Abstract: A magnetic hinge that connects and secures adjacent components while allowing for rotational movement of the components with respect to each other. The magnetic hinge may be incorporated into a magnetic stand magnifier or a variety of other structures. The magnetic hinge of this invention consists of an arm and a shaft with a magnet therebetween.

Abstract: A device for pressing and drying organic materials. The organic material is inserted between two sheets of thin cloth which are, in turn, sandwiched between two thick felt pads. These pads are then sandwiched between platens made from inorganic material. The assembly is heated, resulting in a pressed and dried organic material.

Abstract: A plane having an easily removable blade positionable in use flush against the work surface. A magnet attached to the underside of the handle of the plane secures the blade to the handle. The blade may be positioned on the handle with the cutting edge exposed or simply reversed to store the cutting edge of the blade under the handle.

Abstract: A pin router arm for attachment to a router table, and a mechanism that attaches to a plunge router to conveniently and accurately move the router body relative to the router base in order to adjust the position of a router bit in the router relative to the router table. Substantial excursions in router bit position are made by moving a handle up or down using a handle or a foot pedal, and small excursions are made using a micro-adjust mechanism that has a detent set screw and cooperating structure to facilitate adjustment of the micro-adjust mechanism by very small predetermined increments. The pin router arm can hold interchangeable sizes of guide pins and is easily and quickly mounted on and removable from the router table.

Abstract: A dowel maker having a first rough-sizing blade attached to a body with a micro-adjust assembly for adjusting blade position and a second finish-cutting blade also attached to a body with a micro-adjust assembly for adjusting blade position. Dowel diameters smaller than the largest diameter the body can accommodate may be produced using interchangeable front insert guides, and interchangeable rear guides are also used for different diameter dowels. A workpiece with a square cross-section end is driven through the dowel maker with a square recess socket driven by an electric hand drill.

Abstract: A device for pressing and drying organic materials in a microwave oven. The organic material is inserted between two sheets of thin cloth which are, in turn, sandwiched between two thick felt pads. These pads are then sandwiched between platens made from inorganic material. The assembly is placed in a microwave oven and heated, resulting in a pressed and dried organic material.

Abstract: A transparent molded plastic lid for use on an auxiliary trash collection container used with a shop vacuum cleaner or dust collector system that permits inspection of the container contents without removal of the lid.

Abstract: A carpenter's gauge for use as a marking gauge or a compass includes a compass bar, a pin carrier, and a marking instrument holder. The compass bar is an elongated bar having a slot formed along its center. The pin carrier slides along the compass bar and includes a pin holder and a knob located opposite the pin holder along the compass bar. The pin holder includes a reference surface that lies substantially in line with a pin held by the pin holder. The knob allows the pin holder to be rotated between a first position where the reference surface lies parallel to the compass bar, and a second position where the reference surface lies perpendicular to the compass bar. When the reference surface lies perpendicular to the compass bar, the gauge may be used as a marking gauge or a compass by inserting a marking instrument into the marking instrument holder. Etched markings along the compass bar indicate the distance between the reference surface or pin and the marking instrument.

Abstract: A cutter for use in fabricating dowels, plugs, or tenons has a hex-shaped shank and a body portion. The body portion includes a spur which may be carbide and is the first part of the cutter to contact the wood and which makes an initial depression into the wood. A cutting tooth has a cutting edge that may also be carbide for cutting a trough into the wood and is the widest part of the cutter. The exterior surfaces of the cutter above the cutting tooth are formed at smaller radial distances and consequently have less, if not no, contact with the piece of wood being cut. The cutting tooth may be tapered along its height whereby the bottom of the tooth would be the thickest part of the tooth and would have the most contact with the wood. Also, the portion of the cutter trailing the spur may be formed with teeth and flutes thereby reducing the amount of contact between the cutter and the wood.

Abstract: A miniature tenon cutter having an aluminum body and a flat cutter blade positioned adjacent to a throat having a funnel mouth utilizing a gauge to assist in establishing cutter blade position. The tenon cutter is used with an electric drill motor, and it forms a cylindrical tenon with a sloping shoulder.

Abstract: A carver's vise for holding a workpiece to be carved includes a base mounted to a workbench, a clamp mechanism, a mounting plate, and a mounting plate shaft clamped to a base connector by the clamp mechanism. The base includes an angled portion that extends upwardly from a rear of the base to a point near the front of the base closer to the user. The clamp mechanism includes a clamp head holding the mounting plate shaft against the base connector, a clamp shaft located in a bore of the base connector, and a handle that tightens or releases the clamp from the base connector. When the handle releases the clamp head, the mounting plate is free to rotate about the clamp shaft. Grooves in the base connector and an O-ring allow the mounting plate to rotate in discrete angular increments. The mounting plate may also rotate about the clamp shaft and move back and forth through the clamp head.

Abstract: A molded plastic lid for use on an auxiliary trash collection container used with a shop vacuum cleaner or dust collector system. Incoming air and entrained materials are directed along the inside of the container at a shallow angle, and outgoing air is drawn from the center of the lid at a steeper angle. The resulting airflow in the container is a vortex or cyclone-like flow that deposits most of the incoming material within the container, thereby increasing the collection capacity of the system with which the lid is used by the volume of the auxiliary container.