On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 20:34:22 -0500, Joe Bleau
wrote:

I believe it cost a few bucks to participate but the magazine Fine
Woodking has a website known as "finewoodworking.com." There are many
tips, articles, tool reviews, and a very lively discussion group with
fewer OT postings and an infinitely more knoweldgeable base of readers
and contributors. Not trying to raid this group which I still enjoy;
just pointing out alternatives to those who might be interested.

You know, I think I'll pass as well.

What I still can't understand, no matter how long I poke around on
this group, is why OT discussion is so horrifying to people. I like
woodworking quite a bit, but I'll be damned if I'd visit a forum that
had ten or fifteen conversations about tuning up a handplane and how
to use a router recycling on an endless loop. It's the same reason I
let all my magazine subscriptions lapse- they were just repeating
themselves.

I come here to talk about whatever comes up on the group, because it's
entertaining, and I at least know that the folks here have enough
intellegence and motivation to engage in a hobby that requires
considerable investments in time, money and research (not necessarily
in that order.) That alone is a pretty effective pre-filter when
deciding who I wish to speak to, if looking at most of the other
groups on Usenet is any indication. And, I learned a lot here when I
started to look at making furniture when I decided to *graduate* from
being a remodeler with basic carpentry skills- so answering newbie
questions is sort of paying the community back for past assistance.

Far as "experitise" goes, I'd trust most of the regulars here to work
in my shop unattended, and at least some have amazing abilities and
knowledge. So how is the FWW forum better? Do they tell you how to
make wood appear from nothing using only the power of your mind?