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Fine Woodworking Tool Guide
Posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2011 at 5:24 pm.
Fine Woodworking Tool Guide
Fine Woodworking Tool Guide
Fine woodworking is taking pre-orders for their 2012 tool guide.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideHome.aspx
I’m extremely impressed by this tool guide. I’ve done some consulting for the editors of fine woodworking and I know how hard they work and how carefully are to make their tests as fair and equal as possible.
I don’t think the tests are perfect. They don’t think they’re perfect either. I occasionally disagree with some of the results but I agree a hundred percent with how hard they work to be fair and honest.
If you buy tools, make tools or sell tools you really need this tool guide.
800 346-8274
MSDS Fraud
Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 at 5:28 pm.
MSDS Fraud
I ran across a case of what I believe to be a deliberately fraudulent Material Safety Data Sheet.
We were asked to sell a new product. We requested a material safety data sheet and any other information they have.
The MSDS mentioned one chemical and said that the chemical was somewhere between 1% and 5% of the total.
I do not like this. According to OSHA an MSDS sheet is supposed to list all the chemicals that could harm a worker. You can get into a situation where even water could harm a worker if used improperly. There are a lot of chemical reactions where water is very dangerous. Perhaps the simplest to understand is water on a grease fire or a gas fire.
The one chemical mentioned wasn’t too bad safety wise but they also mentioned that there was an organic catalyst in the formula. When you take the chemical mentioned and combine it with the right organic catalyst you get a pretty dangerous chemical created as a result. The chemical created is very volatile and has several health effects including cancer.
The manufacturer may have found a legal loophole. He may think that he can just list the two chemicals he adds without listing the dangerous chemical they create.
In any case, I definitely don’t like it. I count on the MSDS sheets keep my staff, my customers and myself safe. When I speak on safety and health I often start out a speech by saying that it is a bad business practice to kill your employees. Then there is a nervous laugh from the audience. Then I explain that it is also a bad business practice to make your employees sick.
When I get an MSDS sheet I want to see all the chemicals listed. And I want an honest explanation of all the hazards. I then check the MSDS sheet I was given to see how accurate it is. Here is an address to the website I have found extremely helpful over the years. Http://hazard.com/msds/
800 346-8274
Saw Blade Packaging From Popular Tools
Posted on Thursday, July 28th, 2011 at 5:03 pm.
Saw Blade Packaging From Popular Tools
Popular Tools Saw Blade Packaging
Popular tools saw blades are developing a reputation for the best package saw blades in the world. There are a lot of things that make a good saw blade and packaging is probably pretty far down the list. But it does show the extent to which popular tools does to make truly excellent tools.The box is held together with Velcro tabs, which makes it very easy to reclose for storage or shipping. It is also very easy to open since you don’t have to rip through a layer of glued cardboard.
The saw blade itself is covered with a generous coating of thick oil protectant. The carbide tips are protected by a piece of plastic strip that is sort of like a piece of tubing that has been slit. This is all placed in a heavy, 6 mill plastic bag. This whole assembly fits into an exact size slot in the middle of the box.
(Great Blades, Great Prices & 100% Satisfaction Guarantee)
800 346-8274
“Biodegradable” does not mean “Safe”
Posted on Thursday, July 28th, 2011 at 4:13 pm.
“Biodegradable” does not mean “Safe”
We were offered a product to sell and we were assured it was 100% safe because it was biodegradable.
This is just not true. If anything, it may mean the opposite. Biodegradable means it breaks down naturally. This means it reacts very well with things in the environment. Safety in chemicals means that it does not affect people at all or that it affects people in a positive manner.
Nitroglycerin and cyanide are to chemicals that are very readily biodegradable. The formula for Nitroglycerin is C3H5N3O9 which is carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. So nitroglycerin very rapidly breaks down into chemicals that are really good for life. Cyanide is CN and comes as Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), a colorless gas, Sodium Cyanide (NaCN) or Potassium Cyanide (KCN). So cyanide is carbon and nitrogen which very rapidly breaks down and carbon and nitrogen are essential for life.
However nitroglycerin and cyanide gas are not considered safe.
Following is a letter from the Washington State Department of Ecology explaining a bit about what biodegradable really means.
“Ferguson, Dan Washington State Department of Ecology
Tom,
I just finished doing some research on your behalf. There is no legal definition of “biodegradable.” I found this very good article that discusses, if there was, what it could be below:
http://environment.about.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/biodegradable.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides92.htm#G2
The article basically states, while you don’t legally have to prove a product is biodegradable, a company can still be sued by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) or other parties if the “biodegradable” claim is “misleading and/or deceptive.” I could help you determine this if you can get your hands on the product’s MSDS sheet. Once I know the chemicals in the product, I would have a good idea on whether or not the product can break down readily. At the very least I could make sure the chemicals in it were not long lasting.
As for your second question, I realized after I tried to answer the black and white version, you may have meant “how do you certify a product to be biodegradable (or green) in Washington State or in the US?”
For the original question, I contacted Washington State Consumer Protection Agency as well as other Department of Ecology coworkers. The short answer is you do not need to certify a product in order to sell it. You do have to perform due diligence to make sure you’re not selling a dangerous or inferior product as that could cause legal/business issues, but you don’t have to go through a state or federal agency to sell something. The thing you do need to do is to make sure you can legally and safely ship or transport it. To make sure you can ship the product, you will need to check with the Post Master General (US Postal Service) and probably the Department of Agriculture as well. Their basic concerns will probably center around the toxicity and/or level of hazard the product may have.
As far as certifying a product as biodegradable or green in WA/US, there’s a number of non-profit organizations that can do this, but the most recognized (most bang for your buck) is probably the EPA’s DfE program (Design for the Environment). Now if I remember correctly the pitch remover was not your product, but the company wanted to have it sold on your website or by your company. Depending on how much they want to market their product as “biodegradable,” they could pursue the DfE certification. More information about the DfE program is below and it might even be something your company may want to look into for other products if you’re interested in finding other products that are DfE certified. As far as I know the DfE program usually certifies mostly consumer goods, but I would not be surprised if it starts branching out into the commercial sector as well.
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/about/index.htm
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/label.htm
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/about.htm
I hope that helps and if you have any other questions, feel free to contact me either by phone or email. I would be more than happy to help.
Regards,
Dan Ferguson”
800 346-8274
How important is Tom?
Posted on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 10:39 pm.
How important is Tom?
Hi, this is Tom.
Lately I’ve had a couple people treat me as though I was either really important or thought I was really important.
I think part of this is the fact that I’ve been writing the newsletter for years and I do the videos and I have a reputation as an expert in a couple areas.
I also think part of it is the way I speak. I have a genetic, autoimmune condition known as myasthenia gravis that sometimes affects my speech.
What really concerns me is that people have been asking me if I’m sure I have the time to talk to them.
Things have been pretty hectic around here with all the growth and the new products. I think maybe sometimes I do sound a little rushed.
However, nothing is more important than taking care of customers. This includes existing customers or potential customers.
Much of my time is spent on financial matters, marketing matters, trying to hire more staff of the right quality and so on. This is fine and it is definitely part of the president’s job.
What I really love is the technical aspects of the business. What is incredibly important to me is helping people. If you call and I am doing paperwork of any kind, it will be a real treat for me to interrupt the paperwork and talk to you about brazing or filtering or any of the other areas. Mostly the people who call are really bright and know a great deal more about their situation than I do. However I can ask questions that may not have occurred to them or, perhaps refer them to better information sources.
As a child I was taught by my parents that you should leave the world a better place than you found. We did a lot of camping and fishing and so on. The number one rule was that you left your campsite cleaner than you found. We also made it a practice to leave a little dry firewood for the next guy. Then, of course, there was the Boy Scouts, the church, the Saturday Evening Post and many other influences with this kind of message.
So, please feel free to call. I may be in a meeting but I will return your call. You don’t have to buy anything from us but we do have a lot of products that solve problems.
When I was just starting I was told that I was “too small to bother with.” I promised I would never do that to anyone else.
Thanks,
Tom
800 346-8274
Carbide Grinding Sludge Value
Posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 6:05 pm.
Carbide Grinding Sludge Value
1. Carbide sludge is worth money based on the amount of tungsten in the sludge. So tungsten from tungsten carbide in the sludge is a positive. Iron from steel grinding is a negative. I believe the limit they’ll accept is 10% iron.
The way it works is that you send us a sample of the sludge, maybe a quart. We have that analyzed and that determines the value of the sludge.
They do subtract for any moisture in the sludge.
Here is an example from one customer.
Sludge:
517 lbs Gross
– 44 lbs Tare (7 buckets/skid)
473 lbs Net Wet Material
– 24 lbs Oil & Moisture Removed ( 5%)
449 lbs Net Dry Material
x 46 % Tungsten Contained
207 lbs Net Dry Tungsten
Then the 207 pounds is multiplied by whatever the current market is.
2. The tungsten market came down a bit and now it is flat by some indices and going back up by others. Following is a link to a page with free charts on tungsten.
http://www.metal-pages.com/metalprices/tungsten/
Contact Us to Sell Your Sludge:
800 346-8274
Whiteside Router Bits Great Deal
Posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 6:00 pm.
Whiteside Router Bits Great Deal
Note: Product price good for 30 days. Call to ask about current price. 253-476-1338
Whiteside 6001, Full size, round pattern, stile and rail router bit set
When you have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, as we do, you occasionally have to make good on it just because a customer ordered the wrong thing.
We had a customer buy this Whiteside 6001 full-size, round pattern, style and rail router bit set. It wasn’t what he wanted so he returned it. He was a really nice guy and apologized for taking the plastic off of it.
We now have a router bit set that is brand-new and has never been run. Because it has been out once we don’t feel right selling it as a totally brand-new set so we are offering it at a big discount from the usual price.
These retail for $128.00 Our ordinary sale price is $102.00. We will sell this set only for $75.00.
This set is 100% guaranteed and is in a brand-new, never been run condition.
There is only one and you have to email or call to buy it.
800 346 8274
Router Bit Breakage
Posted on Friday, July 15th, 2011 at 5:56 pm.
Router Bit Breakage
Router Bit Breakage Showing Wave Lines
These are the router bits I discussed in the previous post. They are router bits designed for plastic. They are really designed for CNC routers cutting ordinary plastic. The customer used them that way. The customer also use them in a handheld router to cut fiberglass which is where the problem arose.
The customer was good enough to send the router bits back so we could examine them. Here are three pictures of the router bits. You can see that the breakage on the router bits is practically identical from bit to bit to bit.
In my experience, when cutting tools suffer practically identical breakage it generally means a misapplication of the tool or that the wrong tool was used for the job. (Same thing – just different ways of looking at it.)
router bits improperly used 2
It could be a poor tool design where a weak spot was engineered or machined in.
I generally think of carbide defects as occurring randomly and look for different kinds of breakage in different parts of the tool.
Another thing to notice is the ‘beach’ (wave, tide, etc.) marks especially prominent on the right hand part. These marks are a series of lines one right after the other. You can see them marching up through the light gray area, right next to the dark black area. This shows that the router bits did not break in a single incident. Instead there is a series of dozens of tiny breaks or rips succeeding one another. Each beach line indicates a separate rip. There’s a huge difference between a carbide router bit that snaps and a carbide router bit that has to be beaten apart with dozens of blows.
router bits improperly used 3
Vortex Tool / Vortex Router Bits
Posted on Friday, July 15th, 2011 at 5:06 pm.
Vortex Tool / Vortex Router Bits
Vortex Tool / Vortex Router Bits
Uniqueness and design of Vortex router bits
Vortex router bits are American made and you can make a really great argument that they are the best in the world. There may be other router bits that people think are as good but nobody puts down Vortex router bits.
Vortex is one of those companies that buys the best materials, the best machines and hires the very best people.
Vortex has a huge research and engineering department and has developed some truly unique router bits.
The only possible, legitimate criticism you could make of Vortex router bits is that they are a bit more expensive than something similar. However, once you run them, that argument disappears.
Vortex makes heavy duty, ultra precise router bits for people who run them to make money. Vortex router bits make money by cutting faster, cutting cleaner and staying sharper longer.
Personally, I think the real beauty is in the grinding of these complex shapes. If you ever get a chance to see one of these router bits being ground I strongly urge you to take it. If you love making things you will really be impressed.
Buy Vortex Router Bits
800 346-8274
Screaming Saw Blades
Posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 4:45 pm.
Screaming Saw Blades
Saw blades are like tuning forks, xylophone keys, bells or any other tensioned piece of metal. They all have a particular frequency at which they resonate. When you hit that particular frequency they make noise.
We you hit the bell with the clapper or a xylophone key with a hammer it resonates and makes noise. It makes a particular noise based on several different factors. The same thing is true with a saw blade but the force is applied in a different manner. When the machine vibration is right, the saw blade starts to vibrate and makes noise. The machine and the saw blade have to be tuned to the same frequency, whether deliberately or accidentally.
Ryszard Szymani of the Wood Machining Institute used to show the video during some of his training sessions. In this video he demonstrated “critical speed” which is another aspect of tuning.
A saw blade starts out from a dead stop and comes up to speed. Depending how fast the saw blade is run it can hit a critical speed where the saw blade wobbles. If the speed of the saw blade continues to increase it will get past the critical speed area and the saw blade will then run straight and true until it hits the second critical speed area. At the second critical speed area the saw blade wobbles two ways so that it looks like a potato chip in slow motion. Again, if you continue to increase the speed and the saw blade will straighten out and run true.
Now this is generally, but not always, described as screaming, singing, or humming. Whistling is generally, but not always, wind such as wind past or through the expansion slots, wind between the saw blade and a zero clearance insert or something similar.
Of course sound is air movement and wind is air movement. Language here can get pretty confused. If you have a different explanation or nomenclature use, I would really appreciate hearing it. However, I won’t argue with you. I will just add it to things I’ve learned.
There are many ways of dealing with this kind of noise. Anything that changes the frequency of the saw blade or the machine will help if it is a harmonic situation and not a whistling situation.
Tony Pense of Superior Saw in Tacoma Washington recommends replacing a cheap blade as it is generally not worth the money to try and change it. With an expensive blade, his first technique is to round the backs, non-cutting part, of the saw tips as this removes a sharp edge and replaces it with a rounded edge. He also suggests making sure that expansion holes are plugged with copper plugs. You can fill expansion slots with an epoxy without affecting saw performance. (Steve Bergerson of Western Saw did a study where he shows that you can reduce saw noise by about 10 dB with the proper expansion slots and epoxy filling. He did these studies on saws that made a normal amount of noise.) You can also take the saw blade to a good saw shop and have it hammered to change the tension. However you’re asking a highly skilled craftsman to work on your saw blade so you want to make sure that it wouldn’t be just cheaper to replace the saw blade.
Everyone who makes saw blades is well aware of the problems a screaming saw blade can cause and saw blades are engineered to be as quiet as possible given the applications and the price point at which they are so sold. However every saw blade is slightly different from every other sawblades and every machine is slightly different from every other machine so occasionally a combination will come together where the saw blade screams.
I can’t remember if we have ever sold a saw blade that screamed. (Now that I have said that, I’m sure that we will sell at least two of them tomorrow just because I opened my big mouth.)
If we should ever sell a saw blade that screamed we would replace it with a new saw blade. It is really the simplest, cheapest and fastest way to solve the problem. You could probably replace it with the same blade from the same manufacturer and eliminate the problem. The customer would probably be happier with an equivalent blade from a different manufacturer.
800 346-8274
