Here is my spin on charlieb's thread:

I was cleaning up the gara... er.. shop Sunday afternoon and I kept
looking at a few nice pieces of spalted sycamore I'd picked up pretty
cheap a couple of weeks ago, trying to decide what they were going to
become. :-) Since SWMBO is something of a minimalist when it comes to
furnishings and accessories, and is constantly reminding me that she
doesn't need any more "dust collectors" in the house, I was thinking in
terms of something useful for the shop.

I finally decided there was enough wood there for a small tool organizer
of some sort, maybe even partly inspired by charlieb's wall hanging
cabinet. I knew mine would have to be smaller due to the quantity of
material available, and freestanding, due to a lack of wall space. I sat
there for about an hour, just looking at the boards and thinking, then I
commenced cutting and gluing.

Making a few deviations from the plan in my head as I went along, I was
pretty satisfied with the results when I was done. Now all I had to do
was figure out where to put the thing. I looked at the three drawer
chest I had made a few months ago, and was thinking that the organizer
seemed about the right size to sit right on top of it. I got out the
tape measure, and wouldn't you know that with no forethought whatsoever,
I had made both pieces exactly 24" wide!

Now just putting the organizer on top of the chest (which was taking up
a good bit of space on my bench already) wouldn't work because it would
block other stuff hanging on the wall. Again, a flash of lightning, and
it occurred to me that if the whole thing was on wheels I could tuck it
away when not in use, roll it over to whatever part of the shop I was
working in, and free up some bench space.

Here is the finished product:

http://www.loyno.edu/~cbmarsh/toolcaddy.htm

A little synthesisity maybe, but mostly dumb luck.

"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
...
Here is my spin on charlieb's thread:

I was cleaning up the gara... er.. shop Sunday afternoon and I kept
looking at a few nice pieces of spalted sycamore I'd picked up pretty
cheap a couple of weeks ago, trying to decide what they were going to
become. :-) Since SWMBO is something of a minimalist when it comes to
furnishings and accessories, and is constantly reminding me that she
doesn't need any more "dust collectors" in the house, I was thinking in
terms of something useful for the shop.

I finally decided there was enough wood there for a small tool organizer
of some sort, maybe even partly inspired by charlieb's wall hanging
cabinet. I knew mine would have to be smaller due to the quantity of
material available, and freestanding, due to a lack of wall space. I sat
there for about an hour, just looking at the boards and thinking, then I
commenced cutting and gluing.

Making a few deviations from the plan in my head as I went along, I was
pretty satisfied with the results when I was done. Now all I had to do was
figure out where to put the thing. I looked at the three drawer chest I
had made a few months ago, and was thinking that the organizer seemed
about the right size to sit right on top of it. I got out the tape
measure, and wouldn't you know that with no forethought whatsoever, I had
made both pieces exactly 24" wide!

Now just putting the organizer on top of the chest (which was taking up a
good bit of space on my bench already) wouldn't work because it would
block other stuff hanging on the wall. Again, a flash of lightning, and it
occurred to me that if the whole thing was on wheels I could tuck it away
when not in use, roll it over to whatever part of the shop I was working
in, and free up some bench space.

Here is the finished product:

http://www.loyno.edu/~cbmarsh/toolcaddy.htm

A little synthesisity maybe, but mostly dumb luck.

Looks nice. And convenient.

I am feeling a little upset by all this good looking shop furniture that
looks better than the stuff I have in my house.

Is synthesisity a word?

Lee Michaels wrote:


Is synthesisity a word?

Hell, I don't know. If it's good enough for charlieb it's good enough
for me!

"Charlie M. 1958" wrote in message
...
Lee Michaels wrote:


Is synthesisity a word?

Hell, I don't know. If it's good enough for charlieb it's good enough
for me!

I found this.

syn·the·sis /'s?n??s?s/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled
Pronunciation[sin-thuh-sis] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-noun, plural -ses /-?siz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled
Pronunciation[-seez] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation. 1. the
combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract
entities into a single or unified entity (opposed to analysis).
2. a complex whole formed by combining.
3. Chemistry. the forming or building of a more complex substance or
compound from elements or simpler compounds.
4. Philosophy. See under Hegelian dialectic.
5. Biology. modern synthesis.
6. Psychology, Psychiatry. the integration of traits, attitudes, and
impulses to create a total personality.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1580-90; L Gk sýnthesis, equiv. to syn- syn- + the- (s. of
tithénai to put, place) + -sis -sis]

-Related forms
syn·the·sist, noun

On Mar 22, 1:30�pm, "Charlie M. 1958"
wrote:
Here is my spin on charlieb's thread:

I was cleaning up the gara... er.. shop Sunday afternoon and I kept
looking at a few nice pieces of spalted sycamore I'd picked up pretty
cheap a couple of weeks ago, trying to decide what they were going to
become. :-) Since SWMBO is something of a minimalist when it comes to
furnishings and accessories, and is constantly reminding me that she
doesn't need any more "dust collectors" in the house, I was thinking in
terms of something useful for the shop.

I finally decided there was enough wood there for a small tool organizer
of some sort, maybe even partly inspired by charlieb's wall hanging
cabinet. I knew mine would have to be smaller due to the quantity of
material available, and freestanding, due to a lack of wall space. I sat
there for about an hour, just looking at the boards and thinking, then I
commenced cutting and gluing.

Making a few deviations from the plan in my head as I went along, I was
pretty satisfied with the results when I was done. Now all I had to do
was figure out where to put the thing. I looked at the three drawer
chest I had made a few months ago, and was thinking that the organizer
seemed about the right size to sit right on top of it. I got out the
tape measure, and wouldn't you know that with no forethought whatsoever,
* I had made both pieces exactly 24" wide!

Now just putting the organizer on top of the chest (which was taking up
a good bit of space on my bench already) wouldn't work because it would
block other stuff hanging on the wall. Again, a flash of lightning, and
it occurred to me that if the whole thing was on wheels I could tuck it
away when not in use, roll it over to whatever part of the shop I was
working in, and free up some bench space.

Here is the finished product:

http://www.loyno.edu/~cbmarsh/toolcaddy.htm

A little synthesisity maybe, but mostly dumb luck.

Someday I hope to have a shop big enough and tidy enough where
something as nice as that won't look out of place!

You described the process I use in almost everything I do. And I know
even before I begin that it's going to be a decorative box of some
kind . . . So I never know really where I'm going to end up when I
start out. I just let my whimsy take over as I go along. Sometimes I
get a clear idea of where I want to go somewhere in the middle. I
like it that way. I don't have the patience to be a "planner" and
draw everything out beforehand. And I could never be a "copyist" like
Norm. I guess I must be expressing "something" in my work and that
free feeling of expression gives me the most satisfaction.

FoggyTown

FoggyTown wrote:

You described the process I use in almost everything I do. And I know
even before I begin that it's going to be a decorative box of some
kind . . . So I never know really where I'm going to end up when I
start out. I just let my whimsy take over as I go along. Sometimes I
get a clear idea of where I want to go somewhere in the middle. I
like it that way. I don't have the patience to be a "planner" and
draw everything out beforehand. And I could never be a "copyist" like
Norm. I guess I must be expressing "something" in my work and that
free feeling of expression gives me the most satisfaction.

FoggyTown


Agreed. I look at plans for ideas sometimes, but the creative aspect is
at least half the fun for me.

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

FoggyTown wrote:

You described the process I use in almost everything I do. And
I know even before I begin that it's going to be a decorative
box of some kind . . . So I never know really where I'm going
to end up when I start out. I just let my whimsy take over as
I go along. Sometimes I get a clear idea of where I want to go
somewhere in the middle. I like it that way. I don't have the
patience to be a "planner" and draw everything out beforehand.
And I could never be a "copyist" like Norm. I guess I must be
expressing "something" in my work and that free feeling of
expression gives me the most satisfaction.

FoggyTown


Agreed. I look at plans for ideas sometimes, but the creative
aspect is at least half the fun for me.

I made a small stool for a friend's little girl, 6"x12", maybe 6"
tall. (The stool had those measurements, not the girl.) I used
finish nails to hold it together. As I was driving the last nail,
I got careless and the end of the nail came out the middle of the
side curtain. After some thought, I sanded the end of the nail
flush, then cut matching hearts from some thin wood. I glued one
over the nail protrusion and the other in the same position on the
other side of the stool. Now it looks like I planned it that way.

darkon wrote in news:Xns98FB9072E1DBDdkwwashere@
216.168.3.30:


I made a small stool for a friend's little girl, 6"x12", maybe 6"
tall. (The stool had those measurements, not the girl.) I used
finish nails to hold it together. As I was driving the last nail,
I got careless and the end of the nail came out the middle of the
side curtain. After some thought, I sanded the end of the nail
flush, then cut matching hearts from some thin wood. I glued one
over the nail protrusion and the other in the same position on the
other side of the stool. Now it looks like I planned it that way.

Good save.

I've got a story too. The night before my module was due to be shown at
a train show, I was putting some "finishing touches" on the road. I
turned on the shop vac, and it rather quickly sucked up a large section
of road. My solution was to rubber cement a tree down onto the road and
not say anything about it. People thought it was intentional, and I got
a few positive comments on it.

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

On Mar 22, 6:12�pm, darkon wrote:
Charlie M. 1958 wrote:





FoggyTown wrote:

You described the process I use in almost everything I do. *And
I know even before I begin that it's going to be a decorative
box of some kind . . . *So I never know really where I'm going
to end up when I start out. *I just let my whimsy take over as
I go along. *Sometimes I get a clear idea of where I want to go
somewhere in the middle. *I like it that way. *I don't have the
patience to be a "planner" and draw everything out beforehand.
And I could never be a "copyist" like Norm. *I guess I must be
expressing "something" in my work and that free feeling of
expression gives me the most satisfaction.

FoggyTown

Agreed. I look at plans for ideas sometimes, but the creative
aspect is at least half the fun for me.

I made a small stool for a friend's little girl, 6"x12", maybe 6"
tall. *(The stool had those measurements, not the girl.) *I used
finish nails to hold it together. *As I was driving the last nail,
I got careless and the end of the nail came out the middle of the
side curtain. *After some thought, I sanded the end of the nail
flush, then cut matching hearts from some thin wood. *I glued one
over the nail protrusion and the other in the same position on the
other side of the stool. *Now it looks like I planned it that way.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

As I often say, "Every screwup is an opportunity for improved design
modification."

...... I sat there for about an hour, just looking at the boards and
thinking, then I commenced cutting and gluing.

That sounds a little like me. I subscribe to the theory that if you stare
at something long enough you can eventually make it happen.

I do, however make some shop sketches or even layout drawings of most
projects. Can't help it - I was a draftsman in a previous life. I'm CAD
trained but most of my experience in on the drawing board (For those
unfamiliar, that is a flat table on which one uses pencils, pens,
straightedges and various instruments to make precision drawings - WITHOUT a
computer).

RonB

RonB wrote:
...... I sat there for about an hour, just looking at the boards and
thinking, then I commenced cutting and gluing.

That sounds a little like me. I subscribe to the theory that if you stare
at something long enough you can eventually make it happen.

I do, however make some shop sketches or even layout drawings of most
projects. Can't help it - I was a draftsman in a previous life. I'm CAD
trained but most of my experience in on the drawing board (For those
unfamiliar, that is a flat table on which one uses pencils, pens,
straightedges and various instruments to make precision drawings - WITHOUT a
computer).

RonB


LOL! My dad is a retired civil engineer from the pre-computer days. He
once showed me this contraption for making calculations... I think he
called it a "slide rule" or some such nonsense.....

LOL! My dad is a retired civil engineer from the pre-computer days. He
once showed me this contraption for making calculations... I think he
called it a "slide rule" or some such nonsense.....

I got a good laugh from an old board draftsman friend a couple of months
ago. He had worked at Boeing several years ago, and did quite a few B-52
mod drawings. The Air Force required periodic change-order updates and none
of the CATIA whiz-kids knew what to do. All of the drawings were ink on
mylar or linen. After several pleading calls, they finally got Ralph and a
few of his old associates out of retirement.

According to Ralph he really didn't want to go back to work but he couldn't
resist the $150/hour rate - or being supervised by kids who didn't know what
the hell all that funny looking drafting equipment they had to round up was
used for.

They had CATIA contractors in the same room making $80 to $100/hour.

RonB

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

LOL! My dad is a retired civil engineer from the pre-computer days. He
once showed me this contraption for making calculations... I think he
called it a "slide rule" or some such nonsense.....

Them's fightin words.

You are hereby challenged to a duel with log-log-decitrigs complete
with folding and log scales at high noonG.

(You bet your sweet ass I still know how to use mine)

Lew

Lew Hodgett wrote:
Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

LOL! My dad is a retired civil engineer from the pre-computer days. He
once showed me this contraption for making calculations... I think he
called it a "slide rule" or some such nonsense.....

Them's fightin words.

You are hereby challenged to a duel with log-log-decitrigs complete with
folding and log scales at high noonG.

(You bet your sweet ass I still know how to use mine)

Lew

Actually, Lew, I am old enough to have learned how to use a slide rule
in school, although their use was in rapid decline.

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

Actually, Lew, I am old enough to have learned how to use a slide rule
in school, although their use was in rapid decline.

Toughest part of learning to use a "slip stick" was to properly locate
the decimal point.

BTW, sign of a true nerd, having your slide rule hanging from your belt.

Had a prof, retired navy admiral, who would reduce your grade a full
letter if you wore your slide rule on your belt to his class.

Lew

On Mar 23, 2:28?pm, "Charlie M. 1958"
wrote:

Actually, Lew, I am old enough to have learned how to use a slide rule
in school, although their use was in rapid decline.

Since I was a liberal arts major in the 60s, I was completely
mystified by those things. If they weren't somehow associated with
beer, grass and parties - what use were they?

FoggyTown

Charlie M. 1958 wrote:

Actually, Lew, I am old enough to have learned how to use a slide rule
in school, although their use was in rapid decline.


When I went through high school, their use had been discontinued. I
learned how to use one anyways. Then I got one of those fancy 4 -
function calculators that fit in my pocket with the little lamps that
had a collection of filament shapes inside that KNEW THE ANSWER and I
never looked back. Then one day I found myself in a machine shop with a
vernier caliper.

Deja vu all over again. ;-)

I think my poor boss soiled himself when I was able to read it on the
first go-round.

Bill


--
http://nmwoodworks.com/cube


---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 000727-1, 03/23/2007
Tested on: 3/23/2007 7:09:28 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

(You bet your sweet ass I still know how to use mine)

Lew

Actually, Lew, I am old enough to have learned how to use a slide rule in
school, although their use was in rapid decline.

Charlie - I'm guessing you are somewhere near 55 (+/- 5). I learned to use
a slide rule in tech school too and graduated in '67. During the early to
mid 70's HP and TI started producing the technical calculators that
eventually replaced the sliderules.

RonB

RonB wrote:

I do, however make some shop sketches or even layout drawings of most
projects. Can't help it - I was a draftsman in a previous life.

You too huh?

Put myself thru school "slinging lead".

Had a callus on my middle finger for several years after I quit.

Still remember doing layouts for foundry automation systems that used
about 20 ft of vellum in one piece for a line layout, even though the
table was only about 5-7 feet wide.

By the time CAD came around, I was doing other things.


Lew