Andy wrote:
Regardless of the ACTUAL temperature of your jets, I have to say they
sounded hot. It sounds like you feel the need to defend yourself - do
you really think someone is going to give up on their table saw (and
not buy your aligner) because of Tom's post?

Just like Tom's original message, I read your message and took a good
look at myself and what I had written. I re-read both of my posts
twice. I still can't imagine why someone would think that I responded
because I was upset ("jets" are hot), or because I felt threatened. I
have used both hand tools and machinery for decades. There's nothing
that Tom said that personally threatened me or anything I do. And, if
you read my messages for very long, you'll see that they are not all
devoted to selling (or defending) my products. As far as I'm
concerned, this thread is all about Tom's biased characterization of
machine tool users (as bafoons).

In the recent thread
following your TS-aligner sale post, I was very impressed at your
business philosophy, incorporating others' ideas, standing behind your
product because it works, and encouraging people to try it for
themselves or make something better if they don't believe you. Thus
your defensive-sounding reply here surprised me. I haven't seen Steve
Knight or Robin Lee respond like that to a post here about some handy
new power-tool jig...

It surprises me that you would read my philosophy and not see how it
would compell me to reply in Tom's thread. I'm a "truth and honesty at
all cost" kind of guy. And, I've been told that I can be pretty blunt
about it. But, please don't confuse my blunt manner with being upset
or defensive. I am just seeking some balance in the bias that Tom
originally posted. This isn't about me or my product or any other jig.
It's about an absurd characterization of a group of people that Tom
doesn't seem to understand very well.

I've been reading Steve and Robin for several years and have seen them
both express passionate opinions - even question the opinion of others
(which is what I have done). Perhaps I am more blunt than they are but
this isn't obvious to me.

While this topic would seem to be on the forefront of Tom's mind, I'm
not concerned with what tool or tools a person chooses to do their
woodwork with. I'm concerned that some people (a big majority) are
being denigraded for making a very valid choice.

I have no doubt that your product is the best of its kind on the
market, and as a user of both power and hand tools, I'm not saying
either is superior.

Then we are basically of the same camp.

But I am curious why you apparently feel
threatened by someone extoling the increasingly rare virtues of
craftsmanship, just because the craftsman in his example used hand
tools.

Again, I don't feel threatened in the least. And, it wasn't Tom's
example of craftsmanship that prompted my desire to add balance. I
think hand tools are great and that everyone should learn how to use
and maintain them. It was Tom's characterization of machine users that
prompted my response.

Sure, there are plenty of "woodworkers" who buy expensive
planes and chisels just because they're expensive or pretty, and then
spend most of their time diddling with them instead of using them to
their fullest potential. Just as there are with power-tool-happy
"woodworkers", who buy a machine just because of a new gimmick or an HP
rating. But I don't think that was the point of the OP. (Note - this
defense of Tom's original post doesn't necessarily extend to the rest
of the thread...)

You have provided a good summary of of my point exactly. I think that
you and I are in complete agreement here. Both goups have a minority
of individuals who focus more on the tools than they do on what the
tools are used for. Tom's point could have easily been made without
expressing any bias. But, Tom's OP characterized the hand tool
woodworker as virtuous and the machine tool woodworker as a bafoon. In
spite of what he has said, I think Tom's focus really is on the tools
and not on the work. In his second post he expresses his "point" by
declaring that it is "preposterous" to think that a table saw can
produce good joinery. He firmly believes that it is only good for
rough work and that hand tools are needed to "finish" the joints. It
tells me that his "point" is at best secondary - a vehicle for the bias
which he wishes to promote (which was probably motivated by my
characterization of the dial indicator as an "old tool" in the other
thread).

When I read the original post, the point I took away was apparently the
one Tom intended: the real woodworker's focus should be on the work,
not the tools, and that a bunch of fancy expensive tools (whether they
are of the tailed or hand variety) are not necessary to produce good
work. For me, the point of woodworking is to enjoy the process, to
challenge myself, and to come out with a functional and hopefully
attractive piece of furniture when I'm done. I don't like to waste
time, but I don't need to rush through it either. (Yes, I know those
who have deadlines and/or customers to satisfy are in an entirely
different situation here.) But I appreciated Tom's initial reminder
that gadgets don't make the woodworker.

Well said. Then you wouldn't disagree with the opinion that different
tools require different skills. The skills to produce a good quality
joint using a tablesaw are going to be different than the skills needed
when using handtools. If a person cannot use a particular (and
appropriate) tool to produce a good joint, it is likely that their
skills with that tool are lacking. You can't just point a board in the
general direction of a table saw and expect an accurate cut. Nor can
you just push a plane over a piece of wood and expect a true surface.
Fine craftsmanship doesn't result from a complete lack of skills. And,
the choice of a particular type of tool doesn't necessarily determine
the resulting craftsmanship.

(Of course, if your hobby is fiddling with power tools or sharpening
expensive hand tools, at least you're not causing trouble for other
people or the environment, as you would be with many other hobbies...)

Absolutely.

Ed Bennett

http://www.ts-aligner.com