Thermally Efficient Skylights Introduced

If you live in the mountains--or anywhere else where the weather gets cold--you know all about the problems of condensation with aluminum windows or skylights.

For those who don’t want to give up skylights in their mountain home, Bristol Fiberlite Industries in Santa Ana has an answer: Bristolite Therm-o-block skylights with a base made entirely of extruded PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic that is far superior to aluminum in reducing transmission of heat and cold.

That’s another reason you’ll rarely see aluminum or metal windows in the Midwest or East: With metal windows, you would have frost on the inside of the window as well as the outside and you probably wouldn’t be able to open the window until late spring!

The PVC base, finished in light brown to blend with most roofing materials, also reduces the formation of condensation on the interior frame of the skylight.

Therm-o-block skylights are available with either an aluminum cap or the firm’s patented fiberglass frames in curb-mounted or self-flashing models.

For more information contact the firm’s Sharyn R. Masilotti at 401 E. Goetz Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92707.

The latest catalogue to come my way is the one from Wood Carvers Supply Inc., Norfolk, Va. The firm was formerly located in Minneapolis and handles a wide variety of carving tools, woodturning tools, files and rasps, sharpening supplies and gun checking tools.

In addition to hand carving tools, a large section is devoted to power tools, including the high quality Foredom line of flexible shaft power carving tools and accessories.

This catalogue has one of the largest inventory of craft books I’ve seen in a long time. The books are listed in each section, with the woodturning books in the section with woodturning tools, the bird books with carving tools, etc. A good system!

One of the more fascinating tools in the catalogue is the carver’s work positioner shown on Page 39. A screw-center faceplate holds the workpiece--in this case a wooden duck-- and a ball and socket device allows the worker to move the project around. The positioner uses a clamp to fasten it to the workbench or whatever.

The catalogue has a list price of $3 and may be obtained from Wood Carvers Supply Inc., P.O. Box 8928, Norfolk, Va. 23503.

I wish all publishers were like the Taunton Press, publishers of Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding magazines. Taunton regularly selects articles from both publications and publishes them in books. This is a great idea for those who can’t bear to throw out those beautiful magazines and don’t have the storage space. It also generates more revenue for Taunton, something to be applauded, insuring that they continue their quality efforts.

For example “Fine Homebuilding Construction Techniques 2” (Taunton Press, 240 pages, $24.95) brings together 48 articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine, along with 400 photos and drawings.

Also available are $6.95 collections of articles that originally ran in Fine Woodworking. Four of them are “Making and Modifying Machines,” “Tables and Desks,” “Finishing and Refinishing” and “Chairs and Beds.” Each large-format paperback has about 100 pages. More information on all these collections can be obtained from the Taunton Press, 63 S. Main St., Box 355, Newtown, Conn. 06470.