very high cool factor..........

[Bill Wyko]

I noticed the date is the 28th or 29th of this month. I regretfully have to take myself out of the running. I leave for 9 days on the 29th. It's a gift to LOML for graduating from nursing school. We're supposed to go to Hawaii. I'm very sorry. Thanks again though for the opportunity. If it were next month, I'd be all for it.

 

[nickao]

Hawaii or Portland. Easy decision! Have fun.

 

[Per Swenson]

You are going to need a explanation.

I went to the Poll to remove Bill's name and when I did,

I can't seem to get it to go back to anon.

so there you go, Good luck and voting ends 6pm eastern.

Per

 

[monte]

The Byrnes saw is nice too for only 440.00?  am thinking f getting the Byrnes saw right away. Any suggestions on the blades or anything?

Towards the "Art & Science of Cutting Wood"

Nick.......

It's a fabulous saw and I highly recommend it.

You should read the review by Phil Krol .......http://www.modelshipwrights.net/Jim Byrnes Saw.htm

Keep in mind that it is set only at 90 degrees, the 4" blade is lowered and raised with a knob and then locked with

a long hex key. It was designed with model shipwrights in mind and he feels that there is more dead

on accuracy in the long run by not shifting the blade. As for the blades, when I'm back at the studio I'll check my

blades and get back to you. It's been a while since I had to change it.

Jim Brynes has modified the switch and fence since I got mine a while back. (see the review above)

Oh!, and when you receive the saw......the way it is packaged is a work of art.

For the Ark it was indispensable, it allowed me to rip individual strips of Acacia / Koa that were

1/16 th of an inch thick and 8 feet long! I set it up with an in-feed and outfeed planks on some # 1

systainers. For small crosscuts it works great..... for the angle cuts and larger crosscuts I'd be looking towards

the Jointmaster Pro. Be careful, it's so quiet you forget that it's on.

I cut the small prototypes for the custom fabricated stainless mounting brackets with this saw.

Although all the angle cuts I had to then go to the small disc sander afterwards.

A step I would have bypassed with the Jointmaster Pro. Keep in mind I went though several modifications

in the prototypes before I came up with what you see below.

Also it cut through the urethane rubber inserts in the brackets below like butter.

And, in my previous pics of the Ark models, the glass model in the rear ....

I used the Brynes saw with lttle effort to cut the plexi panels.

Yup, your just going to need both saws Nick. ;D

Now, as to the Wild West Joinery Saw,  I'll leave that tomorrow for a brief discussion.

.........time for sleep.

Monte

 

[monte]

...

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Everyone,
Well, this discussion has turned out to become something way bigger than it originally was meant for!  It's become a showcase of talent and enthusiasm, a kind of FOG variety show!!  This is the kind of discussion that keeps me going, wanting to do more for this forum.  But I'll take that up in a different zone.

For sure, Monte and Michael need to eventually transfer their project ideas into the "Projects" section once this discussion is done.

On the more mundane level: it looks like the choice for the Jointmaker Pro trip is between Michael and Monte.

Matthew

 

[Eli]

I've got analysis paralysis. I'm going to shut my eyes and vote. I just want to see the review without all the agony.

Let Monte go but send Michael a JM Pro to review at home? ;D

 

[Warrior]

If you don' vote, you lose your FOG membership. ;D

I'd like to see a better turnout than what I see at the moment.

Eiji

VOTE FOR PEDRO!

 

[Eli]

I voted  ;D

 

[greg mann]

I am in a different kind of fog this morning. Where is the poll to vote?

Oops, just stepped into the sunlight. : :-[ :-[

 

[rjfarel]

It appears I am not going to be added to the list of nominees.  Boo hoo 

May I then humbly offer my services as photographer/videographer/chogi-boy for this affair?  I only live about 2 hour away, and am always looking for an excuse to head down there to drink beer.

UPDATE: 

Dang-0-rama, just read the conditions.  My boss (principal) would never let me go during the school week as he knows of my nefarious ulterior motives for any visit to Portland.

I would appreciate it if the winner would make a visit to Bridgeport Brewing and have their most delicious IPA for me.  Actually, taking the Bridge City Toolworks folks there would be an appropriate thank-you for the trip.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Let Monte go but send Michael a JM Pro to review at home? ;D

Great suggestion!

I nominate Eli for the Solomon prize.

Oops, now that I think about it the Solomonic response would be to offer to disassemble the Jointmaker and send some of it to each of us. So, what is at the heart of the Jointmaker? The sliding table(s?) or the saw/clamp/trunion?

 

[johne]

Michael,

Amazing post about yourself, your life and your work.
Very well written and a joy to read.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Michael,

Amazing post about yourself, your life and your work.
Very well written and a joy to read.
Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Johne, your turn.

 

[Michael Kellough]

.........time for sleep.

Monte

Monte, I noticed that the time stamp was 5:15 AM FOG time. And I thought I stayed up late!

 

[sw1211]

Whoever ends up going I'm sure will take suggestions from others to put together his "test plan."  Should another thread be started where people can post what tests they'd like to see performed?

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Whoever ends up going I'm sure will take suggestions from others to put together his "test plan."  Should another thread be started where people can post what tests they'd like to see performed?

I think that's a great idea.  That's another reason we need to wrap up the decision about who's going, so we can make sure the winner has time to prepare as you suggest.
Matthew

 

[Michael Kellough]

I'd also like to see expanded coverage of how it can be used to accurately and quickly cut custom dovetails as is covered lightly in their video.

And bridle joints, through-tenons with chamfered ends, wedged tenons (and wedges for the tenons!), etc.  At the risk of eating my own words, I don't think that's Michael's area of expertise, either. 

Bueller?  Anyone?  ???

Regards,

John

Honestly, I'm not into decorative joints. I have the VS 600 and still don't have a dovetail template.

I'm somewhere in between the "nail is a steel dowel" position and the handcut dovetail. I'm a Domino guy.
I don't like decorative profiles on edges except for the chamfer which is also functional.

I'd have to refresh my memory on layout to test the Jointmaker for cutting dovetails. It's been 25 years since I sweated that out and there are some skills involved that take practice to maintain. That being said, one of the chief attractions of the Jointmaker is that it eliminates the need for skill in sawing and that is huge. To be able to make a cut for a tail in one sweep that is dead-on in angle and depth could even convert me to being a fan of dovetails. I'm really looking forward to trying this thing out, whenever and wherever that is. I just hope I don't have to wait too long or I'll have to make my own.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have in my studio an Inca 2200 cabinet saw, an Inca 259 table saw, a TS55 and a
TS75 (I won't list my hand saws)....what I ended up using and I could squarely look at
you in the eye and say what built half the Ark project was my Brynes Table Saw.
(http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/tablesaw.html?id_mm=0520MM038242)
It's a marvelous little machine, but for this project the Jointmaster Pro would have made
life a lot easier and quicker. 

That is a nice saw, thanks for mentioning it Monte.

I worked on a silly film called "Joe's Apartment". There is a scene where the evil land developer displays an architectural model of a park and then presses a button and the center of the park disappears and a huge model of a prison elevates up to dominate the model. I was brought in to make the motorized trap doors and model elevator although I just used a commercial TV riser for that. There isn't always enough time available to re-invent the wheel.

I bring this up because the architectural model maker I worked with was from Egypt where he had been a full blown practicing architect. Unable to get a license in NY he turned to making architectural modes. It's a shame because he is a brilliant guy.

He had four table saws he designed and built himself (fences too). Like the Byrnes saw they are not tilting arbor saws so they could be made very strong, smooth, and precise. The blade was around 6" in diameter and I'm guessing 60 teeth in a triple chip grind custom reground to be thinner kerfed and mounted on 3/4" precision shaft supported by widely spaced BB pillow blocks which were in turn mounted on a strong flat pivot plate for depth adjustment. They looked like big white melamine covered work tables (supreme work and outfeed support) with a saw blade sticking up. Then you noticed the angle attached to the front edge to support and guide the fence. It was also well engineered but I can't recall the details.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Whoever ends up going I'm sure will take suggestions from others to put together his "test plan."  Should another thread be started where people can post what tests they'd like to see performed?

I think that's a great idea.  That's another reason we need to wrap up the decision about who's going, so we can make sure the winner has time to prepare as you suggest.
Matthew

Looks like it's up to me to concede. Go Monte!!

Now you can complete your list of stuff to take and do.
And when you get back, after writing up your review,
tell us how you came to be such a talented woodworker.