Ken Fitzgerald
10-25-2008, 6:42 PM
when it comes to bandsaws.
In HS I ran with a couple of friends who were the scholastics. So, I took the courses they did....chemistry...physics.....higher level math classes. I'll admit it...I never took one shop class....not one. I did take typing, however.
Most of what woodworking I know, I learned from working part time for a neighbor in Bend, Oregon one year. He was a building contractor who built homes for a living. I worked for him with the understanding that if my pager went off, I could go to the hospital and work on the CT scanner. We built one home, gutted and did a major remodel on another home and built a playground.
Then PBS brought out TOH and Norm. I learned a lot from them. Over the years I took on a lot of major remodels in my homes and my families homes. Then I stumbled onto the Creek.
I had never used a bandsaw in my life. NEVER! Last fall I ordered a MM-16 based on several Creeker recommendations, Mark Duginske's "You can't go wrong with any of those Italian bandsaws" and Min-Max's generosity in giving Steve Clardy a new bandsaw when heavy snow collapsed the roof on his shop destroying his old bandsaw. Steve is a pro and makes his living out of that shop.
Using Mark Duginske's new book as a guide and conversation or two with Sam Blasco I managed to get my b/s set up and running. Even with the cheap blade that came with the saw, I was able to do a pretty decent job of resawing some 1/8" strips from a fir 2x6.
Today, working on a turning project for another Creeker, I wanted to make a template. Using a contour gauge, I transferred the profile of the pattern wheel to a piece of scrap plywood. Then using that new bandsaw, I was able to freehand that cut that template in a short period of time. I placed the pattern wheel in it and it fit like a glove. I was jacked! My wife wasn't nearly excited about it as I was?:confused:
This was my first practical use of my MM-16. It won't be the last. I can't wait to find another excuse to use it. The DC worked great with it too!
In HS I ran with a couple of friends who were the scholastics. So, I took the courses they did....chemistry...physics.....higher level math classes. I'll admit it...I never took one shop class....not one. I did take typing, however.
Most of what woodworking I know, I learned from working part time for a neighbor in Bend, Oregon one year. He was a building contractor who built homes for a living. I worked for him with the understanding that if my pager went off, I could go to the hospital and work on the CT scanner. We built one home, gutted and did a major remodel on another home and built a playground.
Then PBS brought out TOH and Norm. I learned a lot from them. Over the years I took on a lot of major remodels in my homes and my families homes. Then I stumbled onto the Creek.
I had never used a bandsaw in my life. NEVER! Last fall I ordered a MM-16 based on several Creeker recommendations, Mark Duginske's "You can't go wrong with any of those Italian bandsaws" and Min-Max's generosity in giving Steve Clardy a new bandsaw when heavy snow collapsed the roof on his shop destroying his old bandsaw. Steve is a pro and makes his living out of that shop.
Using Mark Duginske's new book as a guide and conversation or two with Sam Blasco I managed to get my b/s set up and running. Even with the cheap blade that came with the saw, I was able to do a pretty decent job of resawing some 1/8" strips from a fir 2x6.
Today, working on a turning project for another Creeker, I wanted to make a template. Using a contour gauge, I transferred the profile of the pattern wheel to a piece of scrap plywood. Then using that new bandsaw, I was able to freehand that cut that template in a short period of time. I placed the pattern wheel in it and it fit like a glove. I was jacked! My wife wasn't nearly excited about it as I was?:confused:
This was my first practical use of my MM-16. It won't be the last. I can't wait to find another excuse to use it. The DC worked great with it too!