CT-18: Clue # 2…

March, 30th, 2012

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“Everything is a mystery, ourselves, and all things both simple and humble.”   – Giorgio Morandi

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Here is the second clue to ponder over the next couple of days…

 

Nothing is as it appears.

 

–John

36 comments on this post:

  2. “some gizmo” to make coopered barrels that double as foot stools…

    Get your winter coat out George…Getting COLDER…

    -John

  7. Most circular type planes that deal with concave or convex surfaces (and adjust accordingly) do not deal with a flat surface that curves either to the right or the left – like the bottom part of your sample object.
    So, the CT-18 will be a plane that does just that.
    Accompanying that will be an array of profiles, not unlike some of the HP series.

  8. Roger-

    Buy a lottery ticket today. Better chance of winning a half-billion dollars than scoring with that guess. 🙂

    -John

  10. David-

    You need to buy a lottery ticket too.

    The only good thing about your WAG (wild ass guess) is that I actually looked up Dalek Carriage. Geez.

    -John

  12. A JMP attachment for cutting dovetails on curved surfaces. Or a standalone tool to do the same.

  14. Think compass plane with an attachable profiled sole ala squiggle wood to cut the cove on the bottom of the coopered leg.

  17. A device that lets you shape precise tapers and bevels for joining into tapered and/or curved slabs. Pins and bushings from clue 1 for an articulating fence of some sort.

  18. This may be way out there,
    but so is winning a half a billion dollars.

    In your latest clue, if you look beyond the coopered image,
    you seem to have put great effort into the reflective surfaces below – of both the image and the CT-18 lettering. I think this is an important clue.

    I have a feeling that the “qualities” of the new CT will take into account the “mirror”, or Rosch-Art direction one’s work could go – how that translates into the new CT-18 is still a mystery. But the “vibe” or “soul” of the new tool will have a very “reflective” essence.

  19. I’m going here (at the risk of loosing my 100 neuron status) to guess at what this tool might be…. What if this tool is used somehow to cut a curved surface 90 degrees from what a compass plane would cut? A compass plane is normally cutting a curve in alignment with the grain. Perhaps this tool cuts a curve perpendicular to the grain? I’m not saying it is a plane though…it could be a jig that holds a piece for another tool to do the work….

    By the way… Sorry about that comment last night about sperm whales. I actually am reading Moby Dick and knowing there is at least one oceanographer reading this blog, I just seemed to blurt out my question with no context. It seemed odd that there are 10 barrels of prime whale oil in the nose of a whale… I don’t know what in the world that has to do with this discussion however.

  20. Roger,

    Love your reasoning, but you overestimate us…. The CT-18 is a Commemmorative Tool, remember Dunhill’s Maxum? Is that a clue?

    Is your shop done yet? When is the next So. Cal toolmaker get together? It should be an annual event if you can promise no cougars by the creek….

    -John

  21. Dennis:

    There is not “one oceanographer” here… We have Dr. Peter Franks- google him. That said, I spent Super Bowl weekend at his house. His wife Sharon, who is twice as smart (rough estimate) tried to kill us both with margaritas. Since I don’t have life insurance, you do the math.

    Oh, the rest of your guesses are without foundation. Sorry, you are down to one neuron.

    -John

  24. John, How do I find the AMP-V2 app on this site? I have used it before, but I can’t seem to locate it tonight.

  27. Oh man. After those margaritas on Superbowl Sunday, I was definitely feeling less than zero in the neuron department. You’d think I would have learned after all these years to only drink one of my wife’s margaritas. Ouch.
    .
    Thanks for the compliments on my oceanographic ability. Actually, it’s my students who make me look good. Just yesterday I found out that two of my students were awarded NSF Graduate Fellowships. These are extraordinarily hard to get (kind of like VP-60s), and will pay them a pretty hefty stipend. But best of all, it will save me having to write a bunch of proposals. Yay!
    .
    Dennis, I know nothing about anything in the ocean that’s larger than about 1 mm. I’ve heard that sperm whales are considerably bigger than that (though how much bigger, I don’t know). Coincidentally, though, many of the organisms I study – including the microscopic single-celled plants – have oil sacs in them. It helps for buoyancy, and gives them an energy resource for those bad times. That’s what algal biofuels are based on.
    .
    Plus, it’s more efficient to harvest phytoplankton than whales.
    .
    But back to the clue. I have no sense of scale there, so I’m guessing that the wooden thing is really tiny. Perhaps the CT-18 could be used to make mm-sized dovetails on curved or flat surfaces?
    .
    — Peter

  28. Peter,

    Thanks for the info. I’m sure this is what it is used for. Amazing how we share our design with other creatures – it must have taken quite a while to evolve into a whale from a 1mm being…

    You might be right on the scaling. I was focusing on the curve because there are already almost every type of dovetailing tool from BCT. This assumes of course you are not zoo plankton sized, but more like whale sized dovetails!

    THERE! …. I finally have a reason for bringing up the whale John!

  29. Actually, Dennis, I think that the sperm whale oil also acts as an acoustic lens for their sonar system.

    — Peter

  30. I’m really getting into this “silent” woodworking and hand tool work so much so, that I will probably be going on a whale hunt soon so I can start using a lantern in my shop that burns whale oil; just like the old days- Peter, Dennis, can I count on your help? I think catching a whale might be more than a one man job.

    Thanks,
    Rutager

  31. Rutager,
    Read Moby Dick. You may have second thoughts, but then again, what the heck – No engines involved – right?

  32. I don’t know, Rutager. Apparently they have rules about hunting whales. At least, in the US and Canada. I’m sure there’s some other source of flammable fat that we could come up with that’s closer to home. Especially in, say, Minnesota…
    — Peter

  34. You know, we are overlooking the two set screws – one long and one short one. These are too big for John to use for an actual set screw (he always uses tiny ones and also cheaper, black ones for this purpose). The only answer is there must be a couple of depth stops or “end of travel stops” in this thing. They are CHROME (not black chrome – so this is the family car version and not the Rolls Royce version….but certainly these must be visible and they must have some use. That, alas, is as far as I’m willing to go with speculation. Dropping from 100 to only one neuron in a single swoop is almost more than my Ego can bear. I would hate to become a fractional neuron kind of guy….

    DJ

  35. Dennis,

    You earned at least two neurons, there will be black chrome.

    So, even though you were wrong, you were right.

    – John

  36. Let’s see,,,,,,
    “It must be useful, it must work dependably, it must be beautiful, it must last, it must be the best of it’s kind.”
    .
    ergo,
    In the same way that we now have the AMP-v2 to configure every known angle in the universe, the CT-18 will configure in a similar manor (with an iPad interface) the angle in relation to an arc – at whatever curvature of the arc may be.

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