Replies

1. 
   kentmich | Aug 20, 2008 01:38pm | #1

   I had this happen once to me, with a different editor. If you replied with the more detailed information to the same thread, it is probable that Gary didn't see it and realize it was new info. Maybe his software only flags new threads for him to answer.

   Try posting the whole thing as a new thread.

1. 
   Dravo | Aug 21, 2008 03:53am | #5

   I had a bad day any my frustration got the better of me in that my original post stated an urgency for a quick response. After making the post, I had a restless night where I considered the the very real possibility that Gary had not seen my reply. I am going to re-post the question with the additional information that he had to assume in order to make the initial response. Thanks for bringing back to earth.

2. 
   user-148830 | Aug 20, 2008 08:25pm | #2

   Hey Dravo,
   I didn't get a note that you had replied to my first message. I did not respond because I considered your question Dumb. I did not respond because I didn't get a new message. In fact, I was just perusing my mailbox and saw all those exclamation marks in a letter in a folder marked for ALL EXPERTS. This wasn't even addressed to me. So, take it out on the web, take it out on the wood, but please don't take it out on me. I never saw your note.

   If I may, can I ask if you have indeed done all your due diligence and no longer require my "help"?

   Gary Rogowski

3. 
   user-1119429039 | Aug 20, 2008 10:52pm | #3

   Dear Dravo,
   Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your 8/11 posting. Things like that aren't supposed to happen. When we do fail to reply to a question, it's only because we're tied up with other stuff and just can't tend to all our business. It's never a criticism or a judgment about the question or the questioner.
   I do see that Gary gave you some advice when he replied to your original August 8 question. I'm hopeful that was some help. But I can't explain why he didn't respond to your follow-up message.
   David Heim
   Managing Editor
   FineWoodworking.Com

1. 
   Dravo | Aug 21, 2008 03:44am | #4

   First of all, please state a reply such that I know that you received this message. Another subscriber responded with a concern that had also crossed my mind: that is that replies to replies are not detected by the expert that received the initial post. If this is the problem, then it needs to be corrected ASAP. Otherwise, you you will have a lot of unhappy subscribers who will not renew.

   The other concern that I have is that Gary's initial response to my post (and I have also seen in other responses) that I should read section/page such-and-such of his book. A response by any of your experts should not require the purchase of the expert's book(s). I am sensitive to this point because in my former life, I was a CAD manager supporting applications from major CAD Software companies. When my engineers contacted the CAD supplier's company, the usual first response was to read the manual or published application notes. This was an insult and a waste of time because my engineers were already familiar with all the published material.

   My point is: an expert should answer the question. A reference to a published book should only be an affirmation of the response or provide additional background information which may save additional questions (and/or time) in arriving at a solution for the subscriber.

1. 
   jszens | Aug 25, 2008 06:18am | #6

   Just my two cents worth...

   First off, I'm not associated with Fine Woodworking, and wouldn't be too surprised if this reply gets deleted by one of the forum moderators.  I'm just another woodworker who stops in here from time to time.  And I'm certainly no expert.

   I read Dravo's original post to Gary Rogowski.  To be sure, Dravo had a complicated issue.  One thing I have learned in my journey down this furnituremaking road is to figure out how I am going to complete the joinery on a piece during the design phase.  I'f I'm not smart enough to do really complicated joinery, I need to re-visit the design and solve the joinery problems there, before I start cutting up expensive wood.  If the day should come along where I am trying to build a piece from someone else's plans, and I can't figure out how the joinery should be done, I would ask the source of the plans for an explanation.  Getting a third party to answer a question like this without the benefit of a drawing or a photograph is like designing an elephant by committee.

   I suspect that if Mr. Rogowski pointed you to one of his books it wasn't to sell one to you.  Or maybe it was.  But having referred to this paticular work myself on more than one occasion, I can tell you that it is loaded with photos that illustrate whatever joinery  techniques he might recommend.  The photos convey a lot more information a lot quicker than a paragraph or six can do.  And I have found this book in nearly every library I have visited.  It's pretty well respected, it's widely available, and a visit to a library is free.

   Finally, there's this.  I don't think any of these experts sit around waiting for folks like us to write our questions to them.  Our $15 subscriptions to the online version of FWW provides us access to a lot of information.  This "Ask the Experts" area is a nice fringe benefit, but it isn't realistic for ay of us to think that $15 buys us on-demand online consultation with any of the people who answer our questionsl - all of whom make their livings in ways other than solving our problems for us.  Our short timelines aren't theirs. 

   Just my two cents.

1. 
   Dravo | Aug 26, 2008 05:48am | #7

   I make this response in providing “my two cents”. It is not meant to criticize another’s point of view/experience, but to encourage an exchange of ideas and experiences. I am a retired engineer. I have attended 2 seminars from David Marks (If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it). He reminded me that woodworking (like engineering) is a life long learning journey, which is probably I was attracted to woodworking. 

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   I wouldn’t be so skeptical regarding censorship. Having just been through a disrupted thread experience of a recent post, I would like to share the total experience. The system or any system is not perfect. I believe that the FW experts try to be diligent; in the case of Gary R, I know this to be true. Once he realized that he missed my reply to his response to my original post, he has taken great care and diligence in checking for and responding to my follow-up questions. As you indicated, I am sure that the experts have multiple obligations beyond “Ask the Expert”. Therefore, we should realize that it may take several days to a week or more for a response. My frustration occurred after a week of no response AND seeing responses to posts, which were placed after my reply. I highly suggest that the FW editors provide an obvious set of guidelines for successful use of FW Online, including the recommended procedure when a subscriber feels that their original post or follow-up reply has fallen through the crack. My humble suggestion is to either re-post the original or make a new post referencing the original post subject and number. This may be a better approach as the experts will more readably recognize that a hiccup has occurred.

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   Regarding the specifics of my design problem and use of “Ask the Experts”, I would like to provide details of my experience regarding my problem in hopes of giving useful information to others. First of all, this was my first use of “Ask the Expert”. It was not obvious that attachments can be added to the problem’s description (when one is struggling with a problem and is looking for a solution, information can be overlooked, especially when in a hurry to post the problem). In verbally describing a problem, we often omit what is obvious to us, but unknown to the reader. Adding attachment drawings would have been my next step, but <!----><!----><!---->Gary<!----><!----> correctly interpreted my more detailed follow-up description and answered my questions in subsequent replies.

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   I too have learned that when approaching a project with new and difficult situations, I have to test my conceived solutions through mental walkthroughs of the process and then follow-up by testing my end solution(s) with inexpensive wood or MDF. Good hardwoods are getting more expensive so it is ever more important to work out the challenges before cutting into the project wood. In this case, I also had a time crunch and decided to pursue the alternative of “Ask the Experts” at Fine Woodworking. I was/am hoping to short circuit at least some of the experimental process.

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   I rarely use proven plans from which to build a piece of furniture. More typically, my projects are often received as a request to build a piece of furniture that looks like a picture of a store’s offering, but in solid wood (real lumber as opposed to veneered plywood/MDF/particleboard where the construction was relatively simple). The challenge is to recreate the look with solid wood with joinery that deals with wood movement. This project was different in that it challenged me to deal with curved parts where joinery is integrated into the curved sections. Previous projects with curves only required me to make a rectangular panel, cut the joinery and then cut the curves.

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   I hope that you and others will benefit from my recent experience.

    

   Happy Woodworking, Dravo