By Bob Duncan
Rockler Center/Offset Marking Tool
$9.99 plus S&H
Rockler, 800-279-4441, rockler.com
Rockler’s ingenious Center/Offset Marking Tool works so well you may wonder how you ever lived without it. This handy device lets you mark the center of the edge of a board, or draw a line a specific distance in from the edge, with NO measuring. To mark the center of a board, simply position a pencil in the hole, place one of the pegs on the bottom of either side of the board (along the edge), twist the tool until both pegs contact the wood, and draw the tool the length of the board.
To draw lines or mark points a specific distance in from any edge, flip the tool over, place the protrusion flat against the edge of the board, and choose any of the marked distances, which range from 1/16″ to 1/2″ (imperial measurements only) in 1/16″ increments. These measurements account for the average thickness of a sharpened pencil, so you don’t need to factor that into your measurement.
Rockler sent us two of these tools. One lives on our band saw, thanks to the integrated magnet. It even has a hole to hold a pencil. This tool is so compact that I keep the other one in my shop apron.
SandIts
$6.99 (pack of 8) plus S&H
SandIt, sandits.com
SandIts look like the offspring of cotton swabs and sandpaper. If you took long swabs and replaced the cotton with an abrasive, you’d get SandIts. And at first glance, I thought these would be great to sand in tight areas—but I was wrong.
These tools do sand, and with the shapes and sizes available, they do fit into relatively small areas. However, they were not small enough to fit into the frets and tight areas I sometimes need to sand.
Furthermore, the coarsest grits available (120/180) left a black residue behind that took quite a bit of sanding with ordinary sandpaper to remove. Then, they skip to 400/800 grit, which is too fine for most woodworking projects. Additionally, the plastic shafts were too flexible. To sand with any power, I had to grip right next to the abrasive head, since the shaft was slightly stiffer than a coffee stirrer.
For me, SandIts are a great idea—but one that could be better executed.
MicroJig MatchFit Clamp (PLUS! Watch our video of the clamps in action HERE!)
$45 (2 pack) plus S&H
MicroJig, 855-747-7233, microjig.com
I use the MicroJig’s MatchFit Clamp more than any other clamp in my shop. The only task this baby can’t do better than other clamps is glue together large blocks. But every other task I use a clamp for—holding down a project, securing a jig, creating a fence for a circular saw or a router, or even securing wood so I can plane it—this MicroJig does better.
Basically, it’s a DIY track system. You use a router and a 1/2″ (12.7mm)-radius 14° dovetail bit to create slots in a workbench (or almost anything made out of wood) that the clamps slide into. This gives you the clamping ability of more expensive track systems along with the versatility of ordinary clamps—the best of both worlds.
While they are sold in packs of two, I’d suggest that quantity as a bare minimum. We immediately added slots to the top and sides of one of our workbenches to accommodate these tools. We added one to the bottom of a 1×4 that we use for circular saw or router fences. We added slots to a piece of plywood for ripping wavy boards or even as a mobile clamping station. Amazingly, everything we clamped to these pieces stayed in place.
You will keep finding uses for these clamps. The MicroJig website shows them being used to add a larger rip fence to a table saw, secure pieces to saw horses, and create custom clamping jigs. Pick up a pack. I promise you won’t stop at just one!
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