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Bad habit? Jury's out...
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Bad habit? Jury's out...
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
--Yogi Berra
Jigs are not the enemy. There's a difference between using a jig because you do not want to take the time to learn a skill (e.g. dovetail guide), using a jig because the cut you need to make requires extraordinary consistency (e.g paring a mitre to fit a mitre), and using a jig because it will save production time.
Oh yeah ... don't buy anything made by Steve Voigt ... it just can't be good
Regards from Perth
Derek
Save those jigs.
Then when you find the one you made for the same thing 5 years ago you'll have two!!
If, for example, you hand cut DT's once a year and, then maybe a saw guide is a good thing. But, as Derek said, if you're goal is to master skills, then guides, etc are really just a crutch, aren't they?
At least one case of using a guide is open to debate. Most of the time my sharpening is done freehand. When a bevel needs to be reestablished without using powered equipment, a guide can speed things up. Otherwise to touch up an edge, it is quicker to do it freehand than to get out a guide and set it up.But, as Derek said, if you're goal is to master skills, then guides, etc are really just a crutch, aren't they?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Yes - ironically, making spectacular beautiful masterwork jigs to do a 1 time operation is kinda crazy when you think about it... Because it may take far more time and money to buy or make the jig than the thing you are doing...
But other times - you are crazy not to make some sort of jig to do a task.. For example - if your hand tool skills are good enough to completely freehand a guitar rosette - you are a better man than I and have my enduring admiration.... In my experience - a circle cutting jig of some sort is more or less mandatory.. Now - do you go spend $400 or 6 weeks in the workshop on that jig for a 1 time use? No, that's crazy... You can make one out of a popsicle stick, a straight pin, and an exacto knife blade or drill holes in a $1 piece of lexan for a router jig..
Thanks
Avoid using the credit card tool to buy tools that you don't need to make a living or save a life.
It came to pass...
"Curiosity is the ultimate power tool." - Roy Underhill
The road IS the destination.
Avoid any tool sold at a Department Store or Big Box Retailer, especially if it is made in China.
This rule will help you avoid developing the following 2 Bad Habits.
Bad Habit Number 1: Wasting hard-earned money on reasonably-priced, attractively designed tools that are packaged and displayed with style, incorporate obviously clever improvements, but are junk the minute they are out of the packaging.
Bad Habit Number 2: Throwing tools in the garbage (see Bad Habit Number 1 above).
Last edited by Stanley Covington; 04-21-2018 at 10:36 AM.
It's a beautiful thing- your hobby, your choice. What's your goal? If you are trying to make nice things, and your sense of satisfaction is from completed projects, I would suggest avoiding duplicates.
I was busy acquiring duplicates.
Good tips, everybody!
My only deviation is that I quite like my limited mijingfang planes.
The HK trim and high angle polisher work great once tuned...particularly on dubious stuff that scares me....like baltic birch plywood or mdf.
If I was using a white steel kanna from a good smith, I would cringe/cry with every stroke.