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

Each year I leave Portland’s rainy winter for a solo, two week work retreat. Despite what you may be thinking, the emphasis is on work. This year I parked my rear in St. George, Utah.

The sequence of each day is as follows; shower, coffee shop/New York Times, banana, CAD work, lose track of time, (including when to eat) and around 10-12 hours later I heat up a bowl of soup and watch (when it is on) “How It’s Made” on the boob tube and then retire. I repeated this routine 14 straight days on this trip. With the exception of the banter at the coffee shop, I am isolated from people and all of their annoying habits.

Or maybe it is the other way around…

I have a list of objectives that I barely dent–which is always disappointing to me. I routinely overestimate my capabilities and although this is difficult for me to admit, I also have a life-long habit of underestimating–the delivery dates for the Jointmaker Pro are a fine example. I think I am caught in some kind of weird dimension trapped between under and overestimating because in this strange world things are done before they start yet they are never finished.

Good thing I have dogs–they appear to understand me. However, they are English Setters…

Good news regarding the Jointmaker Pro, the saw blades will arrive towards the end of this month and that is all we are waiting on! What a great journey this project has become and I can’t wait to see it unfold in other ways.

Years ago, I used to be a studio furniture designer/maker and from this experience I have frequently used the term, “gallery quality work” when describing the capabilities of the Jointmaker Pro. But what does this really mean?

There are four basic elements to working wood (which is different than woodworking), dimensioning stock, sawing, drilling, and shaping. All of the other ancillary process of shaping wood fall into these base categories–including joinery. Gallery quality work implies that as you progress through any of these four basic zones, your efforts are as intended and yield predictable results. Cuts are clean, holes are true, faces are parallel (if that is your intent) and you have no need for putty, filler, or other back peddling activities that hammer at your productivity or the quality of your efforts.

Of course, this is easier said than done, but I am committed to finding ways to pursue this philosophy without the need for an ear-busting, headache-inducing dust collection system. The Jointmaker Pro was the first leg on my quest.

In a few weeks we will unleash the second leg of this quest with another revolutionary idea that will equally broaden your understanding of what it means to to do gallery quality work without power… actually you will need some source of power to play music.

Stay tuned (pun intended).

-John

PS: I will be demonstrating a PRODUCTION VERSION of the Jointmaker Pro on Feb 13th and 14th at the Crucible in Oakland, CA. It is free (sponsored by the fine folks at Lie-Nielson Toolworks) and just maybe, I may have a surprise with me…

Two weeks ago we received all of the components for the Jointmaker Pro–holy cow, I have never seen a BCTW project with so many parts! Prior to anodizing the aluminum parts, we assembled one unit and the results are…

Spectacular—in every sense! For those that have seen the prototype in action, the production version features over 80 changes and all I can say is I thought the prototypes were cool, but now, like everyone else waiting for delivery, I CAN’T WAIT to get mine!

Parts come back from the anodizer this week and they are off to the laser house next week. Packaging for both versions (unassembled and assembled) are finalized, and we have decided to forgo a written assembly manual for a DVD or web-based assembly tutorial which we will finish next week. Lastly, the saw blades should arrive from Japan any day now (it took 4 months to make all of these blades).

We also decided to do a little bit of sub-assembly work for the unassembled versions for those who have limited assembly experience. Now, all one needs is to be able to do is insert and tighten screws.

While the components were being manufactured I took the JMP on the road to a couple of the Lie-Nielson Hand Tool Events (if you can go to one of these, they are intimate, fun and educational). One thing became apparent to me after demonstrating this tool for eight hours straight—my back ached.

As a result, we redesigned the stand so the back of the Jointmaker Pro is now 3” higher than the front. This accomplishes two important things, it shortens the sawing stroke and it makes it easier to see your cuts. It is one of those counter-intuitive decisions that really makes using the tool fun. I demonstrated this change to show attendees and everyone agrees this is an awesome improvement. Whether you use our stand, or make your own, we recommend inclining the Jointmaker Pro without hesitation.

As those patiently waiting know, we have taken our time to make sure the user experience is going to be as flawless as possible. We can’t wait to learn how our owners use this transformative tool—it truly changes your perspective on project ideas.

Lastly, I am on the second week of my annual two-week work retreat. I would have posted this update last week but I am in Utah and forgot the password into my blog…

This whole password thing is really getting to be an issue for my aging brain.

–John

In preparation for the upcoming Woodworking in America conference, I decided to make a display featuring all of the cuts possible with our HP-6v2 Mini-Multi plane. This turned out to be quite fun and, enlightening.

Every week my fondness for working without noise grows–this little display project was done in our front office on the workbench in our modest showroom.  I was so happy with my mess I deemed it noteworthy. See pic below.

While making the different cuts (about 60 two foot strips) it became apparent to me that these samples are a great way to play. I was goofing off, combining different moldings together and I felt like a kid playing with Lego pieces. It was really interesting and a great way to discover new, distinctive forms. When Michael and I get back from WIA, we are going to produce a video on this very activity.

Now for something completely different:

The Jointmaker Pro was recently named one of the best new products of 2008 by Popular Woodworking.

Everybody is working their tail off on the initial run and we will hopefully ship before the holidays.This is a big job!  We have about 20 units remaining in this run and then we will begin a wait list for run #2. We hope to sell the remaining units at the Woodworking in America Conference–we’ll see…

Commemorative Tool #15, will begin shipping within the next two weeks! Tomorrow I will have a first article for final inspection! This is exciting.

The NEW and IMPROVED CenterScribe will ship in the next week or so as well!

The original CenterScribe was one of the top 5 tools we ever produced. This one is much better! Holds a pencil in addition to the scribe, finds centers on dowel ends, rectangular or square stock and has ZERO backlash, and will cost less!

That’s all for now.

Oh wait! Did I mention that I am working on Commemorative Tool #16?

–John

Last week I shared our latest Jointmaker Pro discovery; Squiggle Wood. Check out one afternoon’s experiments–wood is just not supposed to act this way. By the way, this is European beech. Oak and ash work too.

It’s hard to imagine woodworking being more fun…let me know your thoughts!

–John

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq8O3uUilM8&fmt=18

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq8O3uUilM8&fmt=18

I could only work half the day today as I have a major case of jet lag… To give you an idea how tired I am, I came home too tired to sleep and almost watched C-Span. Still can’t believe there is a C-Span II.

The attendance in Atlanta was spotty, I am not sure about the value of big trade shows anymore…my local connection of friends suggested it was a poor show for sales.

I left Atlanta encouraged regarding the JMP. There was very strong interest from power challenged countries and we are going to ship units to India, Bahrain, Guatemala and one other country I can’t remember at the moment. These are all for programs to put people to work in the tourist industries so I am excited to see where this leads. Also sending a couple of units to Britain. So in many ways the word is getting out. Everybody liked the internet videos that Michael produced in our office and we plan to do another one this week.

I did get a chance to talk at length with yet another internet woodworking expert who has changed his views regarding the JMP after seeing it work. Amazing what first hand knowledge will do for opinions.

Japan was simply exhausting. I couldn’t sleep, the toilets scared me (and I played ice hockey for 20 years…I would rather get hit in the face with a puck (again) than sit around and find out what those toilets do.)  The language barrier was no big deal, cutting wood is easily understood, and many of the visitors spoke English. The JMP is an ideal tool for shoji screen work and I want to make a video demonstrating this capability. The people were very warm, excited and enthusiastic and just like in the States, nobody could believe the quality of the cuts. We have several customers in Tokyo and couple of them stopped by to say hello which was great.

As expected, the food was fantastic.

Tomorrow I will let the cat out of the bag and introduce Commemorative Tool 15–stay tuned.

–John

When I arrived at the exhibition hall in Chiba two days ago I learned this show used to be three times the current size as recently as five years ago. So how big is it?

It is not quite as big as the National Hardware show in Vegas each year (which used to be much bigger when it was in Chicago). In many ways, a woodworking/DIY trade show is a trade show the world around…they are all shrinking.

I asked for the reasons and the popularity of pre-fab houses was at the top of the list. Also, IKEA is hugely popular here–young Japanese families can buy an entire room of furniture for the cost of ONE high-end plane or chisel set. Lastly, it appears the people here don’t have much time for anything but work and family. Sound familiar?

I am having fun demonstrating the Jointmaker Pro and I would say there is a profound appreciation for the accuracy and the clean cuts. Don’t get me wrong, we are not on our third order book, or second…you get the idea, but the reactions are genuine and many can’t believe how easy it is to do accurate work. The soulfulness of the process (very little noise) is greatly appreciated. Lots of gasps and smiles.

My demo unit is set for my height which is radically different from most here. We rigged a step stool and now I can coax just about anyone to try the JMP. The reactions on peoples faces is worth the trip. I am trying my best to be a good Yankee ambassador and we are having fun. Here’s an amusing story…

I stopped by an educational booth and made my very first pair of chopsticks with hand planes. Elapsed time was maybe two minutes. The booth attendant asked me my occupation and I replied “business executive”. This created quite the stir because they have never seen such a “confident” business executive use hand tools.  They really struggled with this and through an interpreter I explained that I used to be a woodworker. This knowledge put everyone in the booth at ease and there were many smiles and sighs of relief.  Afterword I invited them all over to the Jointmaker booth and this was the highlight of the day for me and I would like to think for this group as well.

Even in Japan, businessmen are presumed to be incompetent…

–John

My cell phone does not work here but the camera does. Here are a few (crude) tradeshow pics from the Land of the Rising Sun…

Trade shows all look the same. Not as many pony tails here however…

This lady could not cut dowel with her hand strength. She was so excited when I showed her how to use the clamps. She must have made a half-dozen passes, each drawing a big smile from the onlookers.

This creature caught my eye–it is made entirely of woodworking tools.Wingspan is close to 10 feet! The feathers are hand saw blades, the legs are auger bits and the face and face feathers are all knives. If this thing ever fell over on a cow…instant hamburger.

I am pleased to share that we are now accepting web and phone orders for the Jointmaker Pro! Here is a pic of the new stand for those that want a stand-alone machine. It is laser cut and will fit the production model perfectly–the legs are height adjustable so the sliding tables can be precisely set to hip height.

Two noteworthy tidbits; we plan on shipping in late fall and our special introductory rates will only last a couple of more weeks. (Late fall means before the holidays using the Economaki calendar.)

The next stop for the Jointmaker Pro is the International Woodworking Fair August 20-23 in Atlanta. I will be demonstrating in the booth of the firm we contracted to make the Jointmaker Pro components–booth number 8874. Please stop by and introduce yourself–this should be a fun show.

The following week the Jointmaker Pro debuts in Toyko. I will be demonstrating in the booth of the company that makes the Jointmaker Pro blades–I am looking forward to the trip and some good sushi. I am a bit troubled about leaving because I have a 14 year old dog that…well, you dog people know where this is headed. I love my dogs and I sure hope my trip is trouble free in this department.

If you followed all the buzz regarding the Jointmaker Pro on the internet a few months back you undoubtedly came across the bile of many who had a great laugh at our expense regarding this new tool. Here is a refreshing update;

I have been contacted on two separate occasions by web forum participants who were actively leading the chorus of boo’s regarding the Jointmaker Pro…and get this–they both apologized!

This occurred after seeing the Jointmaker Pro in action during one of my demonstrations. Both agreed that their behavior was sophomoric and/or irresponsible. Now get this–both of these folks placed orders for the Jointmaker Pro! I know this is a little thing but sometimes the smallest gestures have the largest significance. One thought my blog rants about the “Woodworking Taliban” was funny but also dead-on and he wanted out. I thought to myself, this is just like raising kids, you have no clue they are listening until years later. Anyway, their sincerity was moving.

I spent a great deal of time in July trying to reduce the cost of the Jointmaker Pro and was successful by almost $50. Guess what happened? During that same time the price of the metal increased $45. Go figure.  For those of you who may be in the world of manufacturing, I have NEVER seen such a market. Between daily price fluctuations and all out shortages, it is very troublesome.

I won’t be posting again until the first week of September and my first post will be a Sneak Preview of Commemorative Tool #15. It is a never-before-seen device that …

–John