Every company goes through inventory shortages and we are no exception.

We recently caught our shipping clerk stealing from us. The picture below is from our security camera.

Needless to say, it will be awhile before Delano Andrew Goff finds work. We do hope however that his mother (who many of you know as Marissa) returns to work soon.

–John

Brain Food;
“We like the opinions to which we have become accustomed from youth; this prevents us from finding the truth, for we cling to opinions of habit.”

Moses Miamonides
1135-1204
Egyptian Physician

Jointmaker Pro Update: At the end of today we will have shipped approximately 2/3rds of all the Jointmaker Pro orders. My chest pains are subsiding…

The Jointmaker Pro forum (the link to all of the BCTW forums is at the bottom of our splash page titled “Community Forums”) has a section on project ideas and one idea was a contest that took advantage of the capabilities of the Jointmaker Pro.

Please chime in here–anybody interested in a project contest?

Here are my thoughts as expressed on the JMP forum-

We will ask the Jointmaker Pro Supreme Emperor (that would be me) to conceive of a project idea (and the rules) that will put you and your Jointmaker Pro to the task–maybe 2-3 times per year. You would then set about designing and making your solution.

As the Jointmaker Pro Supreme Emperor, I would judge all entries for a yet to be disclosed prize. All entrants would receive five free JMP saw blades after your project is submitted (photo posted on forum).

We would then post the winning plans for others less inspired–all for free.

That is all I want to share at the moment–other than this could be really fun.

Your thoughts?

–John

And now for today’s lead-in quote;

“Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.” –Dave Barry

OK, I am not going anywhere with that, but it brightened my day–yours too I hope.

Amid all the controversy that surrounds the Jointmaker Pro, the opinion most befuddling to me is the one proffered by “purists” who claim that cuts made with the JMP are “cheating”–whatever that means.

Today I was reminded (thanks to one of our forum members) of a different day in a different discipline not that long ago…

Do you remember the first hand held calculators–the ones introduced in the early 1970′s that only did arithmetic functions? They sold for $395 (that’s a whopping $2087.59 in today’s dollars!) Here’s a tool that purists vigorously defended just a couple of presidents ago;

Remember these?

Ironically, this site is rather fun. It works on screen, instructions are included. Imagine using one of these in a 400 level physics class with the bull horns of war protesters outside…

“WHAT DO WE WANT?”
“PEACE!!!”
“WHEN DO WE WANT IT?”
“NOW!!!”

A bit oxymoronic don’t you think? Now, don’t the bullhorns echoing around the internet regarding “how” a cut is made in wood seem rather silly?

Oh, and imagine how abacus owners must feel.

–John

PS: The Jointmaker Pro would have retailed in 1970 for $226.00. If you want to have fun with price comparisons, click here.

We are about half-way done shipping the Jointmaker Pro’s as of this writing and the feedback (so far) has been positive. You never know with something so new and controversial–today is a good day.

One of the changes we made to the production version of Jointmaker Pro is the ability to add user designed jigs and fixtures. Below is a quick concept of a dead man to keep from loading the linear tables when cutting longer stock. This idea would fasten directly to the front and rear plates and offers minimal resistance to stock traversing.

I would likely make this from 1/2″ baltic birch ply and design around any stiff round stock (pvc, conduit, dowel, closet rod, aluminum tube, etc). Perhaps include another brace with a lip on the down legs of the wings for blade storage. This is a seed idea for our customers–more ideas and feedback can be found on the Jointmaker Pro forum on our website.

Now here is some good news for us, we have 7 JMP’s left. (Actually we have 17, but 10 are reserved for my Silent Woodworking class at Marc Adams School of Woodworking in May). We anticipate beginning the wait-list for round two in about two weeks or less.

Monday we begin the video shoot on my secret new controversial tool that will challenge how you think about another aspect of woodworking. Silence is golden! (Stolen from that 60′s song by The Tremolos or Tremeloes…which in turn was originally recorded by the Four Seasons I believe.) Damn I am getting old.

Stay positive, engaged and enthused!

–John

As a trained educator with two dogs that won’t follow a single command, it is time to announce my teaching engagements for the year:

What: CAD for the Woodworker
Where: Marc Adams School of Woodworking (Indiana)
When: May 4-8
Who: No more than 20
What Else: Laptop or computer required.

This is my fourth or fifth year teaching this class and it is a blast. The software we use is the same package I use to design BCTW tools (Cobalt)–a mid-range solid modeling package at $4,000. Students receive a fully functional STU license for $395. If you are looking to learn a new skill, or perhaps more important, become more efficient, this is a great week. 90% of the students struggle with the computer and by Friday they are up and running creating projects in the virtual world of CAD.

What: Silent Woodworking
Where: Marc Adams School of Woodworking (Indiana)
When: May 11-15
Who: No more than 18

We are going to turn conventional woodworking wisdom upside down in this class. The focus is how to produce gallery quality work in a soulful environment.

We are providing several Jointmaker Pro’s (and other yet to be released new tools) for this class and I am confident most students will have their life vector bumped way off course. Believe it or not, the shop of the future is going to be in a spare bedroom for many. No dust collector, no screaming machines, no hearing protection–just you, the right tools, and a desire to produce flawless work. Personally, I can’t wait for this one.

I don’t know about space availability or any other details other than when I need to be there (similar to how my dogs know the location of their food bowls). You can learn more here.

If you have never been to MASW, it is an expansive educational complex plopped in the middle of an Indiana corn field. Marc confessed recently that he used a Bridge City try square to layout the lake on the property, hence; Try Square Lake. It is not quite visible from space but it is dead square–a true marvel of the limitations of a back-hoe–no fish swimming in circles here.

–John

As promised last week, we began shipping the Jointmaker Pro kits today. Concurrently, we are preparing the assembled versions and thought you might enjoy this picture. (It will take us about 10 days to fill all of our orders so check your email for shipment confirmation and tracking number).

As a reminder, the manual is posted here.

–John