Thanks to the wonders of the Lee Valley Wish List I had a pretty good birthday.
Aluminum clamps. These come in two sizes, 25 inch opening and 49 inch opening. They were on special, the 25 inch ones came 10 for $69. I have since ordered the 49 inch clamps, $89 for box of 10. These turn out to be very good value and of course they are now out of stock although some of the stores may have some still in inventory. There is a rolled 'U' channel. The rear clamp face slides along with a spring loaded dog which clicks into impressions cut in the back of the channel similarly to how a pipe clamp works. The other end is a screw clamp with a couple of inches of travel again much like a pipe clamp. I guess they aren't intended as heavy duty but they certainly look heavy duty enough for me to have ordered a box of the longer ones. I got a step drill bit. This comes in a nice rigid plastic case. It is a drill bit within a hollow drill bit with a set screw so you can extend the inner bit more or less through the thicker outer bit. The point is to bore and countersink in one action, you can cut a pocket hole as much as about three inches. I got a Bulldog gripper. This is a handle with two padded jaws you can drop over the top edge of sheet goods, drywall or plywood. As you lift the jaws close over the faces of the material to make lifting more comfortable and easier. Looks good, so far I haven't gone out into the shed to heave plywood about just for the hell of it but the day isn't over yet and you never know. I do have some drywall work to do this summer so will know soon enough if I like it. I got a low-end pocket hole jig, two inserts for different sized bits. Not sure I really know how to work it yet, nothing so sophisticated as the big Craig models but in conjunction with my growing stack of clamps should be quite serviceable. I also got another Professional Edge Clamp. I got one a year or so ago but one isn't enough, not sure that two are either. This has 2 pads on legs which close over either side of a surface like a table top when a plunger at the junction of the legs is turned in. This plunger also runs a round pad forward between the jaws so, the jaws grip the two surfaces while the disk presses an edge band or boarder against the edge as in fixing an edge with or without biscuits. I got a pair of weeding pliers which are supposed to grip those long tap rooted weeds like dandelions but the verdict is still out on them. Janet very thoughtfully obtained a bottle of Glen Livit scotch whisky and one of courvoisier Napoleon brandy. Last Thursday was a very happy birthday in deed. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
