On Sep 29, 6:59 am, Frank Boettcher wrote:
So what did you mean Ed? You used the statement in an analogous
manner. Are you like Galileo with the innovative ideas and those who
don't accept those ideas are" piously ignorant"?

The analogy is really aimed and encouraging people to examine the
facts and use their intelligence to judge the merits of proper
alignment. It was also intended to discourage people from ignoring
the facts, dispensing with their intellect and arguing "just make
sawdust". I thought it was a particularly keen analogy to answer
swingman's accusation that I was being pious and holier than thou.
That was it's primary purpose.

However, I don't mind attributing the role of Galileo with those who
believe that they can improve the performance of their machinery (and
subsequently the quality of their woodworking) with proper alignment.
I wouldn't want to have the role of the Roman authorities attributed
to me. I wouldn't want to be in the position of ridiculing and
persecuting the modern Galileos. So, I think each person needs to
examine their own attitude and determine if they like the role that
they have chosen to play.

That said...With regard to your own saw of 13 years, you said: "I
never checked the saw for alignment that [first] day or ever." You
also indicate that you believe that precise alignment is a waste of
time. In your recommendation to Dan, you said "...if it were mine and
I were within .016" with a dead on 90, I'd lock it down and cut
wood." (although I can't seem to get you to now say if you think it
was a waste of time for Dan to get this resolved). You include
yourself in the group of those who think that alignment is
unimportant. But, since you don't actually know the current state of
your machine (aligned or misaligned) I don't understand how you can be
so confident in your assertion. Maybe your saw is (by sheer luck)
well aligned. Maybe it isn't and you just don't recognize the
problems.

I don't doubt that you want to know which part I think you play in the
analogy. I could tell you what I think based on the evidence I've
seen (reviewed above for your convenience). But, this really is a
question that you need to answer for yourself. You need to play the
part that you believe is right, argue it's merits, and hope that time
doesn't treat you as badly as it did the Roman authorities.
It's not for me to tell you which role to play. I recognize that the
Galileo role is a lonely one with many trials and tribulations ;-).
But, I choose it and argue it's merits becaue I believe that it is
right. By contrast, the Roman role is grounded in piety ("we're not
wood machinists") and enjoys relative ease in the consensus of many.

Ed Bennett


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