I recently got a new toy for use in building psalteries, and it works so well, I thought I’d write a review of it:

It’s a new cordless drill from Bosch. It’s closely based on their incredibly successful PS20 Pocket Driver. But this time around, they’ve added something that’s indispensable to me: a chuck.

Having read all of the positive reviews, and having tested it out a few times at the local hardware store, I was well aware that the PS20 is a great drill. But, one of the main features I was looking for in a drill like this was the ability to drive in tuning pins: this meant that it would have to be able to grip the modified tuning wrench shaft that I use, not to mention the substantial torque required to drive in these pins. (The driver bit is simply the shaft of a T-handle tuning wrench, with the handle stripped off.) But, the 1/4″ quick-change socket on the PS20 prevented its use.

Looking at the pictures above and below, you can see that the new PS30 Cordless Drill has no problems gripping my specialized driver: owning to the fact that the PS30 has a 3/8″ keyless chuck.

To the left you can see how the drill is used to drive the tuning pins into the psaltery’s body. Previously, I had used a much bigger (and heavier) 18v NiCad cordless drill to accomplish this task. Considering that this new drill has nearly the same amount of torque, (driving these pins in requires quite a good deal of torque from the drill), but weighs only 2.2 pounds (!), now I can consecutively drive all 60 pins without stopping due to discomfort or fatigue. (You wouldn’t think of it, but holding an 18-volt, 5-pound brick for a drill can get quite tiring rather quickly!)

Plus, because of the chuck, I can use it for a lot of other odd jobs with non-standard bit sizes: like 6mm brad point, etc. As soon as I read about the release of the PS30, I knew it would be perfect. To me, it really replaces two tools: the PS20, (which thankfully I hadn’t bought yet), and my older 18v cordless drill. (I still have my bigger 18v drill on hand for really tough jobs, but for the vast majority of the time, I find the PS30 superior.)

So, since the PS30 has replaced two tools for me, here’s my breakdown as to its advantages over both types of tools:

Bosch PS30’s Advantages over PS20 and other “Pocket Drivers”

• 3/8″ Keyless chuck allows you to grip a much wider variety of bits and drivers, you’re no longer limited to just 1/4″ hex shank
• Two-speeds allows this drill to be used to drill holes much faster than other drivers, as it can spin at up to 1,100 RPMs
• Develops more torque in low-speed mode than most other drivers in its class: 221 inch-pounds of torque! (Nearly triple the torque of the PS20, and over double the torque of Milwaukee’s M12 Sub-Compact Driver.)

Bosch PS30’s Advantages over Larger Cordless Drills

• Much smaller and lighter, without much sacrifice in terms of speed and torque: 0-380 rpm in first gear, 0-1,100 rpm in second gear; 221 inch-pounds of torque
• New lithium ion battery technology can be recharged at any time, (i.e., trickle charge), without any memory effects
• Batteries stay charged longer in between long periods of inactivity. So if it’s unused for several months, the batteries will still be at full charge and ready to go.
• Compact design lets you get into tighter spaces that other drills cannot
• Only weighing 2.2 pounds can signifcantly reduce user fatigue if you are doing a lot of repetitive tasks (I know this quite well firsthand)

This is just about the best drill I’ve owned or used. Since I originally got it, I’ve only had to reach for my bigger drill a couple of times, and that was because I needed the capacity of a 1/2″ chuck rather than a 3/8″. My only other complaint is that it would be nice to have some sort of on-board driver-bit storage. I like to have a #2 square driver and either a torx or a phillips on-board the drill at all times.

Check it out on Amazon to see more!

I’ve finally got one of my most sought-after stationary power tools: a drum sander. This sander has already sped up many laborious tasks in the first week I’ve used it.

To the left you can see an example of its work: a multi-piece striped bowed psaltery back. (This is going to be another one of the “Candyshop” bowed psalteries.) It is made of quilted maple and purpleheart.

Ordinarily, it would take me a very long time to clean up all of the glue lines and get everything sanded perfectly flat and level. Additionally, with the quilted maple, I was unable to use a planer or jointer on the piece, as the knives would simply tear out the grain. (But the sander is gentle with the maple’s figure and preserves the board’s integrity.)

Now, I can just set the bowed psaltery back on the conveyor belt, and let the sander do all of the work for me within seconds, and with a much greater degree of accuracy than is possible with hand sanding.

Here’s my newest toy: it’s a little baby 4″ table saw. (With a tube of ChapStick to show the size.)

I got this small saw to help me cut the bindings for all of my bowed psalteries. A full sized tablesaw seemed too big and wasteful, and a bandsaw still gave me fairly rough cross-cuts.

So now, this little saw fills that gap in nicely. It can easily cut the miters for the binding, and still leaves a smooth, finished cut. Best of all, it doesn’t take up very much shop space.

Well, I hate to make this “tool review week,” but I just couldn’t resist. I’ve been using a new product (new to me at least) for several weeks now, and I now feel confident enough to comment on it.

What I’m talking about is a 5″ stainless-steel sanding disc meant to fit all hook-and-loop 8-hole random orbit sanders. It’s called a “Microplane” sanding disc, and I’ve tried all the grits (40, 80, and 120) and my favorite is definitely the 80.

Basically, instead of using sharp particles of abrasive to sand the surface like regular sandpaper, this product is made of perforated (and probably laser-cut) steel.

As with anything there are pros and cons. Here’s my take on this:

The Pros:

• It cuts a lot faster than regular sandpaper. The best way I can describe it is that it cuts about as fast as you wish sandpaper would cut – not too fast, (like a belt sander), but not too slow.
• It lasts a lot longer than regular sandpaper. See that picture above? That’s my only medium-grit disc that I have right now. I haven’t worn it out yet.
• It’s just about impossible to clog or gum up one of these discs. It has a very open design, which allows the sander to collect a lot of dust, and also prevent any kind of clogging.

The Cons:

• The Coarse (40 grit) and Medium (80 grit) both leave visible swirl marks in the wood, though they usually aren’t terribly hard to sand out. Basically, I disagree with their grit ratings, and would equate their medium grit with something closer to a 50-grit in regular sandpaper. And what they call coarse would be…. very coarse.
• I feel that the coarse is simply too aggressive for all but the most extreme of situations, and depending on what kind of sander you have, (high quality, balanced handling help), it may be difficult if not impossible to control properly. Likewise, the fine (120 grit) isn’t all that different from regular sandpaper anyway. I really like just the medium disc.
• You can’t do the trick where you tilt the sander on its side to focus in on one area. The sander must be kept completely level at all times. (Which can also be a “pro” too, because I like to use these discs for leveling surfaces.
• It is mildly annoying to remove them from the velcro bottom of the sander. You can’t just yank them off like regular sandpaper, you have to be gentle with them so you don’t put a bend or crease in the metal.

So there’s my little mini-review. From looking above it may seem like there are more cons than pros, but I really like this product. The pros I listed are really good qualities to have, and most of the cons are mostly petty small stuff.

I recommend the Medium (80-grit equivalent) as a great way to sand out planer and saw marks, glue squeeze out, pore and grain filler excess, and a lot of other jobs that require fast, somewhat aggressive sanding. These discs last a long time.