Borrowing the expression from the poroldchap, I have a few things to ramble about here in this entry.
First, I have found and bought a new house. I will take possession at the end of this month and can start moving everything at that time. This has been a drawn out (and thoroughly distasteful) process that has really been a major distraction, and I have not had the time or desire to do much website work as a result. It’s not over yet, but there are just a few loose ends to tie up.
In the meantime,
I still have this house. The plan is to move to the new one before putting this one on the market.
I use the word “new” as it applies that the house is new to me. In fact, it is not new, but 60 years old. Built in 1953, it is not in great shape and will need extensive renovations. On the upside, it is much smaller than this one, has a good size level lot and a detached garage that is fairly large (although not as big as my current shop). The garage will be my temporary shop until I get a new, larger one built. It should be an interesting summer.
Again, the move will have an impact on website content, as I need time to get everything set up and back to normal.
Added to that, I have a lot of my “day job” work to do over the summer, so that will consume a fair chunk of my time as well.

Next up is the table saws rebuild. These projects have turned my shop upside down, as I try to work on them while waiting for parts. With both saws in pieces and different stages of construction, I have been unable to do much else. I can’t even clean the shop, for fear that I’ll misplace some vital part. This is typical for me on a bigger project – driving forward to get it done and worry about the mess later.
The idea is to get the Busy Bee saw restored to the point where it will replace my old table saw, and that is now complete. The old saw has been dismantled and the Busy Bee is now in it’s place.
The Delta will be the core of my main saw, and although I have done some work on it, the majority of the rest will be done after I move.
It doesn’t make sense to do much else on that saw until then, so I will be boxing up the parts so they won’t be lost.

Now, onwards and I have a few small annoyances to rant about.
Changing my best selling plan to PDF has been good, for the most part. Occasionally I get an email back (usually from someone using an iPad) saying they can’t open it. Just when you think something is foolproof.
Also, these emails usually come in as replies to the automatically generated email from e-junkie (the file host I pay to make downloading these files fast and easy) and I can’t reply to them directly. As stated before, I know that not everyone is a wiz with computers, but for less than $10 a pop, I can’t be a personal tutor on the subject. Besides that, I barely know what I’m doing, myself!
More interesting are those that expect printed plans mailed out to them, along with the plans in electronic form. It’s really a mystery to me where the idea that the plans will be printed and mailed out came from. I can’t see how anyone could get that impression from the sales pages on these plans.
Occasionally, I get someone saying that they changed their mind and would like to “cancel the order”, after they have paid and downloaded the plans. Since starting this website, I’ve come to appreciate just how important it is to state and overstate the obvious, but I didn’t think I would have to add an “All sales are final” to the plans pages.
Also, a few requests (actually, more like demands) for more detailed instructions and videos on how to use the box joint jig. I’ll put it out there, and it’s simple: if you need someone to show you how to use it, maybe you shouldn’t build it. There is a certain level of experience required to complete a project of this complexity and with that experience there usually comes some understanding of how it will work. Anyway, I have several videos showing the jig in action on my YouTube channel. Typing “Advanced Box Joint Jig” in the search box will point in the right direction.

Speaking of emails, I get some odd and cryptic ones and I’m left with two options: either ask for clarification, or not reply. I usually go with the second, figuring that if it is really important they will re-send it, perhaps worded differently. Some (complete) examples:

“how much Advanced Box Jointhow Jig”

“Dear u gave vary good idia for wood working please tell me howto build plywood doors.”

“Plans advanced box joint”

“Do you have plans for the jig that makes, treats?”

“like you joining”

I’m not trying to poke fun at these, just to point out that maybe the meaning would come through clearer if a few more words were used.
Another problem is comments on YouTube and emails in foreign languages. Google translate seems to work well, provided the sentence in intelligible to begin with. Add in some slang, typos and it can turn into translated gibberish. I believe translators may be to blame for some of the stranger messages I get, and
it’s likely some people feel offended when I don’t reply. I know from experience that trying to carry on a conversation through a translator is difficult under the best conditions, let alone when the message needs to be deciphered.

People often email me asking for help with something, or to suggest a project that they would like to see me do. I try to answer these in a helpful way, when I can, but some of the things that I’m asked are very basic and easily found with just a little searching on the internet. For these, I may or may not answer, since I really don’t want to encourage an ongoing dialogue on woodworking basics. This may sound harsh, but the fact is I really don’t have the time to devote to it, and it’s really not what this site is about.
As for suggested project ideas, I welcome these, but the old expression applies: “there’s nothing new under the sun”. Chances are, someone already did it, or it’s possible that I have already thought about doing it, provided it’s the right kind of project for this site. Besides that, I currently have more project ideas than I have time to build them.

Lastly, I want to mention that I added the comment section at the end of these blog entries so that you can have you say on whatever I’ve covered in the entry. I read these comments, but I may or may not make a reply and it’s best not to expect one. Again, it’s a time issue for me and wasn’t the intent of the comment section to begin with.
So, have your say, good or bad. There is an automatic filter for links on it, as in, submitting a message with a link will have to be approved before it is posted. Otherwise, you are free to say what you want. I ask that the language is kept clean, or the comment may be removed. I personally don’t have a problem with strong language (27 years in construction…), but many people do.

All for now.