bobj3

Hi Cowboy

Well it's a new world and it's the computer that will take over may jobs in the shop,,, just like the CNC machine and the robots they can do it better and with less errors and real wood is one of the items that will become very hard to get some day you can't go out in your back yard and cut down a 18" oak three like in the old days ( Roy Underhill woodworking days) so the computer will be needed for the home shop...and because most Americans love new type of tools they will eat them up, you can see it coming in the new look of routers ,the big 3 1/4HP bright green one is just one of them ....and it's just the tip of the iceburg....
http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-M12V2-...2864723&sr=8-1
and I'm sure the other mfg.will jump on the band wagon in time..
I think you and I will see a real speed display on routers in a short time along with a new look for many of them....the computer chip is just down the road and it's coming...

OK so I will get off the soap box for now

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seawolf21

OK Niki you win. To each his own. I commend you for all the work you do to achieve your goals. I'll stick to my gefilte fish way of doing things.


Gary(boychick)

Drugstore Cowboy

The SADDEST thing about what you said -- is that it is probably true.
I appreciate your using correct terminology about the CNC machine and the robots etc --- "they" do it -- not the craftsman -- he is reduced to a button pusher.
Personally -- I prefer a piece of work that I know someone has put their heart and soul and sweat into -- even WITH its 'mistakes' and 'waste'. Making mistakes - and learning from them -- or figuring out ways to fit them into the work is - to me at least - part of what wood craft is all about.

And that is usually why the people who ask me to do projects for them do so - because I tell them up front - they can get by quicker and cheaper if they just go to Wally World and buy something off the shelf.

This is nothing new -- There is a line in Teahouse of the August Moon - where the villagers have tried to raise money selling handcrafted goods to the servicemen --- only to be rebuffed and told that they could buy the same thing cheaper at the dime store.
Only it is NOT the same.

I'm no techno-phobe. Computers have their place. In factories they do make things faster and cheaper so more people can afford them. In medicine - heck - I've had two angioplasties and a triple bypass -- without the technology that made those possible -- I wouldn't be here.

But - when it comes down to what is treasured and has meaning - again at least to me - it's the human touch. I'll take a carving any day that someone sat for hours with knife and chisel and poured his soul into -- over one -- no matter how much 'better' it was technically - that he just downloaded a picture off of google - stuck a board in a CompuCarve and pressed a button.

I am glad that you are so excited about this sterile computerized 'brave new world'. No - that's not sarcasm - I am truly glad -- for you. Because you are right - that very likely IS the world that you - or your kids will be living in.

For me -- I'm glad I got to live in a world where craftsman was not just a label on a product in an ancient catalogue. And frankly - not disappointed at all that I will likely be gone before this new world comes to full fruition.

My apologies to Nik for straying so far from his original post ---
And to any I may have offended - there was certainly NONE intended.

Drugstore Cowboy

I think you summed it up WONDERFULLY.
Most often what is 'easiest' depends on how you were trained or what you are used to. Any long time computer users out there will remember the wars that were fought when the Mac came out over whether a mouse and icons were or weren't easier than keyboard and code.

Nik - to be honest - I often find myself looking at some of your stuff and wondering why you seem to be going to Canada by way of Mexico (sorry).
BUT
I ALWAYS find myself APPLAUDING the thought and effort you put into each project and the joy you clearly get from coming up with a way to achieve your goal and the sense of personal accomplishment you appear to get from having done it with your own mind and hands.

simplenik

Sorry for the so late reply, electric power failure

Gary
I think that soon we can start talking in Yiddish (I know only the basic vocabulary)...I don't like Gefilte fish...I cannot eat sweet fish

Cowboy
Thank you for your kind remarks and no problem with diverting from the main subject...that's all about "Forum"...

Regards
niki

Dimarini

One reason I could see for keeping the fence in a certain direction (i.e. square to the table edge) would be if your table top is not totally flat in a certain direction (i.e. a dip in one area of the table) it could give you some more predictable results.

Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your individual application.

AxlMyk

If your tabletop has a dip in it, it's time to replace it.

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Dimarini

I agree, just trying to give a possible situation where the direction could matter.