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“Beware the barrenness of a busy life..”  –Socrates

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Recently I came across an article indicating that a successful blog features “at minimum” three posts per week. Really?

If I am blogging three times a week this place will curl up and become extinct so fast you won’t have time to say “Mongolian Death Worm”. So here is this months drivel;

 
What is the CT-18 Going to Be Dept: 

Sometime in the very near future, we will begin our annual ritual of posting “clues” as to what the CT-18 may be. We will start tomorrow.

 
Going, Going, …Almost Gone:

We have two of these left, boxed and ready to ship, editions; 39 and 43. Contact Natasha, 1-800-253-3332 or Natasha@bridgecitytools.com. This tool is one of the coolest things we have ever made.

 
The 2012 WIA Dream Team Members Dept:

We will be attending both the Cincinnati and Pasadena Woodworking in America venues. Dream Teams are lined up for both and I will share with you their names as soon as we receive their $10,000 entry fees. So far, nobody has paid, but that should change–ya think?

 

The Next Bridge City Essential Dept:

One of the most popular tools we have ever made (did I mention BCTW will be 30 years old next year?) was the AS-24 Adjustable Angle Square.  The first version was made of rosewood and brass. The second had a brass head with a rosewood infill.  The LAST version is pictured below;

 

Milled from aircraft aluminum, it is the best version yet from my perspective. It will be available this summer.

 

Annual Teaching Report:

There are a couple of openings in both my “Creative Thinking” class and in the “Tool Making” class. Both will be in May at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. This is my favorite corn field institution!

 

Pure Drivel Department:

I was born in Waterloo, Iowa–which, as you likely now know, is one of the four places in America where “pink slime” beef is concocted. Make of this what you will.

 

On a Closing Personal Note:

Unfortunately, it is much easier to find an available deck chair at our house-Louie Dog is no longer affected by the confines of gravity. He is profoundly missed.

 

His last wish was a rather poignant proclamation directed specifically at all dog owners;
“Every day should be an extra treat day.”

Louie and Jitter, Summer 2009

 

–John

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“Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself… where the heck is the ceiling?”  –Unknown

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If you are not familiar with our first contest of 2012, click here.
 
Entries are due to leave your shop no sooner than March 1!
 
Fun? Check.
 
Valuable FREE Prizes? Check.
 
YOUR ENTRY? ….
 
–John

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“Time’s fun when you’re having flies.”  –Kermit the Frog

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Well, my annual work retreat is over and I am pooped.
 
This year I spent 2 weeks in San Diego and like all the previous work retreats over the past 12 years, I had no preconceived notions as to what I was going to accomplish.
 
The nice thing about a work retreat is the ability to go down rabbit holes to see what lurks in the recesses of one’s mind. This is really not possible in the office or at home–the blocks of time you think you might have everyday get whittled rather quickly. It is just too hard to have continuity of thought. Maybe that is why it is called “work”.
 
I am excited about what transpired in San Diego. I hope you will be too–more later.
 
Right before I left for San Diego, I received a copy of an email that Tom Lie-Nielsen (Lie-Nielsen Toolworks) received from one of his customers;
 
“Have you ever thought about buying Bridge City Tool Works?”
 
We laughed, particularly since I told Tom that I would pay him to buy us. It then occurred to me that the woodworking tool business, by comparison, is a rather little place.
 
How big do you think the woodworking tool business really is (not including the imported junk at box stores)?
 
Before I answer, consider the 2011 income for the following athletes;
 
1) Tiger Woods: $62,294,116
2) Phil Mickelson: $61,185,933
3) LeBron James: $44,500,000
4) Peyton Manning: $38,070,000
5) Alex Rodriguez: $36,000,000
 
This is almost a quarter billion dollars–for five guys.
 
If you attended Woodworking in America, you were able to rub shoulders with just about every boutique tool maker in America. The combined revenues of all of these tool makers? About what Tiger Woods made last year, but if you want to split hairs, throw in the revenue of Phil Mickelson. If you want to add the last three, then you can include all the revenue from the top three or four selling woodworking magazines–maybe all of them.
 
Dean Kamen, in speaking about America, claimed that as a culture we are what we celebrate.
 
According to a recent article in The Daily, the average monthly revenue for “Simpsons” merchandise is $135,000,000 which makes it a 1.65 billion dollar industry.
 
Why do I share this? It’s just a little hug to remind you that all of us in the woodworking tool business greatly appreciate your support!
 
Duh!
 
–John
 
PS: Last time I checked the annual revenue in America for screwdrivers was $185,000,000. No wonder I can’t find one when I need it.

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“The best part of one’s life is the working part, the creative part. Believe me, I love to succeed… However, the real spiritual and emotional excitement is in the doing.”  –Garson Kanin

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The folks at Popular Woodworking magazine have announced two 2012 dates for Woodworking in America (WIA);

                       

                        October 12-14 at the Pasadena (CA) Convention Center

                        November 2-4 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center (Cincinnati)

 

As of this writing, we are certain to be at the Pasadena venue. Our attendance at the Cincinnati event depends upon, well…you!

 

We are expanding the “Silent Woodworking Academy” this year to include not only the Jointmaker Pro line of saws (and our new fence system) but the DJ-1 Drilling Jig and the HP-6 Planes.  And we will be making a new project to help raise scholarship funds—last year’s Earthquake After Detector was a blast.

 

Our “little experiment” last year of staffing our booths with customers was just plain fun for all and we hope to repeat the experience.

 

If you happen to enjoy being part of the Drivel Starved Nation and are either a Jointmaker Pro owner (including those waiting for the 2012 production run), or a DJ-1 owner, or an HP-6 user, we are offering airfare, lodging and some great evening meals for your enthusiasm, willingness to “talk shop” and help make our little fund raising project a reality.  You will also have ample time to visit the Marketplace.  We need at minimum, 5 volunteers per venue, but will fill the Pasadena slots first.

 

Typically you will fly in on Thursday and be home on Sunday.  It really is much fun.

 

If this sounds like something that you want to be part of, we would like to hear from you;

 

john@bridgecitytools.com.

 

Please include a brief, one or two sentence statement as to why you would want to slave away in the Bridge City Silent Woodworking Academy, and your city preferences. We will do the rest.  Lastly, please enter “WIA” in the subject line of your email to help me sort the thousands of applicants…

 

–John

 
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“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” –Henry Ford

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Some deals just need to be shared!
 
CAVEAT: Neither myself, or anyone associated with Bridge City Tool Works has an interest in the product/company which is the subject of this post, we are simply passing on a limited-time opportunity. We are however intimately familiar with the capabilities.
 
When you discuss the use of CAD amongst woodoworkers, the conversation almost always centers around Google’s SketchUp–afterall it is free (the non-Pro version).
 
The biggest advantage to SketchUp from my perspective (I have been using CAD exclusively since 1988) is the relative user friendliness. And by that I mean the initial learning curve is not as intimidating as other CAD alternatives. It also may be the only CAD software you will ever need, particularly if you have made an investment in yourself and use it regularly.
 
For those of you who have yet to venture into the amazing possibilities of employing CAD in your workflow, take a peek at CAD image below of the new JMP Precision Fence system;

 
There are over 250 modeled components in this file and this entire assembly can be re-created exactly as we made it, using the exact same tools with ViaCad 2D/3D v8, a brand new release that contains about 90% of the functionality that the pros require.
 
If you are looking to take the next step and make your projects on the computer first as a prototype, as opposed to making “finished prototypes” in the shop… I assure you the quality of your work will not only improve, but you will become more productive. Yes, there is a learning curve, but learning should be fun. And to assist you, there is an avid user forum for this software and plenty of hand-holding tutorials. We think it is a great tool and a great deal.
 
Down the road, if there is enough interest, we will consider offering classes, but first you need to decide if this fits your plans, it certainly is budget friendly. You can learn all about ViaCAD 2d/3D here.
 
Have fun!
 
–John
 
PS: For those of you who purchase Shark v7 when it went on sale, you are sitting pretty. Ignore this post.
 

 
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“Fullness of knowledge always means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance; and that is always conducive to humility and reverence.–Robert Millikan

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Today has to be the most anticipated day in our woodworking kingdom. Today we celebrate the regrets and angst that come from building primitive things out of wood without considering the basic tenants of design. Today we announce the 2011 Sh!t Bunny Award!
 

 
Our annual Sh!t Bunny Award is a didactic award… it is easy to learn from — and remember — the mistakes of others. And yes, some mistakes are bigger than others, and if the mistake has caused years of regret, as in this year’s winner, well… we need to celebrate it!
 
We whittled the 2011 entries down to three finalists (don’t worry if your submission didn’t win, your images are stored in a zip drive and will be considered again in 2012. The pic below captures our judges sealing the zip drive in a jar that will be buried in our parking lot…)

 
Pictured below is a detail shot from the 2011 winning entry;

 
There are many good points to this entry. For example, look at all those books.
 

 
Prior to sharing the identity of Fred West‘s next new best friend, let’s see what the maker has to say regarding this effort…
 
“I constructed this sad set of bookshelves in 1998 when I was sorely in need of furniture–I had no woodworking or design skills, and no money to buy something that was well built and looked nice. So, I headed to the big box store, grabbed a couple packets of L-brackets, some screws, a can of stain and then headed for the racks of pine.
 
All the cross cuts were made on my grandfather’s ShopSmith, then I went to town with the L-brackets and screws. After an hour or so of work (plus drying time for the stain), I had a serviceable set of shelves that held a lot of books – I subsequently made two more of these monstrosities.
 
When I was hired by Popular Woodworking Magazine in 2005, I had yet to acquire design skills and nowhere in my job description did it say I was supposed to build stuff–I was an English major. I quickly realized that I’d be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity to learn. It soon became obvious that my L-bracket shelves were…ugly, and not as structurally sound as they could be.
 
I now realize that “looking good” is just as important as “well-built” – who wants to build things that look bad? Might as well just use L-brackets.”
 
Our 2011 Sh!t Bunny Award recipient is none other than Megan Fitzpatrick and helping her celebrate is Robert Lang…

 
When asked “why” she decided to enter our little contest, Megan offered the following;
 
“Really, I just wanted the bunny. I was fairly certain that my 1989 bookshelves constructed with L-brackets, merited consideration for the ShIt Bunny Award.
 
You see, I’m the managing editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine, and one of my responsibilities is to weed the great from the OK and bad, and help decide what projects we should print in the magazine. I also design and build projects for the magazine. In other words, 22 years after making that first horrid-looking set of bookshelves, I’m now one of the folks who helps guide other woodworkers toward what to make and how to make it.
 
So I entered my L-bracket shelves in the contest in part as an inspiration – I now know that if I’ve a need for a piece of furniture, I can design and build custom work perfectly suited to my needs, space and taste – and it will be better built than anything ready-made that I could afford. And it is going to take WAY longer than two hours. Plus, I really wanted that bunny.
 
So why have I kept the L-bracket monstrosity for 22 years? I haven’t yet gotten around to designing the perfect blend of form and function to suit that little cubby. As soon as I do, those shelves will be relegated to the basement to hold cans of paint. For now, they’re the ideal place to display my new bunny.”
 
It is important to note that sitting right next to Megan’s “bookshelf” (insert coughing noise here), is this polar opposite effort;

 
So Megan, on behalf of the Drivel Starved Nation, THANK YOU for honestly sharing your woodworking progression, AND your candid admittance that you just wanted a Sh!t Bunny.
 
Now it is my turn.
 
You won not because your bookshelf is primitive and hard on the eyes, it is all that and more/or less. You won because you share the same initials as Megan Fox.
 
-John

 
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“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher regard those who think alike than those who think differently.” –Nietzsche

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Twenty-one years ago, while seeking hallucinogenic mushrooms in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, I discovered what is surely the rarest wood in the world.
 
I did not know what it was, but knew it must be extremely rare. Maybe even really rare. So rare in fact, the next day I signed up for botany courses (at an online University based somewhere in Europe) and within three weeks I had my Ph.D. Amazing isn’t it?
 
What you are about to see is officially known as “Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco Measles”, and because I discovered it, I got to name it! You are likely struggling with all the syllables and extra vowels I added, so use the layman name: “Spotted Dowel”. Aren’t you grateful for layman terms?
 
Now, for the first time in this Totally Awesome and Worthless Blog, I present Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco Measles:

 
Although I have kept “Spotted Dowel” secret for 21 years, I tell everybody about all my degrees. Why? There is an enormous burden when you discover something previously unknown–numerous degrees seems to help. Mainly, folks think you are crazy.
 
Now YOU, the privileged class, aka; Drivel Starved Nation, can also be considered crazy by entering our first contest of 2012. Oh, I forgot, valuable free prizes are at stake.
 
How you say?
 
By following these 10 “RAREST WOOD IN THE WORLD” ENTRY RULES:
 
1. Construct a base from gallery quality eastern maple (no cracks, knots, nails or substitutes) with the following dimensions; 4″W, 4″L, 1.75″T.
 
2. Bevel one edge ALONG THE GRAIN at 45 degrees until the bevel is .25″ from the bottom of the base.
 
3. Plane/Sand all SEVEN sides–this is going into a gallery. No visible sanding marks.
 
4. Obtain a 6″ long by 3/16″ diameter brass rod and polish it so it is shiny. No Visible sanding marks. Do NOT substitute a different diameter.
 
5. Drill a 3/16″ diameter hole in the top of the base that is located 2″ x 2″ from a non-beveled corner.
 
6. Do NOT put any finish on the base.
 
7. The overall height of your mounted rare wood example cannot exceed 6.5″. That means from the bottom of the base to the top of your sample. Cut the brass rod accordingly and mount to your sample. DO NOT MOUNT the rod and rare wood into the base.
 
8. Type out on a piece of paper the scientific name of your discovery, location, date and a very brief description.
 
9. Carefully package your entry, and ON MARCH 1, 2012, and not a day before, send us your discovery.
  Bridge City Tool Works, Wood Sample Division, 2545 SW Spring Garden St., Portland, OR 97219
 
10) If you would like your sample back, send us two complete samples. One is going into the RAREST WOODS OF THE WORLD MUSEUM.
 
What will happen in March? We are going to laser etch your base with the info you provided. The RAREST WOODS OF THE WORLD MUSEUM is very strict about the samples complying with their mounting rules. Once etched, it will be photographed for posterity and judging.
 
The top three entries will receive BCTW Gift Certificates, $500, $250 and $100. We will award other prizes too–mainly crap in our warehouse that we lost our shirt on.
 
And if you haven’t figured it out by now, this is a creativity contest. If you are confused about the entry rules, look at my PERFECT SPECIMEN below to ascertain your word count, hole location, bevel, etc. …
 
–John

 
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“The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” –Albert Einstein

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Yikes! I just realized this is my first post of 2012…well, I have been a busy boy.
 
First, the 2012 pre-order window for the Jointmaker Pro opens tomorrow. And for those of you who are currently JMP owners and have pre-ordered the Precision Fence System for your JMP, here is an image of the fence base system you will need to order to use your JMP fence system on your table saw sled;

 
The retail price for the fence base kit is $259, the Founder’s Circle price is less. This kit is needed if you want your fences to pivot like this;

 
Here is an image of the Jointmaker Pro complete with our new fence. I cannot wait to get my saws upgraded!

 
When Will the CT-18 be Introduced Dept.

In two weeks I leave for my annual work retreat and if all goes well, I will put the finishing touches on the CT-18 and hopefully find enough solitude to proceed further on a couple other crazy notions.  This year I will find myself in San Diego.  Fellow DSN member, Dr. Peter Franks, esteemed Biological Oceanographer, has promised to haul me to his favorite sushi restaurant which is an intriguing choice considering his credentials…
 
When Will We Know Who Won the 2011 Sh!t Bunny Award Dept.

Next week. And it is a shocker.  Fred West’s lonely perch at the top of living with awfulness is about to be shared by somebody you likely know!
 
When is the Next BCTW Creativity Contest Dept.

The lure of valuable FREE STUFF is irresistible. Next week we launch an awesome new contest. This will be our best contest yet and should attract thousands if not millions of entries.
 
Till then…
 
–John

 

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“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I am not sure about the universe.” –Albert Einstein

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Each year I do my best to take the week off between Xmas and New Years–and this year is no different. My mistake is that addictive iPad which forces me to check my email each day–and today it appears the DSN needs care and feeding…
 
We have received several dozen requests from JMPv2 owners who want to use their new JMP Precision Fence System on a table saw sled, and they want it to pivot on the sled–just like it does on the JMP.   We have also received questions from Table Saw Sled Kit buyers who want to know how to make their fences pivot too–as opposed to our original fixed @ 90 degrees version.
 
So, what appears to have happened is that we have confused our overly demanding customers and here I am working on vacation… Heck, I am confused too. So let’s get unconfused.
 
Precision Fence System Update for BOTH the JMPv2 (and converted JMP’s) and the Table Saw Sled Kit
First, we have a very large list of names of folks who want in on the 2012 JMPv2 production run. It is larger than it has ever been this time of year–and that’s cool. Consequently, we will open the JMPv2 pre-order window in January of 2012. I mention this because the Precision Fence Systems are being produced prior to the JMPv2 run–by opening the JMPv2 window in January, we will be able to offer a JMPv2 Works package that includes the Precision Fence System. (The total cost will be near identical as incurred by current JMP owners who are purchasing the Precision Fence System).
 

• For those of you who plan on using the Precision Fence System only on your JMP, you need not worry, or do anything.

 

• For those of you who ordered the Precision Fence Table Saw Sled Kit and you want the fences to be permanently 90 degrees to the blade, as is the tradition with most sleds, you need not worry, or do anything other than place your order.

 

• For those of you who ordered the Precision Fence Table Saw Sled Kit and you want the fences to pivot, you will need to purchase a fence base that is unique to the sled kit. This will be made available soon.

 

• For those of you who own a JMPv2 and a table saw, and want to use the Precision Fence System on both, you have some options. If you want to attach your JMP Precision Fence system to a sled with FIXED fences (90 degrees to the blade), you have the option of purchasing our table saw Bridges and Guide Rail kit (not posted yet) or, you can build your own. This kit will be made available for pre-order in the email that we will send out soon.

 

• If you want your table saw fences to pivot, you have two options. You can use your JMP fence bases (the extrusions fasten to the fence bases) but you will need to route arcuate slots in your sled for two point locking. Here’s why; the fence bases attach to the JMP tables in two places. These fastening locations are on the left and right of the fence base center. We cannot recommend using these bases to pivot on the table saw sled because there is too much leverage working against the pivot. I tested it and I don’t like it. So, we are recommending that you don’t use these bases without the arcuate slot. If you want the system to pivot on the sled, and you do not want to route arcs in your sled bases, we recommend you order the Table Saw Fence Base Kit. (It too will be available soon for pre-order.)

 
NOTE: The fence bases designed for the Table Saw Sled Kit have centered, single-point locking locations–the locking handle threads directly into the steel guide bars. When you attach 150 grit sand paper to the bottom of the fence bases, it fastens rock solid to the sled substrate. You do not want 150 grit sandpaper attached to the bottom of your JMP fence bases because it will trash your nicely finished, orange anodized table surface.
 
I will get all this posted with imagery and emailed out to you folks next week–don’t worry about deadlines because I am on vacation!
 
–John
 
PS-We delivered all of the Angle Master Pro v2’s over the past couple of weeks. We did a small overrun resulting in about 20 units waiting for new homes–next run will be 2013. FYI.
 

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“The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.” –Mark Russell

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A couple of weeks ago we launched the Precision Fence System for the Jointmaker Pro and SW. We also offered a kit for table saw owners. Everything you are about to read is applicable to both systems.
 
If you recall, I designed the fence system for me–I have projects in my brain that will never come to fruition on my JMP without this fence. And then it happened…
 
I couldn’t sleep.
 
One of my ideas involves using this material from Midwest Products (FYI, their stuff is AWESOME and a huge time saver at times). I realized that pivoting finger stops would be useless with thin material. That is now fixed (@ no extra cost), a pic of the revised stop is below.

 
Here is an image with thin stock firmly stopped prior to cutting (you can also see how the red aluminum stop can pivot out of the way);

 
Once that was fixed, several JMP owners inquired if it was possible to make the Table Saw Sled Kit fences pivot. I thought about this for a couple of days and decided to add additional tapped holes into the table saw guide bars. This will allow JMP owners to attach their fence base directly to their shop made table saw sled. We are now going to offer this option to non-JMP owners with the kit shown below–this avoids the routing of an arcuate slot in the tables;

 
As mentioned, the fence will bolt directly to the guide bars and when fully assembled (the kit does not include the sled substrate material) will look like this (both fences can be angled);

 
The lever locks will provide plenty of force to keep the sleds in place. But I would be remiss if I didn’t live up to my huckster image by adding…wait there is more!
 
You can now use the bases to attach our articulating clamps as pictured below;

 
These changes precipitated some minor changes that are not worth mentioning. But this next image is a big deal; When you set one stop, you can use the opposing stop as a clamp–to make cuts like the one below–you will most likely need to still hold the stock front to back (not on small stock however!);

 
We are changing the color of the integral clamp to red. This is a subtle reminder that there are cuts you may want to make and that you cannot put this clamp in harms ways. As cool as this system is, it does require at times that the user engages the organ residing within the cranium.

 
What this sled allows you to do is make many of your angled cuts (not all) without tilting the blade. And now that the fences tilt, this includes the ability to make some compound miters without tilting the blade as well. Because of this, we modified the protractor plate to allow compound miters without intersecting the pivot arm. This also required more slots for the integral “C” clamp. This is way cool.
 
The bias arm allows angled cuts as shown below, as well as a way to firmly hold round stock;

 
This is a typical tenon cut set-up. What is not easy to see is that you now have the ability to move your stock using the micrometer adjustor…0.001″ increments.

 
If you are a JMP or JM-SW owner and have placed an order for the Precision Fence System, you need do nothing. If you ordered the Table Saw sled kit and you want to add the pivot bases, you need do nothing UNTIL we announce their availability via email next week.
 
We believe both of these products are game changers. They are also our last offering for 2011 and we will close the order window on December 30th for a March/April delivery.
 
So…if you are a typical male and when asked what you would like for the holidays and your stock answer is “nothing”, and then get depressed because your wishes were granted, we hope to hear from you the week between Xmas and New Years! 🙂
 
–John
 
PS: This is a big shout out to all who participated and commented regarding this system–your voices were heard and we have a better product. Thank you!
 
PS Again: Our very own Michael Berg, who works in a toxic waste dump of an office, can now be found between the pages of Smithsonian Magazine. He is taking a couple of days off to practice signing autographs.