I'm a BIT embarrassed -

[Dale Thompson]

to post pictures of a simple box with a few dovetailed drawers, some "egg-crate inserts and four cheap drawer slides. The story, however, is not in the project. It is in the aftermath. A friend of mine up at the cabin has a personal business wherein he does custom welding/fabrication. The organization of drill bits has driven him crazy for years. To shut him up, I agreed to make him a cabinet to organize his bits. He would have to supply only the slides. OK - so I would have bought full-extension slides. He didn't. Whatever. :(

I have never received so many thanks for any project that I have ever done. I get at least two long-distance calls from him every day giving me a bit-by-bit account of his progress in organizing his BITS. The labeled dividers go from 1/16" to 1 1/8" in 1/64" increments. Just today in a fifteen minute conversation, he found twelve bits in his dresser drawer which he didn't even know that he HAD! :rolleyes:

The moral of the story is that it doesn't have to be great or even good (I'm a klutz, remember) to be REALLY appreciated. All you have to do is get lucky and have a neighbor like Tony. :) :)

Dale T.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Dale, good story and nice project. I'll leave the "bit" puns to the other guys :D

[Dick Parr]

That’s a good looking box and it’s nice when they appreciate it. Very nice Dale!

[David Rose]

Dale, did you turn or purchase the handles? That is not a klutzy job from this perspective!

David

[John Miliunas]

Good grief, man! You're about the only person I know who would take a simple, utilitarian BOX and make it into a Project de' Art! :eek: Fer cryin' out loud...The man is a *welder*! The poor guy is gonna' be afraid of touching that art piece with his grubbed up hands. You shoulda' built him a paper towel rack, while you were at it, 'cuz he's gonna' be using those towels to keep the grime off those fancy-dancy pulls you turned! :rolleyes: Give the man a break, already! Good thing he didn't ask for something he needed in the house! :D

Sheeeeeesh...Must be sumfin' in the water up there 'round Peshtigo! (Say, could you send me down a gallon or two of it?) :confused: :D :D :D :cool:

[Kurt Aebi]

That is a fine box, nothing to be ashamed of at all.

The end-user really loves it - that in itself should be all there is!

Looks fantastic, but I'm with John, you should definitely make him a matching Go-Jo hand cleaner holder with a paper towel rack as I am sure he will not want to muck up such a treasure!

Thanks for sharing, Dale. Great craftsmanship shows even in the simplest of projects - and it sure shows through on this one!

[Gary Whitt]

Nice project, Dale!
Isn't it a "bit" overkill? :D :rolleyes: :cool: ;)

[John Miliunas]

Isn't it a "bit" overkill? :D :rolleyes: :cool: ;)

Ooooooooo....Eeeeeeee....OUCH! :eek: Sheeeesh...Some guys really DO have a twisted sense of humor, don't they?! :D :cool:

[Dale Thompson]

Dale, did you turn or purchase the handles? That is not a klutzy job from this perspective!

David

David,
The handles are turned. About a year ago, I was turning some spindles for a window valance I was making and, for the first and only time in my life, I got on a roll which was not downhill. The first spindle took about an hour and a half to get what I wanted. By spindle #10, the time had shrunk to about 5 minutes. I just kept going and made a whole pile of them. I thought that adding a couple of brackets on the ends would make nice handles - and the price was right.

Tony doesn't know it yet but he is going to fix my Porter-Cable dovetailing jig. With the incredible power generated by my six-million dollar robot arm, I have managed to strip out three of the four hold-down handles. :eek: I think that I will have him replace the puny 1/4-20 threads with some 2" Acme threads. That should get me through at least ONE more project. ;) He is also going to make a gouge grinding jig and a 10" tool rest for the new Jet VS mini.

That will teach him to listen to Jim Croce when he says, "You don't take the mask off the old Lone Ranger ----"! :cool: :)

Dale T.

[Dale Thompson]

Good grief, man! You're about the only person I know who would take a simple, utilitarian BOX and make it into a Project de' Art! :eek: Fer cryin' out loud...The man is a *welder*! The poor guy is gonna' be afraid of touching that art piece with his grubbed up hands. You shoulda' built him a paper towel rack, while you were at it, 'cuz he's gonna' be using those towels to keep the grime off those fancy-dancy pulls you turned! :rolleyes: Give the man a break, already! Good thing he didn't ask for something he needed in the house! :D

Sheeeeeesh...Must be sumfin' in the water up there 'round Peshtigo! (Say, could you send me down a gallon or two of it?) :confused: :D :D :D :cool:


Hey Spring,

I'd send you the water but I don't have any pics so I'm not sure that you would recognize it. :D :D Thanks for the nice words, bud.

Dale T.

[Jerry Olexa]

Good grief, man! You're about the only person I know who would take a simple, utilitarian BOX and make it into a Project de' Art! :eek: Fer cryin' out loud...The man is a *welder*! The poor guy is gonna' be afraid of touching that art piece with his grubbed up hands. You shoulda' built him a paper towel rack, while you were at it, 'cuz he's gonna' be using those towels to keep the grime off those fancy-dancy pulls you turned! :rolleyes: Give the man a break, already! Good thing he didn't ask for something he needed in the house! :D

Sheeeeeesh...Must be sumfin' in the water up there 'round Peshtigo! (Say, could you send me down a gallon or two of it?) :confused: :D :D :D :cool:
Great reply w humor. You should try stand up comedy. You are a man for all seasons, w woodworking knowledge and enjoyable humor Thanks Jerry

[Jerry Olexa]

Seriously Dale GREAT job You made order out of chaos!! Jerry

[John Miliunas]

Great reply w humor. You should try stand up comedy. You are a man for all seasons, w woodworking knowledge and enjoyable humor Thanks Jerry

Thanks Jerry! I tried stand-up once. Did a take-off on Jeff Foxworthy. Sadly, the congregation just didn't take too well to it. Go figure! :( As for my feeble attempts here, it's just trying to balance what I lack in WW skills. :) There are many more talented in both, humor and WW skills BUT, I still LOOK the funniest! :D :cool:

[Dan Stuewe]

But Dale, your plan backfired!! Your goal was to "shut up" your neighbor with his complaining, and now you can't shut him up with his praise! Sometimes you just can't win!

[Dale Thompson]

Great reply w humor. You should try stand up comedy. You are a man for all seasons, w woodworking knowledge and enjoyable humor Thanks Jerry

Jerry,
Spring was a GREAT stand-up comic until he got hooked on Peshtigo water. Now I have to pay his dues to attend PWA (Peshtigo Water Anonymous). He is doing great and is starting to recognize pictures already. ;) His WW expertise and humor are still as sharp as ever. We are all confident of his FULL recovery. ;)

Dale T.

[Jim Becker]

The moral of the story is that it doesn't have to be great or even good
But it IS great and even good, Dale! Nice job.

[Dale Thompson]

But Dale, your plan backfired!! Your goal was to "shut up" your neighbor with his complaining, and now you can't shut him up with his praise! Sometimes you just can't win!

Dan,
It's the story of my life. :confused: I know that I am hopeless but I would appreciate any suggestions. :)

Dale T.

[Dennis Peacock]

Dale,

Looks to me like you did a really fine job there on the entire project. I wouldn't mind being a proud owner of that piece in my home.!!! :D

Well done my friend.

[Dale Thompson]

I appreciate the fact that you guys will compliment me even on my simple level of wood working. I'd like to post a picture of Tony but he is too busy looking for "stray" bits. Therefore, I'll substitute a picture of a neighbor right here on the Peshtigo River. His house is much higher than mine and is only about 150' away from mine. On the other hand, he is one tough "bird" and is the primary reason that I'm not real concerned about terrorist attacks. :p

Where is it said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"? :)

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

You've got yourself one fine neighbor there, my friend! Very fortunate, I'd say. :cool:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

No reason to be embarrassed in the least Dale...the bit storage box (it almost hurts to call it something so utilitarian) looks great! You have probably made a friend for life...whether or not that was the intention!:eek:

[Dale Thompson]

Good grief, man! You're about the only person I know who would take a simple, utilitarian BOX and make it into a Project de' Art! :eek: Fer cryin' out loud...The man is a *welder*! The poor guy is gonna' be afraid of touching that art piece with his grubbed up hands. You shoulda' built him a paper towel rack, while you were at it, 'cuz he's gonna' be using those towels to keep the grime off those fancy-dancy pulls you turned! :rolleyes: Give the man a break, already! Good thing he didn't ask for something he needed in the house! :D

Sheeeeeesh...Must be sumfin' in the water up there 'round Peshtigo! (Say, could you send me down a gallon or two of it?) :confused:


I give up, Spring. What is a "Project de' Art!"? My Russian interpreter says that it is the Spanish term for "garbage/scrap/etc". My Antarctican interpreter says that it is the French phrase for, "The Mona Lisa has a headache due to eating too many fries at Greasy George's Cafe in Laguna Beach". :eek: I'm REALLY confused!! :confused: :)

Dale T. :)

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Pronounced "projay dart" (at least here in Texas) the term is usually used to describe anything custom made by a pro (who doesn't have to be named Jay) and presented as artwork (regardless of the artist's intent).:D

[Dale Thompson]

Pronounced "projay dart" (at least here in Texas) the term is usually used to describe anything custom made by a pro (who doesn't have to be named Jay) and presented as artwork (regardless of the artist's intent).:D

Kelly,
Thanks for the "straight" scoop from Texas. I was starting to feel some severe depression. However, what does, "projay dart" have to do with MY junk? That should be a challenging question - even for a Texan!! ;)

Seriously though, thank you for the kind interpretation. :)

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

Yeah, like what Kelly said. You know...Kind of like the higher class of stuff you get at Tarjay, as opposed to their main competition, Wal de' Mart! :D :cool: (OK, it's getting thick out here! I'm going to bed now.) :cool:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I would call that project of yours anything but junk Dale. :D I couldn't resist the pun fun!