Originally Posted by
David Eisenhauer
I can see how an uninformed person could say "other than handling the weight/size, that's not that complicated, or difficult to do". Straight line ripping, Domino, glue up, hand off to the drum sander and cut two curves with a template and a router. That would not take into account your initial design work plus your competence as a craftsman and your shop setup that allowed the work to look like it was not that difficult. That final photo says it all - a Jim Becker production. Nice work Jim.
Thank you for your kind words, David. I think you speak the truth about projects like this. While the physical operations are relatively straight forward, taking two 11' long slabs that are not identical and figuring out what 8'+ sections of each are going to go together in the most pleasing way can be "fun", especially when one is between an inch and an inch and a half wider in average. The best thing about this project was having the client's trust...and a little bit of sweat equity from him, too. I guess he was reasonably pleased...in today's text exchange, he indicated he'd be calling next week to discuss another fly rod display piece similar to the first one where I initially met him. That project was a collaboration between the client, Brian Holcombe and myself where we all did particular operations that we were individually skilled at.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...