Tom Watson wrote:

Shazzam!

Now I'm a bigot?

I wasn't thinking that you were. But, if you are feeling like your
core values are being threatened, and you intended those absurd
characterizations in your original message to denigrate those
woodworkers who choose to use machines and alignment tools, then
perhaps you are. My message was intended to promote self examination -
glad to see it worked.

Brother Eddie, you need to cool your jets.

My "jets" aren't hot. I suppose that if I were writing a long series
of one sentence paragraphs then you might get the feeling that I was
livid. But, I'm as cool as a cucumber.

My point was and is that too many people concentrate on the tools,
rather than the work.

So, it really had nothing to do with the types of tools each guy was
using? It's just a coincidence that the guy using hand tools produces
a fine piece of furniture and the guy using machinery ends up with a
"pukey duck"? The story could then be told by talking about the how
the hand tool guy obsesses over sharpening, shaving thickness, dusting
the antiques kept in the glass display case, etc. while the guy with
machines fills his house with finely crafted furniture. It would have
the same point, right?

I suppose the story could also be told so that it reflected no bias at
all. The two guys could both be using hand tools or both be using
machinery. Then the meaning of the story would be much more clear and
not seem so incongruous with the moral at the end. As you told it, the
story definitely relfects a rather strong bias (as does your reply).

The work that you do tells you about the degree of precision involved.

If you are saying that the end product defines the degree of
craftsmanship, then I agree wholeheartedly. If you are saying that the
process or the amount of work defines the craftsmanship, then we're not
seeing eye-to-eye.


The table saw is one of the final steps towards good joinery.

It is not the final step.

In many cases it is for me. The table saw is definitely not the final
step for some joinery (dovetail joints for example). But, I don't have
any problem ripping "glue ready" butt joints on my table saw. I've had
many people look at things I've made and admire the tight joints in
tabletops, desktops, panels, etc. They're all machine made - mostly
right off the tablesaw.

What you sell treats it as though it is.

What I sell helps to make it possible. High quality and accurate work
cannot come from a poorly aligned tablesaw. It also takes a well
designed and sharpened blade. Under magnification the cells of the
wood appear sheared - not torn or crushed. You can see right through
the cells in a short piece of oak or ash crosscut.


That is wrong.


I don't think so. I suspect that you aren't familiar with the results
that can be had from a properly tuned machine using a sharp cutter. If
I had been using hand tools all my life to clean up the poor quality
and inaccurate results that come from a misaligned table saw using a
cheap blade then I might just share your opinion.


Do you really think that a tenon cheek is ready for the mortise when
it comes from the saw?

Without a doubt.

Do you really think that a cut edge is ready for butting to another as
it comes from the saw?

Absolutely.


Preposterous!


Only if the saw is poorly aligned and you are using a crummy blade.

If the face, or edge has not been worked, it is not finished and can
only fail.

Please, tell me when they are going to fail. I've got hundreds of such
joints in my house that came right off the table saw. Some have been
together for nearly 30 years. None have failed. Many have moved from
humid and warm climates (Bay Area) to dry and cold climates (Idaho). I
know it's only anecdotal evidence but I'm really having trouble
believing you. Perhaps if I had made them with a poorly aligned saw
and a crummy blade I would better understand what you were talking
about.


The tablesaw is in the same category as the planer, it attempts to
level the playing field.

I guess I really don't follow your logic here. "Level" the playing
field? I just think these machines save a whole bunch of time when
they are used properly and well maintained.

The real work of joinery comes after the rough work is done.

I save a whole bunch of time and effort skipping the "rough work"
altogether. I do the real joinery on the first try, with no need to
clean it up afterwards. I don't understand the need to do it in two
steps when one step is just as good (and a whole lot faster).

Keep in mind, I'm judging craftsmanship by the results, not the
process. If you are of the opinion that the process defines the
craftsmanship and that the end result is irrelevant, then we will
always disagree. Some guys even leave tooling marks all over their
projects as evidence of "craftsmanship". What's up with that? Geez,
that's like the folks who use boards with knots just to prove that it's
real wood. I'm in it for the pride and quality of the end result.
Tooling marks tell me that the "craftsman" was careless and did not pay
attention to detail. I have hand planed more than a few tabletops in
my day and didn't leave any tooling marks. Knots tell me that the wood
is cheap.

I'm not saying that it does not help to have a perfectly set up table
saw - I'm saying that it is a snapshot of reality and that the project
goes on beyond it.

There is definitely more to any woodworking project than a tablesaw.
Even a well tuned table saw isn't the end-all and be-all of woodworking
projects. Yes, I agree completely. But, your point eludes me.


Set a saw up perfectly and then run some interesting wood through it
for a day.

Then, test it again - what has happened?

Maybe it's still holding it's settings, maybe it's not. What's the
point? I would say that this scenerio definitely justifies the need
for a good alignment tool!


It is a roughing tool, not a finishing tool - and it should never be
treated as such.


Hmmmmm......Yesterday I would have called a brush a "finishing tool"
but I think I know what you are talking about here. If I believed that
my self worth was tied up in the skills to clean up after a poorly
maintained table saw then I might feel a bit threatened by those who
could achieve equivalent quality craftsmanship without doing (or even
knowing how to do) any cleanup work at all. If I thought that "how
hard you work" was a better measure of craftsmanship than the quality
of the end result then I might be threatened by those who produce
equivalent quality work with a lot less effort. I might even be
inclined to criticize their work and create absurd characterizations to
make them look like bafoons. Fortunately, people appreciate what I
make, not what I go through to make it.

These sorts of situations always remind me of an episode of the old TV
series M*A*S*H. Frank is looking to get a local craftsman to carve
something for him. He asks the craftsman to show him an example of his
work. They guy hands a 2x4 to Frank. Frank says "This is just a
2x4!". The craftsman, glowing with pride, says "Thank you!".

Up above you started by saying your "...point was and is that too many
people concentrate on the tools, rather than the work." But, your
entire reply is devoted to explaining how inadequate the table saw is
at producing glue-ready joints. It appears to follw the same pattern
that your oringinal post did. One (or two) sentences with the main
point and a whole bunch of other stuff about the merits of hand tools
over machinery. In spite of the many one sentence paragraphs
protesting what I said, I think I nailed this one the first time. ;-)
Think about it, the table saw bothers you because you care more about
the tools.

Ed Bennett

http://www.ts-aligner.com