Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.

Maybe I'll just dump all the rest of the planes rather than let them
sit, unused, in my plane hanger (that's what I call the shelf they
live on).

Tom

Tom Banes wrote:
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


For the complete and utter change that it creates, my planer.

I send ugly ass 100 year old barnboards through it and out comes the
most beautiful salmon colored (coloured David) oak you've ever seen.

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:40:25 -0500, Tom Banes
wrote:

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.


Not sure yet; I've got a Lie Nielsen low-angle block plane that I love
using, but just got an LN spokeshave (to help with the curved sections of
the bed project). After using the new Veritas sharpening jig to get it
shaving sharp, I spent some time with some curved scrap last night -- this
may become the new favorite.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

the 603c is the only one i have and i too use it for everything. i love
the effect that it has on wood after some work using it. i love the
crisp 90 degree edges i get on the boards after using it and unlike
some other planes ive used its not just about the outcome. its a
pleasure to use through out the whole proccess.

As strange as it sounds I enjoy using my table saw, although I
typically use it for short periods of time. A close second is my
lathe--a truly strange machine because hours go by when it feels like
minutes. I found that a sharp tool is a joy to use.

Because Tom Banes could, he/she/it
opin'd:

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

-Don
--
"What do *you* care what other people think?" --Arline Feynman

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:40:25 -0500, Tom Banes
wrote:

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


There are just too many jokes here..............g

Mike O.

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

Is that the only reason? I've had a coping saw since I was about that age
and I hate it. Sometimes it's the only tool for the job, but for some
reason I can never get mine to work well. The blades always seem to bend; I
can't even make a flat cut in 1/2" thick pine, it seems.

If someone told me, "Your saw is no good, neither are your blades; here's
where you go to buy one that works..." I'd listen and give it a try.

I did buy a fret saw with about the same luck. I fancied myself doing
beautiful inlays, you know, the kind that have the 7 degree sloping edges so
they drop right in place and fit perfectly after a little sanding. I
haven't produce a single one yet.

Bah. Humbug.

Today I painted spruce 2x4s. (Select. "Premium Quality" says Home Depot.
What a joke.) Now there's fine woodworking for you.

- Owen -

Tom Banes wrote:
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.

Maybe I'll just dump all the rest of the planes rather than let them
sit, unused, in my plane hanger (that's what I call the shelf they
live on).

Tom
My Veritas shoulder planes, jack plane, and jointer plane. I'm not so
keen on the first one I bought; the BU smoother--not enough heft. I also
enjoy using my Performax because it's the newest toy in the shop.

Dave

"Owen Lawrence" wrote in
:

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to
grab.

My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

Is that the only reason? I've had a coping saw since I was about that
age and I hate it. Sometimes it's the only tool for the job, but for
some reason I can never get mine to work well. The blades always seem
to bend; I can't even make a flat cut in 1/2" thick pine, it seems.


Greetings.....I am not trying to be critical...since I myself was guilty
of this for a long time...I had the teeth of the saw pointing the wrong
way....like it was trying to cut on the push stroke...similarto to a
hacksaw...when I read that coping saws cut on the pull stroke...I said to
myself...no wonder it don't cut right...

If someone told me, "Your saw is no good, neither are your blades;
here's where you go to buy one that works..." I'd listen and give it a
try.

I did buy a fret saw with about the same luck. I fancied myself doing
beautiful inlays, you know, the kind that have the 7 degree sloping
edges so they drop right in place and fit perfectly after a little
sanding. I haven't produce a single one yet.

Bah. Humbug.

Today I painted spruce 2x4s. (Select. "Premium Quality" says Home
Depot. What a joke.) Now there's fine woodworking for you.

- Owen -

"David" wrote in message
...
Tom Banes wrote:
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.

snip
Tom


I have a 604, 605, 607 Bedrocks and I do love to use the 604 as you like the
603. I will say that I recently acquired a 5 1/2 Baily and it is the plane
I reach for more often than not. Another tool I use a lot is a 1" Stanley
750 chisel that is dead flat on the back. I can pare tenons with it that
looks like a shoulder plane did it.

Should I mention my Starret square or my LV apron plane or my LN 60 1/2
rabbet plane?

Chainsaw with a new chain but I ran out of trees to cut.

# Fred # wrote:
Chainsaw with a new chain but I ran out of trees to cut.

Is your log cabin still standing? ;-)

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Hey Duke,
I agree with you one hundred percent and I was thinking the same tool
thoughts before I read your post. My planer gives me instant
gratification- it's more of a toy than a tool. Second to that is the
my router because it too makes the most contrasting chanfge toa piece
of wood than any other tool.
Planers Forever! Long live planers!
Marc

Duke of Burl wrote:
Tom Banes wrote:
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


For the complete and utter change that it creates, my planer.

I send ugly ass 100 year old barnboards through it and out comes the
most beautiful salmon colored (coloured David) oak you've ever seen.

Tom Banes wrote:

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

An old Goodell-Pratt push drill.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Thought that myself. Figured I'd just keep quite.

"Mike O." wrote in message
...
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:40:25 -0500, Tom Banes
wrote:

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


There are just too many jokes here..............g

Mike O.

Tom Banes wrote in
:

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.

Maybe I'll just dump all the rest of the planes rather than let them
sit, unused, in my plane hanger (that's what I call the shelf they
live on).

Tom


I bought a sweet old Bailey #3, with a Sweetheart blade, about 4 years ago.
Didn't steal it, but the money was very well spent. That's a very nice
sized plane.

The LN Adjustable Mouth block plane, 9 1/2, standard angle, is one of the
finer tools in the Neander cabinet, and gets used on almost every project.
More money well spent.

Patriarch

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to
grab.

My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

Is that the only reason? I've had a coping saw since I was about that
age and I hate it. Sometimes it's the only tool for the job, but for
some reason I can never get mine to work well. The blades always seem
to bend; I can't even make a flat cut in 1/2" thick pine, it seems.


Greetings.....I am not trying to be critical...since I myself was guilty
of this for a long time...I had the teeth of the saw pointing the wrong
way....like it was trying to cut on the push stroke...similarto to a
hacksaw...when I read that coping saws cut on the pull stroke...I said to
myself...no wonder it don't cut right...

Honestly, I don't know. I just went down to the shop to check. The fret
saw had the teeth pointed for a pull cut, but the coping saw was in the
toolbox "unloaded". I'll certainly keep it in mind the next time I use it,
though. Thanks for the reminder.

- Owen -

DCH wrote in
:

"Owen Lawrence" wrote in
:

Is that the only reason? I've had a coping saw since I was about
that age and I hate it. Sometimes it's the only tool for the job,
but for some reason I can never get mine to work well. The blades
always seem to bend; I can't even make a flat cut in 1/2" thick pine,
it seems.


Greetings.....I am not trying to be critical...since I myself was
guilty of this for a long time...I had the teeth of the saw pointing
the wrong way....like it was trying to cut on the push
stroke...similarto to a hacksaw...when I read that coping saws cut on
the pull stroke...I said to myself...no wonder it don't cut right...

One other thing I found with coping saws was that the handle and blade
should be tight. There should be no play in the blade.

I can't cut straight through a piece of 2x4 with it, but that's ME and
not the saw.

Picked mine up from Menards just after Christmas.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

"Tom Banes" wrote in message

Different question. What tool do you just like to use?

Table mounted router. Seems magical to run a board, upside down, across the
table and find a shaped edge when you are done.

Close second is my Veritas block plane. When you take a couple of light
passes, and a piece falls in place with the perfect fit, it is a rewarding
experience.

"Tom Banes" wrote in message
...
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


My Jet cabinet saw mounted with a Forrest WWII and my Laguna band saw.

Because they to the job with repeatable results time after time with no
bogging down during the cut regardless of the size or hardness of wood.

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:40:25 -0500, Tom Banes
wrote:

I wish that I could sort of hang with the OP and talk about some really cool
feeling I get with an old hand tool, but the first thing that comes to mind is
my lathe..

I can turn a scrap 2x2" into shavings and kindling and get more pleasure and
stress relief than a month of visits to a shrink..

The combination of spinning wood and a sharp piece of steel held against it,
with shavings peeling off is just a really great feeling...
Until cleanup time.. *g*


Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

For me, it's an old 603C (type 2) with a Hock blade. Something about
the size, balance, and the whispers it makes on wood, just makes me
grab it any chance I get. I even misuse it, when a larger or smaller
plane would be more appropriate. Heck, I used it to flatten and smooth
the top of an old Sjoberg bench I picked up at a garage sale! Coulda
used the 607C, but that beast is big, heavy, and ugly and the 608 is
just uglier.

Maybe I'll just dump all the rest of the planes rather than let them
sit, unused, in my plane hanger (that's what I call the shelf they
live on).

Tom

Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

mac davis wrote:
I can turn a scrap 2x2" into shavings and kindling and get more pleasure and
stress relief than a month of visits to a shrink..

]
I'd have to say the lathe is the most enjoyable for me too. A lot less
stress too. If you make a goof, you just toss the piece in the trash.
It's truly relaxing.

In contrast, when you're working on a large china cabinent/kitchen
table for months and you make a goof, it becomes real stressful.

Owen Lawrence wrote:
Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.
My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

Is that the only reason? I've had a coping saw since I was about that age
and I hate it. Sometimes it's the only tool for the job, but for some
reason I can never get mine to work well. The blades always seem to bend; I
can't even make a flat cut in 1/2" thick pine, it seems.

If someone told me, "Your saw is no good, neither are your blades; here's
where you go to buy one that works..." I'd listen and give it a try.

Something I've used for both coping and hacksaws is to put the blades in
Japanese style. (ie. backwards to the NA "norm")

Blades never bend and I feel I have more control when I'm cutting with
the pull stroke than with the push stroke. I'm not sure if I actually
do have more control, but it feels better for some reason.

Tanus


I did buy a fret saw with about the same luck. I fancied myself doing
beautiful inlays, you know, the kind that have the 7 degree sloping edges so
they drop right in place and fit perfectly after a little sanding. I
haven't produce a single one yet.

Bah. Humbug.

Today I painted spruce 2x4s. (Select. "Premium Quality" says Home Depot.
What a joke.) Now there's fine woodworking for you.

- Owen -




--
This is not really a sig.

bf wrote:
mac davis wrote:
I can turn a scrap 2x2" into shavings and kindling and get more pleasure and
stress relief than a month of visits to a shrink..

]
I'd have to say the lathe is the most enjoyable for me too. A lot less
stress too. If you make a goof, you just toss the piece in the trash.
It's truly relaxing.

In contrast, when you're working on a large china cabinent/kitchen
table for months and you make a goof, it becomes real stressful.

That's when you learn to incorporate the goof into the design and call
the whole thing "conceptual" and charge a fortune for it. No stress.

FoggyTown

Because "Owen Lawrence" could, he/she/it opin'd:

Earlier thread asked about most often used tolls (stationary, as it
happens).

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

My coping saw. It doesn't get used much, but I LOVE the feel of it in
my hand when I need to cope something.

Why? Because it's the first tool I ever bought; I picked it up at a
garage sale when I was about 10 or thereabouts.

Is that the only reason?

No. I like coping inside miters on moldings and this little saw does a
pretty nice job -- if I have a decent blade in it. I got some blades
at Menard's a while back, and they were NASTY; I threw them away and
got some better ones at a local hardware store. I shouldn't try to
save a few bux like that, I guess . . . .

If someone told me, "Your saw is no good, neither are your blades; here's
where you go to buy one that works..." I'd listen and give it a try.

Either might be a problem. I found out blades make a huge difference,
and I've used other coping saws I didn't like nearly as well. Maybe
your saw doesn't tension the blade enough?

-Don
--
"What do *you* care what other people think?" --Arline Feynman

Because "# Fred #" could, he/she/it opin'd:

Chainsaw with a new chain but I ran out of trees to cut.

Oh. Chainsaw. I din't make the connection 'cause I was thinking
woodWORKING . . . .

OK, I LOVE my new Husqvarna 455!

I'd run lots of other chainsaws, but never had the need for one of my
own until a couple of weeks ago when a huge oak out back got blown
down. I could have borrowed one, but any excuse for a new toy, right?

Now that the tree's cut into logs I'm trying to make lumber with a
Logosol Timberjig:
http://www.logosol.com/webb/sawmills..._timberjig.php

I've made two planks, but I obviously need a chain with a different
cutting angle 'cause using the crosscut chain that came with the saw
is TEDIOUSLY slow, and probably kinda hard on the saw.

But I'm making a LOT of sawdust!!!

Sure, I know the adage:

That carpenter is not the best
Who makes more dust than all the rest




Oh yeah, it's not an adage, it's an old saw . . . .


-Don
--
"What do *you* care what other people think?" --Arline Feynman

I'd run lots of other chainsaws, but never had the need for one of my
own until a couple of weeks ago when a huge oak out back got blown
down. I could have borrowed one, but any excuse for a new toy, right?



I wish my moron neighbor liked chainsaws. One of his trees blew down 3
years ago. It's still there -- huge ugly thing attracting termites. He
hasn't done anything with it. The lazy *******. I need to buy some land
somewhere, far from neighbors, then the only dip**** I'd have to put up
with would be myself.

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

In article ,
says...

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


Heh. That would have to be my Makita bisquit joiner. What a sweet little
machine. Setting out the work is Zen, then you go Nii Nii Nii and the glue
brush comes out. Beats the crap out of chiseling mortises or trying to
accurately drill dowels.
/rant Did I mentions I don't like dowels? They always seem to fail after a
while, be it chairs, be it tables - most repair work I do is failed dowels - I
gave up using them 25 years ago /rant off.
Haven't had a bisquit jointed piece fail yet.

-Peter

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

In article , removespamlcb11211
@swbell.net says...

My Jet cabinet saw mounted with a Forrest WWII and my Laguna band saw.


Which reminds me:

My Jet _ _ _ band saw. Yes, that'd be the second nominee. A revelation after
struggling with a Masport 18"x6" 3 wheeler P.o.S. for 20 years that couldn't
cut a single thing straight or square.

I turn it on every excuse I get :-) Guess it still qualifies as 'new toy' after
only a few months. A joy to use.

-Peter

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Sun, Aug 13, 2006, 3:40pm (EDT-1)
(Tom*Banes) doth question:
snip What tool do you just like to use? snip

Chainsaw. Great precision carving tool.



JOAT
Justice was invented by the innocent.
Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.

On 14 Aug 2006 07:51:22 -0700, "bf" wrote:


mac davis wrote:
I can turn a scrap 2x2" into shavings and kindling and get more pleasure and
stress relief than a month of visits to a shrink..

]
I'd have to say the lathe is the most enjoyable for me too. A lot less
stress too. If you make a goof, you just toss the piece in the trash.
It's truly relaxing.

In contrast, when you're working on a large china cabinent/kitchen
table for months and you make a goof, it becomes real stressful.

yeah.... and the nice thing is that if you screw up bad enough on the lathe, it
becomes "art".. *g*

As one who gets frustrated with not-quite-square corners or could-be-tighter
joints, the freedom of form and such on the lathe is a definite plus..
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

Paslode framing nailer and Makita circular saw - it's not cabinet work.

Nail it down and cut off the overhang. It better be where you want it,
because it's going to get fastened before you can change your mind.

Bosch sliding compound miter saw. I have this on a Rigid miter saw
stand and love wheeling it out into the driveway when I need to make
precise 90 degree cuts. My Grizzly bandsaw runs a close second since I
replaced the tensioning knob with a crank.

Dick Durbin

In article , Tom Banes
wrote:


Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.


I was going to say my LV bevel-up jointer, but I'm wondering...does a
tractor count? Because it came to mind first. New Holland TC-35

Stationary Belt sander. Didn't think I'd use it that much, but it
turns out I use it almost as much as the table saw. Kinda makes me
want to invest in a full sized stroke sander and an edge sander one of
these days. Could do without the disc, though- I've had the thing for
two or three years, and haven't used the disc sander more than a dozen
times, and it just gets in the way.

Works great for presanding parts, and smoothing out rough curves from
the bandsaw. Cleans up imperfectly aligned miters like a champ, too.

"Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab."
Tom
I can't explain why but I love the sound of my Ridgid Jointer. It has
the most quietly balanced hum of any power tool I've used since a 25
year old Powermatic Table saw long gone. Since the little jointer only
cost $350 I was shocked upon turning it on the first time. Sometimes I
turn it on just to listen. I was expecting a rough beast and found
excellence.

"Bob" wrote in message
ups.com...

"Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab."
Tom
I can't explain why but I love the sound of my Ridgid Jointer. It has
the most quietly balanced hum of any power tool I've used since a 25
year old Powermatic Table saw long gone. Since the little jointer only
cost $350 I was shocked upon turning it on the first time. Sometimes I
turn it on just to listen. I was expecting a rough beast and found
excellence.

That would be the 6 1/8" job? Have you ever had to replace your blades yet?

Tom Banes wrote:

Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

A 16 lb sledge hammer.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Jay Pique wrote:

: Tom Banes wrote:
: Different question. What tool do you just like to use? Be it a kick,
: or a zen experience, it's the one you just look for an excuse to grab.

: I get a kick out of taking a Pro Prep scraper to a newly glued up
: panel.




Is this a handled scraper?


-- Andy Barss