Teton_Bound

Having used this method I found it expedient but I didn't like the feeling of pushing maple into the side of a thin kerf blade, even just the front edge. I suspect you're asking the wrong people about whether or not to run this in your magazine. The attorneys will have the last say.

Anyway, I do a lot of things, with my eyes wide open, that I know I shouldn't do. I've paid the price many times. Not only would I not recommend some of my "techniques", I doubt I would even tell another woodworker for fear they may chose to try them. I am all for moving the trade forward, but teach the basics, safety and let the individuals develop their own methods/modifications.

Just my $0.02

Sorry about the last comment - my laptop jumps around (cursor) and typing goes all over. If I fail to proof I get the random cut and paste seen below.

Tools are such a personal decision. My wife thinks I have I agree with chisels being next 2 of hand tool know to
God and mankind (not true BTW). Chisels are a good next choice as long as scrapers and planes are not far behind.

I have always enjoyed the Bridge City Tool catalog. The primary inspiration I have taken from Bridge City though, is to make some of my own tools and refurbish good finds. My $1.00 #60 1/2 low angle block plane (flea market find) is a sweet tool when razor sharp and properly tuned. Along with my 9 1/2 (w/Holtey iron) I'm in pretty good shape.

Over the past 15 years I have learned how to sharpen, tune and use handplanes well enough to thickness and flatten guitar plates down to 2.00mm +/-0.05mm. I use a variety of Lie-Nielsen planes, vintage Bailey pattern planes, scrapers and home made tools to do this. I find it infinitely more pleasurable to running them through a thickness sander. For me the order of importance for hand planes is: RAZOR SHARP iron of adequate thickness, ability to adjust throat of plane, mass of plane and ease of depth of cut adjustment.

Please don't get me wrong, the CT-17 is no doubt a wonderful tool and I wish I had the disposable income to buy an $860 block plane. I just doubt I could discern a $700 difference in with my eyes closed.

I have had a number of "incidents" with my table saw. Fortunately I have a frequent flyer card that is good at most ERs in the country. The worst was back in '89 when I chose to use my table saw as a shaper. Of course, all guards were (and still are) removed. While running a long, thin piece of maple through the saw to make a shaped spline I believe my index finger touched the top of the blade, pulling my hand back into the blade. The ends of the index, middle and ring fingers of my right hand were damaged. My right thumb was pretty much split down the middle. I caught a good doctor at the ER and then moved to Cleveland the next week and was able to access the Cleveland Clinic's excellent staff for the next year. Although it took a very long time, I healed well (part reptile I suspect).

I nicked a finger on my left hand a few years back (only half a dozen stitches or so). I have also had numerous and sundry kick backs and other flying lumber events. The only reason my table saw played a part in all this was that I had turned it on. All of my problems and injuries have been self inflicted, "pilot error" if you will(-->jbschultz, is that a 103 you're sitting in??). They have been due to carelessness, sloppiness, arrogance, fatigue, haste, unwillingness to spend the time to set-up properly........ I could go on. The bottom line is the operator is responsible for his or her safety. The closest thing to an "accident" on a table would be a kick back, IMHO. THERE IS NO REASON TO PUT YOUR HAND INTO A SPINNING SAW BLADE!!! By the way, I am a good woodworker and I know better. I just have a tendency to take ill advised risks for reasons that are not always clear to me:-). Fortunately, not so much any more. I use feather boards, push sticks, hold downs..... My power tools are tuned and carefully set-up these days. I also have moved more towards hand tools, using power tools primarily to size lumber. I also do not use my power tools when tired, distracted, angry or without a clearly thought out result (which does not include amputation).

Finally, table saws do not "cut" flesh, they rip, tear and gouge. It really hurts after the shock wears off, so be careful.

A couple of skew (rh/lh) Lie-Nielson chisels would be nice.