Each year I leave Portland’s rainy winter for a solo, two week work retreat. Despite what you may be thinking, the emphasis is on work. This year I parked my rear in St. George, Utah.

The sequence of each day is as follows; shower, coffee shop/New York Times, banana, CAD work, lose track of time, (including when to eat) and around 10-12 hours later I heat up a bowl of soup and watch (when it is on) “How It’s Made” on the boob tube and then retire. I repeated this routine 14 straight days on this trip. With the exception of the banter at the coffee shop, I am isolated from people and all of their annoying habits.

Or maybe it is the other way around…

I have a list of objectives that I barely dent–which is always disappointing to me. I routinely overestimate my capabilities and although this is difficult for me to admit, I also have a life-long habit of underestimating–the delivery dates for the Jointmaker Pro are a fine example. I think I am caught in some kind of weird dimension trapped between under and overestimating because in this strange world things are done before they start yet they are never finished.

Good thing I have dogs–they appear to understand me. However, they are English Setters…

Good news regarding the Jointmaker Pro, the saw blades will arrive towards the end of this month and that is all we are waiting on! What a great journey this project has become and I can’t wait to see it unfold in other ways.

Years ago, I used to be a studio furniture designer/maker and from this experience I have frequently used the term, “gallery quality work” when describing the capabilities of the Jointmaker Pro. But what does this really mean?

There are four basic elements to working wood (which is different than woodworking), dimensioning stock, sawing, drilling, and shaping. All of the other ancillary process of shaping wood fall into these base categories–including joinery. Gallery quality work implies that as you progress through any of these four basic zones, your efforts are as intended and yield predictable results. Cuts are clean, holes are true, faces are parallel (if that is your intent) and you have no need for putty, filler, or other back peddling activities that hammer at your productivity or the quality of your efforts.

Of course, this is easier said than done, but I am committed to finding ways to pursue this philosophy without the need for an ear-busting, headache-inducing dust collection system. The Jointmaker Pro was the first leg on my quest.

In a few weeks we will unleash the second leg of this quest with another revolutionary idea that will equally broaden your understanding of what it means to to do gallery quality work without power… actually you will need some source of power to play music.

Stay tuned (pun intended).

-John

PS: I will be demonstrating a PRODUCTION VERSION of the Jointmaker Pro on Feb 13th and 14th at the Crucible in Oakland, CA. It is free (sponsored by the fine folks at Lie-Nielson Toolworks) and just maybe, I may have a surprise with me…