Congratulations! I am taking the week off between Xmas and Jan 1 specifically to design projects for the JMP. My timing is perfect as we are still stuck in the snow.

John

Apparently I was very good this year:

Someone left a Jointmaker Pro (voucher)under the tree for me. I can’t wait for delivery so I can start learning what this machine can do!

I’m sure you’ll have many more people claim the Jointmaker Pro is a waste of money. But I think they are dead wrong.

Perhaps it will warm your heart to know that in my annual “What to buy for a woodworker” post I will be naming the Jointmaker as one of them. I’m hoping someone will take my advice and leave one under the tree for me

Here’s what I wrote about the Jointmaker in a post that should be up at http://www.robertkarl.org/woodworkingblog by the end of tonight:

“While I admire Bridge City tools for their beauty and innovation, I usually think they are pricey and optional.

“With that said, I think the Jointmaker Pro truly delivers the value of its price, and that nothing else on the market can do what it does. It introduces a real innovation that even power tool users can appreciate.

“If your woodworker does fine work, especially on a small scale, no other tool can provide the speed and reliability of this tool. It opens up a world of possibilities for speed and flexibility in woodworking.

“The name tells only part of the story, because the it can also be used to make extremely precise sculptural effects and tiny parts.”

Here’s to you and your vision. Thanks for bringing us such beautiful tools to drool over. And many thanks for bringing us something as clearly functional and freeing as the Jointmaker Pro. I think it’s a tool for the ages.

Very interesting! I was in Berea, and LOVED the Design session, and your assessment on all the doings on this post. I would like to contribute the following, taken right from my blog, http://sandal-woodsblog.com .

A while back I had Neil Lamens as my guest, and created a podcast on Design: Form ( link: http://sandal-woodsblog.com/2008/10/10/neil-lamens-on-design-form/ ) .

A summary:

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This is the first audio podcast from Sandal Woods. Neil Lamens of Furnitology Productions is my guest; we discuss Form in design. The following are a few of the things we discussed:

1. Form vs. function – the old adage
2. The benzene ring form
3. Kaleo Kala – an analogy
4. Period furniture, with emphasis on the 60s, when form was just about anything you wanted it to be!
5. What has transpired since the bean bag chair, “a living form”?
6. Are we as woodworkers in a period of discovery, so that we can move forward with design?
7. If you will attend the Woodworking in America Conference, would you be interested in having some additional conversation about Form in design?

We would love to hear from our readers what you thought about this first podcast, and especially about the theme, Design: Form. We will address a new topic on design in the near future.

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Regards,

Al