Commander 147

[ebb]

Black&Decker also swallowed PorterCable.
My little onehanded belt sander died on me.
On the outside it was a beautiful well designed tool. Perfect dust collection.
Before Black&Decker bought the classy name, PorterCable tools never died.
Have to remember that a company that is known for lousey tools
Is always going to sell lousey tools. Even if they bought a peerage.
I will never buy PorterCable again.


I also develop close relationships with my tools.
The tool won't bite if I respect it, give it the attention it deserves.
Still nterested in next generation nice little belt sanders.
But an imitation, never. A good tool is eager and dependable, hardly ever lets you down.
Never had a decent relationship with Black&Decker.
Shoulda known.
NO BLACK & DECKER TOOLS ARE MADE IN THE U.S.

[Ariel 109]

Hard to have allegiances to any power tools companies today. Most of the effort these companies put into products today is directed at international sourcing and marketing their cordless battery powered tools, which are unsuitable for most of my work. I don't want to pay $400.00 for a cordless drill that's going to break or need new batteries in two years. I'll just keep dragging around extension cords.

On the plus side you can buy a pretty decent Milwaukee drill today for under $70.00, made in China of course.

The Ridge 6" random orbit sander they sell at the dreaded Home Depot is a nice tool. Buy one just before you have some giant sanding job to do and if it breaks and not too much times has passed since the purchase take it back to Home Depot and they'll give you a new one.

I like the 4.5 Dewalt angle grinder I just bought to replace my fifteen year old Metabo that finally bit the dust.

And I love my Festool saw that runs on a guide rail, wonderful machine, will change the way you work for the better.

The big Porter Cable 3.25 HP plunge router is still a great tool, best router for my type of work. I have three other brand routers that sit on a shelf collecting dust. But I agree that Porter Cable / Delta is a shell of what it once was.

People may want quality American made tools but I doubt they are willing to pay the price they need to sell for. Festool makes nice products in Germany but their plunge router sells for over $800.00!

[Commander 147]

I've had lots of things pulling me away from working on the boat recently but I have managed to get a bit more done.

First I tabbed in the top half of the main bulkheads on the aft side. Now I need to fair it out and then I can paint the bulkhead itself. This will allow me to install my sink cabinet and the mahogany trim on the edge of the bulkhead.

I glued up two layers of 3/4" MDF and layed out my glueing jig for the first piece of trim that will go on the edge of the main bulkheads. And last night glued it up and then this morning I popped it out of the jig. Now I need to clean it up, size it to the final size and then I can do the radius on the edges and the dado in the back that will allow the bulkhead to recess into it. The strips of mahogany had to be only 1/16" thick in order to take the bend without breaking.