Welcome to our 36th edition of Cool Tools this is where I get to show you some of the many clever and Innovative tools that I find over the years and that I get to work with in my shop this time I've selected four surprisingly inexpensive tools and three rather pricey tools all of which I think have really improved my shop time since I've been using them one cost me less than two bucks another is something that nobody has ever shown on YouTube before to my knowledge and these are just some of the surprises in this edition of Cool Tools so be sure to stick around to the end to see them all as always if any sponsors are involved they're disclosed at the beginning of the video and down by the link so everything is clear now please use those links below if you're interested in seeing more about anything or if you want to see the current prices because some of these have limited time discounts that I was able to secure so it's definitely worth checking out those links you'll find them by expanding the video description directly below you usually have to click on something to do that and I've also pinned them to the top of the comment section where they're a little easier to find now let's get started I've used a lot of featherboards over the years and I've shown some on cool tools and other videos in the past those are still good products I stand by those recommendations but the bow feather pro has really caught my attention lately because it's just different and there's three key ways it's different in its material makeup its unique design and it's anti-kickback protection which is really game changing now right away you'll notice that the fingers are made not from wood or plastic like traditional featherboards but from Eva hardened foam which is ultra dense and hard wearing but also isn't going to Mar your work piece and unlike some plastic feather boards that can become a nightmare if they do come in contact with a bit or a blade the feather Pro's fingers won't Splinter or shatter or explode and they're not going to damage your carbide you can even replace damaged fingers for a fraction of the cost of the entire new featherboard but what really makes this unique is the laser cut pattern on the fingers they call it a living hinge and this fundamentally changes how feather boards function the fingers easily Bend in the feed direction that produces just the right amount of pressure for a smooth and even feed rate but should something go wrong and the saw decides to kick that board back at you the unique curved shape at the top of the fingers combined with that living hinge at the base produces a cam-like action that greatly increases the pressure and virtually locks the board in place making it very difficult to force it back towards your body the manufacturer claims five times greater pull resistance than a standard feather board but I think it's more than that it's really a unique design that honestly has changed my attitude about how useful featherboards actually are is anti-kickback devices and I'm convinced the feather Pro is the real deal when it comes to that you don't have to toss all your old featherboards I'm not suggesting that I just think that maybe you should get just one of them so you can try it for yourself I'm sure you're going to agree that it is the smoothest and potentially safest featherboard you've ever used and they come from a small family business that's run by two brothers who came up with this great idea in their garage and they've built a business around it I love supporting things like that so I'll link to them below this video 3M has been quietly developing some game-changing sanding products lately and I happen to know a guy so I've been able to get an early look at some of these Innovations as long as I promised to keep them hush-hush until they were publicly released first that was the sander that we talked about before and now this one has finally gone public so I can tell you my experiences with the 3M extract portable dust extractor basically it's a shop vacuum on steroids while it can certainly be used to vacuum floors and whatever else you want to clean like the carpet here in my shop it's specifically designed to extract dust from handheld power tools such as Sanders and grinders and saws it generates a tremendous amount of suction as much as 102 inches of water lift which is how they measure static pressure in vacuum systems High static pressure is critical when you're trying to pull dust through those small ports on handheld power tools so by way of comparison 102 inches of water lift is nearly twice as much as many shop vacuums claim to produce this is also quieter than most shop vacuums by about five decibels at its lowest setting decibel scales are a little weird there's lots of math involved but I believe that means the average shop vacuum is more than three times as loud as this dust extractor and it's very noticeable to me of course that's at its lowest setting because the 3M is adjustable you can dial it up or down to suit your needs for suction while managing the noise something that comes in really handy indoors the filtration is also much better this has a dual HEPA filter design that won't clog up like a shop vacuum because it's equipped with an internal filter cleaning system that vibrates the cake dust off both filters without interrupting the suction or letting any fine dust out into the air that solves one of the biggest pet peeves I have with shop vacuums the filters are always clogging and it's a mess to clean them out this fixes that one of my favorite features though is the outlet on the front you plug your power tool in it and the dust extractor will turn on and off automatically with the tool you don't even have to think about it now this feature is found on other dust extractors but the 3M is the only tool I've seen that also powers on and off with pneumatic tools it holds nine gallons of dust and it can be used without a bag however if you don't want the extra mess of dumping out the bin or if you're using it for a really fine dust like drywall and you want to extend the filter life you can use disposable felt bags or reusable polyethylene bags the 15 foot anti-static hose comes with a multi-diameter connector on the end that's compatible with many different power tools and I'm told they will soon have some adapters for threaded tools like Festool I already have a threaded connection for my 3M sander and let me tell you that thing is a pleasure to use with this extractor now speaking of Festool I know some will ask how the 3M dust extractor compares to festools dust extractor and I do have a Festool ductus extractor so I might make a comparison video down the road but just looking at the published specs it appears that the 3M has greater static pressure it has greater cubic feet per minute airflow it'll work with both electric and pneumatic Sanders it can be used with or without bags and it has a better filte
