What led to your neandering ways

[Josh Rudolph]

Though I am not 100% neander, I know a lot of you are.

Last night as I was smoothing some of the spindles for the crib and watching the wood transform in front of me from a dull uneven surface to a glass smooth gorgeous surface I couldn't help but smile. I said to myself I can easily see myself going 100% neander.

For those of you who once were power tool users and are now neanders, what was that moment when you decided to make the switch?

Were you hand planing something, were you cutting a set of dovetails, etc...?

[John Coloccia]

I'm not 100% neander...I'm maybe 65/35. For me, it's that I HATE setuping up machines, making jigs, etc. It's just so much easier to mark a line and work to it. More flexible too. If I could justify it, I would bring a CNC machine in and do a lot of the work like that, so I don't really feel the neandering in my bones. It's just a practical thing for me.

[David Weaver]

I don't know if anyone on here is absolutely 100%, but even if they are, doing some roughing tasks like buying boards near finish thickness is not a lot different than using machines.

I still use a bandsaw and a cordless drill (but do rip most 4/4 stuff by hand).

What sent me toward hand tools was the realization that trying to squeeze accuracy and quick setup out of mid-priced tools is a frustrating game. I hate wasting wood, and I don't like moving machines around to use them in a limited space shop and I don't like setting them up - it's a pain. I don't get any satisfaction out of cutting a clean joint with a machine, either, so it seems like there's no payoff to using them.

Mark the joint, cut the joint. Tune it if you need to. That's a lot more satisfying.

[Brian Ashton]

Had enough of doing it for a profession but couldn't get it out of my system so I decided to simplify and get back to basics and only make what I wanted when I wanted to. There's no challenge to pushing wood through a tablesaw, planer, jointer... But cutting and planing by hand always seems to present a new challenge like trying to do it more efficiently, quickly, redesigning the tools to do it, or discovering a long lost way of doing things... And it never gets loud.

[Brian Vaughn]

My hatred of earplugs and earmuffs. Oh, that and I love the feel of the wood. With Neander, you are putting your hands on the wood, feeling for rough spots. I tend to use my sense of touch as much as my sense of sight, I can feel those imperfections as well as I can see the most days. But there's just something about the feel of different woods. And the lack of hand-numbing vibrations or ear ringing noises. Plus, I never have to look for a free plug :o)

[Trevor Walsh]

In our model shop, (where the day job is) we use a lot of power tools and a lot of non wood, mdf, rigid foams, paper etc. I absolutely hate mdf for a lot of things and when using it on the router...the dust is offensive. I like the slower pace of hand tools, and the connectedness with the material and generations past. I also love the tools, the variety of planes, the lines on a chisel, wooden squares, brass bound beauties, I want a legitimate excuse to work with them. I enjoy a good cabinet saw, with home made jigs, I like the router for some things, and the Hammer Jointer/Planer at the school shop is one of the most amazing power tools I've ever used. Jigs are really fun to make for me, I like the intellectual challenge of designing a useful, repeatable jig.

So in summation, I think I work about 80/20 hand to power tools, getting through the stock prep so see a project start to take shape, I think you could take away all the power tools and I'd be fine, it would just take longer.

[Dave Anderson NH]

The long and the short of it is that I fell in with a bad crowd. I did hand tool work as a kid in my Dad's shop and then went through the young homeowner stage of power tool carpentry and relatively simple power tool made furniture. I then joined our NH guild and was seduced by one of the original members of the Old Tools List named Jon Gunterman who ran our beginner and intermediate gourp. Jon was almost exclusively a hand tool guy and led almost all of us in that direction. It was from him that I learned how to hand dovetail and in one of our group projects I built my first totally hand tool project, a simple mahogany table. We started with rough cut lumber and went all the way to a finished table by hand. It was a revelation to work without respiratory protection, ear muffs, and with the radio or conversations going on.

While I have a fully power tool equipped shop and still use everything in it, it is easy to see my interests and priorities when you see that my bench room is larger than my machine room and is much more "luxuriously" appointed. I not only enjoy using hand tools, but fully understand that many operations can not even be accomplished without them and in a large number of cases they will produce a beter quality result. For my Chester Toolworks production work though I have to be largely power tool oriented in the interest of productivity. There is a vast difference in the efficiency of hand tools for "one off" work and the productivity of power tools for volume production. Each approach has its place, but I derive most of my stisfaction from the hand tool work.

[Don Dorn]

I'm not a purist and have nothing against machines and in fact continue to use my bandsaw, jointer and planer and the tablesaw still sees it's time for ripping. The point is that I'll use whatever is most efficient, but prefer to use handtools.

My reasons are that you can be so precise and many times it's actually much faster for one off pieces or fitting. I agree with the poster that hates jigs and setting up machines. I also despise sanding and nothing prepares a piece of wood better for finish than a glass smooth surface left by a well tuned hand plane.

Additionally, almost anyone can accurately put a piece of wood through machinery and get a desired result. However with handtools, there is another skill set that is required and takes time to be sufficient at. As a recent example - a three leg candlestick table. I prefer each leg be tapered in both directions from the top toward the bottom. I have a friend that created a jig and runs it through a drum sander. I make an equal mark both directions from the center at the bottom and in a half hour, I'm done with all three by using a hand plane, and outside of chamfering, they are finish ready. I also get much more pleasure looking at a piece knowing that it was primarily done at my hand as opposed to pushing the parts through a machine.

[Roy Lindberry]

Though I am not 100% neander, I know a lot of you are.

Last night as I was smoothing some of the spindles for the crib and watching the wood transform in front of me from a dull uneven surface to a glass smooth gorgeous surface I couldn't help but smile. I said to myself I can easily see myself going 100% neander.

For those of you who once were power tool users and are now neanders, what was that moment when you decided to make the switch?

Were you hand planing something, were you cutting a set of dovetails, etc...?

I am not a 100% neanderthal, either. My lathe is run by electricity, and if I ever get a bandsaw, I may never get rid of it. My table saw, chop saw, and planer don't get a ton of use, unless I'm in a hurry.

For me, I really wanted to learn to hand cut dovetails. And the more I researched hand tool work, the more I fell in love with the idea. It is a combination of things for me. Firstly, there is definitely a nostalgic connection to generations past - a time when craftsmanship was valued more than a good deal. I always think of the joiners and cabinetmakers of old and their skill level to achieve things by hand that I still can't do with machines. Then there is the slower pace. Having spent years in a professional woodshop where the priority is to get from start to finish as quickly as possible, hand tools bring me to a slower pace where I get a chance to actually "work" the wood, rather than simply use it to make something. And that's another reason: hand tool work allows me to interact with the wood in a way that I cannot otherwise to. You get to know the grain in the individual pieces, because you must in order to use your tools effectively. You cannot simply rely on a machine to power through it for you. There seems to be a much more intimate connection between the woodworker and the wood when using hand tools.

Another reason is that I can buy tools far cheaper to work by hand than I can to outfit a shop with machines. Most all of the power tools I have have been given to me, and I couldn't have afforded them otherwise. Then there is the safety issue. I don't have to wear earplugs, safety glasses, or dust masks all the time.

With all that said, I still use my power tools when I feel it is the best way to go, but they seem to collect more dust all the time. I work by hand, and feel not only a deeper connection with the wood and the tools, but also with my grandfather, great grandfather, and those craftsmen of years gone by. It may seem overly sentimental, but it is true nonetheless. If you get the chance, pick up Tom Fidgen's book, "Made by Hand". He captures a great deal of the romance and nostalgia (as well as practicality) of working wood by hand which has captured me and seduces me deeper and deeper into the hand tool world every day.

[Josh Rudolph]

If you get the chance, pick up Tom Fidgen's book, "Made by Hand". He captures a great deal of the romance and nostalgia (as well as practicality) of working wood by hand which has captured me and seduces me deeper and deeper into the hand tool world every day.

I do have his book and enjoyed reading it. I have been doing more and more handwork as I become more educated in WW. I feel I can control the end results much better. I can really fit things to a superior fit. Another aspect I enjoy is using the old handplanes. Tools that are 100 years old and I am able to refine joints by literally removing thousandths from a piece is awesome.

[Robert G Brown]

Being an amauter woodworker, I slowly equiped my shop with power tools which equaled noise & dust. I was okay with it - didn't know any better. Then I started collecting handplanes - didn't mean to, didn't want to, even lied to myself - but I did. Found I really enjoyed learning how and in getting 50 to over a 100 year planes working again. The handplanes led to braces, handsaws, socket chisels, clean air and low soft music on the radio. I like the bandsaw too much to ever be totally neander but am very content with my quiet time in the shop.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I started off with the typical low end hobbyist grade machines and really hated the constant noise and the vibrations of all the machines, plus the constant need to set and reset them. Over the years I have found that noise is something that bothers me a lot, consequently all activities I find relaxing and enjoyable(fishing, hiking, cycling on country roads etc.) are characterized by a lack of it. There is no creative satisfaction in pushing a board through a table saw, on the other hand there is something to be said when you cut down a scribed line for a joint and it comes out on the dot. Or when you handplane a piece of Ash and then run your hands over it and there is no dust that sticks to you hand.
I think the turning point was when I started making wooden planes after reading David Fink's book. That made me realize I can survive without all these machines. What made the decision easier for me was the fact that I was close enough to other WWers like Dennis Peacock (and Ric DeRogue) that if I needed access to any machine I could pretty much take my lumber to his shop and get work done. Isn't it great to have friends with woodshops ;) Alas that option is no longer feasible since I moved to the greater Dallas area.

[Chris Fournier]

I learned to neander because machine tools will not do everything and if they could there is likely a neander process that costs a fraction of the price of the machine tool as long as I had or developed the skill set to do the job with the hand tool. I get excited about a nice handtool no more or less than a nice machine tool, I love them both. I do enjoy the typically quieter processes that neandering invloves, with the exception of hammer blows while chopping mortises...

[Russell Sansom]

I remember the exact moment very clearly. I was a musician and a very poor student with an antique table saw. I couldn't buy the musical instruments I was lusting to play so I started making them. Fiddles, "Appalachian" dulcimers, banjos, and then a clavichord. I despaired at ever owning the machines I'd need to build a single proper instrument. I was practically whittling the instruments with Xacto #11 blades, and Xacto razor saw and a ( dull ) Sears block plane. Plus using the feet of tables for clamps ( I have to admit, as obvious as it is, this still strikes me as a clever idea ).

Then I ran across Krenov's first book and inhaled it. Here in 2011 I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one to discover Krenov as the Looking Glass to my Alice. Anyway, I found a #608c Bedrock at a garage sale and managed to sharpen it with Krenov's guidance and I began to search out ways to follow his ideals.

The exact moment: I was challenging myself by making a chess board. I had reasoned that the renaissance wood workers did NOT build their harpsichords and clavichords ( pre-piano keyboard instruments ) with power tools, though I wasn't completely convinced. I also had a heavy suspicion that the jointer plane could trim down the squares more precisely than an Xacto blade & straightedge or my art deco table saw with a long-dull blade, but I wasn't sure how. I "invented" a shooting board (there was no sawmill creek in 1974) with a little jig to hold 8 squares at once. The #8 on its side, sliced the edge like magic. Straight AND square! I remember this moment vividly. I took two steps back and broke into a slightly mad chuckle and said out loud: "Oh my god, this is the answer to everything!"

That was the bootstrap for me. An honest-to-goodness re birth. After that, I sought out the same insight and found it repeatedly, until I became exactly the woodworker I had always dreamed of being.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Honestly, I was poor, lived in a tiny apartment, and kept weird hours. None of these things were conducive to owning large bench tools. Things like my circular saw and router could be tucked away, but it always meant either throwing dust all over the house, or long, awkward runs of extension cable to the porch. Hand tools just ended up making more sense, and the slippery slope went quickly.

Now, I just find it more enjoyable, and again, I can work inside a room of our small house, in the living space. Someday I'll own or live in a place with a basement or garage, or a little more space, and I'll have a proper shop, with a bandsaw. For now, little handtools are easier to take out and put away and make less mess.

I just wish I had stumbled upon the thiftiness of vintage tools a lot earlier, I would have spent a lot less time fighting with "tool-shaped-objects" from the hardware stores.

[David Keller NC]

Something no one else has mentioned yet (though Russell alluded to it): For the kinds of things that I build the most of (Colonial American furniture), making one with power tools ensures that the result is a modern representation instead of a reproduction. Since I'm interested in making these pieces so that in 100 years they cannot be distinguished from the originals, the only route is hand tools.

Besides, I hate sanding and sandpaper with a passion....

[Mark Baldwin III]

I'm an aircraft mechanic by day, and my primary hobby is building bikes. Both are loud, both are messy. Quiet, neander woodworking is a relaxing way to let off a little steam and use some of that creative energy. My house is also quite tiny, and in a tightly fit city neighborhood. I have a powered miter saw, which is only used for big cuts. The only power tool I plan to have besides that is a new drill. I don't like the noise and dust of powertools (at all). They're right up their with air compressors.
Since discovering the magic of the scraper, I realized that I don't like sand paper much either!
If I need a power tool, I take the drive out to my dad's house.

[miguel bernardo]

i´m just starting apprenticeship with a local luthier, and he just uses handtools, so that´s what i´ll have.

but i´m finding i really like to see a thin shaving appear out of a plane.

[Andrew Gibson]

I have moved much more to the neander side over the last 14 months or so. I have completed 1 100% neander Build and many projects that I would say are in the 70 to 80% neander range. I enjoy cutting joinery by hand and plaining and scraping surfaces rather then sanding... all that being said I have a new bandsaw that I will never give up, a table saw and a jointer that I use on almost all projects. I also am planning to add a plainer shortly... (anyone in the area know where I might find a good deal?)

I am not a fan of electric routers.

For me learning to do things with hand tools has greatly improved my abilities and freed me up to do things that I would otherwise not be able to with only power tools. I would always think to myself this does not seem like a good idea when working with small pieces and power tools, but with hand saws and a shooting board and chisels, I rarely think to myself "this is a bad idea"... just keep my hand out of the way of the chisel push.

[Bob Jones]

I needed to flatten a 7 inch wide board and only had a 6 in jointer. A local woodworker (creeker Scott Banbury) that sold me the wood suggested I try a plane. Really? I said. "Yep, it eliminates your limitations. There is nothing you can't build with a few planes, saws, and chisels". BAM! He showed me the first plane I had ever seen and it just made sense for me. About 6 months later I had a few stanleys that were sharp and I flattened that board (and every other blade since). thanks Scott!!!!!

FYI I sold the 6in jointer.

[Curt Putnam]

I have no desire to use hand tools 100% of the time. A long rip cut is just too much like work and hobbies are supposed to be fun. For me, sometimes it is more about the journey than the destination and sometimes the destination is important. I only have a 13" planer so I need hand planes to deal with my 24" panels. I bought some DT saws because you really can't call yourself a woodworker unless you can cut to a line. Small cuts are easier by hand, both rip and xcut. I'm a sucker for edged tools so I naturally like chisels and knives. I like paring with and banging on chisels, but not all day. I love running a plane but about more than 2 hours of it and I'm pooped. Mostly I try to acquire the skills as I can even if I don't want to use them all day long.

[john brenton]

Other than the lathe I suppose I usually do 100 percent by hand. I have always been drawn to hand tools becuase they are awesome, and because I learned early that people that used machines were often times helpless without them...that's not an insult or anything, its just fact. When I was in the trades I always had the emergency hand tools: sledge hammers if the jackhammer busted, hand dies when the pipe threader was impractical or broken or all I needed was a few pipes, hand drill, hand saws, etc. Etc.

I am embarrassed to admit it, but with woodworking I do enjoy the "olde tymeness" of hand tool work, and I do suffer from the "purist" disease. Buying an electric lathe was a hard decision for me.

Miguelito, I'm insanely jealous.

i´m just starting apprenticeship with a local luthier, and he just uses handtools, so that´s what i´ll have.

[Steve Branam]

For me, Don Weber's cover article in April 2004 Popular Woodworking hit me in the back of the head like a 2x4 (and you know how that feels!). Then once I got started and had some success, things kept building on each other. If I can do this with hand tools, let's see if I can do that. It all took on a whole new level of satisfaction. I enjoyed the challenge of each new skill. And suddenly, except for really repetitive stuff, the power tools were more of a nuisance, when I could pick up the hand tools and just do it.

[Harlan Barnhart]

I started with hand tools because I had no shop, no space and little money. I worked (still do) in my kitchen. I started with two chisels, a saw and two planes. My tool arsenal (collection) has grown a bit since but if you are motived you can make nice stuff with very little.

[george wilson]

Lack of money!!!! Also,making stringed instruments is by nature mostly hand work. I am not a purist either,especially now that I have gotten old. But there are just some things that have to be done by hand.

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm far from a neander, but I do like using hand tools. I was at home minding my own buisness when a felow creeker showed up and I gave him a tour of my shop. (Ok he was buying my Oliver lathe). After I showed him all my wiz bang Mini Max stationary tools and he told me about his Felder tools he says "You ain't got no hand planes". So I traded him for a couple. Then I learned that I could make my own. Now I just like to make my own hand tools and use them where I can.

[Eric Brown]

When I build something with hand tools I have an emotional bond with it. I just saw the taboret I built for my sister last year. She is very happy with it and seeing it again brought a smile to my face. Lots of handwork in it. If I had only used power tools it would not have certain features nor would it have as deep an emotional bond.

Hand tools give me more design freedom and the joy of working by hand is relaxing. Quiet.
Clean. Precise. No stress. In addition my appreciation for older things made by hand and older handtools, seems to be growing.

One thing though, it's addicting. I doubt I could ever quit using hand tools now.
I never seem to have enough. I'll continue to use my bandsaw, but haven't used my tablesaw in years. Think I used a powered router once last year. Perhaps never again?

We'll see. Right now I'm considering making a set of Maloof low-back chairs (with Charles Brock plans). Mostly hand tools if I can. Should be challenging.

Eric

[Jim Matthews]

The first time I ripped a four footer to width with my bowsaw and was close to the line.
That was a revelation.

Being successful, jointing two boards with my own hands, that was addictive.

Knowing that I can walk between ages (before and after Edison) is comforting.

When I finish a session, and the only sound in my ears is music, that's when the galoot in me is happiest.

[Kees Heiden]

For me it was lack of money too. I started with some cheap chisels, a saw from the borg and a rather new Stanley #4. I was looking on the internet how other hobbyists made wooden objects and became quickly disheartened, because I only saw huge workshops full of expensive machines. Somehow I stumbled on one of the handtool forums and was very enlightened.

Now I have a crappy planer/jointer combo and a crappy contrators saw. They are great to take the drudgery out of wood preparation, but leave plenty of work for my handtools. I really like the challenge of handtools, each day in the shop is another new adventure. And I am intrigued by the history of these tools.

[Archie England]

Like so many above, I'm not purely a hand tools user. But the moment I became one is quite definable: I had bought my second Dewalt sander (think massive) along with my third finishing sander, only to discover that my functional laundry room cabinet was spotted with dips and waves (no, not the wood grain). A friend at church was laughing at my frustrated plight and brought me a #4 Cosair (=Stanley #4), and it had a really sharp blade. With no prior knowledge and armed only with his scant instruction, I watched in amazement as that hand plane lifted paper thin strands from the cabinet and left a smoother edge than all of prior hours of power sanders/finishers had accomplished. That was the moment. When my wife wanted the cabinet painted, I saw the stark contrast between the last side (handplane) and the rest of the cabinet (power sanding). There's been no going back for me. I've virtually replaced my table saw, miter saw, router, and jointer with handtools--only using these to correct my work (or make quick work of repetitious tasks). My bandsaw and drill press, on the other hand, now you can't have those: they remain the best of my power tool purchases.

Really wish hand tools were cheaper--but they're not. You spend a bunch on sharpening and multiples (planes, saws, stones, hand drills, braces, bits, etc.). Oh, and the old tool bug kinda gets you, too. BUT I AM NOT A COLLECTOR! Really!!!!

[miguel bernardo]

Miguelito, I'm insanely jealous.oh, thanks so much. you shouldn´t be, though. i feel like i have two left hands...

[john brenton]

We all do. Only a few people are so mechanically inclined from the beginning. The master will shame your hands into proper performance.

[Joe Fabbri]

While I am far from a complete neander (I won't be ripping long boards with a hand saw anytime soon, ha), I have only recently found the joy of hand tools (mainly planes and chisels at the moment). I suppose I first got hooked looking at dovetailed joints. They seemed so simple and strong. There's something to be said about methods of construction that have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. And, when it comes trying to make certain cuts on power saws, with the risk that I might have set something slighlty off and will only find out when it's too late, I'd prefer to creep up on a mark using a hand plane and my eye.

I used to use my grandfather's hand planes, and I couldn't figure out how the heck to get them to work. When I finally did, it was a real "wow!" moment. There's nothing quite like a well adjusted plane. It seems like such a fine balance, you need the blade set just right (I used to have it stick out too much), and when you get it, it can shave wood like a dream. I was doing some soffit work on a house the other day, and the wood was bowed and threw the soffit uneven. Well, I reached for my freshely sharpened Stanley 5-1/4 jack plane, and it was a joy to cut that fresh pine. I jointed the edge really nicely. Now how would you do that easily otherwise? If I put it through the table saw, I'd be following the bow, and plus it's a hassel to set up the saw.

I'm still learning about hand tools. Right now I'm getting my honing technique down. I'm doing okay with it, though I'd like to start getting more consistent results. But, I look forward to learning all I can. I find myself finding more and more uses for tools like planes, where I'd never have even considered them before. I mean, has anyone tried to get a floor joist between an existing sill and subfloor? A few quick passes on the right corners with a plane, and it will slide right in...with a little convincing still of course.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Depends how I feel: got Fred Sanford's buddy Arthur Itus visiting me and not wanting to leave. Some days he's a real pain in the butt and I can't do anything, other days I hardly know he's around and I make hay.

I try to use my handtools as much as I can when I feel good, when I don't, I burn electrons. I make up for the amount of work I can't do anymore but accumulating tools (still get lots of pleasure from having and collecting them).

[Peter Scoma]

Moving from a 500sq foot shop to 90sq ft in a 1/2 car garage. In the time it takes me to set up the joiner I can clamp a board and take a no 8 to clean up the edge and have a much more satisfying experience.

[Duane Mohney]

For me it's all about the space, the wife willingly lets me have a small corner of the basement, and I can do everything I want to there with hand tools.

I do own a couple of power tools, but they don't really get used except when appropriate, like for the laminate flooring in the living room of the condo, but generally the power tools live in our storage unit.

[Jake Rothermel]

Like a lot of others have already said, most of what led me there was space & money. I'm no purist but my first shop was a 12'x12' unheated garage with only one electrical outlet. Do the math. Even if I could have afforded an even decent table or band saw I wouldn't have had the room [though I suspect if someone had offered me a bandsaw I would have FOUND the room for it...] and I'm not certain I would have been able to run them either [substandard wiring in that house...].

Most of what I did in that shop was rehab my current array of "classic" hand tools into something akin to working order. I bought most of my lumber already dimensioned; sometimes I got lucky and was able to use a friend's shop or the shop at work for roughing to size. I found that once I started using hand tools to BUILD, I preferred it that way. My day job involved lots of typical power tools; they were noisy and messy. The peace and quiet [and solitude] of working in my home shop was a welcome reprieve.

That said, for a lot of household chores, etc I resort to power tools. Sorry, but I have no desire to mount heavy pictures and mirrors into concrete walls by drilling anchor holes with a brace...

[James Owen]

Reformed Normite who now builds furniture 100% the Neanderthal way. Several things led to the switch-over, including trying to remove my fingers on a table saw one time too many. I also got tired of having to put on so much protective gear to do woodworking, dealing with the noise, dust everywhere, machine set up and multiple test cuts, and spending more time making one-time-use jigs than building stuff. Also, to plagiarize Dave Anderson, I fell in with a really questionable group of er...rogue characters...namely the infamous Neanderthal Haven gang...... :D

Found new homes for my tailed apprentices, including the table saw, band saw, planer, jointer, router, sanders, etc. Still have an electron-munching mini-lathe, which I use for turning pens and the occasional bowl, a drill press and 3/8" electric drill, both of which are used for pen turning and metal working, and a jig saw and circular saw for cutting sheet goods, neither of which have been plugged in for at least 5 years; should probably find them a new home.....

Replaced them with some Western and Japanese hand saws and some back saws, a couple of bow saws, several egg beaters and braces, marking and measuring tools, sharpening equipment, chisels, etc., and way, way too many hand planes, most of which are "specialised" planes.

The learning curves involved, from learning what "sharp" means (that's a moving target, but I'm getting closer) to reading the wood to tuning various vintage tools to learning traditional joinery techniques, etc., have been a lot of fun and have given me a better appreciation for vintage furniture and for what furniture-makers in the past have accomplished.

I've really gotten to enjoy the quiet, cleanliness (i.e., no dust), the lack of need for numerous jigs (ok, a few appliances, like a shooting board and a saw guide), being able to do most things very directly, the good exercise, being able to hold a conversation and listen to music while working, and so forth.

And last, but certainly not least, it's given me an excuse to hang around with (at least virtually) a really good group of very knowledgeable people, who all happen to share the same passion -- you fine folks!

Hope I didn't bore anyone too much with this long-winded answer to a great question....

[Dale Osowski]

Here is a little info on my journey from a large power tool based shop to a small hand tool based studio: http://timberwerksstudio.blogspot.com/2010/02/story-of-old-shop.html