Back in the Saddle and other Bridge City News…

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“It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and say the opposite.”

— Sam Levenson

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This week I returned from my annual two-week work retreat. Good thing I left Dodge when I did, that Clearance Sale website meltdown was bad… as those of you who participated know.

 

As promised, ANYBODY who purchased clearance items from the sale announcement through Feb 4 will receive a FREE tool. And, also as promised, it was the first item on my work retreat agenda. I think it is darn cool and want one, so I know at least one Bridge City customer will be happy. Plus, there are no complaints allowed when it is FREE!

 

Next week we will announce the agenda for our 30th Anniversary activities in August. We are finalizing details, hotel information and the activities. It is a great time of the year to visit the Pacific Northwest and we do hope you consider joining us for both the exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Craft and our book reveal. We know how to throw a party here at BCTW–and past details will go to my grave…

 

For those of you who are making projects primarily using the Jointmaker Pro, and want to be included in both the book and the exhibition, your entry deadline to make the book is March 1! If you don’t care about the book aspect, Nicole Nathan will accept entries up until July 1, 2013. There are no guarantees your work will be accepted but it is a cool opportunity.

 

Now here is some incredibly useful information;

 

8 microns = 0.00031496063 inches
9 microns = 0.000354330709 inches
10 microns = 0.000393700787 inches
11 microns = 0.000433070866 inches

 

Why is this so useful you ask? Click here. I saw this in person about 10 years ago and it is something else.

 

–John

 

PS: Almost forgot to mention that the first new tool for 2013 will be announced as soon as…next week!

14 comments on this post:

  1. Welcome back John,

    What city did you visit? How many new tools got designed or finished? Did Michael mange without supervision?

    Hey,
    No complaining on the free tool, I don’t complain on the ones I pay for, come on dude, give me this one, let me complain a little! I haven’t seen it yet and I already have one complaint and that is that it’s free- at least let Peter pay for mine.

    Best,
    Rutager

  2. I was in Orlando–piggy-backing on a business trip, so I saved airfare. Had I not done this, we would have to raise our prices, probably retro-actively–see how hard I work to save you money?

    Michael? He was also in Orlando, with his wife and boy–I offer this only as a pre-emptive strike against those DSN members prone to rumor mongering.

    Just got word that Peter, and his estrogen clan, are headed to PDX for our August gala. I can’t rag at him for the moment–that self-imposed moratorium will last about a week.

    –John

  3. hey John!

    Florida sounds nice about now. I’m getting tired of Iowa winter weather. It will be fun to see what you dreamed up in the land of oranges and alligators.

    DJ

  4. John: what will be the preferred method for dialing in 6 micron shavings with the CT-18? Will it be tools free?

    😛

  5. John, please feel free to charge Rutager’s free tool to my account. Just bill him for the shipping. While you’re at it, put my tool’s shipping on his account, too.

    That planing contest is something else. But isn’t it kind of weird that everyone’s paying all this attention to the shaving, when it’s the planed surface that’s really the important thing?

    — Peter

  6. On the subject of the planing – what wood is that?
    I assume it’s a softer wood.

    And… will our FREE tool measure the thinness of the shavings from your planes, by chance? Or the thickness of our heads?

    Just trying to connect the dots.

    welcome back!

    neil

  7. Neil: I think it is yellow cedar, not sure.

    As far as connecting the dots, it would be easier if you contracted the measles. BTW, Measles is one of the best dog names EVER!

    –John

  8. @Webb:

    This is similar to the findings that Leonard Lee published in _The Complete Guide to Sharpening_. The basic idea is that the cap iron converts a Type I chip into a Type II chip (see the Wikipedia article on chip formation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chip_formation). You can also get Type II chips by increasing the cutting angle.

    @John:

    A closed throat helps reduce tearout when you’re in a Type I scenario, but it has little effect on Type II chip formation. You can see this in the video: The wood fails in compression right at the cutting edge; there is really nothing for a closed throat to do…

    -Steve

  9. Hard to imagine anything would ever get built, planing at that speed! I wonder how the speed of blade motion affects the performance. The rate of spring-back of the wood in relation to the speed of the cutting edge could be important. And of course, that would be affected by the species of wood. Is there an optimal planing speed for a given wood?

    — Peter

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