Reviews written by Rick Miller

This drum sander works great at flattening and smoothing boards up to 12" wide because the drum is anchored at both ends in bearings and pillow blocks, so it never gets out of parallel to the belt, like open end drum sanders can. Granted, it won't work for pieces wider than 12", but other than the occasional tabletop, I don't have that need in my shop very often. More often I'm trying to smooth out boards that have planer marks (because I haven't changed my knives in a while) or running a piece of figured wood that's prone to tearout in the planer. I just wish it had better dust collection, because the 2-1/2" port doesn't allow for a larger collector, just a shop vacuum, and it can't keep up. I'm contemplating replacing it with a 4" port. And the belts sometime come loose at the ends during sanding, so you have to wrap them with tape. But overall, a solid investment and value.

The people at Kreg just GET it! I've had great luck with all their tools that I've bought (router table, pocket jig, and this miter gauge). My saw came with a very basic miter gauge that wasn't much good, so I upgraded to the Kreg, and it's made my accuracy go through the roof! It's got so many precision angle settings, and the fence has a rule that's accurate and has a flip stop for making repeated cuts. My only wish is that it extended beyond 24", but I'm hoping they're working on an upgrade.

I bought my General saw before they came out with the riving knives, so it doesn't have that feature. But overall, this is still a very good saw with a lot of power (3 hp) and a really good Biessemeyer style rip fence. I've since ditched the miter gauge because it's nothing spectacular and replaced it with a Kreg. Like the Wood review said, I hate changing blades because I have a hard time getting my big hands into the narrow opening. I wish they'd change that. Aside from that, I can't argue with how powerful and accurate this saw is.

I like this set of chisels because the steel seems really high quality and they hold an edge a long time, so I don't have to re-sharpen as often. I like the sizes, but the handles on mine are not like the ones shown above. They're more like octagonal and kind of barrel shaped, not my preference but I won't be throwing them away either.

I just can't find any faults with this drill drill press. It's got all the power i need even for big bits, the handles are easy to grip and turn, the depth stop works perfectly without creeping off the mark, and the belts are easy to change. The table is nice and big and is easy to clamp to, but I don't use the center insert for backing up holes. Instead I use scrap wood underneath, just to save making extra inserts, but I can see how it would work good. I really like the lasers and the light to help me see exactly where I'm drilling. Overall, I just can't imagine why you'd pay more for a drill press unless it was to get variable speed.

I'd been looking for a new mitersaw to upgrade from my old Sears, and after reading a lot of reviews, this Makita seemed to rise to the top a lot. I didn't need a 12" slider, too heavy and overkill really for what I do, mostly light construction and DIY and a lot of shop woodworking. So I went with the 10", and it's paying off huge! This saw is more accurate than I ever expected a slider to be. It's fairly lightweight, but it doesn't feel cheap. It's got plenty of power to cut through big treated posts and 8/4 oak, and I like the way it doesn't kick like a mule when I pull the trigger. Nice! Changing the miter angle takes some new learning because the controls are kind of "backward" from most saws, but once I got used to it it's second nature. Overall, very, very nice saw!

I've had this kit for a couple of years now, and I can't imagine any way to improve on it—unless they lowered the price. But even for this price, it's a great set because the tools have all the power I need, the batteries last a long time, they charge fast, and neither tool has ever let me down. I built a 20x25 deck over a weekend and never changed batteries. I'm amazed at how sweet the impact driver works at driving the lag bolts and long screws without twisting my wrist off like drills usually do. And the drill has the hammer function, which I used to drill into concrete to set the anchors. Very nice set. I plan to add the circ saw and recip saw soon.

This is a decent sign kit, but not great. It makes readable signs okay, especially when seen from a distance. But sometimes it's fussy to get the letters in the rails and get it all cinched up. And it can be REALLY maddening when your routing letters like D,P,or O and the router bit catches and pulls itself into the center part, basically ruining that letter. You really have to hold the router against the edges of each letter template for those with an open area in the center.

I bought this saw to supplement my cabinet saw, especially when I'm working on a job at church or for charity. (I do a lot of that.) I bought the stand that comes with the DW744 and it mounted easily. I really like that stand, didn't want the basic X-wing stand. I don't know why Dewalt tries to steer people away from this stand for the DW745 saw. Anyway, the saw has plenty of power, even when cutting 8/4 oak or 2x treated pine. The fence is easy to use and moves side to side by turning a knob. I wish it had a bigger table for more capacity to rip, but that's what the bigger Dewalt saw is for. This one is great for about $150 less than DW744.

I bought this table with the stand and casters, and it's great. I like the extra height the casters give me, but I'm 6-4. If you're shorter, you might want to skip the casters. The top is very solid and doesn't sag under the weight of my 3 HP Freud plunge router. I especially like the fence because it works like a T-Square and automatically squares itself. That's not a big deal most of the time, but when I want to use it along with a miter gauge, I know the fence is automatically parallel to the miter slot. The table has slots on top that I use to put flip stops in for stopped routing. If I could change one thing about this table, I'd move the offset dust port so it's centered in the opening. As it is, chips tend to hang up in the opening and plug it up sometimes. I wish it didn't cost $500, but after using it for a few years, I don't think about that anymore, well until now.

This is a great kit, with all the nailers I need for building stuff in my shop and for most of the odd jobs I do around the house. I've also got a framing nailer, and this compressor will power it fine as long as I don't try to fire a nail every second. My biggest gripe with the compressor is that it's loud, but I knew that going in because it's oil-less. And even though the nailers aren't the top of the line, they do a nice job without jamming. What more could you ask?

I agree with the main review. This is an awesome radio! But it's a lot more than that. I love that it has 4 electric hook-ups and charges my Bosch batteries. The sound quality is phenomenal, whether I play the radio or my Ipod. It's not exactly easy to carry around, but I'm willing to put up with that and the price for the quality this delivers. I'd say Bosch has raised the bar, and now the other tool brands will have to answer.

This is such a great tool. I would recommend buying Lie Nielsen planes to anybody who's looking for one, especially if your thinking about buying some cheap plane or one that needs a lot of work to restore. This one was ready to go the moment I got it, all I had to do was wipe it down -- it was even sharp! Definitely buy this plane!

This is so easy to use, you just brush it on and you get the coloring of oil and the varnish to seal it, all together in one mix. I prefer the look of oil finishes to stains or dyes, and this one gives me that nice finished look without a lot of hassle. You have to rub it out between coats or you'll get a rough, scratchy texture. I usually put on two coats of this, and then if I need more top coat I switch to straight varnish. I just wish Minwax would make this in a can that's better to pour from. They put the spout right in the center! And you can't help but get the stuff all over the top, and then when you go to use it again later, the lid gets stuck to the metal threads and the little paper seal in the cap won't come off.

This is probably my favorite "tool" for hand sanding. I use these little contour pads to sand every router profile, becuase even if you think your router cut a nice profile, it still needs sanding. And it's so much easier than using things like dowel rods and other assorted shapes to do the job. I know it takes time, but it helps to make your work stand out from junk. You can get these in smaller packs, but I say get the whole kit because you'll need them all at some point, especially you use a router.

I've got the original K-Body's and have had them for more than 10 years. They're my go-to clamp for projects where they fit. I just like the way they clamp my projects together. They're heavy, sure, especially when you get 8 on a big cabinet, but I'll take that any day to get their clamping ability. One problem I do have with them is getting dried glue off the bars. It gets down into the little tooth marks on top of the bar and is really tough to get off. Otherwise, I love them. They're pricey, but that's why I bought them a couple at a time to take the sting out of it. By the way, I don't like the new K-Body's, saw them in the store and they feel cheaper. I don't like the slide-over plastic thing on the jaws.

I wanted to get the bigger 735 Dewalt planer, but just couldn't spring for the extra $200 or so. So I went with this one and man I like it a lot! It cuts real well and it comes with the tables that don't come with the other Dewalt. The knives are easy to change when they wear out, which isn't as often as I was worried it would be. Overall, I'd recommend this planner.

I bought this router set a few years ago and I've used it for everything from edge routing and mortising to using the fixed base in the router table. I can't imagine ever having a better router. Some guys say you need a 3 horsepower router for using big bits in the table, but I've used my Bosch 1716 without any trouble -- I just feed the boards slower and it does a nice job! Well worth the price!