I’m trying to get more classy by upgrading my burnishing tool for my card scrapers. I’ve been using a valve from an engine to burnish my rectangular scraper. I have not used my other scrapers but I imagine I will as I start doing more complex projects.
My question: Is a round burnisher entirely sufficient or are multiple burnisher profiles important? Veritas has a burnisher with 3 profiles, another company offers 3 different burnishers (round, triangular, and I forget the third option), but most companies offer just a round burnisher.
Thanks.
Doug
The Wood Loon
Acton, MA
The Wood Loon
Acton, MA
Replies
You can use a round burnisher or one that is oval. Makes no real difference. Here's some additional info about burnishers and scraper sharpening you may find useful.
I greatly favor a real burnisher for two reasons. First, it is really hard metal. Second, it it highly polished. Both of these attributes mean that there is little chance of galling (or tearing metal from) the scraper edge. Galling makes for less than a smooth cut. The smoother the burnisher, the smoother the burr. Screwdriver shafts may or may not be hard enough and the chrome plating will eventually deteriorate. Drill bits are also variable in hardness. Using a valve stem from a car engine that has been highly polished is an alternative but, why not just get a burnisher?
Finally, you can control the aggressiveness of the scraper by the way you file/stone it and how you use the burnisher to make the burr. Stoneing with a fine stone after filing and then using lighter pressure on your burnisher will give you a less aggressive but finer cutting burr and a smoother finish. I have a thicker scraper that I sharpen to an aggressive cutting burr that I use for initial work (ie: ripple removal after jointing/planing) and then a set of thinner scrapers that I put a finer edge on for finish smoothing and cutting down and smoothing varnish finishes.
I have the Clifton round burnisher and have not found it wanting.
Tage Frid used the back of a chisel. If it was good enough for him it is good enough for me, and my scrapers cut. It is only a hard piece of steel, just how specialized can it be? It is just another way to get into your wallet.
I just received a new burnisher from Bob Zajicek at http://www.czeckedge.com tools. Besides doing the job quite well it is a beautiful tool and very reasonably priced for a tool with such great fit and finish. There are other ways to pull a burr on a scraper but like most things that are made for a specific purpose they do the job better than the "not exactly" tools and for this reason they are enjoyable to use.
Ron Brese
http://www.breseplane.com
Doug,
The different profiles each have different amounts of surface area. This is important for burnishing scrapers of different thicknesses. The more surface of the burnisher contacting the scraper, the easier it is to get a smooth, even burr. However, more downward force is required. If you use a round or the point of a triangular burnisher, less downward force is required. This is key with thin scrapers because the tend to flex more as you burnish them (if you put them in a vise). Also, the different profiles allow use on curved scrapers.
Regardless of shape, I like a longer burnisher so I can use two hands - one on each end.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Chris - Thank you for the spot-on explanation of the reasons for the different profiles. All -Thanks for taking the time to answer and give me your advice.Doug
The Wood Loon
Acton, MA
Put your thin scrapers in a machinist's vise with about 3/16ths showing at most. No flexion.
If you want to upgrade from a valve stem try a push rod. One from a big block, Chevy works really well. Very hard metal, polished and long enough to get both hands on I have both a kit I bought and a push rod I picked up after a sharpening class. The push rod works better and it was free.
try this or just look at the video
http://www.eaglejigs.com/
I've used round.. oval.. tri-angular.. screw driver shafts and they all work. I have been through a few before finally finding the perfect solution for me. I prefer a long one to use with both hands and the metal must be very hard and smooth to function with the most efficiency.
So... I settled on a piece of polished carbide rod.. mine is home-made with a turned apricot handle even though the handle has no real significance to how the burnisher functions.
Good luck with your purchase.. whatever it is?
Sarge..
Edited 7/11/2008 12:07 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Choosing a Burnisher for a Scraper
Whatever you choose to use as a burnisher, it must meet two requirements:1. The steel must be harder than the metal you wish to bend. The reason here is obvious.2. The steel must be smooth and free of chips, ridges and other imperfections that would be transferred to the edge of the blade you are creating. Think of grinding the profile of a beader iron if you want it more graphic!The exception to rule #2 is if you want to scrape paint or glue. Then it does not matter. Use a coarse file instead if you wish. See if I care. Frankly I am amazed that so many want to cut corners on this important tool simply because they consider a cabinet scraper to be basic, cheap and elementary. Would you prepare the blade of your scraper plane or the blade of your finish smoother with this lack of concern or care?There are indeed shortcuts in the expense department, but they are not available to every one - it depends on opportunity and availability. For example, I made this burnisher out of a carbide rod that was a present to me from the owner of a machinist's shop (thanks Tony)..For reasons of "a return-to-sanity", I stopped using the pinion gear as a burnisher, although it worked very well (Guess the car and you can have it - the pinion gear, not the car! - free except for shipping costs!) ..If you do not have access to carbide (e.g. a nice friend or a router shank ... what is a router shank you ask on a hand tool forum ... good for you!), then buy a burnisher! Don't be cheap and use a screwdriver shank - it violates Rule #2 above. The LV is excellent but some may find it fussy because it offers options. The Hock also receives great reviews. I have used a Crown for a number of years. Still have it. Here is a picture alongside the homebrew burnisher (which lets you see how small and slim the carbide rod is – I am convinced that this is an advantage over the thicker rods. It seems to require less downforce. This may also be due to the carbide itself since it is self-lubricating - love this one!) ..
Regards from PerthDerek
Article on my website: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTechniques/ChoosingABurnisherForAScraper.html
Ah Derek it is quite clear that the pinion shaft was the only piece of metal worth salvaging from one of those Porches that look like Khamann Ghias (spelling?).
But I don't know what the red coloured wood is that you used for the TZ burnisher- is it truly red and hard as it looks in the picture?Philip Marcou
But I don't know what the red coloured wood is that you used for the TZ burnisher- is it truly red and hard as it looks in the picture?
Ah Philip, that is my beloved Jarrah ...
Here you are ... Jarrah mallet and Jarrah mortice chisel handles on a Jarrah side table.
View Image
It is truly hard stuff and this colour.
A recent ramped shooting board I built for a client ..
View Image
Regards from Perth
DerekPs Oh yes Philip - you know me too well. The pinion gear is indeed a vintage 1957 ex-Porsche 356. Pronounced "por-sha". Do you want it ... the pinion gear, not the car - I know you are more partial to vintage Mk II Jags (you have good taste).
Edited 7/11/2008 4:37 am ET by derekcohen
Edited 7/11/2008 4:43 am ET by derekcohen
I made one from a worn chainsaw file. Tip in the chuck of a drill press with the tang in a hole drilled in some plywood clamped to the table. Just spent a bit of time working through the grits until the teeth were gone and it was smooth and shiny. Someday I may put a handle on it.
Sarge,
Nice burnisher.
I am beginning to suspect that you and Derek are the same person. :-)YOU USED APRICOT ON A BURNISHER!!!!
For shame. I would have used osage orange. Yuk yuk.Never thought I would see a thread on burnishers. Now maybe we need one on toothpicks -- one of the most important things in my shop. I only use the flat ones, not the round ones. They get me out of trouble every once in a while. But I suppose that not everyone uses the same kind of toothpicks. We need to work things like this out.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
I use matchsticks instead of toothpicks. I appreciate the ability to multi-task when using them: Light a fire in the stove, or the incense-burner, melt stick shellac, fire up a stogie, sharpen the end and pick my teeth, then plug a stripped screw hole. Useful also, for a basis of comparisons, "Yeah, your face, and my dog's butt; your breath, and a buffalo fart; not since Superman died." (Got a match?)
What we need is a good thread on shop wipes. This would be a good topic for one of those surveys.
Recycled rags- towels, t-shirts, bvd's, diapers, feed sacks?
Paper towels- Scott, Bounty, Cost cutter?
Shop towels- Sherwin wms, Costco, Napa, terry, jersey, or fiber?
Field expedient- (for absorbing/containing those unexpected spills)- cutting lists, sticky-notes with customers' irreplaceable contact info, crotch veneer, tool steel, shirt tail, or pant leg? I am featured in the latest issue of Esquire, modeling these last two. A video clip of me demonstrating the use of all these- at the same time-- for a Big Gulp gone wild- will soon be available on you-tube. Unfortunately, there is no audio on this clip, but you can substitute George Carlin's recital of the seven words you can't say on tv, it's the same thing.
Ray
Ray;
My preference is a good cotton diaper but my source dried up about 32 years ago!
Bvd's have too many seams and too little material.
Cotton T shirts make up the bulk of my shop wipes lately.
Hard to beat a good quality sanitary napkin for a wax applicator!Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -- P.J. O'Rourke
Don,
Like you, I used diapers for years in the shop, but my source also dried up. Now use old t-shirts, of which there seems to be a limitless supply. There is no doubt that "shop wipes" would make a great Thread.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Don,
My days of having diaper hand-me-downs are thankfully long past also. Thay do make good shop rags tho, esp after being washed a couple hundred times.
Ray
Ray,
Shop wipes.
Like Don Green, I used diapers for years, but my supply ran out. NOW I have a grandson. Freddy comes equipped with a box of "baby butt wipes". In using them on Freddy, I realized that they would be great in the shop. So I stole some from Freddy. He won't tell. Actually, some of the ones that were used on him didn't have their complete cleaning capability used up, so it is possible that they can be used a second time, but you have to keep them in a bag to keep them moist, and if you do that, they begin to ripen, so I will stick to the new ones.But you are absolutely right, WE NEED A Thread on Shop Wipes, and another on matches/toothpicks for solving multiple problems cheaply. By the way, do you sharpen your match sticks with a knife, or do you do it like Willie Sundqvist - with an axe. I am reading his book on Swedish Carving Techniques, and he specifically mentions that many of his woodsmen friends like to sharpen their pencils with an axe, and they limit themselves to four strokes.Enjoy,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Struck a chord with that shop rag thing, it seems.
As for the match stick sharpening, you asked:
By the way, do you sharpen your match sticks with a knife, or do you do it like Willie Sundqvist - with an axe. I am reading his book on Swedish Carving Techniques, and he specifically mentions that many of his woodsmen friends like to sharpen their pencils with an axe, and they limit themselves to four strokes.
I use a chainsaw, and mine is of course, 2-stroke. I like the fact that, with the 40" cutterbar, I can hold the saw well away from the fingers holding the match...
Ray
Well Mel.. even though I prefer the round tooth-pick, no true southern gentleman would not have both round and flat on hand in his home. And a box of both must be carried in your personal vehicle as you don't want to be caught eating as a guest or restaurant that might not provide them.
Sometimes a flat will be better in a given circumstance and that is why you have to be able to reach for the correct tool in your tool-box. You cannot fully enjoy a southern bar-be-que without toothpicks to compliment the food. It's just the way is is and was intended to be.
Regardless of the fact that you may not necessarily need to pick food particles from your teeth... bar-be-que cannot be fully enjoyed without a tooth-pick hanging out of your mouth after the meal. How long it stays there is the indicator of just how good the bar-be-que was.
With that said... all bar-be-que is Good! Just some is better than others depending on the individual taste. For the really great bar-be-que, the round tooth-pick will hold up much longer than a flat one I find. And once I am finally done with it.. in lieu of going to the trash, it goes to my scrap box as it might come in handy in some usage in the coming years. A situation much the same saving bent 16 penny nails.
And that's your bloc of instruction on tooth-picks and bar-be-que for today. Same time.. same place for tomorrow's bloc of instruction and your continuous education. ha.. ha...
Regards...
Sarge..
Sarge,
Well said. A Southern Gentleman needs both round and flat toothpicks. Living in Burke, Virginia, I am a true Southern gentleman. After all, I was born in Southern Connecticut. While that may not qualify me, I also spent a good deal of time in Dothan, Alabama, and there ain't nothin more Southern than Dothan, Alabama. My favorite restaurant was MacLin's Kitchen, just outside the gate of Fort Rucker, where the catfish was hard to beat. Working at NASA, I spent a good deal of time at Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, AL, where there is a GREAT barbeque eatery called The Greenbriar. Once I took a bunch of NASA guys there and we were all dressed up in suits and we sat down at one of the picnic tables, and everyone looked at us kinda funny. Probably thought we were revenooers. Never wore a suit there again. If you can't eat all of your food, they will "put it in a poke for ya". And as you leave, you hear, "Y'all hurry back, y'hea."Y'all have fun, y'hea.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
When my BIL and SIL moved down south from Pennsylvania (my wife is from around Altoona and Johnstown) we told them we were going to take them out to eat at the "Lawrenceville Country Club". We picked them up and they were dressed as if they would be dining at a swank spot in Downtown Atlanta as the "621 Club". They didn't say anything about how we were dressed (jeans and T-shirts) but.. it was obvious that they were thinking "what the h*ll" are they thinking.
We maintained silence and held a straight face until after we pulled into the parking lot that had the large and bold sign beside what appeared to be a shanty house that read":
LAWRENCEVILLE COUNTRY CLUB
Gunter's Bar-be-Que
Where the Elite Meet to Eat
Over Two Million Sold...
They haven't quit laughing and that was over 20 years ago. Now there is over Three Million Sold and many to them as that's where the Elite meet to Eat regardless of who you are or your social status. At Gunter's everybody is somebody and share something in common...
D*man fine Southern Bar-be-Que... ha.. ha... ha.. ha..ha..
Sarge.. who is always looking for revenge on Yankee's for Sherman burning Atlanta... he.. hee
C'mon, now, Sarge,
Don't let's be giving the wrong impression about Southerners and toothpicks. We all know the toothpick's purpose is to be carried tucked above the ear, sort of woven thru the short hairs. It's there to balance the lucky strike poised above the ear on the other side.
As far as actually picking teeth goes, that's why sheath knives have pointy ends. Any southern man worth the name needs something more...substantial than one of those weensy little splinters for oral hygiene. After all, when you can spit yer chaw, or a watermelon seed, without unclenching yer jaws, an ice cream stick, or maybe a mason's trowel, come closer to doing the job than a toothpick.
Although, it's obvious that the toothpick, was invented in the South. Otherwise, we'd call em "teethpicks".
Yours,
Ray
Perhaps we have let far too many southern secrets get outside the shade and protection of under-neath a magnolia already. Pretty soon someone will be wanting to know how to fully utilize 98% of a hog after it has been butchered and made ready for the smoke house on a cold November morning.
So.. with that said.... the only farther word I will utter is "mum....", which I can do between my front teeth making it resemble the distinct sound of "whistling Dixie" which goes to show there is quite a bit of natural talent in our neck of the woods also.
Regards from yo southern and south of you cousin...
Sarge.
"Pretty soon someone will be wanting to know how to fully utilize 98% of a hog after it has been butchered and made ready for the smoke house on a cold November morning."
My Grandmomma's liver mush was the best in the county!
-Jerry
Head cheese or press meat was the norm for anything left over that wasn't bone in our area, Jerry. I will say and very clearly that I was never a fan of chitlings's. The smell cooking was stomach turning and the taste was as blander than rice without any salt.. etc.
But fried fat-back in biscuits is a different story and probably why I ended up with a stent in my leg 58 years latter. But it shoo was good at the time! :>)
Regards...
Sarge..
who has to get back to the BS and template cutting in progress...
I have both round and triangular. My triangular is by Kunz and the faces are slightly convex. I've had the Kunz a long time and I like it much better than my round burnisher.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=6434
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I acquired a Cabinetmaker's tool chest full of useable old woodworking tools It's been in the family for a hundred years. Anyway I found a burnisher in the chest of treasures that was made from a triangular file, many years ago. It works perfect for me
I experimented a few days ago with a machinists scraper--a flat style with a rounded back, polished on both sides. Manufactured by Nicholson and purchased thru MSC. Did an admirable job on a Two Cherries card scraper I needed an edge on (new scraper--seems to fall somewhere in between a thicker Sandvik and a standard LV card). On a piece of curly maple, the scraper worked as well as any I've prepared with a carbide scraper.
The machinists scrapers are available in a number of different styles and are dirt cheap. I also bought a triangular scraper that I am going to sharpen into a Japanese style spear chisel for working into dovetails. These things appear to be good starts for turning into other tools, although the size of some are a bit unwieldy. They come handled with a non-descript hardwood painted red (will need prettied up!).
Tony Z.
It never ceases to amaze me that people with otherwise stunning kits of tools, power and hand, will go to great lengths to press engine parts and other hunks of metal into service as burnishers. I have a mental picture thusly: "I've spent $15,000 or so putting this shop together and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend another nickel for a burnisher. "
Which of you fellows has a dismantled engine lying in your yard from which you're robbing parts?
These burnisher threads are always good for a laugh and an incredulous shaking of the head. Get a decent burnisher with a comfortable handle which will be ready to go out of the box so you can move on down the road. Don't let a nickel hold up a dime.
Edited 7/12/2008 11:28 am ET by TaunTonMacoute
Good God, Charles!!!!
Do we again agree on something! What is happening? :)
Regards from Perth
Derek
DC we agree on more than I'm willing to let on.... I have my image to maintain you know.
I would take up Tony Z's offer to you. If you see the home-made burnisher I just got and posted... he made it. He was going to send me the polish carbide rod for free.. but he added a turned apricot handle simply because he's a super nice guy and very generous to others. I can assure you it is top notch.
Sarge..
Send me via private message your mailing address and I'll send you a piece of very highly polished carbide.
T.Z.
An offer I would not refuse.. But I have inside information on just how good that polished carbide rod is....
Thanks again for your generousity Tony... you are a gentleman and a very thoughtful one toward others indeed. The burnisher you sent will be used my lifetime and passed on when I decide to hang up the scrapers. Excellent work stem to stern...
Regards...
Sarge..
Thanks Sarge,
As I mentioned to you, the carbide are discarded core pins from my manufacturing plant and this use is a perfect recycling of the material. This carbide is far different than the carbide found in router bits, for example. This is very highly polished and has an inherent lubricity to negate the need to oil whatever burnisher you would use. But best of all, it's free!
Tony
Tony, I'd rather see you send one to somebody who is burnisher-less. But I do appreciate your generosity.
For my own sanity, I've quit chasing "better" as far as tools go. I have my kit and I'm sticking with it. I'm totally absorbed in bettering my own skills and don't feel that there is any tool in my arsenal that will prevent me from achieving my inherent potential. "New" and "better" is nothing but a distraction for me.
Edited 7/12/2008 2:49 pm ET by TaunTonMacoute
Tell you what, if I recall, you teach woodworking, correct? If so, I'll send you two, one for you to try, and then an extra to give to a student, how's that!
My offer stands, but, if you got something that works for you, that's also fine. To tell the truth, whenever I prepare a scraper, I don't really think about what to use. Only time that occurs is when I'm playing around with a scraper for the sake of playing around with a scraper. Practically anything will turn an edge provided it is harder than the scraper and is polished smooth.
Too many times our modernist ways want us to read & study ourselves to proficiency instead of just rolling up our sleeves and digging in. Isn't it curious how there has been a resurgence in woodworking handtools? These tools aren't all being sold to the Lonnie Birds or the Garret Hacks or the David Marks: they're being marketed very adeptly to many wannabe woodworkers who are always looking for the next best thing.
T.Z.
I've never taught woodworking in the sense of having a paid enrollment. I've never rec'd a fee for passing along my relatively meager knowledge.
I don't doubt that there might be some marginal improvement in a highly polished rod vs. the Clifton that I have ,but I would still much rather see somebody who has no burnisher at all be the beneficiary of your unquestioned generosity. If I didn't have one already I would absolutely take you up on your offer.
No problem at all! I enjoyed the discourse and as I have pieces of carbide to give away, I will post notices accordingly.
As I posted a day or two ago, there are many ways to turn an edge. For example, I mentioned that I recently used the rounded back side of a machinists scraper. It was as polished as the working edge for a few inches and it did an admirable job.
In my early years as a carpenter, I served a four year apprenticeship. That time was invaluable in working with many skilled craftsmen who never thought they were formal teachers either. Since 1989 I've only been a hobbyist woodworker and many times miss being around more experienced people.
T.Z.
Boy this thread has taken off! I started it all, essentially asking if the extra profiles mattered. I would love a piece of carbide if your offer stands. E-mail me at Doug @ gdh2.com if you want (I don't know if I "accept email" in this forum).Doug
The Wood Loon
Acton, MA
Click on your name in the header and you will see "you do" have e-mail available within the forum. Tony is a "class act" or have I already mentioned that... once or twice? :>)
Regards...
Sarge..
I don't know if it is hardened steel or not but I use a valve push rod from a 1971 Chevy 401 V8 to burnish card scrapers. It seem to work ok.
For my own sanity, I've quit chasing "better" as far as tools go. I have my kit and I'm sticking with it. I'm totally absorbed in bettering my own skills and don't feel that there is any tool in my arsenal that will prevent me from achieving my inherent potential. "New" and "better" is nothing but a distraction for me.
Hi Charles
I understand this completely. It is, I suspect, the point that many (most .. all) professionals eventually reach.
I have written something similar here before about my day job. When I was a new graduate, I collected as many "tools" (psychometric tests, psychodynamic theories, psychotherapies, etc) and well as attending conferences and workshops as often as I could afford.
These days I keep up with the research but am more than happy to maintain just a small peer review group. I giggle when I see the advertsing for another "new and wonderful" psychometric tool, the "new insights" of yet another psychotherapeutic method, etc. I completed a very substantial and rigorous training. The work I do is advanced and respected enough that I sit on several professional committees and run a very busy private practice. I meet students and new graduates, some to supervise, and smile when I see how they collect all the same things I did when I started out 30 years ago.
I have no doubt that you could substitute any number of professions here, and the experiences/tales would be similar.
The world of the professional in woodworking is so different from the world of students of woodworking. However, since I have no intention of turning professional, I will continue to enjoy and express all that is fun about being a student woodworker. Perhaps this is what I miss in my day job? So I can again collect tools and strive to develop new skills. And when a Master begins to look at these with a jaundiced eye, let him remember his own voyage of discovery.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Dear Chap,
Given your 15K frugality why do you now advocate actually PAYING for a Veritas or whatever burnisher when folks can a) get the best material for the steel (carbide rod, bearing needle etc) and b) enjoy the instructive turning of a suitable handle using just a small piece of wood- all for FREE???? Come on man, try to see things from various points of view.
It is Sunday here, raining and cold and I just might spend a half hour or so making a handle (for the carbide which Tony kindly sent me) from some small African Blackwood offcuts which otherwise would be thrown out-amazing hey.....
And yes I do have other burnishers, which means I may give one to a friend. Philip Marcou
Edited 7/12/2008 5:51 pm by philip
Ahhh my friend.. I read that Tony sent you a polished carbide rod also. I had already made a handle from a scrap or wormy pecan from the scrap bin by hand shaping, but he must have known I don't have a lathe and sent mine ready to ride. My only regret accepting the free one (I offered to pay postage and he adamantly refused that also) was I didn't have it 37 years ago as it is the best one I have ever seen.
And just yesterday a two totally unknown to me newbie's from a local WW club got a Crown and a Veritas burnisher I accumulated for free. They were quite pleased to get them and be shown how to use them. Just as I was pleased to get the one from Tony Z. which will probably be the last I ever use.
And with that... off to the shop to tackle finish that awaits.
Regards...
Sarge..
My suggestion of using a push rod for a burnisher was not based on a desire to save a few bucks. As a hobbyist I am always looking for ways to improve. I like to take classes at my local Woodcraft. During a sharpening class, a very experienced instructor demonstrated the E-Z Burr frame Eagle Jigs. He also told us that he uses an old engine push rod and it works as well or better than the commercial ones, and he has tried most of them. The reason for demoing the E-Z Burr was that what Woodcraft sold. <!----><!----><!---->
<!----> <!---->
After the class I plopped down my $50 and took the E-Z Burr home and used it. It seems to work fine. Later while visiting a garage we use I ask if they had an old push rod I could have. Took it home, cleaned it up and tried it. Sure enough it worked. With the E-S Burr you clamp the block in a vise and run the scraper over it. With the push rod I clamp the scraper in the vise and use the push rod over the scraper. The push rod seems easier because it is longer and I can hold it with both hands. I am sure a longer commercially produced burnisher would work the same way. I am not an expert wood worker, just thought I would pass on something that works that I thought was kind of funny. <!----><!---->
<!----> <!---->
And by the way, there are several engines in pieces in our other shop, however, they are overhead valves so there weren’t any push rods to steel and we don’t keep them in the front yard. For some unknown reason the home owners association complains when we leave race cars lying about. <!----><!---->
Not singling you out... there have been many of these threads over the years.
I have to tell you that I probably spent a grand total of one minute to acquire a perfectly functioning burnisher - basically the time it took to order one online. I'm more than happy with the value I've rec'd for the thirty bucks I spent and one minute's worth of my time.
Edited 7/14/2008 12:15 pm ET by TaunTonMacoute
Hey! Hey! Let's get this thread back on track for a moment, shall we? Toothpicks...
I don't use the flats. I don't use the rounds. I use a combination of the two; the square center, round end type. I even have a certain "brand" that my brother-in-law sends me, as they aren't available where I live. He's my "connection," and I don't know what I'd do if he failed to send me my yearly supply. It makes me squirmy even to think about it. Nervous-like.
Advantages: the square middles don't let the toothpick roll off the table when you place it there when you're eating. The round ends allow you to really dig in for the last, succulent little bits of steak, raspberry seeds or corn on the cob. They also are a lot sturdier than the flat toothpicks.
I never am without a toothpick in my mouth - a habit that has started to worry me a bit. Will I develop some sort of toothpick-in-mouth disease? My wife had caught me napping with a toothpick hanging out of my slack, unshaven jaw, a truly disgusting visual image, to be sure. I routinely shower with one, and have learned how to drink from a water bottle on my bike without dislodging my 'pick.
An addict and I know it...Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Big Z if you combine the tooth pick & burnisher you'll always know where your burnisher is.
Big Z, I am a round type guy after doing a few dozen Shaker Oval Boxes in cherry for my ladies at Christmas. They are (for those that don't make them) used to "nail" the two bands-box side and cover side- to the top and bottom boards. There are NO metal nails used, only very small copper tacks peened over to hold the swallow tailed fingers where they lap around to form the top and body sides.
The square and flatties are too soft and snap real easy. The sharpest and hardest are the ones from a Japanese restaurant. They could be used as dart points and are great for removing Bar-B-Q stuck in the teeth as well as cleaning fine gears or threads. Paddy
Z,
Riding la bicicletta with a toothpick installed! I have visions of you lying in the ditch with your lower lip skewered to your thigh. I have seen a picture of something similar, although the context was some kind of dark leathery club in Noo Yawk.
Incidentally, never buy oleander toothpicks.
I like them tiny dental bog brushes meself.
Lataxe, pink of gum.
Oleander's not the hot setup for weiner roasting sticks either!Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -- P.J. O'Rourke
L,
I know it's a bit dodgy riding and 'pickin' at the same time. How else to project a jaunty - nay, cocky - image though? It's the last vestige of prowess I have, given that my legs feel like concrete on most nights.
Your partner in better oral hygiene...
Zolton If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Z,
I used to race with one of them "naturals" that seemed able to win any race and never break a sweat. In fact he was applying one variety or another of your jauntycock technique.....
His favourite trick was to await the long climb, whereupon he would ride nonchalantly to the front of the bunch, on the bar tops, before pulling a Mars bar (sticky toffee-choccy confection) from his back pocket. He would sit up and eat this whilst causing the fellow behind him to drop off his back wheel.
At this point the bunch would heave a collective sigh of awe and give up. My team mate was, of course, suffering horribly too; but always kept up a smile of enjoyment and finished the Mars bar, before topping the climb 50 metres ahead of everyone else. At this distance they couldn't see him gasping for breath and grimacing with leg pain as he descended the far side.
Lataxe, one of the awed.
Now dang it Lataxe! You've got me all incensed! I hate guys like that.
We've got a few in our club. They're mostly the younger, college or just post college-age crowd. The ease at which they're able to climb is quite vexing.
What really bugs me is when they're cruising along up a steep - and they're carrying on a normal conversation with you while your tongue is getting dirty from hanging out onto the front tire. They talk about books, movies, girlfriends, whatever; and then want to know your opinion on something. And you can't answer because you don't have any oxygen left.
What have they got going for them? Youth. And that's it. Nothing more! Can they cut a dovetail? Distinguish red oak from white? Sharpen a chisel to a razor's edge - and then pare end grain with it? No. The answer is no. But they sure can climb...
Zolton - a tired (old) man after 48 miles in the fast lane last night..If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
" Will I develop some sort of toothpick-in-mouth disease?"
Dutch Elm disease, dogwood anthracnose.
Me, I suffer from Pine borers. Almost every day.
Ray
"Me, I suffer from Pine borers."
I thought you were a Pine borer.
-Steve
steve,
The wife, Mrs Pine, says I am boring from time to time; but, I am also easily bored myself, if the company I am keeping is less than stellar.
Ray
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled