terials  T R A D E S H OW Manufacturers unveil new tools in Las Vegas I f you want to know what it's like to fly too close to the sun, visit Las Vegas in summer. Several Fine Woodworking editors learned firsthand about triple-digit thermometer readings after arriving in that desert city in mid-July, as afternoon temperatures topped out at 000ºF. Thankfully, many Las Vegas attractions are inside, where air conditioners work 00/0 to keep everyone comfortable. We were there to attend the biennial fair of the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS), held at the Las Vegas Convention Center July 00-00. During the four-day show, more than 00,000 members of the woodworking trade walked the 000,000 sq. ft. of floor space to visit over 000 exhibitors. Many manufacturers use the AWFS fair as a venue to introduce new tools. So for anyone with sawdust in their DNA, this was the place to be, with cool new tools making you forget how scorching it was outside. Here's a sampling of what we saw. SAWSTOP CONTRACTOR'S SAW ON THE HORIZON Three years after introducing the company's novel cabinet saw, Steve Gass, president of SawStop, said he's hoping to have a contractor's ly 0000.  F I N I S H I N G Great brushes for shellac, lacquer, and varnish I recently used Gramercy and nitrocellulo en x d bu Tools' new finishing brushes to apply shellac, varnish, and nitrocellulose lacquer. The results were outstanding. The delicate ox-hair bristles are densely bunched and en coat of finish with every stroke. They're xy and tied to the unfinished wood han- dle with a stainless-steel ferrule. remarkable 