Tools that should be invented.

[Curt Harms]

A true riving knife that can be retrofitted onto an older cabinet-style tablesaw.... For under $200!

Jason

but do you know about the ************? It tracks the blade like a true riving knife. I believe what it doesn't do is maintain height relative to the blade like a true riving knife. I've been tempted but find myself not using a table saw all that much lately.
walnutacrewoodworking.com/Online_Store.php add www. or the****store.com

[David Keller NC]

Actually, all kidding aside I could stand for a few options in power tools that aren't easy to find:

A mid to low-priced, 2 to 3 hp bandsaw that has an 18" re-saw height. Jet's new triangular-frame bandsaw is close, it just needs the higher re-saw height. Included here is the need to mount the motor above the lower wheel so the table height would be no more than 30" off of the floor.

A heavy-duty 8, 12 or 16" jointer that has a non-adjustable, perfectly square fence that can be ordered as an option - i.e., no more checking and re-checking that the fence face is 90 degrees to the table. Saw-stop technology would be a big plus, though I've no idea how one would engineer such a thing into a rotating circular cutter head.

[scott vroom]

1) A flexible orbital sander that follows the curvature of the stock being sanded.

2) An attachment to the Fein Multi Tool that would allow sanding deep into areas where vertical clearance is limited. It would resemble a pointed concrete trowel and would be super rigid to allow down pressure without bending.

[Steve Bracken]

but do you know about the ************? It tracks the blade like a true riving knife. I believe what it doesn't do is maintain height relative to the blade like a true riving knife. I've been tempted but find myself not using a table saw all that much lately.
walnutacrewoodworking.com/Online_Store.php add www. or the****store.com

The ************ does track the blade height very closely. It's not quite as good as a designed in solution, but it is very good indeed by all accounts.

And it's relatively affordable too.

[Darnell Hagen]

I mark my pins from my tails like this:





I'd like a 100 count box of disposable blades that have two bevels, meeting in the middle in an inverted v. Then I could mark both sides of the kerf instead of the middle.

[Gregory Cowart]

Something like a Shop Smith, but with good capacity on the add ons like the jointer / planer / band saw etc... None of the tilting table silliness, a better motor, good fences, good dust collection, cast iron table tops etc... With something like SawStop technology...

Basically I would like it to wrap up the following in 1 package.

#1. 10" or 12" tilting arbor belt drive table saw.
#2. At least 12x36" wood lathe / horizontal boring machine.
#3. Drill press with 5+ inch chuck throw.
#4. AT LEAST 8" planer with long beds. Prefer a 12" sharing a head with the jointer maybe?
#5. AT LEAST a 12" jointer, with good snipe control, good finish
#6. Router table insert for decent router. Doesn't have to run off the thing, just provide the space, the fence, and the dust hoods...
#7. If you can somehow manage it, include a 12" SCMS with dual bevel.

Basically, I think it would be GREAT to have the majority of a shop, with good capacity, tied together into a single machine, that would occupy a great deal LESS floor space than a shop full of tools... All of the sudden a garden shed workshop might just seem roomy...

David, I am just down the coast from you in Port Lavaca. I have had a Shopsmith since 1981. It is still out in the shop. I paid $1800.00 for it which as a massive sum in 1981. With all it's short comings, it is one of the best machines I have ever bought. I agree that a heavy duty machine would be great. Have you ever looked at the Laguna machines? Quite pricey, but very impressive. Take care.

[mreza Salav]

A tape measure that when I call it replies and tells me where it is, same thing for my pencil, and small clamps, and basically everything else that gets lots once I'm half-way through the project!

plus, super nova accelerator that will run the whole shop near the speed of light so that the time slows down when you are working in the shop!

[Russell Barnes]

Not an orbital that leaves sanding marks, but a high powered STRAIGHT line ELECTRIC sander.

[David Thompson 27577]

Not an orbital that leaves sanding marks, but a high powered STRAIGHT line ELECTRIC sander.

Or, how about a randon orbit sander that can be easily connected to my shop vac, with the HEPA filter?

[Harold Burrell]

Hey! Check this out:

http://woodworkersjournal.com/Ezine/...ters_7600.aspx

We're famous!

[Bill Wyko]

One thing that really should be invented too is a variable speed 6" belt/disc sander. I can't count how many times I would like to sneak up on a line with a belt sander.

Are you tool makers listening?????