SWMBO got tired of my nagging a few months ago and let me spend some of the
Uncle Sam return on tools. I only got one 'new' power tool as the others
were major upgrade replacements or ancillary type stuff. Anyways, she was
happy with my first project, and anxious for more. As we watched TV or
looked at furniture catalogs she wanted me to build this or that and I said,
"Well, I'd need a power planer for that". She asks how much and then we
move on to some other piece.

Me: "The wood for that would be very expensive from the borg or really
anywhere since I have to have it cut and planed to a certain thickness".

SWMBO: "Why"

Me: "Well, hon... Most WWers buy stuff in block-like chunks... you know,
really thick stuff. Then they make the boards they need. Everyone else
pays some other schmo with the equipment to make it so"

SWMBO: "Couldnt you do it if you had a planer? I mean, make it whatever
thickness you want?"-SWMBO

Me: "Well, yeah, but if the block of wood was thick enough, I could make
more than 1 board out of its thickness... just not with a planer. For that
I'd need a bandsaw so I could 'slice' the boards"

SWMBO: "So you need a bandsaw and not a planer?"

Me: "Well... you cant be that exact with a bandsaw. It gets you in the
neighborhood, then you get it perfect with the planer"

SWMBO: "I see. So you really need both in addition to the jointer and table
saw you just bought?"

Me: "I mean, to do the really nice stuff in a cost effective way... yeah"

SWMBO: "How much would those cost?"

Me: "Well, for anything worth it I'd probably be looking at $1100 or so for
both" (knowing once the approval was given there would be at least a 20%
markup)

SWMBO: "Wow... that is an expensive hobby." returns to her cheap
scrapbooking hobby

I felt for a while like I was on the edge of a breakthrough, but then it
kind of fell off. I figured I should let it be for a while... but the SEED
HAS BEEN PLANTED and she didnt freak out.

SWMBO are strange creatures and after 10 yrs of marriage I'm still trying to
figure this one out.

Mike W.