had me some fun today

[Jason Buresh]

Well being a Wisconsinite for all my life has probably made me biased. I like the cold.

But I also like summer in Wisconsin. This year it was on a Tuesday.

[mike stenson]

I also prefer the cold. I can doff and don layers as needed, at least if it isn't cold enough for my hands to get cold (that's actually about freezing in a building).

That's still after 25 years of living in the desert. I can tolerate the heat, and work in it.. but I still just tolerate it, I do not like it.

[ken hatch]

I also prefer the cold. I can doff and don layers as needed, at least if it isn't cold enough for my hands to get cold (that's actually about freezing in a building).

That's still after 25 years of living in the desert. I can tolerate the heat, and work in it.. but I still just tolerate it, I do not like it.

Oh Mike, you sound like my wife. I call her my Big Pika because when temps get much over 85F she thinks she is going to die. Back in the LD motorcycle days before I showed her how to ride cool she visited a fair number of convenience store beer coolers and she doesn't like beer.

ken

[ken hatch]

I have to admit, this Summer is trying my love of warm WX so much so I even thought about moving back to Oregon and running from the fires.

ken

[mike stenson]

Oh Mike, you sound like my wife. I call her my Big Pika because when temps get much over 85F she thinks she is going to die. Back in the LD motorcycle days before I showed her how to ride cool she visited a fair number of convenience store beer coolers and she doesn't like beer.

ken

Well, I consider 'hot' to be above 104º.. or 40ºc. I really prefer it to be around 65-70ºf.. Colder if I'm heavily exerting myself is better.. (last Fridays run was much more comfortable in the 60's than todays )

[mike stenson]

I have to admit, this Summer is trying my love of warm WX so much so I even thought about moving back to Oregon and running from the fires.

ken

Ken, I think you need to go east if you want to avoid fires But yea, every hotter year makes it harder for me to look forward to the next summer.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Bill, I've been meaning to ask you: How much did your Moxon vise contribute to the ease and joy of making those dovetails, compared to doing them the pre-Moxon way?

[Erich Weidner]

This has been a pretty brutal summer in Central Texas. Wife is perfectly happy to bask on a hot rock in the 100 degree direct sun... I don't get that woman... Must be reptilian in her blood lines... (No-one repeat that).
I've done my best to acclimatize (but I'm a Pennsylvania boy). And I did pretty good until I got all fat in middle age.

[Bill Carey]

Bill, I've been meaning to ask you: How much did your Moxon vise contribute to the ease and joy of making those dovetails, compared to doing them the pre-Moxon way?

Hey Bob - was wondering how the skewed chisels are working for you as I was cleaning mine. The moxon is a great tool. I use it for many things, but using it with dovetails is the main thing. I've added shelves behind it that hold all the tools I use there - square, saw, fret saw, marking knife, lights, etc are there when I need them, and are actually stored there. I guess you could call it a moxon station. It's not what most folks think of as a moxon, I suppose, but it works for me. I'm really glad I made it a permanent fixture in the shop.

20200605_163441.jpg

It's wide enough that I can use it to plane most of the drawers I make, I use it to trim tenons, etc. And there is enough weight from the items stored on the shelves on both sides that it's pretty steady and solid.

[Erich Weidner]

No Erich, of course I don't have AC in my shop. Why not you ask? Because true men are meant to sweat in shops...
...Can you loan me yours to try out so I can see if I want to hand in my real man card?

I used to be more manly. But when we had built our (semi custom) house, one thing I did was Insulated garage walls, door, and ceiling. After 3 years I had the mini-split put in. These things are all over Japan, very quiet and energy efficient.
I think mine is about a 1 ton unit. A friend in N. Austin got one for his un-insulated garage, (though sized up a bit). Works great for him too. I sweat anyway. Without the AC I think I'd die. (But I need to loose a lot of weight, let myself go a bit to hell physically, turns out fat is a great insulator...)

They run about $4k installed (I think that's what he paid) Mine was less but was 10 years ago. I also work from home for the day job, and my office was almost unbearable due to how poorly it got airflow. Another of these puppies went in there. Now, wife can bask in other parts of the house which will be 82-84 degrees if I'm out of town and I can chill out in the office or garage.
This is what they look like. https://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/products/indoor-units/wall-mounted-heating-and-cooling

[Bob Jones 5443]

Bill, thanks for the insight about the Moxon, and I think your station has really blossomed! Not to be a curmudgeon, but is that oak front chop bending a little?

The 1/4" skew chisel pair are exactly what I need to "tease away the lumps" from dovetail corners. Once I used enough elbow grease to remove the packing crud I found some well-made tools underneath. With the skew I don't need to consider the lands (which are quite small anyway); they are essentially zero when you skew the tool. So glad to have them.

[Bill Carey]

Bill, thanks for the insight about the Moxon, and I think your station has really blossomed! Not to be a curmudgeon, but is that oak front chop bending a little?

The 1/4" skew chisel pair are exactly what I need to "tease away the lumps" from dovetail corners. Once I used enough elbow grease to remove the packing crud I found some well-made tools underneath. With the skew I don't need to consider the lands (which are quite small anyway); they are essentially zero when you skew the tool. So glad to have them.

Glad you like the skews - I really like using them. And yes, the front chop bends a bit - I was concerned about that but have found no deleterious effects from it and the work piece is held really, really solidly. If my moxon had a floating front chop I could just push it to the work piece and tighten it up. If there is a reason a bending chop is not a good thing that I don't know please chime in. Always open to learning something.

[David Eisenhauer]

Thanks for the info Erich. I have been procrastinating adding in a ceiling in my shop for years. Maybe............

[Bob Jones 5443]

Glad you like the skews - I really like using them. And yes, the front chop bends a bit - I was concerned about that but have found no deleterious effects from it and the work piece is held really, really solidly. If my moxon had a floating front chop I could just push it to the work piece and tighten it up. If there is a reason a bending chop is not a good thing that I don't know please chime in. Always open to learning something.

Bill, sorry for the late reply. I was using some kind of Hybrid thread view, and got lost in all the branches about the weather, so I didn't see your reply. A moderator helped me find a Linear thread view –– much more straightforward for me (although my wife says I am not a linear thinker, go figure).

Glad to hear the work is held securely in your vise. I don't see why bending the chop slightly would cause problems. From you photos it looks like you place the work in the middle for symmetry, so the bend would balance around the work.

I remember now that your Moxon doesn't have chops lined with leather, cork, rubber, or "Crubber" or the like, but I wonder if using a lining like that would allow you to hold the part just as solidly with less torque on the screws? Might lead to even less bending. Just thinking out loud.

David Eisenhauer, if you're still in the room, isn't your Moxon lined?

[Bob Jones 5443]

Bill, I forgot to ask: no router for cleaning between the pins on these dovetails? Only saw and chisels?