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Festool still setting the pace

Many of the standard features of today’s portable circular saws originate from Festool’s TS55.
The latest generation of TS55s are innovating again…

Many of the standard features of today’s portable circular saws originate from Festool’s TS55.
The latest generation of TS55s are innovating again with an ultra slimline housing providing a side clearance of only 12mm,  and a guide wedge for greater safety and precision. A movable, transparent window also offers a clear view of the scribe mark.
The current RRP of $1090 plus GST, includes an extraction attachment, saw blade and 1400mm guide rail. Order number 561655.
For more information see http://hml.co.nz/



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Creative duet

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For Dave Pauling, making guitars is the natural fusion of two passions – music and wood.
Dave, who has been playing the guitar since he was 13, also knew the pleasure of pottering in sheds from a young age. His father is a “sheddie” from way back who, among other things, still spends many hours restoring vintage vehicles.
“I grew up helping him with his Model Ts, making bows and arrows, or working on a model railway we had in the loft,” he says.
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I tried removing it with abrasive products, but that involves an awful lot of manual labour and doesn’t always work well, not to mention the scratches it leaves on the tool’s surface. So I looked for a decent rust killer. CRC Evapo-Rust had a reputation, so I gave it a go.
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A butterfly takes wing

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This simple butterfly pendant or brooch (depending on the back fittings) is a very good exercise in several basic goldsmithing techniques. It also can be decorated in several different ways to produce strikingly different finished pieces of jewellery.
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If this design was being made in an art school, it would be stuck to a sheet of silver and the basic shapes cut from there. If a design was made this way in, say, 18-carat gold and the wing outlines (as here) made from 2.5 mm thick metal, the outlay and waste material would be considerable from a 2.5 mm-thick sheet of 18-carat gold plate. But we will make it like a professional craftsman who has to live in the real world where costs matter.