Those who can, do...

There's the old adage that "those who can, do, and those who can't, teach."  I've had far too many excellent teachers in my five decades on this planet to buy into that line of thought, but every now and again, even the most tired phrases ring true.

Now, before I get into the meat of this post, I want to issue the following disclaimer: I do NOT spend (all) of my time surfing the Internet trying to find things to be angry about. It just so happens that the Internet is a very big place, largely inhabited by our fellow beings and, as a result, there is much on the Internet to be angry about.

Hey...how much is this rusty old piece of crap worth? It's an antique, you know.

It seems odd, even to me, that after quite a long time away from this blog, that the thing that would spur me on to writing another post is being pissed off about something rather trivial.

But...there it is.

The Bible of Power Tool Maintenance

Many years ago, some testing done by my high school counselors suggested that I had a high degree of mechanical aptitude.  They encouraged me to put that aptitude to good use by becoming an engineer. But, whatever mechanical aptitude I had was offset by an equal amount of ineptitude for mathematics.  Accordingly, I chose an education in the liberal arts and squandered a life of certain mechanical brilliance (*snark*) to instead, write about my travails in refurbishing heavy rusty things with moving parts.

But, every now and again, I still need a little bit of help...

Running like a top...

I spent a couple of days in the garage with my Craftsman Table Saw (Model No. 113.298720) and made some headway refurbishing it.  In fact, I think that I've pretty much got it where I want it to be! The table saw was bumped to the head of the pack due to some upcoming projects that require it to be in service sooner than later.

Things my dad taught me...

Today is my father's 90th birthday and that seems as good a time as any to reflect on my forty-eight years with him and the many lessons that he has passed along to me. 

12 Posts - 1,200 Views

Just wanted to say "thanks" to everyone who has stopped by for a visit and offer an apology for not getting more content online.  Things are progressing slowly and work keeps getting in the way of my efforts to spend more time in the shop.  I've done some recent work on my Craftsman Table Saw and will be posting some additional pics and information soon.

Please feel free to join up as a member of this site or leave a comment. I appreciate your continued interest in my meager efforts and wish you happy and safe woodworking!

One of my favorite reads...

Shortly after buying our home (an old Victorian with all of the usual ills in tact), I began collecting tools (mostly out of necessity) and became insatiably interested in the art of woodworking and the science of construction.  As my interest grew, so did my ever-expanding library of resources.  Somewhere along the line, I picked up a copy of Jeff Taylor's wonderful collection of vignettes, entitled "Tools of the Trade."

As this book is still one of my favorites, I thought I'd share a recently discovered  book review that I penned many years ago along with my best wishes for happy reading...

Abby Someone...

Sometimes a couple glasses of wine is bad medicine to take before tackling anything mechanical.  Sometimes it's just what you need to screw up the courage to do something you'd rather avoid.  Following up on my last post, I've entered the "Dr. Frankenstein" phase of restoring my Delta Rockwell 11-280 Radial Arm Drill Press, in that, I have begun switching parts over to it from the cannibalized 11-100.

Never ask a cannibal "what's for dinner?"

Although eBay can be a great source for replacement parts, you can often leave your life savings behind when dealing with the one person on the face of the Earth who has exactly what you need.  Another great source for parts comes when you're lucky enough to score an identical (or close) machine for a few bucks. Junk shops, flea markets, garage sales and Craigslist can  provide just the opportunity to acquire an entire machine for parts at a fraction of the cost of a single component, if you're lucky.

Anyone seen pawl...

One of the biggest challenges facing anyone who wants to restore vintage tools is the lack of availability of replacement parts.  Manufacturers of woodworking equipment from about 1950-1980 did a fairly good job of keeping replacement parts in stock, but those days are long since past - the victim of mass consumer loyalty to  "Walmart Nation" and the flood of cheap, disposable plastic crap from China that passes for "tools" these days.  Why repair old when you can buy new... again and again and again?