ricksite

I recently installed a Shellix head in my new DeWalt 735 planer. I didn't do a before cut because I wanted to sell the original knives. With the Shellix, the cut doesn't feel glass smooth but it is very smooth. A quick sanding with 220 sandpaper is all that is needed. The big advantage of the Shellix is that there are no planer marks or ridges to sand out.

What are you using to re-encode the videos? A modern Linux PC can re-encode hundreds/thousands of videos easily using a simple shell script and ffmpeg.

I have a Bosch 4000 table saw. I like it but it has its limitations. I also have a Festool TS55 track saw and I recently purchased the MFT/3 multifunction table. One aspect I like about the Festool setup is that it is very safe. I don't have to worry about kickback (it has a riving knife) or touching the blade. Put a 8x4 piece of plywood on a sheet of styrofoam and you can make safe, accurate cuts with the plywood fully supported. That was a big challenge on my little table saw. The MFT works well for cutting panels and I even use it to cut smaller material like rails and stiles for face frames. I mostly just use my table saw for ripping now.

I would like to be able to view the FWW videos on my iPhone. I sometimes read articles (PDF) on my iPhone. They can take a while to load but they look nice once they do. It would be nice to have a mobile version of the FWW website.

You are the author of "The Strip-Built Sea Kayak"...right? Your work is inspiring. I have built a stitch and glue but I want to build a strip kayak someday. I am just now acquiring some tools.

johngoes, you were asking about how much heavier wood would be. My Wilderness Pungo 120 weight 50lbs. My 17ft stitch and glue kayak weights around 40lbs. It is 5ft longer and 10lbs lighter. It is very strong. While transporting my kayak last year, the front tie-down got caught under the wheel. It pulled the rope which pulled down on the front of the kayak hanging 5ft off the rack. As a result, the force of the pulling broke my Thule cradles, bent the Yakima bar about a 1/16 of an inch, bent the steel tie down hook and broke a nylon strap. When the tie-down broke loose, it snapped into my car doing $1400 worth of damage to the fender and bumper. They kayak had a less than a 4" stress fracture where it contacted the broken cradle. I haven't fixed it yet (been busy) but I'll just have to sand and re-epoxy the area. I was amazed at how strong it was.