Some Thoughts Off The Top Of My Head

[Ken Frantz]

I have worked in the cabinet/carpentry field for the last 35 years and have kinda gotten burned outon woodworking.

35 +- years ago I was in the telecomunication type of work and woodwork was my hobby and loved what little I did do which wasn't much.

Now that I have all the time to do woodwork (if only I could get the shop completed) my inclination is more to the design of building jigs, fixtures and tools etc to make woodworking "job" easier. or build something to save a few nickels and still have fun. I enjoy just sitting around thinking and drawing pic about how to do something easier as you can tell about the post I started here.

I like to see and read the input that the post has generated and I hope some more of the gang can come up with some of their ideas and thow out the "bone" to others to chew on and put their .02 cents worth in the ring.

Hey---if in the end it looks like the "project" is not feasable, so what!!!! The exersize of the mind is what really counts. And may be this exersize will spark an idea about another project or improve something that has already been done before. (I am collecting a page which I call "Quotes from the Sawmill") Here is one by Dave Anderson NH “Our only limitations are in our own mind.” and there is another one that I like but I have to use a quote that I use " I have a good memory, but it is short" cause I cain't remember were it tiz!!!!

Another quote that I have heard and it is simular to the one I am trying to remember from above ( this what little brother would call a left handed quote ie he is a lefty) "DO IT, EVEN IF IT IS WRONG"and when the right way will shows up, it will really shine.

Anyway lets keep the old noggen in tune and do some thinking about thus design stuff---I don't think it will hurt!!!!!!!!! HI HI HI

JUST KEN RUMBLING IN THE RAMBLE SEAT OR IS IT
RAMBLING IN THE RUMBLE SEAT OF LIFE.

PS: CAUSION (SP?): Spell check and grammer check was not use on this post!!!!!!!!!! I had one Prof in college say if I can understand what you are saying (writing), you doing OK.

Ken Frantz aka

[GEDunton]

Been doing everything forever. Following your lead, there is a quote I've told my kids, and do believe to be the real goal.

"There is only one thing worth knowing: everything!" The response is always, "You can't know everything." To which one replys: "But you can try."

In this forum, the best quote is from a friend of mine who makes his living in wood work. "A good woodworker is the one who can correct his mistakes and great one is the one whose mistakes you can't see." Its not a perfect function, its getting the job done so no one knows its not.

Darn I like to ramble, too.

I just like to make things, don't care if others like em or not, just if I do. So now I am making furniture that pleases me, and of course SWMBO, the LOML. But of course she is deluded by be.

What thee heck, Later

[Ted Shrader]

"Keeping your head in the game" is what one coach I had called it. Lots of life lessons can be traced to that - or not keeping your head in the game.

In woodworking, like many other things, you look for faster, better, cheaper. Depending on which and how much of each tenet is applied determines the overall outcome. Quicker is not always good for the end product - but occasionally it is. Cheaper? Same story, etc. Better is always the goal to strive for. Where is your personal limit?

Engineering is trade offs. Woodworking is engineering. Woodworking is trade offs. QED.

Keep using your head for something other than a hat rack!

Ted

[Dave Hammelef]

Originally posted by GEDunton
Been doing everything forever. Following your lead, there is a quote I've told my kids, and do believe to be the real goal.

"There is only one thing worth knowing: everything!" The response is always, "You can't know everything." To which one replys: "But you can try."

......

My 6 yr old would tell me she already knows everything.

Dav

[Dave Anderson NH]

The origional quote which I borrowed and modifed was "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right." I strongly believe that most of our limitations are ones we impose upon ourselves. I would rather fail at something than have regrets about not giving it a shot. This gets me in trouble occasionally, but by and large I've had mostly positive experiences. Note that failure also brings quite a bit of knowledge and sometimes is the germinator of other new ideas.

Well now, on to the subject. I have ambivalent feelings about efficiency in the shop. As a hobbyist and a person with heavy Neanderthal leanings, I do many operations with hand tools that could be done faster and some would say more efficiently with machines, fixtures, or jigs. I am by no means a purist and usually do most of my basic stock prep (planing, crosscuttings, and ripping ) with power tools. I hand cut all of my tenons, and with mortises about half are machine done and the rest are chopped by hand. I prefer to handplane all finish surfaces and all of my dovetails are hand cut.

To me, since I make 18th century reproductions, hand work makes sense from the point of view of authenticity. I also just plain like doing the work by hand as it is quieter, produces shavings instead of dust, and allows me to listen to music while working. Efficiency is a seriously secondary concern to enjoyment. If I were trying to make a living doing woodworking, I'd probably starve, but this not being the case, I have the luxury of indulging my own style. It all boils down to personal preference. What is right for me might not suit y9our own style.

[Ron Taylor]

Dave, in keeping with your philosophy.. I've never failed at anything, but there are lots of things in which I haven't yet succeeded.

[Bart Leetch]

I heard this a long time ago.

[Jim Izat]

My favorite saying for a very long time is my new sig line:


Jim Izat

[Jim Stastny]

I like to say:
Don't be afraid of failing. The ony people who never fail are dead people. It's only through mistakes that we really learn.

My 2 cents, for what they're worth