This got us thinking of those thing you’ll never hear (or should never hear) a woodworker say

+ My shop is too big / If only my shop were smaller!
+ My chisels/planes/guages are too sharp
+ I spend too much time in my shop
+ My wife loves it when I buy tools.
+ I have to much stock.
+ I wish CL and eBay would stop selling tools.
+ I think I will get rid of all these scraps.
+ I think I will go furniture shopping at Wallmart.
+ I have every tool/machine that I’ll ever need!
+ Thanks for offering the free exotics, but no thank you. I have enough!!!

What others do you have?

*Note – some of the above I got from fellow LJs on Stumpy’s thread

My question then is how many of my fellow LJs are, or have, served. This question applies to my fellow LJs that are citizens of other countries.

I am further curious if there is a correlation. Woodworking to me requires an individual not afraid to try, try to learn, apply, fail, learn from failure, and try again until mastered, yet in some ways never be fully satisfied. Woodworking for me also allows me to apply logic in solving a problem (i.e. joinery) while also being creative. All of these aspects I find very similar to my military experience; despite common perceptions military life, particularly as you become a leader, requires logic and creativity.

Any thoughts on this, I will certainly fine interesting.

Thanks, to all that serve or have served.

So my questions to you my fellow LJs, are…
Have you ever been away from your shop so long you went into withdrawal?
If so, how did you get your woodworking “fix”?

Below is my list, you are welcome (encouraged even) to add your own. Some maybe serious, some silly.

-synchronized bandsaw box making (reindeer during the winter olympics)
-table saw kickback “shooting” (you stand to one side and try and hit an archery type target at various ranges)
-speed dust collection (see who can sweep/vacuum up a certain amount of sawdust)
-speed glue ups
-speed finishing
-team cabinet building
-precision marking
-tubafor contest
-scrub planning
-saw horse
-precision cutting – all saws

- Butt Joint (from SisQMark)
- Rub Tung Oil (from SisQMark)
- BLO (when pronounced as “blow”)
- Frog, Rabbet, Bench Dog, Dog – sounds like a petting zoo
- Half-Lap
- Feather board
- Board Foot – sound like your feet need some excitement
- Checked – sound like we’re playing Chess
- Rip

Well this week I ran into a rather unexpected (though somehow I doubt unique) “cost overrun”.

I damaged my washing machine with various items that I had failed to empty out of my grubby shop pants (an old pair of cargo-pocketed jeans). The washer started making a very nasty grinding noise one night this past week. When I investigated the cause of the noise (which required removing – and thus breaking the connecting tabs – of one of the baffles) I discovered 1×6” steel ruler, 1x stubby pencil, about 4x screws, a couple of nails, etc rolling around between the inner and outer drums and in the sump. The cost came in purchasing a new baffle.

I wonder how many other of my fellow LJs have had other woodworking “cost overruns”.

Being fully aware of the potential danger of cutting thin stock when the fence is further away from the blade than the edege of the tabel top wings, I checked (with the saw blade all the way down) to see if it was goint to be an issue. After test pushing the piece through (remember no blade up or spinning) it pushed through just fine and gave no indication that it would have any difficulty following the fence.

I then raised the blade up just high enough to clear the gullets as it cut.

I then proceded to cut the 1/4” ply.

As I neared the end of the cut (1/2” – 1/4” left to cut) the 1/4” ply bowed as the leading edge dipped under the fence.

The piece that WAS NOT THE KICKBACK PIECE, got caught be the blade, broke the last 1/2” of the cut line and shot the piece back at me and hit me about 4” above my crotch.

Other than a sore (very sore) spot no injuries.

The moral of the story, at least for me is ALWAYS ASSUME THIN STOCK WILL GO UNDER THE FENCE WHENEVER THE FENCE IS OFF THE TABLE AND ATTACH A PIECE OF STOCK TO PREVENT IT!

OUCH!

I printed out a hole pattern. The pattern I’m using did not fit on one piece of 8.5×11 paper so I had to print one end and then the other with a significant portion of the pattern overlapping. Easy enough, print both pages, align and tape together. No problem right?

So I printed the two pages out, lined them up, taped them together. Then using painters tape, I taped the pattern to my piece of walnut. I start using a finishing nail and hammer making starting divots to make sure I line my drill bit up accurately. (I know there are several other ways to do this, but this is the method I chose.)

So as not to lose track of where I am at, I am punching starting divots along the pegging pattern. I am nearly done when I realize that when I taped the two pages together I made one block of holes only four long (for those of you who play cribbage you will know they should be five hole blocks). Oh snap! Did I mention I was far enough along that this meant I had to start all over with a new piece of wood.

Okay. New piece of wood. Realign the pattern so all blocks of holes are in five hole groups. Good. Tape pattern down. Start punching holes again. Nearly done. Oh crap! I made the board 45 holes too long. I had overlapped the two pages too long!

Now to start all over again!

Luckily its the season for reindeer….

I recently purchased an old Buffalo 14” bandsaw that I’ve refurbished (this is my first BS). And as a means to improve my BS skills (pun intended?) I thought I’d give the reindeer thing a try. Now I find myself playing with the pattern to make tall reindeet, short reindeer, fat ones and skinny ones. If I keep this up I’ll have more reindeer than Santa.

It also doesn’t help that my kids like them, and so do their friends.

The good side is its eating up all my scrap 2×4 stubs.

Ever been there?

I am currently working on a box made of walnut and maple for our local woodworker’s association’s annual Christmas dinner at which members bring a gift (preferably one they have made), wrapped, and the spouses (usually the wives) pick one of the wrapped gifts to make their own. Kind of a mystery Santa gift exchange. And since this is my first Christmas dinner, I am working very dilligently to make sure I don’t make a poor showing.

next I’ve got to figure out what to make for everyone else, oh yeah, and what to make out of a single 8’ 2×4 for Stumpy’s contest. Thinking an 8’ 1”x8” or several tomato plant stakes. How ‘bout a cutting board for 8’ subs?

To add some perspective … the doll wardrobe—one of which she bought—(you can see it in my projects) had about $50 – $60 worth of materials in it, and I sold them for $200.

I am essentially a hobbiest, so I tend to make things for friends and family. Not always, but usually. The doll wardrobe mentioned above came about because I had made one for my daughter mostly out of scraps in my shop. Various mothers of girls who also have American Girl Dolls went nuts over the one I made for my daughter and I’ve ended up making and selling 5 so far, each for $200.

My wife felt insulted by the offer as it worked out to about $5 an hour to build it if my time estimate was correct.

Any comments on my decision to say no thank you would be appreciated.

Do you base it solely on size? Or does it depend on things like type of wood? Or quality of piece?

Well I finally have worked out a system; I throw all my short cut-offs into a bin, we burn those cut-offs whenever we burn a fire in the backyard fire pit. This tends to keep enough on hand to make the occasional use of the scraps while also keeping the amount down to a reasonable level (not sure if this will be the case come summer).