Dan Lyke

Welcome Aboard Dan. Nice to see another Californian.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Thanks, Bill! I’ll be driving by your neck of the woods this weekend, gonna take a few extra days out in the central valley, visit Ideal Saw Works in Fresno and drool over the tools (still haven’t found the good woodworking stuff near me, although I know it’s here, but my sweety’s brother works in their north store and they’ve got some really nice stuff), and see what other sorts of mischief we can get into.

And, hopefully, having gotten past the initial “fixing broken furniture” stage, fairly soon I’ll have some projects to post here. I’m currently doing test fitting on my first real piece of furniture, an end table built specifically for cell phone and digital camera charger cord management.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Welcome to Lumberocks. Too bad you are on the wrong coast. The side that is going to drop off someday.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

So how many new tools did you buy Dan? Strange how that wish list gets longer and longer no matter how many you buy.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Grins. This trip I just bought a reconditioned Porter-Cable detail sander and consumables, and we took the long way home, through Watsonville, where we bought some wood (but not much, ‘cause we didn’t have the roof racks along) at Jackel.

The next two big purchases I’m lusting after are a planer (I’m thinking DeWalt 735, because of the built in blower which would put off me having to have a stationary dust extractor, and therefore more of a shop space, for a bit) and a Festool Domino, because that would be so much cooler than biscuits.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Dan, “mostly Festool”. Great product, a little pricey, but you get what you pay for.

The Domino has been selling here (in Oz) for about 18 months. I’ve spent time with a woodworking acquaintance that owns one and he swears by it. Some very traditional woodworkers here have made the switch and would never go back. I simply can’t justify the price for the kind of work I do.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Yeah, the Festool thing is one of those where we looked at our various options and realized that every time we looked at cheaper we gave up a feature. Yes, you could get a circular saw and rail system that’d make as clean straight cuts in smaller space than setting up a fixed saw (and my dad had an accident with a table saw, so you won’t find me with a table saw that’s not either a slider or a SawStop, both of which take up more room than I can afford here in Northern California), but you’d miss out on the dust collection, and the tools would be louder, which is tough in a small space. So the question is what’s your set of compromises? At least for that round of tools, my compromise was my wallet.

And I’ve found, especially since we plunked down the few thou $US (that’s like half a million $AU, right? [grin]), that the tools are cheap therapy. I’m currently working at home heads down all day on the computer, and having something that my sweety and I will do in the evenings that’s not computer related (and we don’t watch TV) is priceless.

One of our longer-term projects is to build dining room chairs, starting with two that are custom fit to our dimensions (that’ll undoubtedly involve a few prototypes in pine). That’ll be when we can justify the Domino. But that’s still a few projects off.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

So great that you’ve got something so opposite of the computer for your down time. Such a great balance. So great that you’re starting out with what I can only presume to be the top of the line, rather than a cellar full of hand me down from your dad, or grandfather… I’ve told my wife if we ever fall into money, she can get me any tools from the Festool line. It would be great if they didn’t have to take so long modifying tools for the American market. Their sliding table saw is brilliant… but without a splitter, our gov’t doesn’t think it’s safe enough. Perhaps if they saw the $25 yard sale find my grandfather passed down. Dad and I agreed we’d never use it, (rickety mobile base, motor hanging off the side seemingly by the belt, no fence) so I converted it into a grinder/buffer.

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

Scott, my problem is that I keep thinking about ways I could computerize this woodworking process to make it easier… I am going to have to build a CNC router XYZ table at some point, I’ve got the motors and controllers lying around, it’s just a matter of getting together the bearings and threaded rod to make it happen.

Festool’s sliding table saw impediment isn’t the U.S. Government, it’s Underwriter’s Laboratories. It’s not about regulation, it’s about insurance. But there’s a whole lot you can do with one of their circular saws and a rail that I think we’re all still discovering the ways in which it may be able to replace table saws. And price-wise… I just grabbed the Porter-Cable Profile Sander we bought on that last trip to do some touch-up on a table we’re refinishing and… well… it’s a great $50 sander, and I’m not sure I can describe all the differences between this and a $350 sander, but it’s not a $350 sander. But, with decent ear plugs and a little nursing, it’ll do the job just fine.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Ah, yes… that’s right, my bad. Insurance. (And I tell people to heed Barnums advice!) I just remember being off-put by how long we’d have to wait in the Land of the Free, while others in first world countries don’t have too.

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

You younger people are fortunate. When I started woodworking,there was hardly anything to choose from in power tools. The most expensive stuff at that time, didn’t come close to the quality of the cheaper tools nowadays. Also all the resourses for knowledge, you guys got it made.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

For sure Dick,... though I’ll bet your parents generation said the same thing about one topic or other… Yet, I can’t imagine how my grandfather learned to fix up his house (and by fix up, I mean slowly rebuild) before This Old House came along – and then having to wait a week between episodes! between TV, magazines and online, there’s enough information to keep us informed, inspired and out of the shop completely!

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

Yeah, Dick’s so old they didn’t have electricity when he was groing up. But you do have a point, Dick. Even though smokes cost you 13 cents and you got 2 cents back in the pack, minimum wage was probably 35 cents per hour, and the skilsaw probably cost you a weeks wage.

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

I’m just like everybodys Dad says about the old days. ”I had to crawl on my belly to get to school, through two feet of snow for two miles, up hill both ways.” LOL

My first job while I was still in high school , was at a super market. The pay was $.40/hr. We got a raise to $.62/hr, but in order to get that, you had to work over 20 hr/wk. The manager hired more kids at lesser hours, so I ended up making less after the big raise.

My first job after high school in 1950, I was paid $1.20/hr. That’s what I was making when I got married. I could barely afford toothpicks, let alone lumber.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Dan, I read an article in one of the woodworking magazines about a couple that creates custom chairs. I can not remember which one, but they had built a chair that could be adjusted in all the dimensions. When someone wanted a chair, they would have the person set in this measuring chair, and adjust the height, width, angle, etc. until the person felt great. They would then take these measurements to build the chair.

Maybe you could make your prototype adjustable so you only have to produce one chair. Unless of course you need multiple chairs around. Then again, you can probably have a yard sell once you get the ones you want.

I am looking forward to hearing about your CNC adventures. That is one of the items on my wish list, but a long way down the road. I have a few other things to pick up first.

Hey Obi, at least Dick did not say they ate dirt and were thankful for it (thank you Bill Cosby). Just kidding Dick.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

For home-building a CNC router, the Octocoup web page seems like a really good jumping off place.

I’ll have to think a bit about an adjustable chair. I was thinking we’d start by building something overly tall and cut bits off the legs ‘til we got the height and seat angle right, but the other thing I want to do is sculpt the seat and curve the rear rails (like a good rocking chair), and I can’t yet wrap my head around a good way to adjust either of those short of making a lot of sawdust.

-- Dan Lyke, Lagunitas California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Welcome. Come on in and visit for a while.

-- Jesus is Lord!