My father has many years of experience in woodworking having done it professionally for a large company for 13+ years and was responsible for making some incredible pieces while employed there. While he was there he had access to the best equipment on the market and his work was second to none. When he quit that job his access to woodworking equipment was reduced to a handful of 50+ year old, rusted and out of tune tools that were only partially working. He rehabbed them back into working condition with what he had available (washer motors, old extension cords, etc.) and even though they're buried in junk between the two cars in his unheated garage he still makes incredible furniture, cabinets, turned vases, you name it. I am at a total loss to explain how he can do it, how his things can be so incredibly accurate, and how he can be as fast as he is. The last time I was there he was using a 24 tooth circle saw blade in the tablesaw that I think had been used to make pallets for a year before he got it. He always says that tools are only a small part of the equation, it's more important to know how each tool works, why it works the way it does and which tool should be used for which job. Honestly I think he can make it happen because, he just has the "knack" for it and because he can sharpen every tool he owns (except for that stupid carbide tablesaw blade) to an absolute razor edge. So having great tools can certainly make it possible for average folks like myself to do a good job, but I think there's also people out there who have sawdust in their veins and could build a New England tall boy with nothing but a hatchet, bent nails and some worn out sandpaper.
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Originally Posted by Dick Bringhurst
