From The Shop - Lehigh Valley Woodworkers` Guild

From The Shop
The newsletter of the Lehigh Valley Woodworker’s Guild
Issue 09.2009
Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 15th, 7:30
PM
Location:
Woodcraft on Lehigh Street in
Allentown
Topic: Festool! Tom Loveless demos:
 New cordless drills
 Hand planer
 Who Knows what?
Fein tools has been around longer than Larry Fine.
Since 1867. They are and always have been
considered a premium tool. They make their own tools,
which are heavy because they use more copper in
windings. They have also been a pioneer in dust free
operation, reputed to be 99% dust free. Fein is looked
upon as a metalworking tool company in Europe, a
woodworking tool maker here. Their tools are sort of
comparable in quality with Festool.
Last meeting highlights:


Fein Multimaster with Frank Vitucci
PC 4212 Dovetail jig with John Schaeffer
This is “the tool”. Sanding attachment in place.
This is HEAVY. Due to the over the top
construction to ensure it will last.
Frank “the hit man” Vitucci did a good job at showing
us the Fein Multimaster, so often seen on the
infomercial that runs almost constantly on cable
channels. The tool itself has been around since 1985.
He demonstrated more “workability” features of the
tool. It is a very basic tool with a lot of uses. It sands
and cuts, but will not cut you. Several of the folks in
the meeting have these and remarked that it surprises
them as to how often they reach for this tool. Cuts darn
near anything but tile. It does make fast work of grout.
It’s design allows it to cut wood right up against a wall.
Blades are thin, and the actual principle of operation is
that it essentially moves in a very high speed vibration
mode – as a result, it does not “throw” dust around.
Frankie Vitucci gave am informative and
entertaining presentation of the Fein Multimaster.
Fien. Fine. Fein.
Larry Fine. One of the 3 stooges. Michael Jackson is
being buried next to him at Forest Lawn. Always liked
Larry.
You can cut wood, cut off nails, cut holes in sheet rock
cleanly, cut duct work, Cut structural wood with a depth
stop, remove tile grout, sand down tile mastic for
repairs, remove caulk, cut out car body parts, cut holes
in dashboard and body panels, sand and buff repairs,
loosen stuck old painted shut windows, sand frames
and tight spots, polish stone sills, remove putty, boat /
fiberglass repairs, remove glued on floor coverings and
mastic, etc. Kind of a weird little tool members say that
they keep on reaching for.
The most important take-away, aside from the many
comments by guild members who have this tool, is
that, if you want to buy it, going cheap will cost you
money. The top kit, costing $100 more than the basic
tool, comes with a whole lot more that $100 in
accessories that you will buy later anyway. Blades,
dust collection, a case. Blades are NOT cheap but are
becoming a bit more cost effective. The top set has like
a couple of hundred dollars of stuff in it. The select set
between the tool and top sets is sort of not even worth
mentioning. I can say that I have toyed with the idea of
buying one of these and I would go right for the top set
based on the cost AND utility of the extra parts, plus
the case. There are competitior products coming out,
but I can say that this tool weighs a ton and will last a
lifetime, my opinion.
This is a round cutting blade. It can essentially be
rotated in the holder to take advantage of all the
edge surface. It does not spin, It vibrates.
The tool is simplicity itself. There were guild members
who had older versions of the tool. Frank passed out a
few updated parts free of charge – can I say that? –
and it was viewed as a really nice gesture. Great
support and public relations gesture.
Flush cuts are it’s specialty. Like butter, as they
say.
Members had a chance to use the tool on the break.
Neat tool. Frank’s down to earth approach was
appreciated. Very straightforward, no sales pitch, focus
was on the tool and its uses. Prices of these, like
Festool, are set. You know where you can get them!
Most of the stuff in these packages comes with the
top end package, including a case.osts twice as
much purchased separately. Anmd there is no junk
in her. Most of the stuff you will want anyway.
2

Durable, single-piece steel base design
requires no assembly and allows clamping or
bolting directly to the work bench

Accommodates stock from 1/4" to 1-1/8" thick

Heavy-duty cam-type clamps with sandpaperbacked locking bars provide solid grip of wood

Includes
 Half-Blind/Sliding
Dovetail
Template
(Model 4211),
 Through Dovetail/Box Joint Template
(Model 4213),
 2 Router Bits (Models 43776PC,
43743PC),
 2 Template Guides (Models 42040,
42046),
 2 lock nuts (Model 42237),
 Wrench, Instruction Manual
John Schaeffer – The PC 4212 dovetailing jig.
The scheduled speaker, Scott Michaels, apparently
had some back surgery and there was a complication
that prevented his appearance. First and foremost, a
speed recovery for him.
So, once again, John Schaeffer stepped up. Seems
that John is always there. I have said it before and I will
say it again – THANKS! His presentation was hands on
and excellent as always.
The PC 4212 costs $169. $169. With 2 templates and
BITS! Here is the poop from the PC web site:

Board alignment lines and router bit depth
gauges allow for quick, easy set-up

Router bit depth gauges allow the user to set
bit depth without measuring
Slding dovetail jig – INCLUDED.

On-board instructions provide clear
guidance for the various applications

Machined
aluminum
templates
provide
superior cutting accuracy and long term
durability
By the way, I asked John about instructions. He
advised that the manual is one of the best parts of the
package as it is totally complete. John gets to use a lot
of tools, including the previously presented Omnijig
that I thought was amazing. John likes the 4212 for its
simplicity.
user
3
Cutting dovetails.
Regular dovetail jig. INCLUDED.
Ready for the next step.
John did demonstrate the jig using 2 routers – one with
the dovetail bit and the other with the straight bit. My
opinion is that this is the ONLY way to go if you do this
a lot. I actually gave my only PC 690 to my kid, but I
have a 2 hp Milwaukee and a whole bunch of big 3 hp
plunge routers. Would love to get another deal on a
small fixed base like that sale of the jig and the router!
The set up – mounted on a simple platform that is
clamped to your work surface.
Use looks simple – there are indexing lines all over the
place. Minor adjusting around the index line for depth
allows dovetail joints to be tightened or loosened. Use
of a backer board is essential unless you like tearout.
There is also a bit preset depth gauge that allows you
to set the bit and go to work without a lot of tweaking.
This was an active demonstration and so the photos
and the captions will tell the story. The jig itself is built
well, and is an incredible value. John advised that
some time ago it was selling with a PC690 for $200
and they sold out in no time. I can imagine that easily.
Locking it down. Indexing marks and bit depth
gauge are on the left side.
4
nothing else, it is a very cost effective tool to introduce
you into making dovetails using a dovetail jig. After you
become proficient at it, you may want something with
more frills, or you may find this does all you need.
$169. With today’s prices, this is pretty much chump
change given what you are getting. I can say it will be
on my Christmas list, cause I am redoing my kitchen,
and it is a pretty cheap gift for me given what I spend
on everyone else. Now, all bets are off on waiting till
Christmas if this puppy goes back on sale with a router
package – I will be waiting at the woodcraft door at
opening time to get one.
Line up and PLAN your work. John demonstrates
his method on the whiteboard.
Groove in the jig allows you to eyeball the fit.
Adjustable by moving the work in or out depending
on tight or loose fit needed. As John said, you can
take wood away of you have a tight fit, but it is
hard as hell to put it back.
Variable spaced dovetails. John made it look
simple.
John also demonstrated how you can do variable
spaced dovetails by moving the jig ½” to the right. Not
quite as simple as I wrote it, but suffice it to say, this
jig, with a little ingenuity, can do almost anything that
average or intermediate woodworker would want. John
is an advanced woodworker, and it works for him. If
NOT included – a mini dovetail jig. You may need
it, you may not.
5
To close, not only is John a dedicated guild committee
member, he is an excellent presenter and an
accomplished woodworker. His demo, which he did not
know he was going to do, went without a snag and
everyone, including those who have seen dovetail
demos before, learned something.
Woodworkers will be gathering at the Valley Forge
Convention Center in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania the
first weekend in October to take part in a new kind of
woodworking enthusiast event. More conference than
show, the event is a series of presentations by top
woodworkers like Roy Underhill, star of TV’s “The
Woodwright’s Shop”, master woodworkers Mario
Rodriquez and Charles Bender plus hand-tool experts
Christopher Schwarz and Adam Cherubini. There will
also be a rare public appearance by renowned
Japanese woodworker Toshio Odate. The event is
presented by Popular Woodworking and Woodworking
Magazine.
***************************************
Woodworking in America Conference at Valley
Forge, PA
Email From our friend Don Schroder
In addition to symposia-style presentations, conference
attendees will sharpen their hand tool skills getting
expert instruction by conference presenters in the
Hands-On Bench Rooms. Another popular feature of
the event is the Marketplace, where dozens of
exhibitors will show and sell their latest tools. The
Marketplace admission is totally free to the public.
Don spoke about this at the last meeting, and here it is
again. Well worth reading about.
Hi Dan,
Attached is an overview of the Woodworking in
America: Hand Tools & Techniques conference I talked
about
at
the
last
Guild
meeting
(www.WoodworkingInAmerica.com). It takes place at
the Valley Forge Convention Center, October 2-4. It's a
first-class event in everyway with top woodworkers
from around the country giving presentations on handtool usage and technique plus there's a Marketplace
of exhibitors.
A unique feature of the Marketplace is a Hand Tool
Olympics where all participants can test their skills in a
friendly and educational competition on hand sawing,
cutting dovetails, hand plane use, etc. The Hand Tool
Olympics is managed by volunteers from the Society of
American Period Furniture Makers.
As an incentive to sign up for the entire conference, we
are offering a $40 early-bird discount and a $100 bookbuying gift certificate that can be used at Popular
Woodworking's online bookstore. The Marketplace
section of the show is totally free and open to the
public. It includes many of the finest toolmakers that
you just won't see anywhere else. Be forewarned, it is
impossible to resist purchasing something. Believe me,
I know!
The Valley Forge conference follows the same
program that sold out last fall and took place on the
campus of Berea College, Berea, Kentucky.
Woodworkers from across North America attended the
event.
Over the weekend, 50 presentations and “hand-on”
clinics will take place with topics and classes in rotation
so attendees can attend every one that’s offered. In
addition to Roy Underhill and presenters mentioned
above, presentations, demonstrations and hands on
clinics will feature Peter Follensbee, Mike Wenzloff,
Don McConnell, Larry Williams and Ron Herman.
As a token of our thanks for helping promote the show
in next issue's newsletter, Popular Woodworking and
Woodworking Magazine would like to send the Guild a
nice selection of books and CDs (see attachment) that
it can sell or raffle.
In addition to presenting classes on dovetails, Roy
Underhill will give a keynote address at a Saturday
evening banquet. More of a stand-up comedy routine
that a speech, Underhill’s hour-long routine in Berea
got a standing ovation and was probably the most
humorous routine on the subject of woodworking ever
presented. Underhill promises Valley Forge will not
disappoint.
Anyway, all the details are spelled out in the release. If
you include some or all of it in September's newsletter,
it would be greatly appreciated. It's a fantastic event
that I'm sure members would be interested in hearing
about, and we'd like to say "thank you" by sending the
books & CDs. If you have any questions, just give me a
call.
Best regards,
Don
********************************************************
Woodworking in America Event: Hand Tools &
Techniques
Valley Forge Convention Center
October, 2, 3, 4, 2009
6
HELP!
On that note, we are ALWAYS looking for
speakers. Writers! Articles! You hear of
someone, let us know. Thanks!
Wood Specials
SHADY LANE TREE FARM
Louise & Mike Peters
5220 Shimerville Road
Emmaus, PA
610 965-5612 Please call
FLEETWOOD LUMBER & FLOORING
BILL BURKERT
27 Rapp Rd.
Fleetwood, PA
610 944-8364 Please call
Member discount 5%
Bailey Wood Products, Inc.
441 Mountain Rd.
RD#2 Box 38
Kempton, PA
610 756-6827
Woodcraft
Pkwy Shopping Ctr.
1534 Lehigh St.
Allentown, Pa.,18103
Woodcraft Gift card winner!
Ed Kilburn!
Drag and Brag:
L.V.W.G. Contacts
Founded in 1995 by:
Newsletter:
Dan Manturi
Dave Dreher
908-295-8341
[email protected]
Steering Committee Support:
Ray Winkler / John Schaeffer and the Woodcraft team
Distribution / Mail list:
Quentin Patterson
610-253-1402
Special Projects Manager
Allen Powell
(610) 419-4864
Web Site Administrator :
610-965-2520
Lou Supina
Treasurer:
Harold Andy Anderson
610-965-4828
Refreshments and so many other things..
Ken and Judy Muth
Judy and Ken’s food! Always great.
7
From The Shop
The newsletter of the Lehigh Valley Woodworker’s Guild
2009 Meeting Calendar:
Month
Oct 20
Nov 17
Dec 15
Topic
CONTEST
Whymsical carvings
PARTY HEARTY
Speaker
Scott Michaels
Next Meeting: September 15th, 2009 (3rd Tuesday!) 7:30!! That’d be P.M.
Location: Woodcraft
Parkway Shopping Center
1543 Lehigh Street
Allentown, PA 18103
Phone: (610) 351-2966
Topic: Festool’s newest!
o Cordless drills
o Planer
o Others
Tom Loveless of Festool Returns to do another great presentation.