Today I went to Lowe’s to pick up some sandpaper. There I saw the same router on sale for $89. Good grief.

I am anti-hardware. Whenever possible, I like to make things that contain no metal. Probably no one else cares, but for me it is a point of honor to not resort to the use of metal.

I am anti-fancy design. I think the beauty is already there, in the wood, and my job is to help reveal that beauty. Clean, simple designs that show off the wood is my preferred approach.

Now, I think I am becoming anti-laminate. I was about to make a cheese board with strips of walnut and maple. The maple I was about to use was a curly maple with a very pretty grain. I stopped and asked myself why I would cut that maple up into strips. I left the maple as a solid piece and made the cheese board. It’s beautiful because the wood is beautiful. Then I made a pepper mill out of a solid piece of Hormigo Negro. WOW. I may never glue 2 alternate woods together again.

His name is Roger. Please keep him in your prayers.

I have 3 woodworking projects with tight deadlines. I’m feeling more pressure than I am comfortable with. Why do I make these commitments?

His wife, who was 74, died 6 weeks ago.

I’m a retired actuary. Actuaries maintain statistics on what is commonly called “heartbreak death”. This is the phenomenon of increased probability of death after the death of a spouse. Studies show a noticeable increase in death in the first 2 years after the death of a spouse. A formal term for quantifying this additional mortality is the “contagion factor”.

Forget the actuarial analysis. This is a real human tragedy. There are 3 adult children who have lost both parents in a short period of time.

Makes you pause and think about what is important in life.

I did not realize how much he used Shopsmith tools in the early days. His drill press. his belt sander and his lathe are clearly Shopsmith. I think (but I am not certain) that his bandsaw is also a Shopsmith.

I swear that I enjoy these old episodes of the NYW more than I enjoyed the more recent episodes. I like them because he is using tools that are comparable with or inferior to the tools I use.

Does anyone know of a device that would detect a drain on circuit A and turn on the DC that is powered from circuit B?

I’m not very knowledgeable about electrical circuits but I wonder if one could made such a device. It is just what I want in my shop.

It would mean a lot to me (and probably to him) to be laid away in a coffin that was built by his oldest son and someone who loves him dearly. Yes, we would probably save some money, but that is not the objective.

What I worry about is running into technical/legal issues. Are there rules about the latch or hinges on a coffin? Are there any other regulatory requirements that I should be aware of?

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge on this subject.

Of course, this is the kind of project I need to do in advance. I can’t wait until we need a coffin to start building it.

As an FYI, I and several other people, just did a turning demo at local tool store on Saturday. The store provided us with a couple of lathes to use, including this Jet mini. I had never turned on a mini-lathe before. I was quite impressed with this little lathe.

What a delight to watch. The tools Norm uses over 20 years ago are not that different than what many of us use today. He actually used a conventional hammer and nails/brads. His dado blade was a wobbler. I think (not certain) that his bandsaw was a shopsmith.

Later in the series, it seemed like Norm had the latest gee-whiz gismo tool available. Often he used tools that most of us would never buy. These early episodes present Norm using more modest and conventional tools.

Besides, the chest of drawers he made was very nice.

I hope to not miss one of these early episodes. They are a delight to watch.

I am wondering – - Is there an advantage to switching to 220 volts on these machines (TS, BS, jointer and lathe)?

Also – If there is a significant advantage, how hard is it to make the switch?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share.

I’m going to buy some cherry locally and start to work on the bed I have been thinking about for a long time. Here’s a picture. http://www.finewoodworking.com/Gallery/GalleryImage.aspx?id=27538

I should have enough curly maple to do a complete bedroom suite.

My fears are probably unfounded. I haven’t had a dissatisfied customer yet (that I know of). Probably the real issue with me is that I have already made 100s of pens, bottle stoppers, and corkscrews. I would like to think that making little things like that is behind me. I want to focus on bigger and more challenging projects. I am going to have to learn to say “no”.

I went to a home show over the weekend and I was really impressed by what I heard about geothermal heating and air conditioning. I own enough land that I could install a horizontal system which is much cheaper than the vertical systems one installs if space is limited. The tax credits (30%) are significant as is a rebate from my electric company ($1400). Furthermore, my electric company sets up a separate meter for the heat pump and I pay at about half of their normal rate for energy used to run the heat pump. It seems quite clear that this is an investment that pays for itself fairly quickly.

What I don’t know is how good geothermal systems work and how dependable they are. Does anyone have experience with geothermal? I live in Iowa where we get both cold winters (especially this year) and hot summers. I am told that I need a 4 ton system for my house.

Thanks in advance for any insight offered.

However, I had to do a few things that said “Woodworker”. I needed some supports for the shelves in the pantry and decided to build a support frame using mortise and tenon joinery. How many carpenters would do that?

I installed some door stops to prevent a closet door from hitting the drywall when fully opened. I installed these custom door stops to the trim with a sliding dovetail. Underneath the dovetails (where no one can see) I put 2 big screws through the trim and into the framing. How many carpenters would do that?

Finally, I needed to install a shelf into the closet area and I built a frame with a long groove that I cut with my dado. The oak plywood used for the shelf set securely into the groove. How many carpenters would do that?

I have nothing against carpenters. They are great craftsmen in their own right but in my own subtle ways I needed to say to my church, “I’m a woodworker’.

I could probably switch to a different wood and use the bubinga and maple for something else – but what? The bubinga consists of 2 6/4 boards that are 12” wide and 76” long. It would seem like a sin to resaw to make jewelry boxes. It would make a nice 3’ by 3’ table top with some left over but I already have a a table with a bubinga top.

Oh well – I’ll have to think this one through some more.

I just watched episode 107 (the 7th one made). Some things have changed over the years. In this early episode I noted the following – -

- Norm uses a ShopSmith as his drill press.
- He does not have a mortising machine and he makes his mortises with the drill press and chisels.
- He never mentions the importance of safety.
- He does not have a dust collector hooked up to any machines (and he produces a lot shavings with his thickness planer).
- He uses the radial arm saw a lot – primarily with a dado blade.
- He uses a molder cutting head in his table saw
- He did not use a random orbital sander in a situation where I am sure he would use one today.

It’s interesting how things have changed in the last 20 years.

I am planning a stop in Springfield, MO to visit the Grizzly Showroom there. I would also like to make other stops along the way if there is a store that offers some unique and interesting wood or a gallery of really good woodworking. Does anyone know of such or store or gallery in MO, KY, TN, GA or FL?

To see dates and locations you can go to the grizzly website.

Does anyone recall them doing this in the past and, if so, can you comment on the event?

For me, I need to decide if attending this event is worth taking a 5 hour drive. There is a particular machine (a stationary belt sander) that I would like to buy and I wonder if I can find out in advance if there will be any good deals on these.