I received the June 2008 Lee Valley circular yesterday. As I was flipping through it, five products jumped out at me. I thought I would share the random thoughts that went through my head when I saw each of these items. Please note that these are my totally biased and completely unsubstantiated personal opinions. Your mileage may vary.
This small vacuum clamp system is really cool. You hook it up to a small air compressor, and it will clamp down your workpiece with no obstructions. This is perfect for routing and sanding… no more chasing a board around your workbench or working around a bulky set of clamps. There are two versions available: single-sided and double-sided. The single sided version needs to be screwed down to a surface before use, while the double-sided version vacuum mounts to any smooth surface. The double-sided version is only $10 more, which makes it a no-brainer, in my opinion.
At first I thought, “Hey, handscrew clamps are expensive. I can save a lot of money if I buy a bunch in kit form.” But then I thought, “Wait a minute… my shop time is in short supply. Do I really want to spend my precious few hours in the shop building something as mundane as a clamp?” ‘Nuff said.
Painter’s pyramids are tiny plastic pyramids that let you finish both sides of a workpiece at the same time. The workpiece sits on the non-marking points of the pyramids while you apply finish to one side. Flip it over and apply finish to the other side. Let it dry. You’re done! These are cheap and incredibly useful. Buy a bunch.
Okay, seriously. Has anyone bought one of these? Ever? I’m sorry, but if you own one of these, I reserve the right to mock you in a future blog entry. And it’s $9.95?!?!?! A stick has always worked just fine for me. And the stick is free.
It pains me to give the surface clamp a thumbs down because I desperately want a pair of them. This is something that would be so useful… but it’s $67. For one. No, that’s not a typo. Are they made of solid gold or something? It’s basically a threaded rod with a clamping arm attached to it. I would love to have a couple of these, but I wouldn’t pay more than $25 for one.
I think I agree with you about the hand screws. Shoot, for $5-10 more I can get the “real thing” fully-assembled without having to buy, build and shape my own jaws? Worth it.
I bought the painter pyramid directly from the company and paid a dollar more per set. They work great; it’s one of those things you wonder why you didn’t think of it. I used to use the old nail in a scrap trick but these work so much better.
Dude I love the thumbs up and down- they are great. I agree with them all to, I actually thought about getting the vacuum clamp. But what I loved the most was the duck shaped handle on the scraper on the cover. Pretty cool
Right there with you. I just ordered the VCI bags for lesser used planes, panel barrels and the painter pyramids.
My only hesitation on the vacuum clamp is the thought of the air compressor noise ruining my good time. But it is a fanstastic idea and may still go for one.
Tom
Don’t badmouth Lee Valley to me, buster, they make tools infallibly, ex cathedra, every time! I would give the surface clamp a thumbs up, but I would instead buy (and did) the Veritas hold down. It performs essentially the same tasks but gives you a better reach. But it’s also spendy. The Veritas stuff is almost always flawlessly made and likewise Lee Valley’s pricing is almost always very competitive.
Dave & Todd,
Thank you for the kind feedback on the Painter’s Pyramid.
You may want to check out our next product that is coming out within weeks at http://www.finishingturntable.com. You now don’t even need to touch an object that you are finishing! Holds up to 100lbs and great for spray applications.
Hope that you have a great day.
Mike Bucci
Painter’s Pyramid Inventor
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