TedFurlong

Could certainly benefit from Jeff's book, as I have from his FWW articles. Whoever wins this will be lucky indeed!

Ted

Would love to read this book--I am experiencing a personal revelation/revival in my understanding and use of handplanes as more effective for many woodworking operations--and they are so quiet! Count me in.

Ted

Looks great-I could really use to brush up on my basic cabinetry techniques

I recently purchased the Hitachi 12V Lithium Ion Drill/impact driver set, after having a set of well made but bulky 12V Makita Ni-metal hydride drivers. I investigated the porter cable set recently (Fall to Winter 2010) mentioned in FWW, but the Hitachi set came with a lifetime tool warranty, flashlight, and the batteries were slightly higher capacity (1.5 vs 1.3 amp-hr) at the same price as the porter cable set ($140 at the local Lowes). I have been using them the last few days to hang kitchen cabinets, drill large diameter holes for pipe and conduit, and I am very, very happy. They have decent capacity, great torque, charge in 30 minutes, and just fit everywhere. Putting up those cabinets, I remembered a comment I heard from Scott Phillips when he visited the local Woodcraft franchise. This, before the advent of lithium cells. Scots said that for most woodworking needs a 12V was more than enough, and when thinking about getting 18 or 24V setups, we should think about having to hold that weight above our heads for any length of time.

After I first used this new light drill/driver, the first thought I had was "Someone's gonna have to pry this out of my dead fingers to get it away from me!"

Ted

Just got my first real lathe, and would love to learn how to use it frugally!

Ted

Just got my first real lathe, and would love to learn to be frugal when using it.

Ted

I am rearranging my shop, so this would be very timely!

Ted

I am rearranging my shop, so this would be very timely!

Ted

Looks like a great book for a traditionalist like me. Count me in!

(T)ed

Would love to have the chance to read this book and build a ladderback chair.

Count me in! I have several cabinets to finish

This volume would really be a valuable addition to my library. I have wondered how these hardware choices get made.

I could definitely stand to be smarter on finishing. Count me in.

ted

Would definitely be interested in a better understanding of the science of wood. Sign me up!

Ted Furlong

There's two bedside tables, an end table, a coffee table and a kitchen table on my to-make list, so this would come in very handy! Sign me up!

Ted

Count me in--Chairs are on my list of "want to/need to" projects

This book would really help me make progress on the kitchen table/chair set I am planning. Count me in!

For those of you interested in the topics this blog entry and the referenced essay bring up, I strongly recommend "Shop Class as Soulcraft" byMatthew B. Crawford. Mr Crawford's perspective is drawn simultaneously from his training as an academic (Ph.D. in philosophy) and his past and current experience as a motorcycle mechanic. It makes a strong argument for the intellectual merit of craft work and points to the potential losses we as a culture incur when career "guidance" points everyone to jobs in the "information economy" doing "knowledge work".

As a victim of the educational paradigm of the 60's that discouraged shop class for the college prep crowd, this essay and Mr. Crawford's book are a welcome tonic

Tom Fidgen's recent series on a sharpening bench has really whetted (pun absolutely intended) my appetite to take a crack at the projects in this book and improve my hand tool skills!

Ted Furlong

I am a mac user who often brings his macbook down into the shop, using my wireless.

I really like the iPad concept but want to see how well character recognition and drawing apps that are available for the iPhone work on the iPad. I want to be able to put information into an electronic device as well as get it, and i haven't seen any indication that this can be done with the resolution of paper and pen.

Also, is there a sketchup app for iPhone/iPad? This could be important for woodworkers. Google makes a competing smart phone/applications store and I don't know if an iPhone/iPad app is provided or supported by Google.

This is a growing interest to me, as my son has shown some real talent as a turner. Please count me in!

Ted

Tom:

A lovely project! I have been re-finding my way with hand tools recently, and the project is inspiring to me. One question I have is the finish for the top. I noticed in previous installments you used boiled linseed oil and paste wax, but to maintain your water stones you made a fiberglassed drawer. Did you consider a more waterproof finish for the top? I am wondering because my recent experience with a slow wet grinder (Delta) and waterstones results in a lot of water on the bench top I use. I have been using a cookie sheet (didn't steal it from my beloved--I learn from my mistakes) to try to keep things dry, but it is an imperfect solution. How do you deal with water on the top from sharpening, and do you think the linseed oil/wax will hold up?

I need heat, and better dust collection too, so the cyclone and gas heater get my votes. So do books, so I can be woodworking when not in the shop

Ted

I'd love a SawStop PCS--The nicked tip of my right middle finger is a constant reminder of how potentially dangerous the table saw can be if misused or incorrectly used, and I have been leaning to this option over the Delta or Powermatic versions because of the safety feature.

Oh and I forgot to vote for a Rigid Spindle Sander

I am a handtooler, and one that I have been coveting is the Lie Nielsen Chisel Plane. I was surprized not to see it on the poll

Time, Time, and more Time to do more woodworking is at the top of my list, but after that:

LIe Nielsen Low angle Jack Plane
Veritas Shoulder plane
Tom Figden's new book
Additional diamond stone

Oh and did I mention more time for woodworking?

Ted

This is the style that first drew me to woodowrking. I have visited Craftsman Farms, the Gambel house, and would love to receive this book to make some of those pieces for my own home.

Ted

This is the style that first drew me to woodowrking. I have visited Craftsman Farms, the Gambel house, and would love to receive this book to make some of those pieces for my own home.

Ted

I have worked a lot with plywood and have never really felt I understood the material well enough to predict how it will work in a piece. I'd love to have this DVD to see what I can learn.

Ed

I would like to endorse and second Dan's Thank you. Recently, I was going through a slump in my woodworking and Fine Woodworking and Fine Woodworking books helped me out of it; theu are one of the touchstone sources of information for me. I lucked into a full set of FWW early on in my adventures in woodworking, and the ever growing (and groaning) shelves that hold them have been a huge resource for my woodworking. Keep up the good work.

Ted Furlong

Under the somnolent effect of too much turkey, I happened to thinking the deep thoughts of the directions I would like my woodworking to take, and a greater emphasis and reliance on handtools looms large in that vision. I have a similar plastin bin setup as JLYoung, so I too am excited about Tom's project. I also am short of space, and I was wondering if a picture or plans of the bench hook approach might be included, if only to convince us space-sparse folks what we would be missing if we didn't spring for the full on bench.

My wife and I recently entered into a discussion about "high" art vs "craft" art, and why there are so many art museums, but so relatively few crafts museums. . We had visited a contemporary gallery here in Denver and noted that for us, some hint of the artist's intent vis-a-vis materials selection, craftsmanship, and functional purpose really made the difference between a piece speaking to us or not. I have always been interested in the tensions inherent in the division of furniture design and construction into the "art" or "studio" furniture approach, in which the maker looks to address form from a perspective in which functionality is less a concern, and more traditional, craft-driven approaches, where function and aesthetic demands are equally balanced. I am looking forward to delving into this set, as it follows a FWW tradition in exploring and illustrating these tensions.

(T)Ed Furlong