IKEA. So, have you been to one yet?

[Michael Kellough]

Michael,

that looks great, what is the scale of that bridge?

How tall is that?

A medium height guy can walk under the center span. The top of the tower is about 17 feet. The camera end is cut short but the overall length is 100 feet. The cyc is 28 feet high. The light hidden behind the foamcore hanging from the grid in the middle of the picture is an Arri 20k.

There was a crew of 6 people working on this for 3 weeks, not counting the art director who was on for even longer. I came in closer to the end to translate the art director's comps into Cad and design the adjustable suspension rig. I also strung and hung the 160 mailing tubes for the "cable". Each element is independently hung so the whole thing can be disassembled one piece at a time as it is filmed (one frame every 10 seconds) without anything else being disturbed. When everything got to the stage I spent one day on the ground and two days on a scissor lift.

Unfortunately I can't recall of a single Festool being used. It's all cardboard after all 

 

[Ned]

They are about to open a new store. Guess where?

[small pic of very large model]

This is why I haven't been around lately.

Wow.  Words fail.  OK, no Festools.  How many Xacto blades did you go through?

Ned

 

[Fred West]

Michael, I still think you could have used your plunge saw and rail instead of xacto knives.  Fred

 

[Michael Kellough]

How many Xacto blades did you go through?

Ned

Ned and Fred, I know you're kidding but technically, at this scale and viewing distance, ordinary utility knives are best. But, if I had been involved in the box making phase I'd have used my Hitachi C12D 9.6 volt cordless knife cutter, one of my all time favorite and most unusual tools. It can cut 5/8" drywall, 1/4" plywood, 1" foamboard and is fantastic for cutting curves in foamcore. It uses the large snap point blades, 2 points for tough work but it can use a longer stick for foam. Hitachi was very innovative in the early '80s (remember the first sliding compound miter saw?). They made the first cordless 1/4" hex impact driver which I also have and still use for light work. Unfortunately they've gone from functional innovation to the opposite, superficial innovation. Apparently they've canned the engineers and replaced them with ex-Nike shoe designers.  :-X

 

[semenza]

Unfortunately  [Hitachi] they've gone from functional innovation to the opposite, superficial innovation. Apparently they've canned the engineers and replaced them with ex-Nike shoe designers.  :-X

Hi,

    Yeah, I knew those tools reminded me of something else.  No offense to anyone who owns the new  Hitachi stuff but I think they look freakin ugly!

Seth

 

[Ned]

Unfortunately  [Hitachi] they've gone from functional innovation to the opposite, superficial innovation. Apparently they've canned the engineers and replaced them with ex-Nike shoe designers.  :-X

Either that or the production designer for Earth:  Final Conflict found a home at Hitachi.

Must be age.  I'd rather have shoes that look like Festools than tools that look like trainers.  Well, maybe not the green accents.

Ned

 

[neoshed]

Unfortunately they've gone from functional innovation to the opposite, superficial innovation. Apparently they've canned the engineers and replaced them with ex-Nike shoe designers.  :-X
[/quote]

Very true, unfortunately. I used to only buy Hitachi (this was before I'd even heard of Festool)and their stuff was well made and bullet proof and made in Japan. Now like pretty much everyone else it's made in China and has the love it or hate it trainer look.

I'd love to see that cutter but I bet they discontinued it.

As far as my thoughts on Ikea, I've never had any problems with their stuff at all. Back in England there were several stores that sold flat pack furniture. I wish sometimes they had some places like that here.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Unfortunately they've gone from functional innovation to the opposite, superficial innovation. Apparently they've canned the engineers and replaced them with ex-Nike shoe designers.  :-X

Very true, unfortunately. I used to only buy Hitachi (this was before I'd even heard of Festool)and their stuff was well made and bullet proof and made in Japan. Now like pretty much everyone else it's made in China and has the love it or hate it trainer look.

I'd love to see that cutter but I bet they discontinued it.

[/quote]

Here are a few of my Hitachi tools from more than 20 years ago.
They also made the first actually usable cordless circular saw but it failed
because it used a lead acid battery and the terminals corroded.

Hitachi Knife 3/4 view

This tool can also be run along a straight edge and an edge guide can be slipped into the shoe for self guided parallel rips. A safety switch on top of the tool locks out the trigger and a plastic boot fits on the shoe to cover the blade. There is nothing else like this and I still use it frequently. It is fantastic for cutting curves in foam core. Alas, it is long out of production

Hitachi Knife Detail

This 9.6v cordless knife from circa 1985 can make pocket cuts in 5/8" drywall (for switch boxes etc.). With the special saw blade it can cut 1/4" plywood. There is also an adjustable scoring knife in front to reduce tearout during straight cuts.

Hitachi Impact Driver

This is the first ever cordless 1/4" hex impact driver introduced around 1985. It is only 9.6v so the impact function kicks in much sooner than today's drivers (which means it gets noisy sooner). The ergonomics are great and I still use it for appropriate tasks!

Hitachi T drill

This is the first ever pro quality T handled drill that could stand upright. The AEG could not. At the time this was introduced the Makita boomerang shaped drill was ubiquitous and took a lot of space on the bench. A flaw is that although it had electronic speed control it did not have an electronic brake. Compared to current tools this drill is too slow and weak to use anymore but it did a lot of work in it's time.

The current Hitachi impact driver looks like this,

I'm sure it is mechanically superior to my old driver but why does it have to be so ugly? To be fair, the latest Makita tools are not too far behind in "advanced superficiality".

 

[monte]

Michael,

thank you for the rundown on the "Hitachi C12D 9.6 volt cordless knife cutter", what a nice tool for the right task.

I sometimes make both models and full scale mock ups of my pieces to work out proportions and  engineering.

sweet machine!

had a peek on ebay........nothin!

 

[neoshed]

Than knife cutter is sweet. You have to wonder why they drop a product like that?

I had that exact same T drill mate. I think I ended up tossing it as I couldn't get it to charge over here (used a 220 line) and I kicked myself afterwards as I should have just looked for a US 9.6v charger on ebay. I still have my UK 150mm CS, planer and M8 router. In fact the router has never been switched on. I need to set it up in a table with a 220 line to it.

I have 2 18v drills now. One pre nike and the other post nike. As soon as I can afford to I'll get a C12

 

[semenza]

Hi,

   pre-nike   , post nike    ..  Love it      Festool don't ever go for the nike effect. 

Seth