My friend Ted Alexander sent me a poplar and walnut box as a gift. Ted and I have been become friends over the last few months as he is a fellow video maker. He also made me some Le’ Bucket Lids. If you happened to miss the joke on those watch this episode, in which I birthed the fancy curve creating tool. I also wanted to chat about tools, purchase prices and their inherent value. If you have a $1400 drill press, is that a more valuable hole drilled than say a $5 garage sale find? Making your projects with whatever tools you have on your particular budget is the important part. From my experiences, I will enjoy the hobby as much on smaller used tools as much as I would on huge pricey tools. Not to say specialty or high end tools are bad, because quite frankly, I love my oscillating spindle sander!
2 Responses
You make a good point Nick. Back when Norm was a must see Saturday show (loved that guy) it always got a little tiresome to hear ‘I’ll take over to my …, and then on to my … Was there anything he didn’t have? For me, half the enjoyment of woodworking is finding an old gem of a tool at a good price, tearing it down, cleaning and fixing it up, getting it adjusted properly and putting it to work. Those are the tools that I know more about and how to use them than the few that I’ve bought new. Rant over, but just my two cents.
I agree with the old tools part. But anytime I see someone use a tool I don’t have I first ask the wife if I can have one too, then I put ice on my black eye and figure out a way to do the same procedure without that particular tool. A good example would be my drill press lathe. Woodworking has never been much of a some assembly required thing, it’s been a lots of fabrication and lots assembly required thing. I loved watching Norm as well (pretty much grew up with him) but I didn’t get a biscuit joiner until years later. Every time I saw Norm use it, I knew I was going to have to dowel it. Hope that makes sense.