Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting on June 28, 2013 at 8:03am

Oh Lord. A friend of mine in town bought that thing and says it is like a wildcat on the work bench with his sac in a vice. Good for a few things, but mostly just scary. Everything he does on it can be done with a good pull saw. I think it even comes with a first aid kit.

As far a jumping in the fray regarding power tools. Ummmm, pass.

These things used to be made with a pocketknife. Just sayin'

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on June 28, 2013 at 8:10am

Ah, the good old knife, a handy tool...I'm never without one. As a great guitar maker replied when asked how to make a good guitar, he replied, "Start with some wood, and cut off everything that doesn't look like a guitar".

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David L. on June 28, 2013 at 9:48am

I suppose I could be converted to a pocket knife.....if it was one of these :O)

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 28, 2013 at 5:43pm

Edward Scissorhands!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting on June 29, 2013 at 1:54am

I recently acquired some walnut that came off some old cabinets. I was looking at it the other day and realized it was 1 5/8 wide instead of the standard 1 1/2 I usually use. I think I have two options.

I can either cut my box notches a bit wider, or rip the boards down a little.

I don't really want to change my design by widening the neck.

Grizzly has a 14" Industrial Sliding Table Saw on sale for $11,500.00 + $355.00 shipping. Will this work, or are there better options?

 

 

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 29, 2013 at 6:49am

Use the Fork, Luke...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin (Voodoo Rat) Hoelting on June 29, 2013 at 1:56am

What a piece of junk! Doesn't even have a spatula on it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Craig Mayhem on June 29, 2013 at 8:36am

The backlash against power tools is funny.

Do you crank up your car before you can start it?

Car? Hell, I use a horse! That's the old-school way to do it! 

I hitch my horse up to my sledge (wheels are new school bullcrap) and head down to the telegraph office if I need to send a message. I used to hammer my own papyrus but I'm getting older and had to make some concessions.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 29, 2013 at 6:05pm

Ah yes Grasshopper, but what do you do when the power goes out? Crank up the generator? Change over to the battery powered tools? Just go out in the woods and find a nice 80 grit rock and massage the wood to size. It's therapeutic without needing to pay for a psychiatrist and you will have piece of mind in knowing that you are protecting the environment and lowering your carbon footprint.

Be at peace with the world and feel the consciousness of the wood before you cut it. Boards have feelings too.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 30, 2013 at 3:36am

"What did the neck wood say to the cigar box? I'm board..."

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on June 29, 2013 at 7:04pm

OK, OK...I'm the one who kicked off about power tools. It's not  backlash, just a different take based on experience. If you look in my workshop you'll find some serious stuff - drill press, bench sander, planer, thicknesser, table saw, band saw and more, but this is my living, not my hobby: it's grown out of being a hobby. Some weeks I make several guitars and dozens of guitar kits, and I couldn't hit that work-rate without the help of my workshop power tools. For most people this is a hobby, a pastime - making low tech instruments the low tech way seems to fit in really well. Some technical assistance in the way of powertools is great, but I still hold great store by learning to use hand tools.  When you rip down a piece of wood for  a neck with a handsaw, plane a fretboard by hand and slot it with a handsaw, you instantly understand what the nature of the wood is, how the grain is running, how hard it is, which way to work it to get the best result. That's practical useful stuff, not some philosophical spiritual BS about being at one with the timber. You can feel under you hands the nature of the wood, stuff like interlocking grain and runout,  you can feel that with a hand tool, but run the timber through a power saw or planer, and you learn little. As for the transport analogy - I've travelled across countries by plane, train, car and bicycle...they all give you a different perspective and depends on your motivitation and needs what method you choose, but I know that from experience, exploring a country by bike is entirely different to making the same A to B journey by car. By all means buy powertools, but always think carefully about why you think you need it. Is it really impossible to do the job by hand, or is it just a bit of "boys toys" self-gratification?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 30, 2013 at 4:25am

Not a problem ChickenboneJohn, I too have power tools of various sorts and spent a good part of my working life as a tool and die machinist, follower by over a decade working as an aircraft mechanic. All of my life I have been a hotrodder, building several race cars and enjoying drag racing over the spectrum from street cars through modified motorcycles and I have even had the opportunity to drive a dragster with two Chevy V8s in it. Have driven cars since a couple of years before I was legal as I had an enabling big brother, ridden and owned motorcycles since I was 18 and owned and flew my own vintage aircraft for over 20 years before I closed that chapter in 2009.

"More Power" has been my way of living for as long as I can remember, definitely a "boys toys" type of guy, but  that said I still enjoy working with my hands with simple tools and as you so lyrically word it, "the philosophical spiritual BS about being at one with the timber". When I meditate I chant "OHM" as I am also trying to find the philosophical spiritual side of being at one with the electromechanical side of our hobby involved in home built pickups and amplifiers.

In a way, I think you will find that there is a mystical, spiritual side to all of the things that we do in our lives and if we take the time to appreciate it and embrace it our lives are richer for it. Power tools make our work easier, but however you cut the tree the sawdust still has a wonderful smell and we need to stop and smell the wood as we work or we might as well become machines ourselves.

Have a nice day.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page