Brain Damage = Squiggle Wood

Every now and then I get a great idea–as in the time I threw a rock in the air and watched it come down right between my eyes. (My ability to concentrate is off the charts…) As my Mom was mopping the blood off my face she peppered me with the exact same question as the day before, and the day before that…

“When are you going to start using your head?”

“I did use my head–to get in the way of the rock.”  And I was serious.

Fortunately, the only lesson I learned is that head wounds are messy, as in two towels messy. Oh, and rocks are hard.

So, what’s my point? (thanks for asking)–I am convinced that without that head wound fifty years ago I would have never discovered Squiggle Wood.

The video clip below is from a longer video we will post later this week. The wood is American beech, 1″ wide and just under 1/2″ thick. The cuts took about ten minutes on the Jointmaker Pro.

Before you start asking dumb questions, such as, “What good is that?” I suggest you consider going outside to toss a rock in the air… the long-term results are simply amazing.

More on Squiggle Wood later.

–John
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2 comments on this post:

  1. Very cool… can’t wait to try this out when mine ships. Given that this tool’s strength lies in precision cutting at this small scale one upgrade for the future may be a fence system similar to the Incra wonder fence as it moves the workpiece in 1/32 increments. I would think that would be of great use with repeated, advancing cuts of such precision as demonstrated in this video. Any thoughts as to whether it would be a good/bad idea for us to try rigging up something like Incra’s wonder fence?

    Regards,
    Charles

  2. Charles-

    We cut a kerf in the sacrificial fence that is taller than the stock and then shifted the kerf over by a desired distance. Each cut is flipped and aligned with the kerf for the subsequent cuts. It is really fast and is never off more than a few thousandths.

    We fully expect our Jointmaker Pro owners to discover many new uses for this precision and ideas such as an Incra fence is a great start.

    Although Squiggle Wood is sure to be poo-pooed by the Woodworking Taliban, I assure you we have a use that will knock your socks off–figuratively speaking of course…

    –John

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