworker's, & primus'?alex
*Good idea for this thread! I think FWW really enjoys this kind of feedback. For me definitely some upscale machines could use more reviews. Every once in awhile we see a little blurb on a Felder or something but it would be good to have some full scale matchups for jointers and table saws in particular that are well above the Unisaw vs. Powermatic debate. I think a certain percentage of the readership either has these machines or are comtemplating / lusting after them. Pertinent questions are. Are they really that superior to a well tuned Unisaw with say an excalibur sliding table attached? It's hard to judge for a lot of us.Or, how good are the 12" and up Grizzly jointers vs. the competion?Thanks!Tom Witt
*Bench planes. Is that $300 L-N really that much better than my vintage stanleys? Benchtop mortisers. Yeah, I'm in the market for one, so I'm just being selfish (o:Bench hardware. There seems to be a dizzying array, all doing the same thing with subtle differences.
*Woodworking vises. Mine is the most often used tool in my shop. I would limit the review to rapid adjusting basic vises like Record 52 1/2 ED I use. Jorgenson, Wilton, and Taiwanese knock-offs would be included, plus hopefully some little known options. What are these vises really made of? Which ones are machined better and will last longer? Are some more tolerant of racking abuse? Are the threads of some fouled more easily by chips? Do some pull parallel better under pressure? Which rapid adjustment mechanism works best? The article could include sidebars on proper installation and things like whether wood liners should extend past the jaw sides.Here's a tip to FWW on review format and follow-up. Establish repeatable numerically based objective and subjective ratings for every tool classification. These would be used to rank tools during review articles, but - more importantly - they would be used to rank new tools that come out in the following years. It's nice to know that Delta has a 13" 2-speed planer, but it would be better to know how it would rate relative to the previous general review article entries.A review of clamps would be excellent too. Which are more durable? What about ease of use? How do the various clamp types and materials compare in deflection? Are Besseys really that much better?Can tool reviews include a survey component to evaluate long term satisfaction? Most people don't know how their tools really compare to the competition since they only have the one tool, but they can comment on how well the tool ages.FWW should keep on seeking out little known tools that offer woodworkers alternatives. They do some of this already. An example is the Prairie Grinder I recently started using. I had been looking for a wet grinder for years to hollow grind my chisel and plane blades. I passed on the Delta & Tormek vertical wheel offerings and the many horizontal wheel models. What I really wanted was a basic belt driven vertical wheel wet grinder like the one that appears in Leonard Lee's book with brief mention that they are hard to find. It turns out that they ARE still made, and they are quite reasonably priced, it's just that Prairie Tool doesn't advertise.Thanks for asking!
*How about an article on spokeshaves and draw knives, uses and different types, when to use, how to sharpen, etc. It seem to me these tools have a place in our work shops but not much is said about them.Thanks Joe Roth
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