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Chris Griggs
01-30-2014, 12:49 PM
I'm currently working on an article for PWW. The fact that it isn't yet complete nor has it been vetted by PWW is a mere technicality. Given the content I think we can all be quite confident that Megan will select it for immediate publication.

The topic centers on cats and woodworking. It is no new topic, but one that is often passed over by novices and masters alike. If one searches through old woodworking texts they will most certainly find references to cats. The most famous perhaps is from Joseph Moxon's introductory sentence to The Art of Joinery in the Moxon's Mechanick Excercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works: "Joinery, is an Art Manual, whereby feveral Pieces of Wood are fo fitted and join'd together by Straight-line, Squares or Miters or any bevel, that they fhall feem one intire Piece through which a single cats hair may not pass"

Moxon's opus focus's on the technical aspects of woodworking, thus his feline reference's tend to be used to illuminate certain techniques. My article will focus on the similarities between owning cats and woodworking and thus will be most relevant to those individuals who are considering getting into the craft.

I plan on submitting a complete copy no later than March 29th and expect that it will be published in the April issue:

Since that's a ways off here is a quick overview of what will be covered to hold you over until its publication:
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Cats and woodworking both lead to you replacing much of your furniture

Planing against the grain may lead to tearout. Petting a cat against the grain will get you torn up.

The longer you own cats the the more of your living space they, and their cat related items, will occupy. Similarly the longer you woodwork the more of your living space your shop and tools will occupy.

You can never have too many cats, much in the same way as you can never have too many planes or chisels.

It is very easy to unintentionally adopt yet another cat, much in the same way it is easy to unintentionally win an auction for a tool on Ebay. In both cases the following sentence is uttered..."But honey, no one else wanted it and I don't have one like this yet"

Over time you will spend an increasing amount of time with your cats and a decreasing amount of time with your spouse or significant other. Certainly, over time you will spend an increasing amount of time in your workshop and a decreasing amount of time with your spouse or significant other.

Owning cats, much like starting woodworking, ends up being MUCH more expensive than you first anticipated.

You will show pictures of your cats to all your friends and colleagues as well as post photos of them to Facebook and forums, because in your eyes they are beautiful and exceptional (even though they are actually very ordinary). You will show pictures of your projects to all your friend and colleagues as well as post photos of them to Facebook and forums, because in your eyes they are beautiful and exceptional (even though they are actually very ordinary).

And last but not least....both cats and woodworking will often confuse you and frustrate you, but in spite of this fact...both will give you endless hours of joy and entertainment.


Look for this and more sage advise on cats and woodworking in April!


(some or all of the above may be exaggerated or entirely made up. I am not responsible for any injury you sustain while woodworking or playing with your cats, nor for your disappointment when you get your April issue of PWW and it does not actually contain this article)

'Jacques Malan'
01-30-2014, 1:06 PM
http://www.sablade.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3587&d=1368896455

george wilson
01-30-2014, 1:06 PM
We have however many cats show up and want to be fed. Now we have 3,only one of which I went to the SPCA and picked out as a kitten. Back some time ago we had 5.

maximillian arango
01-30-2014, 1:21 PM
I think the all mighty Zeus will agree with this!


http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/Pets/20140121_150840_zpsbfcd0572.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/Pets/20140121_150840_zpsbfcd0572.jpg.html)

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/Pets/20140121_145729_zps8fe1d643.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/Pets/20140121_145729_zps8fe1d643.jpg.html)

still working on this plane

Adam Cruea
01-30-2014, 1:25 PM
I think the all mighty Zeus will agree with this!


http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/Pets/20140121_150840_zpsbfcd0572.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/Pets/20140121_150840_zpsbfcd0572.jpg.html)

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj584/arangov3/Pets/20140121_145729_zps8fe1d643.jpg (http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/arangov3/media/Pets/20140121_145729_zps8fe1d643.jpg.html)

still working on this plane

I love that last picture.

"No, human, you play with me, not your silly toys."

Mike Allen1010
01-30-2014, 1:29 PM
Thanks Chris for the very sage insight!

Prior to your article I never realized the connection between cats and woodworking -now it seems so obvious. Wait a minute…..... could this be a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's next book - "Why Cats Represent the Tipping Point into Hand Tool Obsession"?

Hysterical:) - you should absolutely submit this is as an article to PWW!

Cheers, Mike

Lornie McCullough
01-30-2014, 1:29 PM
As I was going to bed last night, I realized I had not talked to anyone all day (no phone calls, visitors, or trips to the store!!).

Noone, except the cat.

Lornie

Pat Barry
01-30-2014, 1:29 PM
My daughter was saddened the other day at my insistence that we would not be getting another, 2nd, cat. We had two before, but one of them has gone to the happy hunting grounds. At least that one would come around and particiapte in the family life. The current one sleeps all day in my daughters room and acts entitled to a constant supply of food (but won't otherwise be seen). By the way, you may want to speed up you submission to hit the April publication date.:cool:

Zach Dillinger
01-30-2014, 1:33 PM
It seems that, like all cats, the Mighty Zeus is claiming your property as his own.

"Oh, you like this board? Me too, that's why its mine. Same thing with that silly metal thing. I have no idea what its for, but its mine"

Jim Koepke
01-30-2014, 1:38 PM
As I was going to bed last night, I realized I had not talked to anyone all day (no phone calls, visitors, or trips to the store!!).

Noone, except the cat.

That sounds like my day when the wife is mad at me.

Otherwise the only time I usually see someone is when I walk out to the road to pick up our mail and someone happens to drive by.

That dirt road in my avatar runs across the front of our property. It is about another 100 yards to the mail box from where the picture was taken. We have been here over 5 years and solitude is still a good friend.

jtk

maximillian arango
01-30-2014, 1:50 PM
"Oh, you like this board? Me too, that's why its mine. Same thing with that silly metal thing. I have no idea what its for, but its mine"

This is why the only power tools relative to wood working is a circular saw and a drill. When I use to have my air compressor in doors they(I have 2 cats) would try to reach for the belt on the motor and after fearing the worse could happen I moved it out doors. Thinking about it now I don't think I would have ever tried hand tools if my cats didn't worry me so much and with the need/want of having furniture that isn't made by Rubbermaid or made of particle board growing I bit the bullet and bought some hand tools. Cats not only are like wood working but for me they also dictate how I do things since woodworking is being done in the same space where my cats go to war.

Steve Voigt
01-30-2014, 1:57 PM
My cats, who are evil geniuses and can operate computers, both liked this post on their facebook pages.

Chris Griggs
01-30-2014, 4:44 PM
Hehe.

George. I love you had 5 cats. I have 4...that's one more thing about you I can aspire to now.

Max, those pictures of Zeus are fantastic!

george wilson
01-30-2014, 5:49 PM
We just had abandoned cats show up at our door when we lived in the former neighborhood. Some people should not be allowed to have pets OR children. The neighbor across the street admitted that they had abandoned their cat(who was not living at our house),when their kids came along. We got another whose master was mean to it(They WILL leave if mistreated),another who was owned apparently at some point,but had been wild for some years. He was a huge black cat. It took me a year to earn its trust. Then,it was a very lovey cat.

We have had 1 cat left at the door here as a tiny kitten,and another who belonged to friends of my wife,but they could not keep him any longer since they moved. Then,my now 14 year old who I got from the SPCA. She has made it so clear to the others that she owns me,they won't sit on my lap,but are very affectionate when I pet them.

Chris Griggs
01-30-2014, 6:01 PM
We just had abandoned cats show up at our door when we lived in the former neighborhood. Some people should not be allowed to have pets OR children. The neighbor across the street admitted that they had abandoned their cat(who was not living at our house),when their kids came along. We got another whose master was mean to it(They WILL leave if mistreated),another who was owned apparently at some point,but had been wild for some years. He was a huge black cat. It took me a year to earn its trust. Then,it was a very lovey cat.

We have had 1 cat left at the door here as a tiny kitten,and another who belonged to friends of my wife,but they could not keep him any longer since they moved. Then,my now 14 year old who I got from the SPCA. She has made it so clear to the others that she owns me,they won't sit on my lap,but are very affectionate when I pet them.

I bet that's how you acquired all those tools too! :)


I feel you on them showing up. We had two cats for several years. That was all we planned to have. Then about a year and a half ago we started feeding a feral kitten that was hanging around our back door, and eventually trapped him , got him fixed and brought him in. Then a few months later this cat that had been eating out of our trash for a while, but had always run away when we came outside out of nowhere decided he wanted to live with us. I walked outside and instead of running he started rubbing up against me. When I went back in he tried to follow me in. I came out an hour later and he was still sitting their just waiting to be let in...he was/is one of the sweetest cats I've known and I just couldn't say no to him. Honestly its probably only a matter of time until another invites itself to live with us.

Bruce Mack
01-30-2014, 6:09 PM
My wife and I have a lot of former shelter cats. Some like the shop and are allowed supervised apprentice time. Measure half a dozen times, cut once, but only if the apprentice is not sitting on the work.

Megan Fitzpatrick
01-31-2014, 7:31 PM
There is, and I'm not kidding, a cat in the April issue. Most shocking....it's not mine!

Chris, three out of four editors are cat lovers...so your odds are pretty good :-)

Chris Griggs
01-31-2014, 7:48 PM
There is, and I'm not kidding, a cat in the April issue.

Best issue ever!





Chris, three out of four editors are cat lovers...so your odds are pretty good :-)

Yes! Looks like I'm about to earn an easy $250!

Please tell me the 4th isn't Glenn! I fear that his love of routers combined with a lack of love of cats would be too much for me to bear!

Chris Fournier
01-31-2014, 8:08 PM
281279281280Greta is unimpressed with this discussion.

This project invloved a lot of acrylic, the paper is sticky and forms a nice ball, which sticks to puppies. On the right Greta is captured barking at an offensive inanimate for the very first time. On the right Greta is tired of the stupid project taking so long (she grew that much and we weren't done the job yet!) and she has taken a more aggressive stance.

I admit that I do miss my one cat Rex and would love to have another life to live with him, he was a prince.

Chris Griggs
01-31-2014, 8:22 PM
Dude Chris. Greta is one cute dog! Love her!

Megan Fitzpatrick
01-31-2014, 9:32 PM
Please tell me the 4th isn't Glenn! I fear that his love of routers combined with a lack of love of cats would be too much for me to bear!
Glen has the most cats of all. Truly. (Well, we might be tied...but I've a three-legged, so .25 fewer cats)

Kees Heiden
02-01-2014, 3:04 AM
Chris, this is just too funny!

Bob Lang
02-01-2014, 9:01 AM
Chris, three out of four editors are cat lovers...so your odds are pretty good :-)
Correction; two out of four editors are cat lovers, one is a cat tolerater and then there's Chuck.

Bob Lang

David Weaver
02-01-2014, 9:13 AM
281279281280Greta is unimpressed with this discussion.

This project invloved a lot of acrylic, the paper is sticky and forms a nice ball, which sticks to puppies. On the right Greta is captured barking at an offensive inanimate for the very first time. On the right Greta is tired of the stupid project taking so long (she grew that much and we weren't done the job yet!) and she has taken a more aggressive stance.

I admit that I do miss my one cat Rex and would love to have another life to live with him, he was a prince.

Great dog! Dogs that have long running battles with inanimate objects are the best!

Rick Potter
02-01-2014, 1:39 PM
We have a really weird cat. It has pins in two legs from breaks, and a tail that got broken (all different accidents, honest) It can't jump up on furniture, but it rolls around the floor play fighting with our Cocker Spaniel and purrs whenever someone enters the room. It was a runt/reject of the litter. I think the mom bit his tail, but not sure. It's shaped like a 7.

David Weaver
02-03-2014, 8:23 AM
For some reason, this thread reminds me of the songified viral video....Chris, will we be seeing anything involving tears and hugging cats in the article?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4

paul cottingham
02-03-2014, 10:36 AM
We just lost our second cat to the happy spider hunting ground. His sister died 3 mos. ago. They were 19 1/2 years old, and both loved to be in the shop with me, in fact, they were one of the motivations for becoming much more Neander. They both came separately to their names, and if you called out "monsters" they would come together. Quite frankly they were very much like dogs. But with much more purring.
They even won over my wife, who declared "I cant live with cats" when we met. She cried harder than me when they died.

Jim Rimmer
02-03-2014, 12:59 PM
We were adopted by a kitten in 2008. One Saturday morning I saw a mother cat and 2 kittens in our backyard. About an hour later the mother and one kitten were gone and one kitten stayed. I looked for an owner for two days and then she became hours (or we became hers.) We didn't know she would turn out to be a Persian.

281507
281508

Chris Griggs
02-03-2014, 8:46 PM
For some reason, this thread reminds me of the songified viral video....Chris, will we be seeing anything involving tears and hugging cats in the article?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4

Hahahahah. That's awesome. I didn't even realize this thread was still going, since for some wierd reason it got moved from Neanderthal Haven to the Off-Topic Forum. The mods clearly don't know cats very well if they can't see that this is CLEARLY a Neanderthal Haven topic ;)

Anyway, that's flippin' hilarious!

Jim, your cat is great.

Paul...sorry to hear your old friends time came. Wow! Over 19 years is outstanding, but of course losing pets sucks hard.

When you're ready, you can get more though and do it all over again!

Chris Griggs
02-04-2014, 6:50 AM
I'm going to put the final nail in my crazy cat person coffin here...

Work closed early yesterday because of all the snow. When I got hope I realized it was wet and sticky...perfect for building a snow man. So I, a gainfully employed, married, 32 year old man, with an Ivy League masters degree, for some reason decided to make a snow cat!

No I'm not making this up...I really spent an hour of my afternoon yesterday in the snow making this....its guarding my house.

281609

paul cottingham
02-04-2014, 12:45 PM
I'm going to put the final nail in my crazy cat person coffin here...

Work closed early yesterday because of all the snow. When I got hope I realized it was wet and sticky...perfect for building a snow man. So I, a gainfully employed, married, 32 year old man, with an Ivy League masters degree, for some reason decided to make a snow cat!

No I'm not making this up...I really spent an hour of my afternoon yesterday in the snow making this....its guarding my house.

281609
And with that, my friend, you win the Internet.
if we got snow here, I would make one of those! Having a masters just makes
your sculpture more cerebral.

Chris Griggs
02-04-2014, 1:09 PM
And with that, my friend, you win the Internet.
.

Yes!!!! All my wildest dreams have come true.

Mel Fulks
02-04-2014, 1:23 PM
I like your whimsical cat ,Chris. Not made of snow ,but rather flawless ephemeral marble !