On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:07:06 +0000, B A R R Y wrote:

Bill wrote:
start all over again in this hobby / business / trade, what mistakes
did you make the first time around that you'd skip on the second go
around?


Read this, by Mike Dunbar:

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/Top10UnavTruthsofWoodwrkin.htm


Read #5 over and over... Read it again before applyign a finish. G

To relate it to my own experience, money spent on hands-on instruction
and books related to woodworking, finishing, and sharpening, has
returned a far better profit than most of the "time and labor saving"
gadgets I purchased as a beginner.

Luckily, much of the crap was easily sold on eBay.

That page is now a permanent part of the hard-copy manual I am making for
myself. Page one.

I am just now learning (thunk, thunk, thunk ... anyone in there?) about
good tools vs cheaply made tools.

I still think that the best overall strategy includes a mix of top end
tools and barely-adequate tools. And I think that it takes actual shop
experience to know where to shave the corners and where to pay top dollar.

When I came into a LOT of "rough-sawn but worth having" salvage stock
(including 10/4 tamarind) I bought a jointer and a planer ... at HF. Though
miles away from being 'top end', the jointer is more than adequate for my
current, and currently envisioned, uses. But that planer is on the jettison
list because of an inherent design flaw ... the table moves rather than
the head. That makes it effectively impossible to give it larger feed
tables and reduce or eliminate the snipe.

I scraped my knee on that one, but, because it didn't nick me for big
bucks, I didn't shoot my foot off. I now have enough experience that I
will be able to purchase my next one in a reasonably intelligent fashion.

Would I buy HF again? Maybe.

Their nitrile gloves seem to be plenty good enough to protect my hands
from finishes and adhesives. Their 8 pc lathe tool set is (and I HAVE
now bought a few high-end tools) an excellent value for the money. I
would urge new turners to begin there and build out from that starting
point. Their bar clamps work about like brand-name bar clamps of similar
design. Their respirators seem to meet the same standards as others with
the same gubmint ratings.

I doubt if I'll ever buy another of their lathes (I own two)and I am MUCHO
not happy about having to order replacement blades for the planer and the
jointer online.

The old principle still applies ... caveat emptor. That is, let the 'buyer
beware'. Not all HF stuff is of inadequate quality, not everything at
Woodcraft or Rocklers is worth hauling home, either. Sit up straight, look
directly ahead, get rid of that gum and fer cryin' out loud, pay attention!

If someone is a hobbyist I would urge them to go slowly with major tool
acquisitions, taking the time to do careful research. If a business
person, there is no substitute for knowing your business ... all of it.

Bill