Drivel Starved Nation!

I have no idea where the time has gone, but the last 5 years has made quite a woosh!  I wish I had a more interesting story to tell you, like my 5 year stint in the Gray Bar Hotel but here’s the truth;

Since 2018 when I handed the keys to BCTW to Harvey Industries, I set out to reinvent myself as a wildlife photographer. In that span, I have taken over 2 million images (the overwhelming majority are crap) but in this last chapter of my life, it has been very rewarding. I’ll share a couple of images at the end of this post.

Eighteen months ago, I gutted my two-car garage and I am pleased to share that for the first time in my life, I have a woodshop on premise. It took awhile but I am making things again. So between photography trips, and making stuff, I hope to publish at least two posts a month covering my experiences with 3D printing in the woodshop, my experiences with Shaper Origin, photography stories, and whatever else the muse suggests is worth sharing.

Currently, I’ve been busy in the shop working on several new projects, ranging from magician illusions to a new 7-day clock movement. I’ll share more on these in the coming weeks. Most of my photography journey has been spent in Africa but last summer I spent 3 weeks in the jungles of Borneo chasing orangutans and birds. It was the hottest place I’ve ever been.

Clearly I am not getting any younger but I still attend AWFS and IWF each year in the Bridge City/Harvey booth and thoroughly enjoy chatting with old customers. And their number one question is why did I quit my blog? I’m grateful for the interest so my answer is:

I haven’t!   

Until next time, I hope you enjoy the following pics!

-John

 

Drivel Starved Nation!

I miss you!

I’ve had an insane year here in Portlandia and I want you to know that you will be hearing from me more frequently in 2022 beginning in March. More on that in a subsequent post.

First, two weeks ago I received a pre-production prototype of the DJ-3 Drilling Jig and it is an incredibly made improvement over version 2. The major design changes were in the bushings, the arm locking mechanism, the adjustable stop system and the overall robustness and versatility. I don’t know about delivery but it is one sweet jig that really is a drill press in a box. Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

It’s been a couple of months since my last post, and if I had anything meaningful to say, I would have said something…

But now I do!

Briefly, as the world reopens from the shutdowns, I became aware of an incredible deal to visit Botswana. So, for a fraction of what it normally costs to fly 11,000 miles away, my wife and I made the short-notice, 10 day trip. More on that later.

Upon my return, I received a package which contained the three boxes below; Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

Here is an update that nobody asked me to share. Pretty generous of me don’t you think?

This past February Portland experienced a crazy destructive ice storm. How crazy you ask? Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

Today I received the very first production model of the Pencil Precision, which is again, since it has been so damn long, a pencil making factory in a box.

In this post I will present my unboxing cell phone pics (I save my other camera for birds!) and show you my first pencil. But before I begin, I have a couple of comments.

First, as mentioned in my last post, Consuelo will be contacting everybody who has been patiently waiting for this crazy invention of mine. She will need updated payment info for the second payment (if required) and a correct shipping address.

The production units will ship shortly after the end of Chinese New Year which is the 18th of Feb I believe. I do not know how long it will take for them to arrive in the United States and clear customs, but I am guessing about 3-4 weeks. If this changes, I will post the change in this Totally Awesome and Worthless Blog.

So, here we go! Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

I am pleased to be able to share that all of our Pencil Precision orders will be shipped in the next 12 weeks.

I am really excited to finish this project, and even more excited to share this fun project with everybody. And, I am so grateful for everybody’s patience — I do believe you will be thrilled making pencils in your kitchen, or shop. Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

Yours truly designed the HP-8 Mini Block Plane years ago because I was looking for a small plane that does what only small planes can do, and that is the ability to do delicate and precise work using only one hand. It was an instant hit. However, because this plane is also used in the Chopstick Master, it is by far, the best selling plane in the history of the company.

When Harvey Industries acquired Bridge City almost three years ago, Jack Xu and I had a mega-discussion as to what could go wrong with this transition. We discussed racism, political views, quality control, PROPER ENGLISH, patent infringement, dealer support, rip-offs, and lastly, how much wine needs to be consumed before all decisions are bad.

After all that wine, I shared that my biggest concern — the core of Bridge City Tool Works — was how to continue our innovation culture. From as far back as I can remember, the number one customer service question was, and always has been, “What’s next?” And to this day, it is still my concern if I want to take more bird pictures…

Several months ago, Jack shared with me the sales data for the aluminum body HP-8 and I was floored. (This was yet another reminder that I had no business running a business.) Regardless, I mentioned that I liked our older, heavier body versions made from either brass or stainless steel better. Jack asked me why, and I said “I like what I like.” They all cut fine assuming the iron is sharp, but I just liked the heft of the heavier planes.

Well, imagine my surprise when these three boxes showed up just before the Christmas; Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

I am so glad 2020 is in the rear view mirror. What a nasty year.

Regarding your New Year resolution… I have an idea for you! How about making 2021 the year you earnestly try to convert to the metric system? You were born metric so it is not that hard… just sayin’. My resolution is to try and kick my addiction to stool softeners which is WAY HARDER than learning the metric system.

I haven’t posted in a month or two because I have had nothing of meaning to share. Meaningless has never stopped me in the past but am I really trying to be a better person?

Nope. I have been distracted with new tool designs, my 4 grandkids, and my bird photography hobby. So let’s all catch up…. Before you start reading the following drivel, be warned this is a long post. Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation,

For those of you who do not live on the west coast, here is an update from someone who does; your Tool Potentate.

The image below was taken not far from my house on Wednesday at 5PM. There is not a cloud in the sky, what you see is smoke.

Currently (Friday AM), it is worse here. My home is in Zone 1, which means it is time to think about where you would go and what should you take in an evacuation. Zone 2 is pack. Zone 3 is get the hell out. All said, I think we will be OK. I did reach out to my friend Dave Jeske (Blue Spruce Tool Works) and he is much closer to the fires so I worry about him more than us.

Almost 15% of the population of Oregon has been evacuated — that is over half a million people. Stating the obvious lazy metaphor, we are in uncharted, turbulent waters for sure.

For those of you who have been to Oregon, picture this; the smoke plume extends from Washington to California. The entire I-5 corridor is filled with smoke extending all the way to the coast. That is unimaginable to me. The total area burning in the state exceeds the size of New Jersey.

So, what is it really like? This morning I took a shower and my fresh towel smelled liked smoke — and I cannot complain.

Stay safe everybody and be grateful that you have the time to read this Totally Awesome and Worthless Blog.

-Still Here.

Drivel Starved Nation!

First, my sincerest apologies to all of you who have emailed me, or posted comments on this board and have yet to receive a response. I will answer all this week.

I HAVE A GREAT EXCUSE!

My son, and his family (including my only female grand daughter), reside outside of Dallas. Being a grandpa and not seeing your grand kids is a brutal form of punishment (particularly when they are two years old). So, on July 4th I left Portland and drove to Dallas to see everybody. It was just a short 2,000 mile, 4 day trip.

I also helped my son build a 550 sq. ft deck on the back of his house. Because of the heat, humidity and the most difficult clay soil you can imagine, I stayed in Dallas for 19 days. And during this time, I disconnected from social media which is a wonderful thing. Really.

While in Dallas I received a phone call from DSN member Neil Clemmons. I shared that I was headed next to Knoxville, TN to visit an old college friend. He convinced me to come visit his new house in Bentonville, AR which was along the way (almost) … Truthfully, the lure of free food and lodging is an irresistible attraction. We had a great time and his shop is awesome… as in magazine worthy. Remember magazines?

After spending the night in Knoxville, I drove up to Long Island, NY to shoot bird pics on Nickerson Beach. More on this later.

I then hopped on I90 and came home. On both the trip to Dallas and the trip home from NY, I stopped at every national wildlife refuge along the way (if not too far off course) to take bird pics.

8189 miles, 36 days, 24 states, and over 8000 bird pics later, I arrived in Portland to re-introduce myself to my dogs. This past week I have been doing nothing but fixing stuff that always seems to break when I am not around…

I spent over 100 hours driving by myself, and having never done anything remotely similar in the past, I can share it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I will blog about how I did this safely during this pandemic in a follow-up post.

Lastly, this coming week I will be involved with the approval of the Pencil Precision first article components and if there are no surprises, we are looking at delivery in Q4 of this year. So, fingers crossed!

So there you have it. I checked out for the first time in my life but now I am back!

That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

-John

PS: Back in the old days, Don Schroder of Popular Woodworking used to swindle me sell me ad space in the magazine. As we became more antiquated, I learned he is an incredible wildlife photographer. So, for the past two years, I have been doing a brain suck on him in hopes of taking pictures that would be worthy of my grand kids admiration. He met me at Nickerson Beach on Long Island before that storm wiped out the rookery we visited. Here are a couple of pics from a great couple of days of doing nothing but photography…