Replies

1. 
   joinerswork | Aug 08, 2006 03:25pm | #1

   Planesaw,

   Iron City Beer.   mmm...

   Ray

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Aug 08, 2006 03:56pm | #2

   Ray,

   Thanks for the recommendation but I never have been a beer drinker.  People always said you have to acquire a taste.  Why someone would want to drink something that tastes absolutely horrible, IMHO, made no sense to me.  I lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and was back visiting a few years after we moved from there.  A friend said, Alan, you could still go to any bar in Nevada and they would know to give you a cold Coke with no ice.

   Oh well.  I would guess there is a woodworking club, formal or informal, or a group of people who do some good woodworking somewhere in the Pittsburgh metro area.  Just thought I would try to find a few good sources for tools, lumber, and people there.

   Thanks,

   Alan - planesaw

2. 
   9619 | Aug 08, 2006 04:42pm | #3

   Alan,

   Between woodworking adventures in Pittsburgh, visit any of the Primanti Brothers Restaurants and get a cheesesteak sandwich. Outstanding. They put the french fries inside the sandwich.

   Then go to Carnegie Mellon University, and ask anyone where the Field Robotics Institute is. Then ask anyone who looks like a student if they will show you the high-bay building with the robots in it. Intoxicating!

   My son and his wife both got their Ph.D.s in robotics at CMU. The robots they build there are much more fascinating than the most complex woodworking machines you can imagine. Go to the following website:
   http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/
   and click on the different buttons. Feast your eyes on amazing robots. There is no doubt that the kids who make these things are smarter than many of us woodworkers.

   I LOVE PITTSBURGH!!!

   Enjoy,
   Mel

   Measure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   gj13 | Aug 09, 2006 09:26pm | #12

   When did your son and DIL get their degrees?  I once met Red Whittaker, the founder of the robotics dept.  Don't know if he's still there.

   Between my brother, his wife, my wife, and me we have 7 degrees and 22 years at CMU.  Some of it concurrent, of course.

1. 
   9619 | Aug 09, 2006 10:51pm | #13

   GJ,My daugher in law received her Ph.D. from CMU just a few months ago. My son got his two years ago. I have known Red Whittaker since 1986. My son did a lot of work with Red. Red is still there. He can only be described in great terms. He not only teaches and has students, but he heads up a robotics company and he has and runs two farms. Red heads up the Field Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His home page is at:http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~red/Congratulations on your family's tradion at CMU. It is a wonderful place (engineering, arts, computer science, drama, robotics, etc), and Primanti Brothers is right down the street.Good to meet you. I take it that you live in or near Pittsburgh. If you ever plan to travel near Washington, DC, please let me know. My wife and I live 18 miles away in Virginia. We can trade some CMU stories and swap some woodworking lies.
   MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   gj13 | Sep 07, 2006 07:31pm | #14

   Sorry it took some time to reply.  I haven't been around here much lately. 

   We used to live near Pgh and would like to move back home.  Now we're near Lancaster.

   Primantis is good, no doubt about it.  But I'd give almost anything for a fish sandwich from the Oyster House down in Market Square.  I don't know if it's still there anymore.  My grandfather knew the original owner, quite literally about a hundred years ago. Sort of a working class bar frequented by businessmen.  A fish sandwich with a cold glass of buttermilk.  Possibly the best lunch on the planet.   

1. 
   9619 | Sep 07, 2006 08:21pm | #15

   gj,
   Was in Pittsburgh in June for my daughter-in-law's graduation from Carnegie Mellon. She got a Ph.D.!!!!!!! We did a lot of celebrating. Part of that was to go down to the waterfront. Things have changed a lot. New development. Very nice, but not the old homey type of stuff. I don't know the Oyster House, but I know I didn't see any such place in the part of the waterfront that we visited.
   MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

2. 
   gj13 | Sep 07, 2006 09:09pm | #16

   Looks like you might have your squares mixed up.  (there's a woodworking pun in there somewhere).  Market Square is downtown, in the area of PPG Place.

   Was in Station Square a few weeks ago.  It's grown up a lot since I was there last, 12-15 years ago.

3. 
   chuckh | Aug 08, 2006 05:14pm | #4

   Pittsburgh has a Rockler & Woodcrafter although I've never been to either of them.  You can find them on Google maps.  These people are soliciting on this site for an employee http://www.wilsonandmccracken.com/.  They're in Pgh and it looks like they have a nice shop in an old firestation.

   Regarding the beer, the best beer in Pittsburgh is long gone.  It was Old Frothingslosh, the stale, pale, ale.  "The beer with the foam on the bottom."

   They just don't make beer like that anymore.

   -Chuck

   Correction:  The correct spelling is Olde Frothingslosh and it is the "Pale, stale, ale."  Sorry for any confusion this may have caused:-)

   
   

   ---

   Edited 8/8/2006 10:45 am ET by chuckh

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Aug 08, 2006 10:07pm | #6

   I'll check on Woodcraft and Rockler.  They will probably have leads on woodworkers.

   Alan - planesaw

4. 
   yotonyb | Aug 08, 2006 08:43pm | #5

   Although it's outside Pittsburgh, and I'm not sure how much free time you have, a trip to Fallingwater, the home designed for Edgar Kaufmann by Frank Lloyd Wright is inspiring.  Whether or not you're a fan of Wright, it is an impressive work on a beautiful site.

   tony b.

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Aug 08, 2006 10:09pm | #7

   Yo Tony,

   My dad was an architect and liked Fallingwater.  He was a bit more practical than Wright, but he did like his work.  My wife and I plan on visiting Fallingwater this fall.

   Thanks for the reminder.

   Alan - planesaw

1. 
   BossCrunk | Aug 08, 2006 10:24pm | #8

   Kind of like a doctor liking the work of Louis Pasteur or Joseph Lister,,,, 'of course' comes to mind.

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Aug 08, 2006 11:41pm | #9

   Or, I would think, more like Ford vs Chevy.  Both do the job, just which one do you prefer.   Or a better comparison might be whether you want to haul concrete with a Mercedes or a concrete truck.  The Mercedes looks nice and costs more, but it won't haul concrete very well.  Not a better/best comparison, just which one gets the job done that you need done. 

   Alan - planesaw

5. 
   MikeHennessy | Aug 09, 2006 03:19pm | #10

   As others said, there is a Rockler store on McKnight Road -- kind of hard to spot off to the right heading out of town on a hill near Ross Park Mall. There is also a Woodcraft Supply in The Pointe in Robinson Township -- off the Parkway West a few miles west of town. Both are fine stores, but neither has anything you wouldn't find in any other Rockler or Woodcraft store. There used to be a WW club years ago, but it's now defunct. Lots of neat places to go/things to do though.

   I'd suggest a stroll down the main street on the Southside. Lots of cool little stores, bars, restaurants, clubs & more tatoo/piercing parlors per square block than anywhere else I've ever seen. There's also a store, Perlora, that has some interesting furniture, some handcrafted.

   You might want to take a side trip to Old Economy Museum, about 15 miles west of town on Ohio River Boulevard. This was a community of Harmonites, self-supporting, but due to their restrictions against procreation, not self-sustaining. They have a 19th century woodworking shop that I used to teach in. Not sure if it's still a working shop (haven't been there in about 30 years), but a call to the museum might be in order.

   A longer trip to Bedford Village might be interesting as well -- sort of a Western PA Willimasburg. If you have any interest in Fallingwater as others have suggested, make it a point to visit Kentuck Knob, another (nicer, I think) FLW house in nearby Ohiopyle (which is also a cool little town on the rapids of the Youghagheny River, if you like rafting & such - nice waterfall too & plenty of hiking/biking opportunities).

   If you want further info, give a shout.

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Sep 08, 2006 04:19am | #17

   Mike,

   Now that I have spent a bit of time in P'burgh I am hoping to take in some of the sites you mention.  Are you a full time woodworker or a serious hobbyist?

   Thanks for your leads,

   Alan - planesaw

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Sep 08, 2006 03:18pm | #18

   "Are you a full time woodworker or a serious hobbyist?"

   Hmm. I don't think I'm a full time anything! ;-)

   I used to do a lot of carpentry, spent some time teaching woodworking and am currently a practicing attorney who still does a lot of carpentry (currently working on a 3-story addition and porch - fun project) and woodworking when I have the time.

   Hope you enjoyed your visit to Our Fair City.

   Go "Stillerz"

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

1. 
   alanplanesaw | Sep 08, 2006 10:37pm | #19

   I always enjoy learning about the many things people do who are woodworkers.

   Yes, I am getting to know Pittsburgh better.  Out there every couple of weeks.

   Thanks,

   Alan - planesaw

6. 
   gj13 | Aug 09, 2006 07:50pm | #11

   The Carnegie art museum has some furniture worth seeing.  There's a Spanish piece there similar to what we'd call a blanket chest.  Somewhere around 400-500 years old,  if memory serves.   From looking at it, it's nothing remarkable.  But it hits home when you realize that centuries ago a woodworker stood at that very piece, ran his hands over it, fussed about how tight the joints were, how he should decorate it...