# techniques



## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*Found a way I like to cut straight-end, non-through rip and crosscuts in plywood*

This is probably a common technique, with a name, but it only occurred to me today. I gave it a shot, and it worked out really well. I'm going to use it from now on for non-through cuts, and by that, I mean rips and crosscuts that don't go from one end to the other, but do cut through bottom and top of the ply.

Basically, once I set the blade height, and fence, I run the cut up to a 2" mark I make from the leading edge. Then I back it out, flip it over, and measure the distance to the end of the cut on the bottom. I make the target mark on the top side, minus that difference, then cut to that line, which isn't all the way to where I need it. Now the bottom of the cut is to the mark, but the top is a little shy. Now I can carefully cut the rest with a very thin kerf, handheld flush-cut saw, using the pull strokes from each end to avoid any tearout, and inching up to the mark on each side. It only takes a minute to finish up the thin wedge left over.

I got cuts to my marks that are within a couple thousandths of exactly right, and by pressing the flush-cut against the edge of the cut that I care about with both hands, one on each side, keeping the blade flat, the cut is inline, and indistinguishable from the circular saw's cut. I guess this is how the old-school dovetailers did, and do it. Of course, I'm not going from scratch, but following a straight edge the saw already created, but I can see now that I'm able to walk up by hand far closer than I can when trusting machinery. I'm always amazed by that. Machines are supposed to be perfect! 

I need this as I'm doing some stair-shaped cuts in plywood right now, some nice 3/4" baltic birch I picked up this week from a plywood store that I'm liking more each time I go back (I think I'll make a little post on that later today). I need sharp inside corners, and this is giving them to me.

The project this is for will be documented as I get farther along, and then in stages, and I've a Sketchup model I'll eventually post as well, but I'd like to have more progress first before spilling the beans, even though it's just a simple little thing.


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush*

Previously:
Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
Wood IDs #7: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 2 of 3
Wood IDs #8: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 3 of 3

It's a bit labor intensive getting all the bark and Eucalyptus Longhorned Borer bug excretion cleaned off the Eucalyptus tree I cut up into logs from a nearby neighborhood. It dawned on me a couple weeks ago that I could use a wire wheel brush in my drill press. I've used the technique to brush up aluminum cut out on the bandsaw before. This worked great, even allowing me to pretty rapidly sand away large stumps of branches all the way to flush with the logs. It gave an overall wind-worn look to the logs, but also got rid of any bugs under the bark. It made a right mess of that corner of my shop, too.

Here's some shots of the Euc cleanups:



Note all the little stumps on this one:



Stumps much smaller:



Stumps and bark pretty much gone, minutes later:



It was after this that I determined my future dream shop will have 4 rooms: the dirty room for doing this kind of stuff - muddy log work and such, the cabinetmaker's room, for all the usual woodworking/cabinetry/routing/sawing work, the metal room, for all the dirty, gritty, sooty metal cutting, shaping, and welding work (a different kind of dirty than the dirty room), and the finishing room, the cleanest of the rooms, vented and able to accept a few projects' worth of things all drying away from the rest of the mess, allowing me to continue working while finishes dry up.

I found some amazing variety in the cross sections of this tree, almost making me wonder if maybe I'd found 2 different Eucs on that little hill. It's possible. The cross-sections of the red-centered log remind me of melons, with the seed shaped checks:



These yellow-centered sections were much more wet, and smelled wonderfully of lemon cake. I couldn't stop smelling the fresh cuts. I know about lemon-scented gum (Eucalyptus/Corymbia citriodora), but unfortunately, very little matches up between online examples and my tree:





Then I learned that miter saws are on the list of saws in which you should not run round stock. I had an admittedly too-short length of 5" thick log against the fence, held there by a long 2×2 which I was leaning on, to keep my hands out of the way. It got about 3/4" into it before the log rocketed out the back of the saw, banging into the wall. it also dragged the plastic shroud around the blade into the path and mangled it all up. I had to disassemble much of the shroud and fight with shredded plastic bits before it would go back together and work again.



I managed to do this again later in the day, after taking a break and doing only hand-cuts with a carpenter's saw for awhile. I was holding a ~16"-18" length of ~2" thick log in there, felt it rock a bit while slowly cutting through it, trying for a really clean cut, and just like that it came hurtling at my face. My fingers were in the way, so it hit them, jamming one a bit, but I'm okay. Scary, though!

Here's the haul I got this day, all sealed up with Anchorseal:



And here's the disaster at the drill press. Note the plastic hood and undersized shop-vac hose, both completely inadequate for this job. I have so much of this stuff, I'm wondering if I can use it for something. I wish I had a pelletizer. I'd run it all:



I also used the Eucalyptus as an excuse to pick up a Homelite 16" electric chainsaw from Home Depot. I just wanted a simple, relatively quiet way to buck some logs in my tiny neighborhood rental house. This fits the bill well, and was a breeze to use. I pulled it out of the box, read the manual, poured in a little bar and chain oil, checked tension, which simply requires turning some knobs and pulling on the chain to see how loose it is, and started cutting. Can't really be any easier, and when you let go of the button, it stops dead.



Finally, I used a huge check in one end of a small log of Eucalyptus as an excuse to try something I've been wondering about - resawing logs by hand. It was a LOT of work just to get through this tiny thing with my 15" carpenter's saw, though with the proper jig setup, and the longer Irwin carpenter's saws I've picked up (20" & 24"), it would be a lot easier. My arm was shot after this one cut, and it went through straight, but diagonally so. I guess it's something you develop endurance and 'a feel for.' Eventually I'd like to do a project sans electricity.


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## TheRecklessOne (Apr 15, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush*
> 
> Previously:
> Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
> ...


Have you ever tried splitting with wedges and tapping with the back side of an axe? Far faster than ripping by hand saw and far safer than trying to resaw that bad boy on a band or table saw. Good find. I love eucalyptus.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

gfixler said:


> *New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush*
> 
> Previously:
> Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
> ...


I use a bandsaw for cutting up pieces of wood like that. But you still need a firm grip but it's pulling into the table top and doesn't fly.


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## kiwi1969 (Dec 22, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush*
> 
> Previously:
> Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
> ...


Bet your beard got dusty doing that! hope you had a good mask on, hate to be breathing all that borer crap.


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## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *New way to clean my borer bug eaten Eucalyptus - wire wheel brush*
> 
> Previously:
> Wood IDs #6: Found Eucalyptus tree in LA - part 1 of 3
> ...


I was wondering about the dust situation. Even a bandito styled bandana would be better than nothing to protect your lungs.

I just purchased some Borate to apply to my lumber as suggested by Karsen, as some wood I have has been treated with pesticides and some with alcohol and a few still have had signs of larvae activity, so I hope to do a light coating on suspect lumber to prevent any further damages. Here's my source: http://qualityborate.com/Products/Order/tabid/126/Default.aspx


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*

I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.

I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


I guess I missed the dust collection part.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


So what was he turning… I was too busy looking at the PVC pipe and the little doors…


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## rsmith71 (Jan 26, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


That's cool. I just need a lathe.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


That is pretty cool!! I worry about sanding with the tool rest in place, however.


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


wow… that is an excellent idea. To bad my dust control consists of a 15 year old shop vac :/ I don't know if it would be able to provide enough to make that effective.


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


Jim - it was pulling the fine particles out of the air. The larger stuff of course was getting all over as usual 

lew - I always move the tool rest well out of the way as well

interpim - It would probably help with the finest particles. I've noticed just setting a shop vac hose end behind the lathe when sanding is enough to keep me from sneezing and keep the air nice and clear. All depends on the HP of the vac, of course.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *PVC tube with hinged doors as lathe dust collector*
> 
> I was watching a YouTube video of a guy in Downtown Disney turning a baseball bat, and noticed he had a pretty simple and cool dust collection setup that's easy to make, simple to use, and low-profile. Check it out.
> 
> I'd embed the video, but I'm not sure how to cue it up to exactly the right location as I can with a link.


Looks like a great idea to me, Thx Gary,


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*Sharpening up my little Buck Bros. 3" block plane*

No [new] pics or videos in this post, but I thought I'd drop a note for posterity to say that I'm excited about my future of hand plane work and the setting up of parts and sharpening of irons that comes with their use. I own this tiny block plane (lucky review #777!), which was very sharp right out of the blister pack, easily making full width, full length curls from the edges of whatever boards I threw at it.



I'm very much a set-it-and-forget guy, usually dreading opening up cases to fiddle with adjustments, and steering well clear whenever possible of truing up tools and disassembling things to clean them out and sharpen up components. It's just laziness. I've been working very hard to fix this character flaw. These days I almost always flip the lid on my drill press to swap the belts around for the proper speeds for whatever bit/part combo I'm using. I put tools away all day as I finish with them, and vacuum and sweep up my messes as I make them. When the power switch started sticking on my RIGID shop vac - in the ON position! - I unplugged it, disassembled the whole motor case, pulled the switch, then disassembled it to see if I could fix it. It was just worn out. I found a perfect replacement with a softer, rounded switch lever at my hardware store - their last one! - and put the whole thing back together. I had also used my dust collector to sweep everything out inside. It looked new, and worked really well. Combating entropy in the shop feels really good. I'm trying to do that more often in the shop - really laying into a problem to make it right whenever I notice one - and it's starting to pay off. I have a lot more room than I've had in a year out there with all the improvements of late, even with the new rolling lathe stand, rolling planer stand, and now the whole belt/disc sander with rolling base. Maybe I can fit a nice, big oscillating spindle sander and large drum sander, both with cabinet bases in here 

Yesterday, not quite sure what to do with myself in the garage, I decided to play at the role of hand plane master by using what I'd learned in YouTube videos from the Lie-Nielsen folks and many others, including amateurs online to completely set up the little Buck Bros. plane. It's practically a toy, and so small it would have to prove easy, especially lapping the bottom to flat. This would be a great intro to the proper techniques, which I could use later. As I wrote 260 days ago in this plane's review (linked above): "There really isn't much to it, so in a way, it's kind of like a beginner's plane. You can learn quite a bit about how planes work from this <$10 utility tool, which is really better used for minor adjustments, or flushing up pegs. This knowledge can be expanded through larger, more expensive, and more complicated planes later (that's my plan!)." I'm finally doing it! I disassembled all 4 of its pieces (stop laughing!). That included the wedge screw, wedge, iron, and cast base with its embedded wedge rod. The wedge isn't a true wedge. It's retained on the rod by a groove, about which it pivots a bit as you tighten the screw.

I marked the entire bottom with a large Sharpie™ and decided at first to use two different grits on my WorkSharp 3000. The plane fit easily on the disc. This left really strong swirling all over the bottom. I moved it to opposite sides of the wheel to cross the concetric circles, but in the end it just wasn't giving me that pro finish. It also took quite awhile to work the Sharpie out of all low regions.

I had some wet/dry 400 grit sandpaper, so I wet one wing on my cast iron saw table (while cringing, waiting for rust to bloom all over), laid the paper down on it, wet the top, and then started lapping the plane base back and forth in the direction of the plane body. Little by little I worked up a lot of grit in a slurry in front and back of the plane, and worked pretty darn near a mirror finish into its bottom. It felt like powdered glass. I was a little excited about it. I didn't end up getting the swirls out of the left and right sides; the grooves were too deep from the WorkSharp, and subsequent heavy scrubbings on the wet/dry paper didn't really get me closer to removing them, so I gave up on that. I think I would need to work through more grits from low toward high to more effectively power them away.

The blade had gotten gunked up pretty badly from use, so I actually used Goo Gone, which got it back to a powdery, drab gray metal. Then I used the WorkSharp again and got a really sharp, perfectly parallel edge which actually was slightly off the original angle, giving me that nice micro bevel all the pros are always talking about. The edge was a super-thin burr that flaked away at a touch, leaving a still razor-sharp tip to the blade. I cleaned out the base and reassembled - not as hard as I always make it out to be in my mind - and learned something…

It's fantastically easier to set the depth of the blade and get it parallel with the base when the base itself is like a still lake surface, silky smooth and highly reflective. Something else soon occurred to me. The exact depth setting is a lot less critical when the blade is frighteningly sharp. If it's a hair deeper a cut than you wanted, the sharpness, and overall flatness and slippery smoothness of the plane bottom pick up the slack and enable a smooth cut still. I grabbed a stick of olive about 2" square and 8" long from my drying rack. This was almost 3x the width of the plane blade, so it would be a good test of some flattening techniques seen in videos of flattening larger wood with larger planes. The olive had warped badly, as all olive seems to for me, so it would be a chore to flatten it up. Some sides were cupped like smiles down their length, some bowed up.

Flattening wasn't too bad, and I got something super flat, and very nearly 90° with each side all the way around. I made a big pile of shavings and my hands were okay afterward, even though the tiny little plane usually ends up hurting my hands after a short while. It was easier to plane than usual with everything set up nicely. I still managed to bleed a little by banging into the wood a few times in overzealous, rhythmic movements that sent the plane off the edge, and my hands hard back into the edge or corner of the board. It's funny, but I kept thinking things like "If only I had more of an area to grip at the back here," and "If only there was something I could hold onto up front that got my fingers out of the way of the shavings so they wouldn't jam up," and even "I wish there was a bit more bed in front of and behind the blade so I could slide back and forth quickly without overshooting the ends so often," eventually realizing that all of my growing list of wishes, if granted, would simply build me a larger block plane 

Old pic of the sole after my first use long ago, for reference:



One of the things that's bugged me about hand planes is that the infeed and outfeed sections of the sole are coplanar. It makes sense from a flattening-the-sole quickly and easily standpoint, but not from a true jointing standpoint. The sole is like this:

-outfeed-\-infeed-direction of cut->

In jointers, the blade tips cut to flush with the outfeed, and you lower the infeed out of plane with that to determine how much is planed away. Even my Incra LS Super System has a split fence, and you align both flush with the front of your straight bit, then adjust the infeed half back a bit to your cut depth to use the system as an edge jointer. With a plane, you really ride on the infeed, and as it cuts out the shaving, the outfeed ends up hovering above the new surface. I think I've heard a few times that you should start with pressure on the front, then by the end of the cut should have pressure on the back, but if that's the case, at some point you're rocking the plane back, and should be creating a very slight curve in the top of the piece. If you ride the front all the way to the end, it should get a tiny bit unstable at the end of the cut, leading to a very tiny bit of a snipe at the end. I think all in all, the shavings are so thin - like tissue - that it will never matter, but it still bugs me on a logical level.

There's a technique plane users often use of putting their free hand on the side of the plane body, fingers tips curled below and in contact with the face of the board of which they're planing the edge. It helps give some tactile feedback, and somehow seems to help one keep the plane pretty level while pushing through the cut. I was happy to see that even on this little guy I could use this technique. It not only helped me turn high edges into level flats I could build from, but kept my tiny little plane on the surface, instead of sliding off either side. I also got to experiment with things, like using the metal of the sole to either side of the mouth to help overlap cuts and widen the flattened areas, though I still have logical arguments that there are problems with this - e.g. with the blade lower than all of the plane, when you're riding the flat of a previous stroke overlapped slightly, you're still cutting a shaving lower than that flat next to it.

I almost walked out the door to find a glass dealer and pick up a small sheet of 1/4" plate glass, but decided to accomplish something else instead. I am now considering this, however. It comes with 25 feet, and I think the idea is that you can put some all around the top and bottom to create a board that can be flipped over to have 4 4.5"x11" long grit surfaces. I could pick up both systems for $68 total and have 220 and 320 on top of one, and 400 and 600 on the bottom. The other could have 800 and 1200 above, and 1500 and 2000 below. Of course, none of that would be adequately sized for flattening the bottom of even a No. 5 jack plane @ 14" long. Decisions, decisions…


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

gfixler said:


> *Sharpening up my little Buck Bros. 3" block plane*
> 
> No [new] pics or videos in this post, but I thought I'd drop a note for posterity to say that I'm excited about my future of hand plane work and the setting up of parts and sharpening of irons that comes with their use. I own this tiny block plane (lucky review #777!), which was very sharp right out of the blister pack, easily making full width, full length curls from the edges of whatever boards I threw at it.
> 
> ...


I have three of those little planes so I don't have to stop and sharpen in the middle of long projects.
Here's some other mini-planes that I find helpful. Amazon


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *Sharpening up my little Buck Bros. 3" block plane*
> 
> No [new] pics or videos in this post, but I thought I'd drop a note for posterity to say that I'm excited about my future of hand plane work and the setting up of parts and sharpening of irons that comes with their use. I own this tiny block plane (lucky review #777!), which was very sharp right out of the blister pack, easily making full width, full length curls from the edges of whatever boards I threw at it.
> 
> ...


Lookin good Gary, I should be doing that instead of reading about you doing it )


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *Sharpening up my little Buck Bros. 3" block plane*
> 
> No [new] pics or videos in this post, but I thought I'd drop a note for posterity to say that I'm excited about my future of hand plane work and the setting up of parts and sharpening of irons that comes with their use. I own this tiny block plane (lucky review #777!), which was very sharp right out of the blister pack, easily making full width, full length curls from the edges of whatever boards I threw at it.
> 
> ...


Randy - that's pretty cheap for a box of 3 nice-looking infill planes!

Topamax - I do my fair share of getting out of doing what I should be doing while online, too


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*

Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.

This was sort of okay, though a bit of a hassle for posts with a dozen images or so. Too, Flickr just recently changed their system - and there's no way to change it back the way it was that I can find - such that dragging the image to try to easily drop its address in the right spot in my posts just draws a box over said image, which then pops up a thing asking if I want to write a note in that box or tell it which person I'm framing (a new feature, similar to Facebook's person tagging ability). This means I actually need to click "ALL SIZES" above the image, then click on "medium" on the next page, then drag that image over into my post, then go back 2 pages to where I was. I have that sorted down to mouse gestures. I right-click on the "ALL SIZES" link, drag down and release, and that opens the link in a background tab. Then I click on that tab and click the "medium" size link, drag that over, then use the right-click, drag down and right mouse gesture to close that new tab, leaving me back where I was. Extra hassle! Gestures make it easier. Linux's little tricks make it easier, but I must have posted hundreds of images here by now. I'm tired of going through these motions. I wanted something that would just give me the entire link I type here, except for the title text in the ()s, which I obviously would have to make up on the spot still.

Enter Greasemonkey. This is a free addon for Firefox, my web browser. It lets you write scripts in the Javascript language that can do anything you want that Javascript is capable of doing. Each script has parameters that let you define what pages it runs on, which can be a specific list, or something with a wildcard (e.g. anything at a particular site under a particular subdirectory). Greasemonkey is often used by people to modify a particular page, or set of pages on the internet. It doesn't change the page online for anyone else, but it modifies the page for you, the user of Greasemonkey with a particular script installed. I decided to write one that would notice when I was looking at an image on Flickr, figure out what that image's address was, and what the address of the page containing the image was, and glue them all together with the LumberJock's punctuations as a proper bit of text I could just drop in place in my posts. I spent an hour or two diving back into the world of Javascript. I always forget so much. It's pretty much a language I am able to use only through looking things up. Thank goodness for the huge vat of knowledge that is the internet. It still takes a lot of guessing and fighting.

Anyway, now it works. It puts a properly formulated bit of LJs image code right under the image. I just triple-click on it to select the entire line, then middle-click where I want it in my post in the other window, and it inserts it. To finish, I just type in the title-text inside the ()s and move on. Here's what I see (the text just under the image is what my script added):



The funny part is that I just embedded that image with a similar link grabbed from under that image on Flickr 

If you have Greasemonkey installed and operational, you can click on the link here to the script and it'll ask if you want to install it. If you don't have it installed, you'll probably just see the text of the .js file itself in your window, or it'll just ask if you want to save the file. There's not much to the script, only to the battle to figure out what small amount of code would solve the problem.

I used the script extensively in my last post, and I'm happy to report that it greatly sped me up.


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## TMcG (Mar 9, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*
> 
> Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.
> 
> ...


Nice, as a fellow pointy head I can appreciate exactly what you're saying !

Installs in Chrome as an extension, not quite sure how to get it to do it's thing though…..


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*
> 
> Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.
> 
> ...


Gary,
I envy your programming abilities. Having worked with computers and electronics since the early 60's, it is frustrating to me to understand the tremendous power of computers and the fact they can be custom programmed to perform "our" tasks instead of just using the "canned" functions that someone else believes we need. But, alas, my mind functions something along the lines of an Ethiopian Earthquake- a jumbled mess. Hardware and troubleshooting come naturally but even the most Basic languages cause me to go screaming into the night.

Lew


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*
> 
> Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.
> 
> ...


I have absolutely no idea of what you said.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

gfixler said:


> *Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*
> 
> Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.
> 
> ...


oh to save those annoying seconds wasted on the techno-crap! Sweet.
And on that thought - I join Greg the WhoDat 

Congrats, though, on your time-saving success!


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *Greasemonkey script: Flickr LumberJockifier*
> 
> Something that's always important to me is efficiency. I'm a weird mix of lazy and hardworking. I'll spend 10 hours coding up something that will save me days of work later, mostly because I get bored of having to do the same steps over and over again. I post a lot of pictures here on LumberJocks, and my method is usually to pop off a tab with Flickr in it, move that new window to a separate monitor, then in my new post back in the first window type !()!: on its own line wherever I want an image. It's become complete muscle memory to type that, and I fire it off like it's a single character. Then I click in the address bar of the image page on Flickr that I want to link to, then middle-click after the : in the image link. That's a Linux trick (actually part of Gnome and the window management system, though not important for our purposes here, other than to say that it's nice to be able to select something, then just middle-click in a text area to paste it - no need for dragging, or copy/paste). Then I'd click on the image and drag it to the space between the first ! and the ( to drop the address to the actual image. Then I'd type the title-text between the ( and ). That's the text that pops up when you roll over an image.
> 
> ...


Greg and MsDebbie - I should probably have just summed up: I made a thing that automatically writes some text under any image I view on flickr from now on. I can copy that text into a new post or comment on LumberJocks, and when I make the post, it will be automatically formatted to show that image, and make it a link to the flickr page where that image lives 

TMcG - wish I could help, but I don't know Chrome (yet). I bet the internet knows what's up.

Lew - I think that's a nearly universal feeling. I always wish my box could do something it can't, and that I don't know how to make it do. I'd like to go back to 14 year old me - the one just getting his first computer and learning gwbasic - and tell him everything I know. Then maybe by now I'd be some kind of uberuser.

Skarp - hard to tell if you're being sarcastic or not! I actually do love regexs, even though they're the bane of most programmer's existence. For some reason, at some point they made sense to me, and I use them all the time now, especially in vim. I can usually write some pretty complicated ones straight out and they tend to just work. Woo!


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*tattoo removal via handheld sander*










It's mildly gruesome, if very low-quality - fair warning - but here's a page with a video of a unique use for the Black & Decker Mega Mouse (the one with the comfort gel pads on top) - sanding out an unwanted tattoo. The guy laying on the ground and having his left pectoralis major sanded to a vivid crimson seems unaffected by it, but also seems a little surprised when he sees it, stating "Wow, that s**t pulled me open pretty good."

Indeed.

It looks like they're using the finger plate attachment, seen in the lower right of this unrelated image to avoid sanding a much larger portion of his chest. Hopefully he didn't end up with a bunch of grit embedded in his skin. Anyone know what you put on a reddened area like this when you're done sanding? Shellac? A water based poly, perhaps?


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey if you don't have the money for laser surgery, and you're tough, what the heck..


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## rustfever (May 3, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To get a tattoo in the first place, says a lot about the person. So this type of removal process does not surprize me. Barbaric


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd go with salad bowl mineral oil myself… not that THATS gonna happen…


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## Abbott (May 10, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Heh, we're going to take that tattoo off of him if he likes it or not!


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## REK (Aug 30, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very disturbing people….


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## RobS (Aug 11, 2006)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


this is akin to belt sander races…. maybe we can combine events…


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## davidmicraig (Nov 21, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Maybe someone should have recommended primer if he couldn't afford the skin graft  Two coats of primer than he could get a new tattoo…

David


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


40% of the people with tatoos have hepititis. If he didn't when they started, he probably will when they finsih. I think it needs to air dry before finishing. On second thought, maybe kiln dried would be more appropriate )


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## ChuckC (May 13, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I wonder what grit he is using ;-)
ouch!!

rust: I don't have any myself but people get tattoo's for many reason's, let's not stereotype.


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## wallkicker (Oct 6, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This has been an interesting read . I don't have any either but I know lot's of people who do and that is fine by me . Tattoo's are pretty popular these days . Interesting that 40 % have hepatitis . I didn't know that one either ! I had given it some thought over the years but never pulled the trigger or decide what I wanted or where . I have one son to finish raising . He has mentioned it a few times . I think I have him holding off until he hits 21 and will be a little more mature to make a rational decision . If he decides to at that time that is his decision . I am not for them or against them . It's up to the individual …....as long as they are old enough to make a responsible decision . I don't like seeing kids with them . Think I will show him the "mouse" just for a little reinforcement .


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## ChuckC (May 13, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't think I'm ready to believe that 40% of people with tattoo's have hepatitis. Tattoo's inspire many stereotypes but the fact of the matter is that it seems like everyone is getting one lately. There's nothing wrong with that.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *tattoo removal via handheld sander*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That was reported in the news a few years ago. Problem with hepatitis is the people don't have serous symptoms right a way. So they pass it around more. Hopefully, they are more careful about blood borne diseases in the tatoo shops.


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## gfixler (Feb 21, 2009)

*George Lailey commemorative bowls*

You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.

I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Thanks for that… I was born in 1958… so it has some meaning to me…
a life well lived and well commemorated.


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## TJ65 (Jan 19, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


That is a great video, who would have thought it possible to turn a set of bowls like that. 
Amazing, thanx for posting


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## BertFlores58 (May 26, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Good video to recall the power of ingenuity… Thanks for that
Larry, me too I was born 1958.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Gary, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed watching this video. Thanks.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Robin Wood


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


hello Gary 
interressting vidio thank´s for sharing it
we have one turner here in Denmark that does it on an electric lathe 
with nearly the same thecnic 
he has the big chunck of wood on the outside of the lathe on the end of the engine
and in iron he has a floorstand where he can swing his turning iron on the top
the irons is bend in differents radius dependig on witch bowl he is turning
as I remember it was a five piece set he had a blacksmith to make for him

Dennis


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## plantek (Sep 26, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


That was great.
I love to see woodworkers using old techniques and what not.


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## REK (Aug 30, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


It make me happy to see video's that connect us with our past. Goerge Lailey, was probably an incredible man. Robin Wood, is of the same ilk. Isn't it a shame that with 300 cable channels full of sham wow, entertainment tonight, and the biography channel stuck in Hollywood, that Gary Fixler, and Robin Woods of
the world don't find there way into mainstream television. Great Video. It's stuff like this that keeps me hooked on the Internet…If it weren't for my family I'd probably just get rid of the TV.


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Cool video, at least this way you will/should stay in shape? This is probably out for me with my bum knee but I'm intrigued.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL


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## dakremer (Dec 8, 2009)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


that is really amazing! dont know if I'd have the patients for something like that!! haha - they look great though!


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Very cool technique, what a tribute to an old artisan.


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## DennisLeeZongker (Jul 25, 2008)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Very cool! It really takes you back in time.


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## Benighted (Jul 26, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Thanks for the great video! I think it's really inspiring with people like Robin who do stuff really old school, one doesn't need the latest most expensive stuff to make incredible pieces of work. It's really neat because I've been thinking about how one could do bowls without wasting all that wood, and I did contemplate if it is possible to do multiple bowls from one blank. This does answer that question. Now I just got to build my own lathe


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## kapanen (Oct 13, 2010)

gfixler said:


> *George Lailey commemorative bowls*
> 
> You guys really liked my last blog post about the Jarvi Bench, which made me happy as it was my 200th.
> 
> I thought I'd follow up with a simpler process video I recently found that also makes me quite happy. In this one, a man named Robin Wood recreates the techniques used by one George Lailey, who died in 1958 at 89 years old. Robin spent 5 years researching Lailey's techniques, recreating the very simple, entirely foot-powered lathe (a "pole lathe"), hand-forging all of the turning tools necessary, and rediscovering the techniques required. Since 2008 he has been turning out a set of large, nesting bowls each year on the anniversary of the death of George in commemoration of his life's work.


Beautiful. such a great way of conserving the resource.
All the respect to you and your style. I am more than impressed.


----------

