iNow

Indeed, but if I'm to make another jig, my next one will almost certainly be a tenoning jig. Right now, I'm just hogging out material with back and forth passes across the saw blade on my crosscut sled. A tenoning jig would be nice as I'd be removing a clean square in just two passes. I don't have a need yet for finger joints, and would likely focus on dovetails where possible, anyway.

I would never have thought to make a tank out of ply, but it makes sense upon seeing it

I will have to try the dark filler in parallel to the white and compare. That could work

That’s awesome! I love old planes. Have been keeping my eye out for them on Craigslist in the tools and estate sale sections, but they don’t seem to come available often...most staying within the family, I’d guess. Using red oak. Cheaper and strong, but has a decidedly pink hue.

Only left to right, not front to back

Suspect you’re right, but also acknowledge that our ability to mentally screen folks in the way you suggest is rather lacking

Used my brad nailer yesterday on a minor trim repair. That was cool, and easy. Other than carving mortise and tenons, mostly doing some experiments with stain. Empiricism and all that jazz. Trying to put some age and patina on the red oak, and the off the shelf stains aren’t hitting the chords we seek. Next approach...with fingers crossed: METHODOLOGY 1 - water pop the wood (wet it w damp cloth to raise and open the grain for deeper absorption) 2 - Hit it with a dark jacobian stain 3 - Use a slurry of water based white wood putty (Timbermate) to fill and contrast the grains and pores 4 - sand it down and soften the dark stain 5 - two coats classic gray stain on top 6 - light sanding 7 - a few coats of Arm R Seal oil based varnish w satin finish 8 - wax rubbed on w 0000 steel wool 9, 10, & 11 - drink craft beer and hope to Odin this gets it where we want it DISCUSSION This may sound like a lot, but I promise the other 14 samples and mixtures I’ve done have all been for naught. In parallel, will try a 3:1 mixture of jacobian w classic gray. If that happens to work, ingestion of craft beer can begin at step 3 or 4

We certainly have a problem with guns, but I think it’s a mistake to suggest aggression is usually expressed through them in the US. Culture is relevant, but still extraneous IMO. Were there a general problem with aggressiveness, we’d also see higher rates of fighting, knifing, and all manner of other tactics relative to other nations, but we don’t. See also: Australia. There’s no need to invent reasons here. The issue is firearm abundance and ease of acquisition.

Which, ipso facto, supports the actual argument I made. Namely that gun availability is the relevant variable in question, not entertainment.

Yes, really. We’re talking about guns. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180116131317.htm No evidence to support link between violent video games and behavior Date: January 16, 2018 Source: University of York Summary: Researchers have found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent.

Essentially every study conducted repeatedly debunks the suggestion that the US sees more gun deaths due to entertainment, movies, or video games. If those mattered, Japan would be far more violent than the US. The problem here is guns. Too damned many of them. So many that even immediate shutdown of all sales would have little net effect on deaths. No need to invent imaginary explanations. The root cause is clear. It’s not entertainment. US entertainment habits are not markedly different from those in other nations.

I picked up the Makita MAC700 when we moved last year. It’s 2hp and 2.6 gallons and I’ve been really pleased with it. Would of course be nice sometimes to have a larger tank (though, not for finish nailing!), but I’ve got no complaints. Good piece of kit. Oh, wow. That’s badass and a half!

I picked one up, but haven't had much chance yet to use it.

Made some progress on the practice / mini-table for my daughters this weekend. There are 4 legs and each will receive 2 tenons, so I have a total of 8 mortises to make. Got 6 done with only extremely minimal mistakes (that... let's be honest... nobody other than me will EVER notice). Gonna get ready for glue up and clamping once the next two are done. Also, bought a board and did some test stain pieces so my wife can choose color. I did eight samples... bought a 4 foot board, cut it into 8 six inch blocks, did 8 stain samples. Two coats of stain, 3 coats of Arm R Seal, sanded in between each, then wiped with 0000 steel wool that I rubbed through paste wax and polished off. Wish I could be out there doing this more. Paradoxically, I find my frustrations with work increasing now that I have such an enjoyable experience working solo with the wood. I come off stressful conference calls and just want to go do some sanding and chisel work. It's odd, but I like it.

Not my intent, and it's a good clarification you've made. In some ways, divesting could be the wrong move. Their opinions likely hold more sway when they remain shareholders. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/business/dealbook/investors-gunmakers.html Some good points throughout the article.

Yes, and estimates suggest there are at least 256 MILLION firearms in the US, or over 400x as many as Australia. That suggests it won't be quite as simple, and that's BEFORE we even mention how it's considered a constitutional right / from my cold dead hands and all that.

Wow! I would LOVE to do a side-by-side comparison and feel the difference of each of those. My heart says, "Yes!," but my brains says, "why don't you focus on getting a random orbital sander first, mate."

I'll put them on facebook

Finished my garage workbench where I basically tried every single join I plan to do for my table. It’s a Frankenstein of a bench because of this, but it’s crazy rigid and strong. Was feeling ambitious yesterday so knocked out a quick shop cart with shelf underneath using scrap. Struggled getting all legs level, but sanded the feet until all rocking was gone then put on some casters. Now I’ve got another station for my tools and it’s portable, too. Gonna build a quick table for my kids next as final practice before the dining room farm table. Will follow nearly all of the same steps (except will use a sanded oak ply top instead of edge joined boards) and will use it to practice my planned finish. Right now, am leaning toward 2-3 coats of danish oil followed by 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal followed by paste wax applied with super fine steel wool. That is, of course, depending on what my test pieces look like. I may leave out the danish oil depending on outcome on the red oak. When that’s done, I’ll build a bench for one side. That’s the plan, anyway.

Same here. Red oak is cheaper. White oak is more impervious to water. It's just a matter of taste, but I'm unsure how white oak will take the finish (oil and wax) versus the red oak due to pores being closed.

It's funny. I've read that same link above in my own searches. As noted, I'm likely going to use battens instead, like this: So, what do you fellas think... for a table: Red Oak or White Oak? Opinions welcome.

On a table, it's a board that runs perpendicular to the tabletop planks. So, you have multiple boards running in parallel and connected to make a single large rectangular top, but those show end-grain on the far edges and also have a tendency to bow/cup as seasons change. The breadboard is an attachment perpendicular to those boards, placed at the ends, for both decorative and functional results (the function being it helps minimize bowing and cupping). Something like this, where the bar ( | ) represents the breadboard: TABLE: |=====|

Thinking a bit more on this... Perhaps I might just abandon the idea of breadboards entirely and attach a few battens on the underside.

Rustic look is the plan. Will be doing lots of with-the-grain sanding. Lots. And lots. Of sanding. Also intend to apply Dutch oil once the build is complete then sand it wet. Understand that creates a bit of a slurry from the saw dust and fills the pores a bit. Will knock down high spots with consecutively higher grits then apply paste wax. Hardest puzzle I’m working through right now is how best to do the bread boards in a way that allows expansion and contraction of the wood. I’ve seen several different approaches, most summarized as: don’t just glue a butt joint; don’t use pocket holes, avoid dowels alone. Ideally, I’ll combine a tongue and groove joint with some mortise and tenons, then keep it tight with a dowel through the tenons, apply glue only to the center one and elongating the outer holes before inserting the outer dowels. It’s clearly the best way, but I’m not convinced I can pull it off yet. Gonna borrow a router from my father in law and practice on some scrap pieces in the weeks ahead.

Tried my first mortise and tenons today, four total. Learned that the mortise is really hard to do well without a drill press, without a router, and without a mortising bit or jig. Used a hand drill with forstner bit to start the holes and spent a ton of time with chisels straightening the sides. Marked the tenons with a homemade marking gauge and cut them using a standard blade on my table saw... back and forth passes, gentle nudging it the width of the saw curd over and over until the mater was cleared. Cleaned up the shoulders and sides with chisels after and those came out well. I’m sore and tired after all the planing, sanding, and chiseling today and my wife’s already sending me links to all of the things she wants me to build next! Fortunately, my confidence and skill level is growing and the things she wants are relatively simple. Thanks for the heads up. I suspect that also means it will be harder on my tools and require more frequent sharpening, too.