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Product
Reviews
This
is one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that tools. But instead of kicking
myself, I'm grateful that someone, in this case David Collins, came up
with the idea (The Collins Tool Co., P. O. Box 417, Plain City, OH 43064;
888-838-8988). It's a simple concept: If you replace the standard flat
baseplate of a jigsaw with a curved baseplate, the saw will be supported
at a single point close to the blade no matter how you tilt it. Thus
supported, you can then direct the blade through the wood at any angle, changing the bevel at will as you proceed
through the cut. You can even tilt the blade back and forth, undercutting
or overcutting as needed.
With
the Collins Coping Foot installed, the jigsaw becomes a true freehand
cutting tool. Finish carpenters will find it easier and faster to make the
deep undercuts required when coping crown moldings. Boat builders will
find life easier, period. A jigsaw upgraded with the coping foot will be
able to take care of those numerous instances where two surfaces must meet
at a changing bevel along a curve. And all woodworkers will delight in the
newfound abilities of their jigsaws to make plunge cuts at a steep bevel
and to get their saws into acutely angled comers.
Working
with the coping foot does, however, take some getting used to. It took
time to get comfortable with a blade that is supported only at a single,
teetering point. Of course, you need to be careful not to tilt too far and
snap the blade. I quickly developed a feel for this. To control the saw
better, I followed the manufacturer's recommendation to use both hands
on the tool whenever possible (I got into the habit of clamping workpieces
to the bench). I learned to enter the cut with the top (the saw tilted
forward at about a 45' angle (which places the bearing surface directly
behind the blade). I also found that I tended to push the saw too quickly,
perhaps because there is less friction with the absence of a flat
baseplate. I suspect, though, that in doing the compound bevels, I forgot
just how much work I was asking the blade to do, and I tried to overrun
the blade's ability to clear itself through the cut.
The Coping Foot is
produced in two different models that, with the help of the shims supplied
with it, fit a wide variety of jigsaws from Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee and
others. The only professional brand of jigsaw that The Collin Tool Company
is sure the Coping Foot won't is Porter-Cable. If you're unsure whether it
will fit your saw, call Collins and ask. At $28.95, you can't afford not
to have this base mounted on at least one of your jigsaws.
-Jim Tolpin, a carpenter and writer from Port Townsend, WA.
Roll
out the barrel-shaped Ply Prep bit before
banding
Wood Magazine, February 2000
Because
of its dimensional stability, many woodworkers prefer hardwood-veneer
plywood for cabinet work. But the ugly, layered edges of plywood detract
from the beauty of the project unless they're capped with a strip of
solid-stock edging. It is for this process that the Ply Prep router bit
was created.
The
theory behind the Ply Prep bit (it looks like a slightly chubby straight
bit) is that plywood's inner plys expand when you apply glue, pushing the
edging away. Chuck the bit into your router, center the bit's mark on your
plywood, and—using a straightedge guide—rout the edges. The bit cuts a
shallow cove in the edges of the workpiece, slightly relieving those inner
plys, giving them room to expand, and preventing a bulge.
After
milling the edges of some plywood shelves with the Ply Prep bit, I noticed
that my solid-stock edging joints came together tighter than before, with
virtually no clamping pressure. In fact, I found I could hold the stock in
place with just a few pieces of masking tape along the edge. And, with no
clamping, there was no glue squeeze-out. As a bonus, the bit left me with
chip-free edges on my plywood.
The
Ply Prep router bit removes some of the plywood's face and back when it
does its thing, so you need to cut your pieces slightly oversized. For the
same reason, I found it difficult to use in a router table, unless you can
slightly offset the outfeed fence of your router table (like the table of
a jointer).
-Tested by Bob McFarlin
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