'k....

First off, it's not an exact world.

Second, a LOT of retailers I talked to don't know thew difference
between CAMI and FEPA.

I called or e-mailed 3M (VERY HELPFUL and INFORMATIVE), and E-Zlap,
the values are straigtht from such. There's another link posted on
the spreadsheet that is helpful too.

Hope this helps,
-Zz

This is a great resource. Thanks!

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:19:54 -0800, Zz Yzx
wrote:

'k....

First off, it's not an exact world.

Second, a LOT of retailers I talked to don't know thew difference
between CAMI and FEPA.

I called or e-mailed 3M (VERY HELPFUL and INFORMATIVE), and E-Zlap,
the values are straigtht from such. There's another link posted on
the spreadsheet that is helpful too.

Hope this helps,
-Zz

Great resource! Thanks for posting this.

Lance

"Zz Yzx" wrote in message
...
'k....

First off, it's not an exact world.

Second, a LOT of retailers I talked to don't know thew difference
between CAMI and FEPA.

I called or e-mailed 3M (VERY HELPFUL and INFORMATIVE), and E-Zlap,
the values are straigtht from such. There's another link posted on
the spreadsheet that is helpful too.

Hope this helps,
-Zz

Omnijig Unbox
The Porter-Cable Omnijig dovetail jigs are finally available! Woodcraft
in West Springfield, VA had the Porter-Cable rep in Saturday for
demonstrations all day long. He said he got the jigs on Monday and only
started playing with them then. So there’s a really fast learning curve.

My first question to the rep was do you have them in stock? Yes. Not
wanting to look too eager I asked him to demonstrate a few things and
asked him some questions. I didn’t get the sense that he really knew why
it took so long for PC to launch the product. He blamed it on a “total
redesign.”

Happily I plunked down the $500 for the 24 inch version (that’s after a
10% store discount and $50 gift card provided by PC) and had the guys
load it in my truck. It weighs 76 pounds according to the shipping label
on the box.

As they were loading my truck, I heard one guy murmur to the other “How
many dovetails do you have to cut to make $600 worth spending?” Then he
asked me if I was going into the “dovetail business.” I just smiled and
said I was going to have fun playing with my new toy.

So here are my first impressions. The impressions of someone that has
never created a dovetail joint in his life.

As I said, the box is big and says it weighs 76 pounds. Though to me it
only feels like 40.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0007.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0007.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0007.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

Whoever manufactures these for PC put a lot of care in packaging.
There’s a ton of Styrofoam, and all the small parts are individually
wrapped, even the screwdriver. The two PC router bits are encased in
rubber, wrapped in a plastic bag and then put into plastic boxes.
(They’re nice bits with long ½ inch shafts.)

That’s a DVD on top of the Styrofoam. It’s pretty good. Norm Abrams
hosts a well produced instructional video. It’s also available on the PC
website, which was nice for pre-purchasing decision making. I hope more
manufacturers go this route.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0009.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0010.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0009.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0009.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0010.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0010.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a


There’s almost nothing to assemble on this thing.
I haven’t figured out what the little wrench is for yet.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0013.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0013.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0013.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

The whole thing screams quality. Solid feeling large, knurled
thumbscrews, template, and base. Robertson (aka. square drive) screws
are used to hold everything together except the template support bars.
They’re held on by four Allen screws.

Quality is seen in the little things. PC provided a little window to see
if the screws are lined up when installing the depth pod (the rack of
depth settings above the jig). It’s nice not to have to close your eyes
and “use the force” to get them in straight.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0017.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0018.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0017.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0017.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0018.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0018.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

Another bit of unnecessary(?) quality are these contoured finger grips
on the depth stops. This is not a part that requires any amount of
effort to remove once the thumb screw holding it in is loosened.

You also get THREE large, nicely bound, thick paper, glossy covered
instruction manuals, one in English, one in Spanish, and one in French.
They are all the same and have lots of big, labeled drawings. I would
prefer one cheaper manual and a couple of copies of the instruction
card. My hunch is that card will get lost a couple of times in my workshop.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0023.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0023.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0023.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

One really neat feature is the stabilizer bar holder on the back of the
depth pod. Instead of piling it up on the bench somewhere when changing
templates, you just lift it up and put it on these hangers in front of
you and out of the way. Ingenious. (Now if they could only put a router
pad on this thing to hold it while I change bits.)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0020.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0019.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0020.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0020.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0019.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0019.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

Storage bar? I don’t know what this would be used for beyond shipping.
Evidently, I’m supposed to reinsert the screw after removal for safe
keeping.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0021.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0022.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0021.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0021.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0022.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0022.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

The pins are pretty beefy. I don’t think they’ll be bending/twisting
anytime soon.

I tried to make some through dovetails on my own, without looking at the
instructions. It was a big mistake, but that’s what the rep said he did.
“All the directions you need are on the instruction card.” Well, not
quite. As you can see by my prototype, I was a little off. I would
advise reading through the instructions once. (My problem was I didn’t
adjust the template height when I began. Hence, different depths for
pins and tails.)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0027.jpg
a
href="http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/?action=view&current=DSC_0027.jpg"
target="_blank"img
src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/witczak_photos/DSC_0027.jpg"
border="0" alt="Photobucket"/a

At this point, I have no complaints with the Omnijig. It seems very
stable and high quality. The only concern I have is with the template
support bars. Detaching and reattaching the template and stabilizer bar
may chew up the steel of the support bars. However, replacement will be
easy if the parts are available. I’ll keep my eyes on this one.

While I didn’t buy any, accessory templates will be available for both
sizes of Omnijig. According to the instructions it looks like installing
these templates will require taking out 8 screws. They will probably
assure alignment, but it seems a bit tedious to do. We’ll see.

I’ve got to build some drawers for a bathroom vanity, so this toy will
get some use over the next few weeks. I’ll update with any new comments.

"Mark Witczak" wrote in message
As they were loading my truck, I heard one guy murmur to the other “How
many dovetails do you have to cut to make $600 worth spending?”

One

"Mark Witczak" wrote in message
...

Snip


So here are my first impressions. The impressions of someone that has
never created a dovetail joint in his life.

As I said, the box is big and says it weighs 76 pounds. Though to me it
only feels like 40.

Snip


Whoever manufactures these for PC put a lot of care in packaging. There’s
a ton of Styrofoam, and all the small parts are individually wrapped, even
the screwdriver. The two PC router bits are encased in rubber, wrapped in
a plastic bag and then put into plastic boxes. (They’re nice bits with
long ½ inch shafts.)

Thanks for explaining that. I saw the jig 'Saturday 2 weeks ago at the
local Woodcraft and was wondering why the box was so large.


Snip

You also get THREE large, nicely bound, thick paper, glossy covered
instruction manuals, one in English, one in Spanish, and one in French.
They are all the same and have lots of big, labeled drawings. I would
prefer one cheaper manual and a couple of copies of the instruction card.
My hunch is that card will get lost a couple of times in my workshop.

Includes a Spanish and French course also. Bonus! ;~)




Storage bar? I don’t know what this would be used for beyond shipping.
Evidently, I’m supposed to reinsert the screw after removal for safe
keeping.

Leigh has a similar bar, it is used as a guide for making "sliding" DT
joints. Hang on to it.


At this point, I have no complaints with the Omnijig. It seems very
stable and high quality. The only concern I have is with the template
support bars. Detaching and reattaching the template and stabilizer bar
may chew up the steel of the support bars. However, replacement will be
easy if the parts are available. I’ll keep my eyes on this one.

While I didn’t buy any, accessory templates will be available for both
sizes of Omnijig. According to the instructions it looks like installing
these templates will require taking out 8 screws. They will probably
assure alignment, but it seems a bit tedious to do. We’ll see.

I’ve got to build some drawers for a bathroom vanity, so this toy will get
some use over the next few weeks. I’ll update with any new comments.


Thanks for sharing. What is the smaller box with the Trumpet looking keys
for?
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0019.jpg

Leon wrote:



Thanks for sharing. What is the smaller box with the Trumpet looking keys
for?
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/DSC_0019.jpg



I can answer that Leon.
Those are the depth stops for setting your router bit depths for various
DTs
I wish Liegh had that.

--
Kevin

lindo745 (at) yahoo (dot) com