But government subsidies and American appetites for paper keep the mechanized chippers busy, as they venture deeper into forests in search of pine and hardwood lumber to satisfy the insatiable demand once met by the Northwest.

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.

Speaking of running pipe underground, TracPipe PS from Omegaflex provides an excellent way of running flexible stainless-steel gas pipe underground without having to install conduit. The familiar pipe can now be purchased pre-sleeved in 100-ft. lengths with shrink cuffs. In past articles I have written about the benefits of using flexible gas pipe, and this easy new underground protection system makes it look just that much more attractive.Many new thermostats were on display at the show, but not many new features. However, I did find one with a relatively interesting new twist -- it can be connected to a nondedicated telephone line for remote access. The TeleTemp 2000 from Telenetic Controls is much like most other digital residential setback models. It has a liquid-crystal readout of time and temperature with standard up and down pushbuttons, and hidden doors on either end cover the programming buttons. But plug in a telephone line and you can switch the system in and out of setback from a distant telephone.

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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