Tool Review Challenge #1: Announcement

Sounds great Martin!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

it’s been fun watching how fast the reviews have stacked up!!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

This can only benefit the community. Great idea.

-- Maplewood, MN

Great idea! Now we have someplace for unbiased opinions and reviews of tools BEFORE we buy them!

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

Sorry if it’s been covered elsewhere, but I have 2 questions wrt the tool reviews:

1. when browsing the current reviews, and looking at adding a new review, I didn’t see the ability to write another review for the same product in a way that they’re co-located. Am I missing the place to do this, or did I just not go far enough?

2. Glancing around, the majority of reviews are 4 or 5 stars—how will we get the community to put in reviews for the awful things too? It makes sense that everybody wants to talk about their cool stuff, not the garbage or even average stuff, but it’s far more useful if we get coverage.

It’s a GREAT start, and I plan to add several DVD and tool reviews this weekend! Thanks.

-ben

Hey Ben,

here are answers to your Qs:

#1
You have 2 options to write the review for the same product to make them as you say co-located or connected to that same product (and make the system automatically calculate average score etc.):

1. Browse to the existing review of the product you want to review and click on the Add my review button
2. Go to Post new review screen, select the product category, then brand and the system will automatically list all of the previously reviewed products matching your category and brand. If your product was already reviewed you should see it in the list – just click on it to proceed.

BTW this was the most tricky thing to do and will be the essential part of the reviews’ success ;)

#2
There are already few negative reviews posted and I believe more will come in the future. There are no restrictions and coverage of worse products will be important as you said.

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

Martin—Thanks for the explanation!

-b

Let the reviews start flowing! We are the users and sometimes abusers of tools and know first hand the great points and not so great points of the equipment that makes our work flow better.

-- Genius is immediate, but talent takes time.

While this new section should be of great benefit to members, there is another concern that i have that ive never found a place to communicate to the whole group, only responding to individual projects. It is the everpresent danger of working with toxic wood. Dozens of wood species, expecially the exotics and ALL spalted woods, can be hazardous to your health. The dusts, shavings and even the solids panels can cause skin, eye, respiratory problems including certain cancers, nee beech. Especially of concern is ubiquitous American walnut which is so toxic that its shavings shouldn’t be composted and it should NEVER come in contact with food, and yet it appears time and time again as a major component in CUTTING boards! Here is a link to a list of these woods. Please publicise this as a major button on your site, not only for the health of your members, but for all their children who run in and out of their workshops.
http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/_toxicity.htm

-- Dan

A personal reply to Handsogold (Dan)

I am sure that most wood workers are aware that some species of wood and plants can be harmful to the health of some or all people and animals, this has been true from the beginning of time.

For example some people have an allegy to nuts, which can have an adverse reaction, I am lucky I do not suffer from this problem with nuts or wood, but I do suffer an acute allegy to lobster (which will kill me within 5 minutes) so I stay away from lobsters!!!!

Spated woods are not toxic, but the spores contained within some spated woods can have an affect on some, but not all people, depending upon the genus of the spores.

I personally think that we are becomming a little to paranoid in our way of life, fine, give us the facts, lets know that things can be harmful and lets us make our own informed decision. One person in a million suffering from the symptoms from a tree or plant does not make it dangerous to all of us..

PLEASE DO NOT PANIC OUR MEMBERS by placing a button to this effect. by all means provide the information, but not a panic button.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Martin—I have a follow up request for you. I did find the ‘Add Review’ button, but realized that the reason I missed it the first time is that you have to click through to the full length review to find it. Would it be easy to augment the ‘summary’ views with an ‘Add Review’ button?

-b

(PS edit—another request—the requirement of adding a picture is both a nuisance, and unnecessary when there is already a picture present in an existing review. Could this requirement be abandoned?)

Hi Martin, I agree with Ben, it’s important for me to get on a page and quickly navigate around it. Unfortunately I don’t have the time I would like on your web pages, so I have to retrain myself each time. I really like your new addition reviewing tools. Personally I am very interested in a review on a Planer/Moulder. I have a very keen interest in this tool and I would like some hands-on info before I purchase one. Thanks for your dedication to my favorite sport, JohnT

-- jft

Tony I agree with you 100% that most people are not allergic to spalted woods, personally I am. And breathing any type of saw dust is going to kill you if you don’t protect yourself. Spalted wood is a fungus, my eye doctor had never heard of it either. She wrote me a script for eyedrops another oral script and told me to stay out of the shop for 2 weeks and after scratching and icthing and having swollen red eyes for 2 weeks it made a believer of me. I did’nt cry the sky is falling, but I did warn the guys on line here to let them know what happened to me, which started a whole discussion on dust collection and dust on your health. I don’t regret it. mike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

I remember that Mike.. and between that and Don’s discussion at the time, I was on an immediate search for a face mask!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)