Click Here to Download the CNC Files.

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The big news for woodworkers? The M18 FUEL 7-1/4 inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw that will be available in September. It’s made to be lightweight, at 28 pounds with the battery pack. It bevels left and right with hard stops at 45 degrees and 48 degrees and, according to the presentation, will make up to 600 cuts per charge on one M18 battery.

To go with that miter saw, they’ve also come out with some accessories, including a Miter Saw Stand equipped with a bracket system to fit all brands of miter saws. The stand has a capacity of over 500 pounds and weighs 31 pounds. Additional optional accessories for the stand include a Carry Strap and a Table Top work surface that attaches to the stand –  it’s meant to be a place to put your safety glasses, pencils, tape measures, etc. The miter saw accessories will be available this month.

One of the other tools they showed us is the M12 Stapler, a cordless 3/8-inch crown stapler designed to be 35 percent lighter and require 80 percent less muscle effort than other crown staplers. How do they measure muscle effort? Well, as of 2016, Milwaukee now has an ergonomics department led by a certified ergonomist, Raffi Elchemmas. He’s the guy in the lab coat in the video – but not all of their testing takes place in the lab. They also do ergonomics tests in real-life test environments where people are using tools on a day-to-day basis.

It’s hard to hear in the video (there were people in the background doing things like playing with drain clog-clearing plumbing tools), but the diagnostics tool being used is an electromyography (EMG) machine that measures the electrical activity in up to 108 muscles. You see the spikes in activity on the readout screen behind me in the video: when I pick up a tool, and when I compress the Milwaukee stapler or the manual stapler. You can follow the correlation between the actions and the line graphs in the video on the EMG or, what I actually find visually easier, watch the fluctuations in the bar graphs below the EMG’s video screen. By feel, would I guesstimate the Milwaukee crown stapler required 80 less effort than the manual one? It’s hard to say – but the Milwaukee stapler was definitely easier to use, and I really did have to use two hands on “Brand X” to fire even one staple.

On the other hand, it’s a company with a long history, dating back to its founding in 1924. And, three years ago, in 2014, Milwaukee Tool acquired another long-established Wisconsin company, EMPIRE® Level, based in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, which was founded in 1919. EMPIRE was the brand that introduced tools like the Torpedo Level and the Magnetic Level.

As part of this year’s New Product Symposium, we toured the EMPIRE headquarters, which are – now  — full of high-tech machines like a 450,000-ton hydraulic press for making rafter squares which was custom-designed for EMPIRE. (That one’s camera-shy and requests “no photos, please”; the one you see in the photo is its 1,000-ton hydraulic press cousin.)

As of the beginning of 2016, however, there were no robotics in the EMPIRE plant. By the end of last year, there were 14; by the end of this year, there should be 20. Business has doubled since the Milwaukee purchase. What makes EMPIRE director of operations Steve Mellensack the most proud, however, in all of these upgrades, is that there have been no layoffs at EMPIRE. Instead, training has provided skills upgrades for the 210 hourly employees at the plant, which continues to produce new products like the UltraView LED Torpedo Level. A patent-pending system of dual ultraviolet LED lights surround each vial for maximum visibility – and, as seen in the video, it’s built for sturdiness to stand up to drops in jobsite conditions.

Other news from the Milwaukee Tool New Product Symposium? Well, there’s a new Hole Dozer with Carbide Teeth, a new M12 FUEL 1/2-inch Drill Driver, M12 FUEL 1/2-inch Hammer Drill and M12 FUEL ¼-inch Hex Impact Driver, all coming out in December. They’ve reduced both the weight and the size of the drills and drivers by shrinking the sizing of all three components of the tools: the motor, electronics, and gear core.

We also saw new developments in lighting, clothing, and dust collection. And learned that Milwaukee will be greatly expanding their tool storage options with the introduction of their PACKOUT Modular Storage System. The proprietary Mod-Lock attachment system allows toolboxes, organizers and soft-sided totes of multiple sizes and configurations to stack and lock together. The PACKOUT system will launch this September with three toolboxes, two organizers and three storage totes – but the Milwaukee reps at the show promised more to come. (Oh, and they also mentioned that they’ll be coming out with a Milwaukee Jobsite Cooler in October. Although the 18-can unit with a combination tape measure clip/bottle opener on the side wasn’t quite ready for its own prime-time spot in the tool presentations, they did use it to contain some of the beverages for lunch at the event.)

And, while (I hope!) yellow caution tape is not a staple in woodworkers’ shops, it was pretty cool to see it being made through the blown film extrusion process at the EMPIRE Level plant.

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With the remote switch plugged into the GDO’s outlet, I can turn this light on and off from anywhere in the shop with the remote control. I’ve aimed the light at my assembly table. The raking angle really helps me see the imperfections in my assembly and finishing processes while brightening up a dark space.

– Gerald Welf
Fridley, Minnesota

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– Mel Johansen
Glendale, Arizona

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Tim Inman: Tomato or tomato? The saw will cut either way. That said, there are safety reasons to cutting by first extending the saw out away from “home base” and then turning the power on and making the cut by swinging the saw into the wood and pushing back toward the home or docking location for the blade. I think there is also a pretty good argument in favor of better performance by doing it this way. A possible point of confusion is that for my ancient nemesis, the radial arm saw of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the “correct” cutting sequence was indeed to begin the cut from the back (fence side) of the board and pull the saw carriage out across the wood while cutting. I don’t like those saws for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is safety — or lack of it. Remember, I taught middle school kids how to use those saws back in the day. I have firsthand — and all my fingers — experience!

In milling or cutting there is a phenomenon known as “climb cutting” or “climb milling.” These terms describe the effect of the cutter teeth wanting to take bigger and bigger bites of wood as they chomp away on the substrate in question because of the way the cutting edge engages with the wood. If this happens and it gets out of control (which can happen really fast sometimes), the blade will actually climb uncontrollably out across the wood. If the tool is not beefy enough to withstand the stress, the blade will both climb out across the wood too fast, and it may also climb up on top of the wood without cutting completely through it. This is scary and dangerous. I have “enjoyed” this experience too many times in school shops I’ve taught in to not get the chills every time this subject comes up. I never had an injury, but wow! Though the force vector cutting direction of the blade teeth does indeed push the wood back firmly onto the rear support, the opposite vector pushes the saw with all its biting force out toward the operator. With today’s sliding miter saws, bringing the saw out to the front edge of the board and making the cut as the saw goes back towards home, the saw teeth do not have the “climbing” engagement with the wood. The climbing phenomenon is defeated. The cut is cleaner and the job is done much more safely.

As for craftsmanship, by cutting correctly as described for the miter saw, the blade passes the freshly cut surface only once. Cut made, saw ends up at home base. Job done. Cutting the other way means the saw begins cutting coming out of base position, then is pushed back past the newly cut surface again as it is docked, unless the saw is stopped at the end of the cut. This, in my experience, never happens. The result is a less clean, fuzzy, sometimes burned edge on the new cut.

So, the short answer for “why” is “because.” That’s how I trained my boys and and how my dad trained me, too. The longer answer is because it works better and it is much safer.

Chris Marshall: Scott, if you’ve ever felt the effects of a climb cut when using a radial-arm saw (or even a router, for that matter), you already know how unsettling the feeling is when the blade or bit wants to lurch ahead with your feed direction rather than against it. It can be scary stuff.

Pushing the miter saw’s blade into the wood and against the cutting action also presses the workpiece against the fence — just the way you want it to — and never leads to a climb cut. There’s no downside. And with a sharp blade, tearout is minimal on the backside if you give the blade time to cut as it exits the wood. (For even less tearout, attach a sacrificial fence to your miter saw’s fence to tighten the kerf around the blade – it works great.)

I’ve never seen a sliding miter saw instruction manual suggest that the saw be started in the “docked” position and pulled toward you to make the cut. (And with all the tool review articles I’ve written over 16 years, I think I’ve read them all.) You’re operating your miter saw the safest way now, and encourage your son to follow suit. It’s not a radial-arm saw.

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The Universal Dust-Free Router Hood features a 7-in.-dia. base plate with a hole pattern that fits most popular makes of mid-size routers, plus an upper dust dome and lower chip cover that fully encapsulate the router bit. This design captures dust at two different collection points simultaneously. The hood installs with the router’s sub-base screws and includes a quick-release hose connection port. It is not suitable for router table use.

Molded from clear polycarbonate — the same material used in industrial safety glasses — Oneida’s Universal Dust-free Router Hood offers both see-through clarity and superior durability. Its upper dust dome and lower chip cover rotate freely as the router moves to help ensure unimpeded routing. The lower chip cover can be removed without tools for inner plunging operations. It also can be replaced with a shallower cover for tighter edge work.

The hood will accommodate up to 2-1/8-in.-dia. edge-profiling bits and up to 1-1/4-in. plunge style bits.

The development of the product initially began when Oneida Air Systems’ researchers asked woodworkers, “What is the dirtiest, dustiest tool in your shop?” The overwhelming response was “My portable router!” Company founder and owner, Robert Witter, comments, “The fact that the router was causing such a significant pain point for our customers ignited a firm resolve within our company to clean up the dust-laden routing process once and for all. Our R&D team listened carefully to the needs of our customer base and worked diligently to perfect a universal solution with a clear, competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

The Universal Dust-Free Router Hood is designed to work with most fixed-base and plunge style routers from major brands including Black & Decker, Bosch, Craftsman, DeWALT, Hitachi, Makita, Porter-Cable, Ridgid, Rockwell, Ryobi and more. (You can verify the compatibility of your router’s make and model using a downloadable paper template, available on Oneida’s website.) Made in the USA, Oneida’s Universal Dust-Free Router Hood (item AXH000001) sells for $29.99.

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– Leo Camp
Owego, NY

See the Gallery Below:

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One also shared a photo of a barbecue of some of his own “catch.” – Editor

“Looks like you caught some good eating during your fishing trip. We do it here in Louisiana a bit different sometimes…but it is all scrumptilicious! How about some photos of that fancy planter?” –  Greg Little

“Welcome back.  As I read your story, I was looking forward to seeing a picture of your daughter’s planter.  I’ll bet I’m not the only one, either. Hope your mosquito bites are healed.” – Rick Corbitt

And, in response to last issue’s Q&A about “How to Shorten Bar Stool Legs Evenly,” we go this mathematical response. – Editor

“If you do manage to get the legs perfectly even, then it doesn’t matter if the floor isn’t perfect. Good old mathematics tells us it’s always possible to find a position where the chair will sit flat. Just rotate it a little bit. Explanation and proof in this video.” – Scott Noyes

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