By Paul Bianchina
Remember those little slotted plastic boxes you could use to guide your handsaw when cutting miters? Remember having to predrill your moldings so they wouldn't split, then using a nail set to drive in a finish nail by hand? For a lot of today's carpenters, the new -- and increasingly more affordable -- generations of tools designed for finish carpentry have made those and many other tools and techniques something for the antique shop.
The Joys of Slide and Miter Saws
Standard equipment in the arsenal of most professional carpenters -- and a growing number of homeowners -- is the power miter saw. Power miter saws feature a solid table and fence, and an overhead-mounted saw blade that will pivot 45 degrees to either side of center. Positive stops at zero, 22 1/2 degrees (half of a 45 angle) and 45 degrees left and right ensure quick setup and repetitive accuracy for cutting standard miters, and the blade can also be locked at any setting in between.
A step up from the miter saw, and enjoying tremendous popularity and a resulting drop in price, is the compound miter saw. Compound saws will make all of the same standard cuts described above, but have the added capability of angling the saw blade itself to make bevel cuts. Since the blade can be swung to each side and also tilted at the same time, these versatile saws can make compound cuts -- a cut that is angled and beveled at the same time -- with amazing ease and accuracy.
One more step up, and you have the slide saw. Slide saws make angled cuts and beveled cuts in the same manner as the compound miter saw, but the cutting blade travels on an arm -- similar to a radial arm saw -- that increases the width of the material it can cut. Most slide saws will cut boards that are 12 inches wide or more, further increasing the saw's usefulness.
Versatile Air Tools
Imagine driving a two-inch finish nail into solid oak with no predrilling and having it perfectly countersunk, all in less time than it takes to pick up a hammer. Such is the case with any of the dozens of versatile air-powered nail and staple guns that are showing up on job sites and in homeowner garages everywhere.
Depending on the size and type of the tool, air guns for finish carpentry will drive anything from tiny 1/2" long pins to sturdy finish nails and staples up to 2 1/2" long. The guns have magazines that hold dozens of fasteners between reloadings, and are safe and easy to use for even the most inexperienced handyperson. Any standard air compressor will power the guns, and once you have the compressor -- an incredibly useful tool in its own right -- it can be used with any type of air gun.
Biscuits With That Trim?
A growing number of professional finish carpenters are discovering the ease and versatility of the biscuit jointer for making clean, sturdy joints in a variety of materials and applications. Here again, their growing popularity has resulted in more and more features at lower and lower prices.
The biscuit jointer uses a small, carbide-tipped circular saw blade to cut matching half-circle slots in the edges of two boards that are being joined. A biscuit -- a small wooden spline that looks like a flattened football -- is glued and inserted into the slots as the boards are pressed together. The biscuit swells with the moisture in the glue, and creates an incredibly strong joint in a matter of seconds. Many carpenters have started using biscuits in the miter joints between trim pieces to lock the joint together and prevent future separation.
Where to Get Them
All of these tools are available from home centers, lumberyards, hardware stores, discount stores, and mail order and Internet sources. If you don't have an ongoing need for them, they can also be rented inexpensively at most rental stores.
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