NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1993Deep in the marrow of West Oakland, in the industrial desert of the abandoned Phoenix Iron Works, under the derelict scaffolding of warship craze and the flapping of pigeons and the falling of feathers, in inches of soot and clouds of green gasses, lit by shafts of light piercing dusted air from a thousand windows vibrant red from the setting west, among miles of steel and acres of concrete, the table seems simple, small, insignificant. In this gloom of forgotten machinery, under wires which haven''t breathed electricity in years, there''s the sense--not so much that beauty will one day be guest to the table--but that the table is already guest to great beauty.

Among the more useful GPS applications found by fire departments are geo-location and tracking of resources. A number of fire departments already have adopted GPS to geo-locate fire apparatus, water hydrants, storm drains and wildfire perimeters. The Milwaukee Fire Department, Anaheim (Calif.) Fire Department and El Paso (Texas) Fire Department, among others, have all recently joined the migration to GPS to provide state-of-the-art public safety systems, including real-time vehicle tracking and enhanced city mapping services.

Do You Need Chipping?Unlike hammer drills, which offer a choice between rotation-only and hammer-drill modes only, SDS-plus rotary hammers offer a third option: a hammer-only mode that permits the use of chisels, pointing tools, and other general purpose bits. Spline and SDS-max tools drop the rotation-only mode but allow the user to choose between hammer-drill and hammer-only. Hammer-only mode is great for tasks like removing tile, cleaning up concrete forms, and removing brick or stucco. Even though the rotary hammer won''t replace a demolition hammer, this mode is handy for light demo and greatly increases the tool''s versatility.

Though light in weight, Airbor magnetic drill has a powerful 1.6-hp air motor and 1,600-lb magnetic holding strength. With its extra rack, stroke length is extended to 10 1/4 in. Annular cutter capacity is up to 2 1/16 in. diam. Geared chuck adapter converts the unit to a standard drill press. The Slugger Air Force pneumatic drill, at 24 lbs, 6 1/4" high, is useful for confined area drilling. The drill''s features include a permanent magnet that turns on or off by air power, a cutter capacity of up to 1 1/16" diameter x 3/4" depth and the ability to use ShortSlugger cutters and frame cutters. These cutters'' geometry allows the operator to drill multi-layered truck frames in a single pass.

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