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I was just looking at these down at the Stihl dealer, to replace my aging and anemic electric Homelite. The MSE220 has higher chain speed and torque than the MSE180, but lacks the chain brake. As a...

I just did exactly this over the past few weeks, and the setup works quite well for my veneering. I have the same Gast pump, which I'd previously bodged together to work on my mini-lathe, but never...

I tend to finish several pieces in one afternoon session, pausing 30-45 minutes between each of 4-6 coats of EM6000 through my Capspray 8100. In between coats, I just hang the gun on a hook in the...

You could just add a reverse switch to the 1220, not that difficult and very very handy.

-jon-

The stock #3 (1.3mm) needle set that comes with the Maxim II gun works just fine for me, using the 3-stage cs8100 to shoot EM6000. I don't shoot a sealer, haven't needed it for my work.

I'd...

Reverse can be added to any of the little Jet lathes. With the variable speed units, you add a switch inside the speed control box. With the non-VS units, the switch has to be connected to the...

+1 for the hydraulic table. I already had one for moving pinball machines around, and it worked great for assembling and moving the mustard around. I slid the headstock to the center of the ways...

Alan Lacer's article uses hard maple for all the balls, using the skew (of course) to make intersecting narrow grooves. Then two colors of acrylic paint in the grooves to tell the balls apart. The...

I got my wife an electric saw called the Alligator -- looks like an oversize pair of loppers, with an 8" chain in one side. Works great for cutting fallen branches, far safer than a regular chainsaw...

I make shop cabinet doors of MDF or MDO, then primer and 2-3 coats of whiteboard paint.

-jon-

I keep the discs in small peanut butter jars, labeled on the lid and side for grit and size. SWMBO favors one particular brand, which only comes in one size jar, which is handy. Those jars, pads,...

I spent $125 on steel legs and stretchers from Rockler, when I bought my 1220. Cut down some plywood for a top and bottom shelf, then put two sacks of redi-mix on the lower shelf. Bolted the top to...

The round washer supplied by Jet doesn't provide enough friction to keep the toolrest nor the tailstock in place -- if you torque down hard on the handle to compensate, you'll eventually deform and...

Since you haven't yet turned, that explains why you think activities other than turning will occur in your shop. Face it, you might as well locktite the mounting bolts to your bench and get used to...

I just got the smallest system for my mini, and cored a walnut set without issue. I was concerned the small motor wouldn't have the power to core, but although slower than the big boys, it all went...

There's several places listed in the Lancaster, PA yellow pages under 'Bearings'. If you'd prefer online, start at Grainger.com (who also has a Lancaster store), then websearch for more online...

Sears' lifetime warranty is only for Craftsman hand tools, not power tools. Their lathes have a 1-year warranty, unless you spring for the extended warranty service.

Sears Service sells a...

Earlex makes several HVLP guns, most of which aren't pressure fed. The HX-5000 (aka Spray Station Pro) and HX-7000 are the exceptions.

Look at the gun and see if there's tubing from the gun to...

I heat my shop with a woodstove -- used alcohol and turps are combined in a few glass pasta sauce jars, then poured over kindling and shavings in the morning. Oily rags get tossed in during the day,...

I tried several recipes, comparing them to the more expensive storebought friction finishes. BLO slows the solvent evaporation, but isn't always needed. And as echoed above, I found all of these...

A simple friction polish is equal parts film finish, solvent, and boiled linseed oil. You can add a bit of wax, but it won't stay in solution -- you'll have to agitate it a lot before each use.

I...

Same on my 1220, except while I waited for the WMH replacement, I epoxied the handle back onto the screw so I could keep turning. The replacement's been on the shelf for about a year, keep...

I'm not a pen turner, but I would caution against starting out with smaller-sized, pen tools. Unless you're making really tiny coves & rounds, normal sized spindle tools should be fine. Smaller...

Same here, spent the better part of a Saturday failing to make a shopmade vacuum adapter work. Other folks have succeeded, so it can't be that difficult, but I found my time was better spent playing...

Quilts are made of little "blocks" of fabric, sewn together along their edges into a whole fabric. If each little piece isn't cut exactly right, the quilt looks funny. Likewise if the "seam...