Here's how it went:
WHAT SHE WANTED: My wife wanted a table that would fit next to her chair which swivels. She wanted something that was long and narrow and she wanted to be able to hide away a few books and tv remotes from either end. She didn't want a drawer because the opening would have been too limited as this is also near the fireplace mantel. After designing the table you see below, I began to work in my basement shop (shared with laundry) by gluing up some birds-eye maple boards. It?s beautiful wood, but what a pain those eyes are. I had lots of chip out from planing - and knew that meant lots of sanding.
THE OLD SANDER MADE A MESS: So, I started rough sanding the boards after glue up and before assembling them into a box. Well, I looked up from my aggressive sanding after about 20 minutes and realized that I was standing in a thick cloud of sawdust - and everything in that side of the basement was covered in dust. The washer, dryer, canned goods, etc, were all covered - and I began to wonder about the possibility of a dust explosion igniting from my gas water heater!
RESEARCH & RESULTS: Well, I began to research dust collectors and air filtration systems. Too big, not effective enough. I finally stumbled upon Festool while talking to a buddy of mine. He told me they were great tools but way too expensive. Then I stumbled upon FOG and read more. And more. Soon I was purchasing a Rotex 125 and CT22 from Bob Marino BUT I was pretty anxious about spending all that money. Could it really be that good? Absolutely ? and that started to Festool spiral
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE: As I continued to work, I came to the conclusion that jointing the wood would be a problem ? because I didn?t have a jointer. I COULD have done this with a hand plane but, in another leap of faith, and with encouragement from my wife, I sprung for the TS55 saw, in the hope that I?d be able to get a good edge. I did ? and once again with little dust ? although not as incredible as the Rotex, it was a joy to operate.
SLIDING EVEN FASTER: I made up the box, cut the legs and ended up on a journey to New Hampshire ? no sales tax, hmmm. I visited a Rockler and they had just received a new MFT/3. Did I mention that I had just earned a bonus at work? The MFT/3 and the domino rounded out my collection and I finished the side table and got some experience with both the Domino and the MFT/3.
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