I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert advice
before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal

On Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:49:20 -0500, "sal" wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc?

That's kind of a subjective question. Power tools could mean drill,
circular saw, router, etc. I consider all those types of tools as a
minimum because you could build all your examples with them. And so,
I'd think of them as everybody already owning them.

For me, the minimum power tool (big iron) would be a table saw, a
contractor's table saw as a minimum and a cabinet saw as a preferred
choice.

"sal" wrote:


I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc?
-----------------------------------
I built a lot of stuff with only a Bosch saber saw, a router, a
battery operated hand drill and a 6" ROS.

Throw in a straight edge and some C-Clamps and your good to go.

Lew

sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like
to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.

Sal

Table saw
Router
Drill Press
Planer
Joiner
Various sanders
Compressor
Air Nailer
Another router

That should get you started on the simple stuff.

Or... a saw and a hammer...

--

-Mike-

sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc?

110v

I like to get expert advice before I start any project.

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert (and it should be easy to find people here
who will back me up on that)!

Of what you listed, a "bench may be the easiest. Assuming you mean
"workbench", as it doesn't have to compete with furniture standards.
You can buy everything you need at HomeDepot or Lowes and create a basic
one in a weekend or so. I'm still working on mine (inside joke)!

Draw some pictures. Consider the parts you would need and how you
would build them (and finish them?). And perhaps more significantly, how
you would assemble them. Look at books or magazines or online
woodworking forums for ideas.

Woodworking as a hobby reminds me of the camel that stuck its head under
the edge of a tent. Mark my words: That is expert "advice"! Have fun!

Bill


Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Dimensional lumber, like you'll need for a basic bench is relatively
cheap. If you don't like the first one, you can make a second one.
Maybe start with a small "charging station" table to hold your
rechargeable batteries and other nic-nacs?


Sal

"sal" wrote in message ...
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum power tool
requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type furniture e.g.. footstool ,
bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is
very expensive to just turn into sawdust.

Sal
The minimum would be zero. Roy Underhill gets the job(s) done with
just hand (and foot) tools.
The other end of the spectrum is Norm Abram who seems to abhor
any hand tool if he can possibly use a power tool.
Art

Lew Hodgett wrote:
"sal" wrote:


I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc?
-----------------------------------
I built a lot of stuff with only a Bosch saber saw, a router, a
battery operated hand drill and a 6" ROS.

Throw in a straight edge and some C-Clamps and your good to go.

Lew

You hit on something Lew. I've said this before and I'll say it again. I
have built cabinets and magical apperatus, and bookshelves, and all other
sorts of stuff with nothing more impressive than a jig saw. I had to
improvise on clamps and guides, and that sort of thing, but it was still
easier and more accurate than a hand saw. With those, I turned out a very
good quality of work. The answer does not lie in the tool. The answer lies
in the guy behind the tool. I see too many people here today getting all
wrapped up in the rhetoric of the group, or the stuff they can read on the
internet, and not making any progress in learning how to use the simplest of
tools. What a surprise awaits them when they buy all of their top end tools
and still don't know what to do with them.

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean from
mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up on the
idea that you can "learn" your way to being a woodworker. You can't, unless
you learn from doing. It is not the tool, it is the work.

We have pro's here and we have amatures here. Unfortunately, the advice of
the pro's, which reflects their needs as pro's, often becomes the mantra of
the guy who has never made a cut in a board. Maybe it would be beneficial
for the pro's to share where they came from. For a certainty - they did not
simply start out with the coolest cabinet saw, the Festool router, the dust
collector, the..."whatever". They started out with much more rudemtary
tools and they learned their knack, long before they invested in the cooler
things.

Oops - got on a soap box... Sorry...

--

-Mike-

On Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:49:20 -0500, "sal" wrote:

I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert advice
before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal


Expect to get all sorts of answers from no power tools to a fully
equipped shop costing tens of thousands of dollars.

How much money to you have? Set a budget and then set your
priorities. I started out with a cheap (less than $200) Craftsman
table saw. It has shortcomings, but I was able to build a lot of nice
little things. After a couple of years, I figured I'd be sticking
with the hobby and bought a Delta Contractor saw.

As I needed tools and had the money, I bought for a specific project,
not because there is any sequence to equip a shop. . Drill press,
small compressor and brad nailer, ROS sander, etc. It took me about
five years to get a good shop with router tables, bandsaw, planer,
etc. While all that stuff is nice to have, I still had fun and made a
lot of projects without.

People built their own houses and furniture for centuries before
electricity was invented. Hand saws, brace and bit, scrapers, planes
.. . . it just took longer

Mike Marlow wrote:

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean from
mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up on the
idea that you can "learn" your way to being a woodworker. You can't, unless
you learn from doing. It is not the tool, it is the work.

I think that the "tools" deserve more credit. Even, and perhaps
especially, ones like straight-edges and squares. Even that
Speed-square we both use to guide our circular saws. Oh, and clamps.

Take away your air compressor and see how well you can paint a car
(maybe well enough for 18th century standards--and therein lies the
key). Try to get a board flat with a pocket knife. Try to sharpen a
plane with only your own wit.

When you go to CW (haven't been) or The Henry Ford, you see
tools--because they are important. BTW, I drew up a plan today which
I'm going to resketch it on graph paper. A T-square, another tool, would
have cut my time by 80% and improved my "template".
In short, I think tools, and knowing how to use them, have always been
an essestial part of being a craftsman. Otherwise you are left to create
fire by rubbing two sticks together (and that just uses up your
well-seasoned wood)! If you want to build things without mechanical
tools, try math. What miter do you need to cut on the ends of each of
the 6-edges to produce a regular hexagonal frame? How would you best
make the cuts? Need/want any tools? Oh, and the glue-up! : O

Cheers,
Bill

"sal" wrote in :

I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple
type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get
expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to
just turn into sawdust.

Sal



We're happy to spend your money for you. :-)

You can do quite a bit with just a circular saw and sander. Get a good
circular saw and a great sander. The Bosch 1297DK is a good place to
start with a sander.

A table saw would be a good next purchase, between the two saws you can
handle almost any cut. Avoid cheap table saws, an inexpensive one will
run around $400 new.

A compound miter saw or Radio Alarm Saw would be a good third power saw
purchase. They make cross cutting easy, and allow repeatable cuts to
specific lengths.

You'll need a good battery-powered screwdriver and impact driver. I like
the Makita sets. Most come with multiple batteries, and the better ones
come with "smart" chargers that stop charging when the battery is
charged. (This feature will save your batteries!) Other tools such as
circular saws are available that use the same batteries as the
screwdriver kits, so you can have multiple tools and only one set of
batteries to keep track of.

Minimizing waste is a process of planning, not tools. You'll find that
conditions will require you to waste a bit of wood here or there. You
may have to cut around a knot or rough cut something and trim to final
size. Wood scraps do burn well, so use them to heat the shop or cook a
hot dog.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean from
mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up
on the idea that you can "learn" your way to being a woodworker. You
can't, unless you learn from doing. It is not the tool, it is
the work.

I think that the "tools" deserve more credit. Even, and perhaps
especially, ones like straight-edges and squares. Even that
Speed-square we both use to guide our circular saws. Oh, and clamps.


I think you misunderstood the application of the word tool in what I wrote
Bill.

--

-Mike-

sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like
to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.


For most, making sawdust is the goal.

A birdhouse, curtain valence, chess board, or a laminate floor is just a
fringe benefit.

Does you wife knit? If so, I ask you what do you do with 83 afghans and 52
baby blankets?

Same idea.

On 3/30/2012 7:04 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean from
mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up
on the idea that you can "learn" your way to being a woodworker. You
can't, unless you learn from doing. It is not the tool, it is
the work.

I think that the "tools" deserve more credit. Even, and perhaps
especially, ones like straight-edges and squares. Even that
Speed-square we both use to guide our circular saws. Oh, and clamps.


I think you misunderstood the application of the word tool in what I wrote
Bill.



Okay. When you wrote "It's not the tool", I thought you meant you could
get by with a saw and a hammer.

On 3/30/2012 7:36 AM, HeyBub wrote:
sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like
to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.


For most, making sawdust is the goal.

As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )



A birdhouse, curtain valence, chess board, or a laminate floor is just a
fringe benefit.

Does you wife knit? If so, I ask you what do you do with 83 afghans and 52
baby blankets?

Same idea.

Bill wrote in
:


As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


Have you seen mine? I can't find it... I can find all the other hammers,
but just not the good one.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 3/30/2012 10:12 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
wrote in
:


As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


Have you seen mine? I can't find it... I can find all the other hammers,
but just not the good one.

That sounds like a line from a love song by Whitney Houston, or
something? % )



Puckdropper

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:14:09 -0400, Bill
wrote:

On 3/30/2012 10:12 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
wrote in
:


As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


Have you seen mine? I can't find it... I can find all the other hammers,
but just not the good one.

That sounds like a line from a love song by Whitney Houston, or
something? % )

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning.
I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land.

--
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the
government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

On Mar 29, 6:49*pm, "sal" wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert advice
before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal

I started with a hand-held Craftsman circular saw that my wife gave me
as a gift a few years after we were married (from the age of much
better Craftsman tools - still use it). About the same time my dad
gave me one of his old B&D jig saws. I already had an electric
drill. I built some pretty neat stuff with that and some basic hand
tools. I did run to my cousin's shop a few times to borrow some table
or radial arm saw time; but I did most of my woodworking and cabinets
with what I had.

Much better equipped now but I learned a lot from figuring out what to
do with what I had. By the way - two things:

1) Don't focus entirely on "power' tools. Shop around for good
chisels, thin blade hand trim saws, hand planes, marking and measuring
tools, squares, drill bits (yes, for power drill) straightedges,
clamps, clamps, clamps, more clamps, etc. Buy good stuff because
these are the devices you will probably use for the rest of your
woodworking life. Estate sales, farm sales and garage sales are good
sources for quality tools at reasonable prices. Craigslist too.

2) Some sawdust is inevitable!

RonB

Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 7:36 AM, HeyBub wrote:
sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like
to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.


For most, making sawdust is the goal.

As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


And you are commenting that you think someone is suggesting hammers and
saws?

--

-Mike-

Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 7:04 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean
from mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up
on the idea that you can "learn" your way to being a
woodworker. You can't, unless you learn from doing. It is not the
tool, it is the work.

I think that the "tools" deserve more credit. Even, and perhaps
especially, ones like straight-edges and squares. Even that
Speed-square we both use to guide our circular saws. Oh, and clamps.


I think you misunderstood the application of the word tool in what I
wrote Bill.



Okay. When you wrote "It's not the tool", I thought you meant you
could get by with a saw and a hammer.

Read my post again - you have to take the whole thing in context. You would
be surprised at what you can do with less than you think, though. Like I
said - most of us started out with a lot less and did quite well. I've made
more than a couple mortise and tennon joints with no more than a handsaw, a
chisel and a hammer. I lived for decades without a drill press, just using
a 3/8 drill motor. What have you built Bill?

--

-Mike-

On Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:03:46 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

As I needed tools and had the money, I bought for a specific project,
not because there is any sequence to equip a shop. . Drill press, small
compressor and brad nailer, ROS sander, etc. It took me about five
years to get a good shop with router tables, bandsaw, planer, etc.

Unlike a lot of people I'd put a jointer and a planer right after a table
saw. The difference in price between S4S and rough hardwood will pay for
them in short order if you spend much time at the hobby. And a bandsaw
for resawing ranks high for the same reasons of wood cost.

I'd put a brad nailer way at the bottom unless I was doing finish
carpentry instead of WW. Or trying to emulate Nahm :-).

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:36:00 -0500, HeyBub wrote:

Does you wife knit? If so, I ask you what do you do with 83 afghans

My wife donates them to Meals on Wheels.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On 3/30/2012 11:47 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 7:04 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
Mike Marlow wrote:

There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. Lean
from mistakes - and nobody can advise you past those mistakes. Give up
on the idea that you can "learn" your way to being a
woodworker. You can't, unless you learn from doing. It is not the
tool, it is the work.

I think that the "tools" deserve more credit. Even, and perhaps
especially, ones like straight-edges and squares. Even that
Speed-square we both use to guide our circular saws. Oh, and clamps.


I think you misunderstood the application of the word tool in what I
wrote Bill.



Okay. When you wrote "It's not the tool", I thought you meant you
could get by with a saw and a hammer.

Read my post again - you have to take the whole thing in context. You would
be surprised at what you can do with less than you think, though. Like I
said - most of us started out with a lot less and did quite well. I've made
more than a couple mortise and tennon joints with no more than a handsaw, a
chisel and a hammer. I lived for decades without a drill press, just using
a 3/8 drill motor. What have you built Bill?


Respect.

On 3/30/2012 11:36 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 7:36 AM, HeyBub wrote:
sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like
to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.


For most, making sawdust is the goal.

As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


And you are commenting that you think someone is suggesting hammers and
saws?


You did. I was toying with HB above. There's nothing quite like a
hammer...

On 3/29/2012 6:49 PM, sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert advice
before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal



Power tools don't make a woodworker. All you need is the desire and a
few simple hand tools. If you think all you have to do is run out and
buy a bunch of power tools you are in for an expensive surprise.

I started out with the usual assortment of hand tools and an old used
electric drill. My first major power tool was a radial arm saw. I
bought it about forty years ago and built my rec room. Over the years
I have added to my tool collection and done a lot of woodworking. It
was the knowledge I gained over the years that made me a woodworker,
not the tools. The tools only made the work easier.

I've got a work room now that Norm would appreciate. It's in a house
that I designed and built myself. All the power tools in the would
could not have built that house. I built it. I could have done it with
the original assortment of hand tools I had when I was in my early
twenties. All the power did was to cut the build time down.

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing
waste of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you
don't like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the time
you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially useless
to you.

LdB

Thanks for the input members I really got a good cross section of Idea's
much appreciated.
For those of you curious about my location it is 49*53'0"N/97*10'0"W

Sal
"sal" wrote in message
...
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert
advice before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal

On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing waste
of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you don't
like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the time
you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially useless to
you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no idea of
the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor, because they
had to ask in the first place, do they have the experience to separate
good advice from bad.

Bottom line ... you can indeed learn on Usenet, including much about
woodworking, but you have to take much of the proffered advice with a
grain of salt until you can recognize those you can trust on most issues.

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 11:36 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
On 3/30/2012 7:36 AM, HeyBub wrote:
sal wrote:
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the
minimum power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make
simple type furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I
like to get expert advice before I start any project. Wood is very
expensive to just turn into sawdust.


For most, making sawdust is the goal.

As for me, I am just looking for an excuse to use my hammer! ; )


And you are commenting that you think someone is suggesting hammers
and saws?


You did. I was toying with HB above. There's nothing quite like a
hammer...

And... a BIGGER one, at that!

--

-Mike-

LdB wrote:


Power tools don't make a woodworker. All you need is the desire and a
few simple hand tools. If you think all you have to do is run out and
buy a bunch of power tools you are in for an expensive surprise.

I started out with the usual assortment of hand tools and an old used
electric drill. My first major power tool was a radial arm saw. I
bought it about forty years ago and built my rec room. Over the years
I have added to my tool collection and done a lot of woodworking. It
was the knowledge I gained over the years that made me a woodworker,
not the tools. The tools only made the work easier.

I've got a work room now that Norm would appreciate. It's in a house
that I designed and built myself. All the power tools in the would
could not have built that house. I built it. I could have done it with
the original assortment of hand tools I had when I was in my early
twenties. All the power did was to cut the build time down.

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing
waste of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you
don't like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the time
you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially useless
to you.

LdB

Preach it brother! Get up there on that stump and yell it out!

--

-Mike-

Swingman wrote:
On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing
waste of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you
don't like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the
time you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially
useless to you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no idea
of the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor, because
they had to ask in the first place, do they have the experience to
separate good advice from bad.

Bottom line ... you can indeed learn on Usenet, including much about
woodworking, but you have to take much of the proffered advice with a
grain of salt until you can recognize those you can trust on most
issues.

No kidding! There's this guy on the woodworking newsgroup named Swingman...

Ok - that was an unnecessary jab, but I just love jabs...

--

-Mike-

sal wrote:
Thanks for the input members I really got a good cross section of
Idea's much appreciated.
For those of you curious about my location it is 49*53'0"N/97*10'0"W


wherever that is. Why not just simply say where it is?

--

-Mike-

On 3/30/2012 1:46 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:

No kidding! There's this guy on the woodworking newsgroup named Swingman...

Ok - that was an unnecessary jab, but I just love jabs...

No problem, I only do gumbo and dirty rice dressing ...

--
www.eWoodShop.com
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)
http://gplus.to/eWoodShop

I am in Winnipeg Canada LasVegas North.

Sal


"sal" wrote in message
...
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert
advice before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal

"Swingman" wrote ...
On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing waste
of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you don't
like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the time
you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially useless to
you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no idea of
the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor, because they
had to ask in the first place, do they have the experience to separate
good advice from bad.

Bottom line ... you can indeed learn on Usenet, including much about
woodworking, but you have to take much of the proffered advice with a
grain of salt until you can recognize those you can trust on most issues.

And the ultimate teacher is YOUR OWN MISTAKES!!

If you haven't made any mistakes, you haven't built anything. One mark of a
true craftsman is somebody who can deal with those mistakes in a creative
way. Besides, most people won't see them anyway.

I thought is was amusing, the comment about "wasting" wood. I never waste
wood. I may repurpose a specific piece of wood now and then. But I never
"waste" wood. If I cut something too short and have to go buy another piece
of wood, that sort of things stays in my memory banks for a long time. Much
less chance of doing that sort of thing again.

Again, learning a any new skill is a learning process. Learning, by
definition, does not occur in a linear, pain free fashion. You screw up.
You make mistakes. You learn. You move on. You get better. That is the
way it has worked since caveman days. The only real shortcut would be some
dedicated classroom study or mentoring of some kind. Otherwise, it is just
you, the wood and some tools. Welcome to the real world.

Any real woodworker has a scrap bin. An amazing number of things have been
built from that scrap bin. Any thing that is too small for the scrap bin
gets burned in the fireplace. Sooo...., no waste here!

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:16:17 +0000 (UTC), Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:36:00 -0500, HeyBub wrote:

Does you wife knit? If so, I ask you what do you do with 83 afghans

My wife donates them to Meals on Wheels.

Fascinating! What portion of our society eats them, pray tell?
g

--
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the
government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

On Mar 30, 2:32*pm, "Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast
dot net wrote:

And the ultimate teacher is YOUR OWN MISTAKES!!

If you haven't made any mistakes, you haven't built anything. *One mark of a
true craftsman is somebody who can deal with those mistakes in a creative
way. *Besides, most people won't see them anyway.

I thought is was amusing, the comment about "wasting" wood. *I never waste
wood. *I may repurpose a specific piece of wood now and then. *But I never
"waste" wood. *If I cut something too short and have to go buy another piece
of wood, that sort of things stays in my memory banks for a long time. *Much
less chance of doing that sort of thing again.

Again, learning a any new skill is a learning process. *Learning, by
definition, does not occur in a linear, pain free fashion. You screw up.
You make mistakes. *You learn. *You move on. *You get better. *That is the
way it has worked since caveman days. *The only real shortcut would be some
dedicated classroom study or mentoring of some kind. *Otherwise, it is just
you, the wood and some tools. *Welcome to the real world.

Any real woodworker has a scrap bin. *An amazing number of things have been
built from that scrap bin. *Any thing that is too small for the scrap bin
gets burned in the fireplace. Sooo...., *no waste here!

Exactly - I have been manufacturing sawdust for 35 or more years. I
still do not consider myself an expert by any stretch. But about ten
years ago I did adopt the old adage "The sign of a true craftsman is
in how well he can correct his screw-ups!"

When we built our home about three years ago we contracted the kitchen
and bath cabinets to a local cabinet shop. I would have done them but
we wanted to move in some day ;o). We live in a small town, but the
guy who started the shop went through the Pitt State wood tech program
20-25 years ago. He did custom work for a while, then opened a
factory where he did production work building WalMart office
furniture. He finally got tired of WalMart mentality and opened a new
local shop that does custom work including outfitting some pretty
exclusive homes. He is a seasoned and talented cabinetmaker. I was
in his shop when he was working another job and I heard $#@%^ from a
bench! He and one of his workers met for a few minutes; they both
smiled and he slapped his guy on the back and he went back to his
work. "Ya know Ron - the sign of a true craftsman is how well he
cleans up his screw-ups. We have a building full of craftsmen here!"
Bo-Boo's that might have seemed earth shattering years ago usually
require a moment to think and then a work-around. But I do have a
heavy rocking horse leg hanging on my shop wall that is unusable and
bears the magic marker reminder "Think, Stupid!"

Ditto with scrap bin too. A lot of scrap goes to a scrap & small
lumber rack and small stuff goes to a 35 gallon trash can for
fireplace kindling. I probably dig in the trash can as much as the
rack for small pieces, shims or solutions. I follow the Norm Abrams
school of disposal: I never keep anything smaller than 5 inches long
-- unless I think I can use it later.

RonB

On 3/30/12 3:27 PM, sal wrote:

wrote in message
...
I hate to be a pest, one more question though. What would be the minimum
power tool requirement a woodworker should have to make simple type
furniture e.g.. footstool , bookcase, bench etc? I like to get expert
advice before I start any project. Wood is very expensive to just turn into
sawdust.

Sal

I am in Winnipeg Canada LasVegas North.

Sal

I have never heard that **** hole described that way before, and I was
born there.

--
Froz...


The system will be down for 10 days for preventive maintenance.

Swingman wrote:
On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing waste
of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If you don't
like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the time
you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially useless to
you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no idea of
the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor, because they
had to ask in the first place, do they have the experience to separate
good advice from bad.

Did you observe any bad advice proffered?



Bottom line ... you can indeed learn on Usenet, including much about
woodworking, but you have to take much of the proffered advice with a
grain of salt until you can recognize those you can trust on most issues.

Bill wrote:
Swingman wrote:
On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing
waste of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If
you don't like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the
time you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially
useless to you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no
idea of the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor,
because they had to ask in the first place, do they have the
experience to separate good advice from bad.

Did you observe any bad advice proffered?


there is a lot of advice given here that though it may not be bad, is not
good either. Can you tell the difference?

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:
Swingman wrote:
On 3/30/2012 12:46 PM, LdB wrote:

You asked for advice, here it is. The internet is just an amusing
waste of time. Turn off your computer and go build something. If
you don't like how it turned out build it again.

Waste of wood? That would be nothing compared to the value of the
time you have already wasted asking for advice that is essentially
useless to you.

Mostly agree ... especially when those asking for advice have no
idea of the level of competence/experience of the responders; nor,
because they had to ask in the first place, do they have the
experience to separate good advice from bad.

Did you observe any bad advice proffered?


there is a lot of advice given here that though it may not be bad, is not
good either. Can you tell the difference?


I like to think so. I agreed with the one to holdoff on the finish nailer.