|
 If
you're like most
woodworkers, you've invested
a lot in your tool
collection, both financially
and in the time you've spent
choosing, acquiring and
setting up the tools that
make up your shop. But how
much time have you devoted
to taking good care of them?
Taking care of your tools
is important, and if you've
been neglecting your tool
maintenance program because
you think it involves lots
of specialized equipment and
complicated, time-consuming
machinery tear-downs, we've
got good news. With just a
few facts, a modest
investment in
tool maintenance equipment
and supplies, and a
little time, you can keep
all of the tools in your
shop running at peak
performance year-round.
 What
Tool Maintenance can do for
Your Shop
At the most fundamental
level, woodshop tool
maintenance simply means
keeping your tools operating
as well as they did when you
took them out of the box.
That's a minimum requirement
for running a safe,
successful shop. But a good
tool maintenance regimen can
take you even further.
Taking a few extra steps in
caring for work surfaces,
cutting edges, alignment
mechanisms and moving parts
can work wonders for the
performance of your tools.
Add in a few affordable
power tool upgrades and you
can improve the performance
of your woodworking
machinery beyond like-new
condition. Below, we'll show
you how easy it can be to go
beyond the basics in keeping
the tools in your shop
sharp, true, clean,
and running
smooth.
Part I - Keeping Them Sharp
Most of the tools in a
woodshop are designed to do
one thing - cut wood.
Naturally, one of the most
important aspects of tool
maintenance is keeping
cutting edges as sharp as
possible. In fact, your
safety and the quality of
your woodworking depends on
doing a good job here. From
sharpening systems for hand
tools to simply outfitting
your tools with the best
bits and blades, there's a
lot that you can do to give
yourself the "edge" when it
comes to cutting and
machining parts.
 Circular
saw blades
Most woodworkers who've been
at it for a while shop for
bits and blades from
manufacturers they trust.
Circular saw blades from
Freud and Forrest are
manufactured from the
highest quality carbide and
tool steel, and designed to
keep an edge through
continued use. These
manufacturers also produce
blades designed to stand up
to applications that can be
very rough on cutting
edges, like cutting man-made
substrates and laminates.
There's really no
alternative to paying a
professional sharpening
service to put a new edge
on a circular saw blade
- it's actually cheaper in
the long run to spend a
little extra on blades that
can go a long time between
sharpenings.
Router bits
Router bits usually need to
be replaced when they become
very dull or damaged. That's
a good reason to stay away
from discount bits and bit
sets. Rockler's own line of
Router Bits, and those
from reputable
manufacturers like Amana
and Freud, are manufactured
using the highest quality
carbide and tool
steel, meaning that they can
be kept in service for years
without needing to be
replaced.
 Band
saw blades
Band Saw Blades are
another cutting tool that
are almost always replaced
rather than sharpened. Make
replacing your band saw
blade with a premium blade a
standard part of your
maintenance schedule. You'll
be money and time ahead in
the long run.
Drill bits
What about
Drill Bits? Once again,
buying the best set of bits
you can afford to begin with
is the best solution for a
dull drill bit problem. A
good set of
forstner bits, if used
correctly, will stand up to
a lot of use before they
lose their edge. But even
the best drill bits get
dull after a certain amount
of sustained use, and a dull
drill bit can cause ragged
hole-edges and burning. If
you're the type who likes to
speed through drilling
operations, leaving nothing
but crisp, clean-edged holes
in your wake, a sharpening
system that works for most
popular drill bit
types, like the
Drill Doctor, would be a
sound tool maintenance
investment.
Hand tools
Hand tools - planes,
chisels, gouges and the like
- absolutely require an
adequate sharpening system.
A good sharpening system for
the delicate cutting edges
of fine hand tools will
allow you to do two things:
grind the tool to the
correct shape, and hone it
to a near-perfect edge. Here
you have a few options.
Perfectly acceptable results
can be achieved using a
grinder outfitted with a
cool-running
white aluminum oxide
grinding wheel and a
fairly simple honing system,
like the Rockler's
Plate Glass Sharpening
System or the
Precision Sharpening System.
 If
hand tools figure
prominently in your
woodworking, consider
investing in a more advanced
sharpening system. The
Delta Sharpening Station
is an excellent all-in-one
sharpening system at an
affordable price. And if you
want the top of the line, it
doesn't get any better than
the
Tormek Sharpening System.
Sharpening hand tools is
really an art form in
itself, and it would be
impossible to do it justice
here. That's why we'd like
to recommend another
precision sharpening tool: a
sharpening book. Both
Leonard Lee's
Complete Guide to Sharpening
and
Taunton's Complete
Illustrated Guide to
Sharpening offer
in-depth information that
can bump your sharpening
techniques up to the expert
level.
Part II -
Keeping
Them True
 Keeping
tools in proper alignment is
of paramount importance to
the performance and accuracy
of woodworking tools and
equipment. Once set up and
adjusted, quality
woodworking machinery
generally stays in alignment
for a long period. But
vibration and continued
use will eventually cause
even the best machinery to
go out of adjustment. This
is an area where a
maintenance guide like David
Theil's
Power Tool Maintenance
can really help out. The
specific information on how
the power tools in your shop
actually work, and how to
keep them in top form takes
the guesswork out of one of
the more complex topics in
tool maintenance.
Table saw
alignment
For the centerpiece
of your shop - your
table saw - it also
helps to have a tool to help
keep things lined up. For a
table saw to produce smooth
cuts, and to avoid safety
risks, the blade must be
aligned to run parallel with
the miter slot and fence.
The
Master Plate With Super Bar
table saw calibration system
will help you diagnose
alignment problems and keep
your table saw blade running
perfectly true.
 Upgrading
your table saw's fence and
miter gauge is one of the
easiest ways to improve its
performance. Many
contractor grade saws are
outfitted with excellent
basic components - the bed
and the motor are fine - but
sometimes an exceptional
quality fence and miter
gauge aren't part of the
bargain. Adding an
accurate fence
system and
a precision miter gauge,
like Rockler's Sure-Loc
Miter Gauge, will
greatly increase the
accuracy and reliability of
many table saws.
Band saw tracking
and alignment
Your band saw's ability to
make a true cut without
wander can be improved by an
upgrade to it's blade
guiding system. Simply
adding a set of
ceramic guide blocks will significantly
improve the tracking
performance of most band
saws. And adding Carter
Band Saw Guides can
transform an ordinary band
saw into a professional
class machine.
Part III -
Keeping Them Clean and
Smooth
In woodworking, friction
is the enemy, and that makes
keeping your tools clean and
free of pitch and
resin buildup extremely
important. While your first
line of defense against
woodworking debris will
always be an adequate
Dust Collection Systems,
you'll still need to keep
power tool surfaces
that come in contact with
the wood clean and properly
lubricated.
 Keeping
saw blades clean
Especially when you are
sawing pitchy softwoods, it
doesn't take long for your
table saw blade to get
loaded up with a coat of
pitch and resin. The sticky
residue causes drag,
vibration, and a buildup of
extra heat, all of which
affect not only your
woodworking experience, but
also the quality of the
cut. A few squirts of Rockler
Pitch and Resin Remover
and a quick polish at
blade-change time will keep
your circular saw blades
clean and smooth.
Cleaning and
conditioning router bits
Your router bits
are another likely candidate
for periodic cleaning. There
is often only a small amount
of clearance between a
router bit's cutting edge
and its body, where resin
buildup can significantly
add to the friction created
during the cut. You can use
the same cleaner that you
use for your saw blades to
keep your router bits bright
and shiny. And for lasting
protection, pick up the
Blade and Bit Maintenance
Kit. The kit includes
both a generous supply of
pitch and resin remover and
a lubricant specially
designed to condition and
protect router bit pilot
bearings.
 Stationary
tool surfaces
The surfaces of your table
saw, jointer, band saw
and planer are designed
to support the workpiece and
allow it to pass smoothly
through the cut. To keep
them performing up to par,
these surfaces need to be
kept clean and free of
corrosion. And to enhance
their performance, most
woodworking experts advocate
a light lubrication. Both
the
ToolSaver System and the
Boesheild 3-Part Tool Care
Kit include everything
you need to restore the work
surfaces of your tools to
their original stain and
corrosion-free condition,
remove pitch and resin, and
lubricate them with a
lubricant designed
especially for power tool
care.
Part IV -
Keeping Them Running Smooth
Here you have a great
opportunity to improve your
woodworking and help your
tools age gracefully at the
same time. Power tools - at
least good ones - are
designed to stand up
to heavy use, but if you
want them to stay that way
for a lifetime, you have to
take care of their
mechanical parts. To protect
your investment, make sure
that all of your tools and
machinery are kept in good
working order and properly
lubricated. Along with the
basic considerations, there
are a few
mechanical upgrades that, in
many cases, will improve a
power tool's performance
beyond like-new condition.
 Lubricating
bearings and moving parts
The lubricant you use to
keep your tools' moving part
and bearings in top
condition should be designed
for the job. Bearing
lubricant penetrates
bearings to protect and seal
internal parts, reduce heat
buildup and extend the life
of the tool. For long,
trouble-free service from
all of your stationary and
handheld power tools,
lubricate all bearings and
moving parts on a regular
basis. You can also improve
the performance of your band
saw, scroll saw and coping
saw blades with a Blade
Lubricant Stick. Made with a
special blend of wax and
oils, the lubricant stick
extends blade life and helps
prevent clogging.
 Mechanical
Upgrades for Power Tools
Worn out drive
belts cause increased
vibration and slippage - not
to mention the tendency they
have to break at the most
inopportune times. When it's
time to change belts,
you have an opportunity
to increase the performance
of most tools by upgrading
to a
Power Twist Link Belt.
The Power Twist belt is made
up of interlocking segments
of tough polyurethane
elastomer and multiple plies
of polyester fabric. The
unique feature of the belt
is its removable
link design, which
allows the belt's length to
be adjusted to provide
optimal tension for a
variety of tools. The Power
Twist also hold its shape
far better than standard
drive belts The result
is greatly increased belt
life and reduced tool
vibration of up to35%.
 Band
saw tires are one of the
most neglected mechanical
components in woodworking.
The usual rubber band saw
tires are often left on long
after they've lost
flexibility and begun to
crack. The cost in tool
performance is increased
vibration, reduced blade
life and poor tracking.
Unlike rubber tires,
Urethane Band Saw Tires never
dry out, meaning that you'll
retain the exceptional,
vibration-free blade
tracking of a new tire for a
long time. The tires retain
their shape and fit tight to
the wheel. You don't need to
glue them down, so if they
ever do wear out, changing
them is quick and easy.
While you're servicing
your band saw, check to see
if it is equipped with an
integral wheel brush. If it
isn't, do yourself a favor
and get an add-on
Wheel Brush to keep your
new band saw tires free of
the dust and debris that can
have a serious effect on
blade performance. For the
money, a wheel brush is one
of the most cost effective
tool improvements you can
make.
 Anything
you can do to limit
vibration is worth the
effort. Vibration shows
up in poor tool performance
and less than desirable cut
surfaces - and it takes its
toll on moving parts and
bearings. Adding a
blade stabilizer to
tools that use circular saw
blades is one more step in
the right direction. Blade
stabilizers, which can be
used on most stationary
tools that use 7'' and
larger circular blades,
reduce blade rim vibration
and increase blade life
while limiting the level of
vibration that would
otherwise be transmitted to
your saw's arbor bearings.
Staying on top of
it
In the long run,
it's a lot easier to develop
a tool maintenance program
and stick with it than it is
to rescue and replace tools
that have been neglected.
Establish a maintenance
schedule and stick with it.
Above, we've tried to cover
the most
important tool maintenance
considerations, but you'll
find even more useful
tool maintenance supplies
and equipment at Rockler. |
