What’s the next woodworking skill you want to master?
- Turning
- Carving
- Cutting complex joints
- Using a specific tool or machine (post details on Knots)
- Other (post on Knots)
You will not be able to change your vote.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
I've done the other things on the pole. Now, I'd like to learn how to use hand planes.
Ruth,
The next woodworking skill that I want to learn was just suggested to me by joinerswork. I am making bowls and need a quick way to remove the waste from the interior of the bowl. Joinerswork suggested that I use fire to do that. The Indians made canoes that way. I am going to talk to Festool about making a small, portable, highly focussed flame thrower, to enable me to burn out the middle of the bowls without damaging the rim.
If treated with respect, fire can be your friend in woodworking, but it must be done safely. I am now lining my shop with asbestos to contain any stray flames. That is the next skill that I want to learn. The Indians knew how. There is no reason that I can't learn it and re-introduce it to the world of woodworking.
While I meant for this to be humorous, I just realized that I may have just come upon a way of really removing the waste wood in the center of a bowl. I can use a Festool domino to do it. That will allow me to very carefully set the depth of cut. I just have to move it back and forth while doing the cutting. If I can attach it to an x-y plotter and develop some software, I may be able to automate this process, at least for bowls having less than one inch of depth. I need to do further work to find a way to make deeper bowls. Other people have suggested lathes, but that limits you to round bowls, and they are just too boring.
Have fun. Keep these surveys coming. Other Knotheads think they are too superficial. However, they don't know what they are talking about. For many people, superficiality is all of the depth that they can handle. Here are some ideas for future surveys:
- What size bulb do you use to light your shop?
- How many different methods do you employ to remove debris from the floor of your shop?
- What is your favorite method of clamping? and do you "Clamp up" or "Clamp down"?
- What are your favorite Safety Slogans? and do you actually practice any of them?
- Should the government get more involved in governing the practices of woodworking, and in the design of tools? What about licensing?
- Does the selection of bevel up versus bevel down planes affect the decision to place your workbench near the wall or at the center of your shop?
I hope these suggestions are helpful. Maybe others will suggest some other ideas for future surveys.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Geez Mel;
You probably just put the poor woman out of a job by revealing the next 6 surveys. Way to go.
I'm off to the kitchen for some paper towels to clean up the coffee I sprayed all over my desk while reading your post. Priceless!!------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Some of us have offered out services to help develop survey questions that would not be so shallow, but there has been no response to them. You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it think. My message was yet another subtle ???, obtuse, overly-long, obfuscated way of showing my willingness, yet again, to help develop survey questions that would challenge Knotheads (if that is possible). Actually, it might be worth it to start a thread which suggests topics for future surveys. Of course, the thread would be hijacked by those who want to make the government smaller. Right now, all of those guys are hanging out at the Lee Valley thread. :-)Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Someone asked writer Dorothy Parker to use the word "horticulture" in a sentence. She said,"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."
Hers is better, but you came pretty close.
Ray
Ray,Dorothy Parker?
Does she play mandolin in a Bluegrass group?
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
No, but she played Robert Benchley like a fiddle.
Ray
Do you think the use of steroids is justified if it helps you become a better
A) Bowl Adzer
B) Scrub Planer
C) Waterstone Flattener
D) Biscuit Squeezer
Possibly, but with one of the side effects being testicular atrophy, it might have a detrimental effect on another acitvity I enjoy.
I do enjoy the internal use of shellac solvent, although I have not noticed any increase in abilitys attributable to it except for maybe bisquit squeezing. Perhaps my dosage has not been high enough.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Mel,
Don't listen to Ray. He's back in the dark ages! Messing with all them old tools of hissin; wondering around poundin nails into froes and such. Gawd the man thinks likkid glue is for sissies!
Think laser young man!
Get with the 21st Century. Hook that bad boy up to a puter and learn a new skill at the same time. With your NASA experience, guiding a puny laser to hog out the waste for a bowl should be old hat for Y'all!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 12/18/2007 11:31 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,
Mel is a real man. He uses a real tool, an adze, to hog out his bowls. Disregard his inclusion in that report to congress about steroid use. That is an unproven allegation. Mel, with his one huge arm, is a victim of the press, just like Barry Bonds, or Michael Vick. Ok, maybe not Vick, but his dogs might have used steroids.
Ray
about steroid use..No need for them.. Just cut trees, Chop wood, Rake leaves every day for a few years every day.. No need for steroid use..Do not ask why I know this for SURE!
Will,
I did all that. That's why my shoulders are shot, and I need to score some prednisone.
Ray
Mel,
Geez, I'd forgotten that my workbench is against the wall because I couldn't get bevel up planes when I was building it. Good to be reminded <G>.
Bob
Bob,
"I'd forgotten that my workbench is against the wall because I couldn't get bevel up planes when I was building it. Good to be reminded"I am glad that I still serve a purpose. :-)
Enjoy,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I'm very confused, I have several hand planes and an electric plane. I don't know where to put my bench!
Perhaps a survey would help.------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Mel,
I want one o' them brain-configurers that I read about in a Vernor Vange novel. You can learn any skill with a few overnight Special Dreams, when plugged into it.
Apparently the only problem is the potential JITT effect. This is where you learn too much and the stuff starts to interfere with your old brain waves, not to mention the new ones. Then you find yourself talking to your planer/thicknesser in Cantonese whilst trying to make a bowl with it.
Ah ha! I realise now that NASA has had you in their labs and been guinea-piggin' yer! Still, we are all used to your JITTering now so don't hold back. Have another Special Dream - go on, go on, go on; you know you want one.
Lataxe the meme-greedy
Cantonese .. NO WONDER I don't understand myself when I talk to myself!EDIT: I voted carving.. If I live another 33 1/3 years I just may be sort of good at it?
Edited 12/19/2007 10:54 am by WillGeorge
Lataxe, old chum,
There was one of them brain re-configurereererrs wrote about already. It was described in a book by one of your compatriots, called I believe A Clockwork Orange. Horror show, horror show! Count me out.
Ray
Ray,
And of course, one must avoid the newspapers and television at al costs. They are indeed horror show and have created any number of brain-configured folk, who now wander about burbling various "opinions" which the various configurers have inserted into their wetware.
It's a dangerous business, being a hooman. (Of course, I am half-possum so am less at risk).
Lataxe, a meme-sponge
Mel,
You are so bad. I feel like I'm back in the rear of my 8th grade English class, sitting with the other under-achievers. Lets see what Ruth is gonna do with your suggestions. Asbestos is a carcinogen you know. Woodworking is dangerous enough without adding EPA regulators to the mix.
Sterno might be the answer to your burning question. Sort of the gel varnish of the carving world. Wipe on, light, carve. Plus, you can drink what's left over.
Ray
Ray,
I didn't expect to see you in this thread.
What skill do you want to learn next?
Mel
PS Glad you got a kick out of my attempt to stimulate thinking on the part of those who put together these surveys.Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
"What skill do you want to learn next?"
Gaw, it'd be nice, realy nice to be able to get payment when I want it. So good business skills, I guess.
ray
Ray,
Across the board, I don't see much business training for woodworkers. I'll bet that would be a good thing. Why not start a Pine School of Woodworking Business and Economics? $900 a week, just like any other woodworking school. In the beautiful foothills of VA. I think that would be a winner.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Great idea. Send cash only.
Ray
I feel like I'm back in the rear of my 8th grade English class..I alwasy passed English classes.. Math.. I had to sit out in the Hall!EDIT:I alwasy passed .. OK, fer spellins to :>)Or is that too?Edited 12/21/2007 12:59 am by WillGeorge
Edited 12/21/2007 12:59 am by WillGeorge
Will,
Kicked me out of geometry class too. Teacher says something about pi R squared. I tole her, silly woman, pie are round. Cornpone are square!
Triggernometry, now that's good for me. I never could shoot straight.
Ray
Thanks for the laugh, Mel
Merry Christmas, Paul
Paul,
glad you got a kick out of my poor attempt at humor and wisdom.
Have a Cool Yule and a Frantic First.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Dear 9619
Be sure to send daugerrotypes of your bowl-hollowing setup, along with more suggestions for future polls. Glad to see someone on Knots with a good sense of humor.
David HeimManaging EditorFineWoodworking.Com
David,
if there is any of us here at knots still old enough to be using daugerrotypes, it's Mel (9619).
He works at NASA but is retiring very soon. He has been there for a long time. I think he helped invent space.
Lee
Lee,
Here is something that might interest you if you're into it:
http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/history-conservation-repair/578-daguerreotype-repair.html
Fascinating stuff!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I think he helped invent space.God asked Mel how space should look and Mel said.. Sort of like my chip carvings.. Spread all over the place and strange looking things that many of your best minds would try forever to figure out what they were!And God said "let there be light and whatever Mel made"...
Edited 12/27/2007 4:25 pm by WillGeorge
Will,
Is Mel The Intelligence behind The Great Phut!? ("Big Bang" seems such an over-dramatic term). I always thought there was something going on with that bloke, what with him being from NASA and that!!
I am just off to collect his Knots postings together (all 12,678,402 of them) which will form The Great Book of Mel. Perhaps a mad, rich fellah will pay for a copy to put in hotel bedroom drawers everywhere? Or I coud bury them in the Nevada desert where my stooge will "discover" them.
In all events, there will be lots of money to be made from Melism; and also womenfolk will throw themselves at the feet of His apostles (me and thee). I know you will be pleased at the prospect.
Hang on! Will we have time to get in the shed and make the odd cabinet? Perhaps we should leave this particular deity to his bowls.
Lataxe, an estimating prophet.
David,
Thanks for writing. Glad you have a good sense of humor too. If you scan through the responses to the "polls", you'll see that mine says the same thing that many said before -- these polls are too simple and naive. I am willing to help. If you get some ideas for future polls and want some private feedback, I'll send it only to you or to the FWW person in charge of it to do what they want with. Indeed, why don't you start a thread asking the Knotheads what polls they might find interesting. You take the lead in getting it going, and then let the woodworkers take the lead in making suggestions. Of course, selection is up to you. I am positive you cant make all of the FWW readers happy all the time. But I'll bet that if you wrote a post to Knots about the ideas for FWW articles, etc that have come from ideas expressed on Knots, they'd (we'd) love it. You could go farther, and post a message which asks them to submit ideas that they would like to see in FWW. You could ask a bunch of questions. BUT PLEASE, leave us the space to enter creative answers rather than ask us to check one of four boxes.You mentioned a daugerrotype of my technique for hollowing bowls. Well my interest in making hand=-hewn bowls came from seeing Rip Mann at the Waterford, VA festival, two years in a row, selling his hand-hewn bowls, many of which fetched over $500 a bowl. In my book, any wooden bowl that fetches $500 is "Fine Woodworking". Rip has published two books. This is an interesting area. There are a number of people doing it. You might want to think of an article on hand hewn bowls. If you think it is not a high skill task, take an adze and a 12"x18" piece of green (wet) oak and try to make a bowl. Hope this was useful to you.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
You have touched on an idea that I've entretained in my mind, such that it is, for a while now. Why don't the editors make a bigger presence in Knots? Some visit once in a while and I think it would be great the hear from them. Kinda get to know each other a bit more.
We see several of the former writers here now and again. I think it would be somewhat of a new precedence in journalism. Then Mark could critique some of my birdhouses!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
Glad I had a good idea.
I had another one back in 1984.
Those things are hard to come by. :-)
By the way, the long thread seems to be withering. Maybe it is all over. I was going to post my bowl pics there. What do you think/
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Go for it. Everyone's been waiting to see them there!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Be sure to send daugerrotypes of your bowl-hollowing setup??I had to look up that word!
Hand-cut dovetails.
I'm with you there on the hand cut dove tails.B.Kidd
Marquetry
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hi Ruth,
What I'd like to do is learn about CNC carving/routing. By no means do I mean using a machine that costs 10's of Thousands, but somewhere there has to be a machine in between the commerical size and the small one Sears sells.
Carving panels that are points of interest and beauty could only enhance the rest of the woodworking joy...
Any ideas?
Bill
Have you looked at the ShopBot?------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Shopbot...I'll check it.
Do you have any info or experience with it?
Bill
No experience with it, butam thinking of getting one. Here is a link.
http://www.shopbottools.com/?gclid=COTeptvHs5ACFSosagodNWngLg ------------------------------------
It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump. ~David Ormsby Gore
Use my lathe. Experiencing the Dark Side during the dark months of winter.
Ruth
I should learn how to drive this here 'puter but since I hate them that isn'yt going to happen.
lacking that I want to increase my skill in cutting really long boards and working with really long boards, (anything less that 18 feet is small stuff!)
I think the term "master" might be a little strong...
JH
Modern Master JH,
You are too modest.
You are a Modern Master.
We are all Modern Masters.
Send me $100 and I'll send you an official-looking certificate stating that you are a modern master, and it will be officially signed by two members of the organization that will accept money to make such designations. :-)
Merry Christmas
Modern Master MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Good grief Mel,
Couldn't you at least chip carve the mans initials on a piece of wood, or MM to make it official?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
All hand tool skills and making my own hand tools.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled