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Conductor562

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Posts posted by Conductor562

  1. 4 minutes ago, SetBuilder said:

     

    My friend lives in Hamlin but works in Charleston, small world. When I lived on the east coast I used to head down that way to chop with them.

     

    I'm not too far from Hamlin (neighboring county). Closest town to me is Buffalo (Putnam County). Hamlin is in our conference, so we play ball over there a couple times a year at the middle school/old high school. I know a lot of people in that area. 

  2. 1 minute ago, SetBuilder said:

     

    How far are you from Webster springs WV? I have a friend whose family runs a Timbersports show there every Memorial day weekend. http://www.woodchoppingfestival.org.

     

    I competed there once in the B division. 

     

    Cool. I'm just a tad NW of Charleston. Probably 2 hours from Webster Springs. That's a nice area if you're into the outdoors. Lots and lots of Protected State and National Forest over in that area.

  3. @KnarlyCarl: It did make for a good pic didn't it. It was $25 well spent. 

     

    @SetBuilder: There are some perks to living in West Virginia. We lucked out and got property (with a house) that was cut off a family farm and would have never came up for sale had it not been for a divorce. We're on top of on of the highest points in the county. Can't get any pics tonight, but even on a Remotely clear day I can see a good 40-50 miles out my back window. I'll try to remember to get a pic tomorrow. 

  4. After an hour or so, we finally got it to work. I had to do about 4 rungs higher than I am in the pic, but at that point my photographer was helping hold the ladder.

     

    IMG_7458.thumb.JPG.b81326c75dd6d609634175d51327ea98.JPG

     

    It wasn't one of my favorite jobs, but in the end I think it was worth it. I'll change the halyard out every year to be safe.

     

    IMG_7457.thumb.JPG.d8fbcd2f32530670a91e7cd062fb10e6.JPG

    • Like 5
  5. Our house had a 26-28' flag pole in the front yard when we moved in. Problem is, the halyard was gone. We've always planned on restringing it, but just never got around to it.

     

    Today I decided to give it a go. Probably not the best day to do it with a 20 mph wind, but we made do.

     

    IMG_7453.thumb.JPG.aca880c1f5fd0cb1edec09f5e264c186.JPG

     

    Without getting a lift, there just wasn't a good way to go about it. I've got a 24' ladder, but the pole is pretty wobbly when you get higher up. I basically put a hook on the end of the rope, fed it through the eye bolt at the top, and used another stick with an eye bolt on the end to pull it down.

     

    IMG_7454.thumb.JPG.88e9fd53684882e7e5f19e2e30d4dcf0.JPG

     

    IMG_7456.thumb.JPG.3e2e1fdda5102e5f12a332b42f7907da.JPG

     

    This sounds easier than it was, mostly because of the wind, but it definitely took some trial and error.

    • Like 3
  6. 6 hours ago, ChrisK said:

    No worries! Just seeing those tools on a guys home shop is amazing. Not a commercial shop at all just a hobbyist. The guy has tools like Timothy Wilmott who is an amazingly talented designer and builder. It's hard to imagine having those things piled up in a shop at my house, in the basement, especially when I have what I consider to be very high end tools. To me, a hobby is a big deal. It allows a guy to leave his regular life at the back door and enjoy something of his own making. A buddy of mine, Dave, builds 16th-17th era homes by hand, using hand tools, with trees he has harvested by hand. The guy is amazing and I occasionally go over and "help" him out. Clearly it is one sided, I am learning from the best. He asked me over the summer why I liked doing this (woodworking, building) so much and my response was that at the end of the day, you have a finished project. It's something you did, with your hands, and there is a tangible object you can look at. To me this is a big deal. At my job there is never and end, only a break when you go home and come back. Then on to the next day. That to me is why having the shop is so important and the project work, though always up to judgement, is still yours. I was talking to a friend of mine over the winter and he was admiring a cutting board I had made. I batched a bunch out for Christmas last year, and he started telling me how he sells small pine do dads online and has been making a few thousand bucks for his hobbies and he told me I'd kill it at local shows and I was like, dude, I couldn't stand seeing my work go out and no selling. Sometimes I think I am a ballsy kind of guy, I have to be at work and it carries on everywhere but when it comes to my hobby, totally different story. It's funny seeing a guys who can put out that amount of cash for a personal hobby. I've spent a lot of money in my shop but man.... if I had that cash I'd be getting dirty looks from everybody! I'd have a Felder, a Hammer, Mafel, Festool.....err I have Feetool soooo...

     

    I can relate. I got into woodworking when Mrs. Conductor got into primitive home furnishings. I just built stuff for her, never for sale. Then her friends started bringing me lumber and having me make stuff for them.

     

    I'm never comfortable giving someone a price. I give them a material list and they bring me what I need. Eventually, she'd decide she wanted something different so she'd sell her old one and I'd use the money to finance the new one. She sold a coffee and end table for a couple hundred dollars, a hutch for $400, and got $500 out of an entertainment center. Everything in our house that I've made has someone who has dibs on it if she gets rid of it. 

     

    I dont mind her her selling the stuff I've built, but I don't like to build stuff for sale if that makes any sense. I make stuff for family members upon request too, but usually as gifts. I have a local primitive seller that has tried on numerous occasions to get me to build stuff. I'm not afraid of my work being judged, but like you I'm reluctant to let one of the few things that bring me joy become a job. 

    • Like 2
  7. Having just turned 22, you've got a hell of a start. More than I had at 22.

     

    My goal is that when I die my kids will walk into my shop and say "what the hell are gonna do with all this shit?" Hopefully at least one of them will love and appreciate them the way that I do. I also informed Mrs. Conductor to get someone who knows what they're talking about to help her price everything if she goes that route and to never sell anything for what she thinks I paid for them ?

    • Like 5
  8. 47 minutes ago, BMack37 said:

     

    You haven't seen my woodwork, haha. My latest project came out better than the previous stuff but I managed to mess up the stain in a couple spots...but it was a toy box for my dog so he didn't seem to mind. haha

     

    Everybody screws up something now and again. Even Diresta and those guys goof, they just don't let you see it.

     

    Most people don't mind showing off their best stuff, but few people want to show off their worst. My problem is that my best is only as good as some others guys worst ☹️

  9. 10 hours ago, ChrisK said:

    And this is why I don't post too many of my projects here or anywhere. I've got some serious cash in my shop and my projects are my projects. I don't have the balls that some guys have, to post my builds.  I'm always afraid I'll get an ear full for it if somebody doesn't like it. The truth is, to each there own. I've got a lot of money wrapped up in my shop. If I could get a Felder table saw...done. The truth is, some guys have hobbies. Those hobbies, if we are so blessed to pursue, generally cost money. If a guy likes cars, he builds and modifies cars. If a guy likes turning wrenches, the same is true. Motorcycles, photography, guns etc etc etc. I guess, to each there own but I for one think this is a great post @rrmccabe I subscribed to this guy as soon as I saw your post. He has a lot of talent and has one heck of a wood shop. I watched some of his build videos and this guy has some skills to be sure and clearly a wallet to buy the best. I think it's amazing that this guys used all of those friggin tools to build a simple cabinet but he's got $$$ wrapped up in tools. When I built my stupid little clamp rack I used my Sawstop, TS55REQ and my CXS. A lot of cash for a stupid little project but I spent money on those beasts, I don't care if they get relegated to Pine work. Good for him! Doesn't one of our guys have an edge banner like that.

     

    I didn't mean to come across as being a dick about it. Hey, I'm a tool guy and I'm naturally awestruck by the money this dude has in his set up. It takes all kinds to make the online tool community worthwhile. From guys with million dollar shops to guys trying to build all their shit with a corded drill and a hacksaw, they're all essential. Everyone needs something to aspire to. 

     

    What I should have said is that this guys equipment is so far beyond my own that there's very little correlation between our methods and for that reason alone, it doesn't interest me as much as videos by people to which I can more closely relate. 

     

    As as for posting your projects, that's just nonsense. I'm sure you're no Norm Abram, but neither are the rest of us. Don't ever be afraid to put yourself out there on TIA. I've never criticized a man's work. A man's project is his own and whether it's seeing what to do or what not to do, the contrast and comparison ultimately makes us all better at our crafts. Don't ever be afraid to show off your work here my brother. 

     

     

    • Like 2
  10. My favorite tape measure is the cheaper Dewalt 25'. I have 6 or 7 of them which should last me the rest of my life. I find them on sale all the time like 2 for $14.99. I like the fractional markings, especially when I have someone helping that can't read a tape.

     

    IMG_7440.JPG.ae8265479fee97e15269e84bcaf56fc2.JPG

     

     

    • Like 3
  11. Today I reached a milestone. I've been toying with buying a new biscut joiner for awhile now. I haven't had much time for woodworking over the last couple of years, but as I've been getting back into it, I've got a little catching up to do.

     

    Today I ordered the Dewalt DW682K:

     

    IMG_7438.JPG.6238cfc4de9285646ef9f70faa875b71.JPG

     

    I was torn between this and the PC 557, actually liked the 557 a little better, but I just didn't like it $50 more. 

     

    The milestone is that by ordering this, I've gotten rid of my last Harbor Freight power tool. Good riddance. It was crudely functional, but that's about as positive as I can be.

     

    IMG_7437.thumb.JPG.d4e8b2ab1e920942519633f751e8e11c.JPG

     

    I parlayed my saving on the biscuit joiner into a set of Kreg setup bars:

     

    IMG_7439.thumb.JPG.e3eaa21025fb5857f83fc19ad78868eb.JPG

     

    I was torn between these and the Carter F.A.S.T. bars, but I chose these as they are geared more toward router setup whereas the Carters are designed more for a bandsaw. 

     

     

    • Like 7
  12. 3 hours ago, Kato said:

    I did this...

     

     

     

    IMG_1788.JPG

     

    That's pretty cool. I'd love to be able to free hand stuff like that, but I just don't have that kind of artistic touch. 

     

    One more day and my shop will be the leanest and most organized it's been in a long time. It's been ground zero for every project imaginable sine we moved in and I had accumulated an insane amount of clutter. By the time I get everything loaded I will have gotten rid of 2 7x14 trailer loads of excess shit. 

     

    I'm still putting stuff off until I redo my shop next year, but I can't go another year with no place to do anything. I've got so much shit backed up to do it isn't even funny. 

  13. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely green with envy, but when you have a shop like that, it's hard to make a "how to" video the average Joe can follow. It's like me going down to the Toyota plant and making a "how to build your own engine" video. 

     

    Nothing wrong with it. It gives you something to aspire to and the guy probably has fun making the videos, but it's hard to watch the whole thing. 

  14. 1 hour ago, BMack37 said:

    In thinking that you'd need a logo too...the Great Lakes Woodworks sets you up for a fantastic logo.

     

    +1 

     

    You can't go wrong when you incorporate a broad geographic region like that into your name. 

  15. 14 hours ago, BMack37 said:

     

    Thanks, there really doesn't seem to be anything telling you what the difference is...Right now my only experience is with Ryobi and Freud bits. Ryobi bits have been better than I had hoped.

     

    There used to be a little more info in the catalog about them. For the green bits the only feature they really cite are 600 grit carbide edges. For the purple "Super Duty" they tout 800 grit carbide, 4140 steel, and being made in an ISO 9001 factory (which almost inevitably means Taiwan rather than China). 

     

    In any event, it's been a great set 

     

     

    • Like 1
  16. 4 hours ago, BMack37 said:

    I could use more wood-working related tools right now but yeah I'm open to trades. Not really in need of wrenches or ratchets/sockets.

     

    Unfortuneately I don't really have too much surplus when it comes to woodworking stuff.

     

    got a price in Mind?

  17. On 4/5/2017 at 10:08 AM, khariV said:

    That listing has been removed. Sounds like there was some funny business. 

     

    No response from the seller, but he has another identical listing posted. I spoke with PayPal about it. If I haven't received anything in 10 days they'll refund me.

    • Like 1
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