tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post6256911491863470130..comments2023-11-05T06:16:56.961-05:00Comments on the Carpentry Way: Wood Moves IIAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-85530177231115340732009-02-28T10:21:00.000-05:002009-02-28T10:21:00.000-05:00Marv,interesting you mention that. When I had a to...Marv,<BR/><BR/>interesting you mention that. When I had a tour of the Starrett factory, the first place I asked the guide to take me was the master squares room, where they adjusted their lab grade try squares. The technician there said much the same thing - they would do square adjustments in batches, as a little bit of filing work on the blade was all you could do without the heat causing distortion, and hence an inaccurate set. So they would do a little bit of work on one square after another, giving each square some 30 minutes to 'cool down' between adjustments. And then he showed me something with their master reference try square, which has a 30" blade. He set another square against it, showed that they aligned perfectly, and then separated the two, and ran his finger along the edge of the master, just one swipe. Then he placed the squares back together, and it was apparent that they were no longer true to each other! Just one swipe with a finger adds enough heat to throw off the square, when you are going for lab-grade accuracy. I find that sort of thing quite fascinating.<BR/><BR/>~ChrisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-64943273259881964152009-02-27T23:39:00.000-05:002009-02-27T23:39:00.000-05:00Bought my first micrometer, a 0-1" Mitutoyo ...Bought my first micrometer, a 0-1" Mitutoyo back around 1980 ($26.95 back then). Took it to the shop of a machinist friend who had retired years before from his trade of toolmaking with Brown&Sharpe. He told me to never hold the mike in my hand any longer than I needed to take a measure. Why? It isn't just wood that moves, metal moves too as it picks up your body heat. Took me by surprise, but there was another man who cared very much about accuracy.Koothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392313015470432114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-41539101836200523322009-02-27T23:14:00.000-05:002009-02-27T23:14:00.000-05:00Oops! Sorry Dale, I called you Steve in the previo...Oops! Sorry Dale, I called you Steve in the previous response - my apologies!! I'd edit that out if i could.<BR/><BR/>Round wires are the only type of dart boards I've used, and definitely I've had a few darts bounce right off the wires before, so i can see the logic in innovating the 'razor' wire. Still, as you noted, we tend to like what we are used to, eh?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-9504343363153103672009-02-27T22:01:00.000-05:002009-02-27T22:01:00.000-05:00Steve,I must be completely out of touch - soft-tip...Steve,<BR/><BR/>I must be completely out of touch - soft-tip darts?! Are you telling me there is some sort of plastic tipped dart or something like that? A safety dart? Jeez...<BR/><BR/>Well, maybe you'll become a famous dart player in your neck of the woods - how did you like the youtube clip I link in the thread? Had you seen that before?<BR/><BR/>~ChrisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-1473151985452405882009-02-27T21:58:00.000-05:002009-02-27T21:58:00.000-05:00Anonymous,well, I happen to like machining too, an...Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>well, I happen to like machining too, and I bring a certain amount that mindset to my work. Interestingly, if you visit a place like the Starrett factory in Athol, MA, you might be surprised to find out how much 'hand and eye' skill is involved there, for instance the granite reference surfaces are all tuned by hand. Squares are also adjusted laboriously by hand. <BR/><BR/>I appreciate your surety about what constitutes the 'way of the carpenter' - I have a different take on it obviously, one also based on "hand and eye, judgment based on experience, and practice".<BR/><BR/>Since the physical skills weaken after the mid 50's, and eyesight along with it, how does one reconcile such with your idea of what constitutes the 'way', namely, 'skill based on hand and eye'?<BR/><BR/>To follow your line of thought, you would be suggesting no use of tools in carpentry other than the purely hand-guided ones, no? And that approach would include the banning of the handplane too, since that is a jigged tool - the result being more predetermined than the purely hand-guided tool, like a pocket knife say. If that's your way of doing carpentry, then that's fine. Otherwise, if you happen to enjoy the benefits of electricity, powered tools, straight edges, dimensionally accurate drills and bit, handplanes and so forth, then you are simply on the same path I am on. Perhaps you might want to look at an earlier post I wrote on "Tradition" and then get back to me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-15287417447262220032009-02-27T20:33:00.000-05:002009-02-27T20:33:00.000-05:00ChrisSounds more like the machinists way. A carpen...Chris<BR/><BR/>Sounds more like the machinists way. A carpenters skill is based on hand and eye. <BR/>Judgement based on experience, and practice<BR/>this is the way of the carpenter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261993076995357307.post-31394347309734950342009-02-27T17:44:00.000-05:002009-02-27T17:44:00.000-05:00Hi Dale,well, yes, I used to throw darts a bit, bu...Hi Dale,<BR/><BR/>well, yes, I used to throw darts a bit, but haven't really practiced much in 20 years. I also like snooker and pool, but again, haven't practiced much in a while. Great that you play darts - is there a Darts league in your area or do you play at home mostly?<BR/><BR/>~ChrisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328401081765407624noreply@blogger.com