studioso

very good subject.
I call myself a hobbyist woodworker and I too aspire to having walls of hand tools that would rival Garrett Hack's shop (with the skills to use them, of course).

at the same time, I'm a CNC fanatic: at work I'm responsible for axyz CNC with a bed of 70" x 120" with all the bells and whistles. (price:+60'000$).

to say that running a CNC is not a craft borders on offensive...
in fact, just go to the shopbot forum's show and tell:
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=6
you will some amazing projects and builds, most of them done by people who not only taught themselves a whole new sets of skills including CAD and CAM design, programming and more, but sometimes also build the very machine and it's accessories, including ingenious jigs and innovative methods of work.

holy mackerel!

over 3000 amputations a year, from hobbyists alone!

as a comedian once said:" 95% of man think they are better than avarage drivers." but accidents happen even to experienced, trained and careful people.

As a plant manager, I know that awareness is important, but cannot be reliable on its own to prevent accidents.
We have gotten hefty fines from CSST (the Canadian agency that oversees workers safety) for not having guards in place even on secondary machines that weren't even on.
and they are right!

Just read the stories in the comments: even expert woodworkers with close to half a century of experience can make a mistake once in a while. and all you need is one fraction of a second to change your life forever.

so preaching about the importance of "fearing the blade" or "develop safe habits" is just not enough: yes, it is important, but unreliable: the human mind WILL wander and it CAN'T do 2 tasks at the same time properly.


so rule number one is don't rely on yourself: safety measures MUST be in place at all time.

and if your in the market for a saw, get the stop saw.

I can't wait untill I gather enough money for a stop saw. it is -in my humble opinion- the ONLY safety measure that can significantly reduce the number of incidents.

and mark my words that in 10 years from now the technology will be licensed and widely used -at least in Europe!

well, it's just a wish list, so what's stopping me?

I wouldn't mind my shop to look like a lie-nielsen showroom...

But if I have to choose something that I really wish I had because I fell that I NEED it but can't justify it, I would have to say a sawStop table saw.

has any of you see this video?:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/klausz/
this is a true, amazing video of master furniture maker Frank Krausz hand fit 2 boards with divetail joints. that he does in less than 3 minutes.
The first time I've seen that video, I was tremendously inspired, and despite being but a short web clip it talked decades of hard work, dedication and love for his craft, crammed in 3 minutes.

when I open the email, and I see a stop watch stopped on "00:60" , and I read "Watch a gifted furniture maker crank out a beautiful table in only 60 seconds." I was mistakenly led to believe that I was going to see someone like Christian Becksvoort, or Garrett Hack pull an amazing feat.
what a let down! yes, dave moore is cool, he seems to be a kid with skills, but the misleading title ruined it for me!

it's nothing to do with the video, it's the poor choice of words. and the fact that almost every woodworker that posted a comment feels the same way should tell you something...

job very well done!
how long did the whole work take?