Apologies for no new blog entry in the month of November. It’s a lot like I described in this project article, often I get so overwhelmed by everything I should do, that I end up getting nothing done at all. I’ve started this entry a few times, each time with a new subject, and each time I’ve stalled after just a few words. Here I go again, and again it’s on a different subject. The difference this time is that I will finish it.

My latest project is a wooden vise:

The idea for the project occurred to me shortly after starting work on my steel vise. I figured I’d put it on hold until I made the finished version of my thread cutting machine, so that I could make the lead screw from wood.
Months pass, and I still didn’t find the time (or motivation) to finish the threading machine, but I wanted to go ahead with the vise build anyway using a different lead screw. The scaffold leveling leg was something I wanted to use in a project for a while, and thought it would be perfect for a large leg vise or tail vise. Using it for this vise was not ideal, but if you want to actually get something done, you will probably have to make some compromises. Waiting on one project to finish to make another is only realistic if you can get the first one done in a timely manner, and you have the time to devote to it.

To give an idea of the time involved, it took roughly two days to build the vise, with another three days to edit the videos and write the website article. If I had to build the threading machine as well, I would easily double that time – not exactly conducive to a one-per-week video schedule. The one video per week is something I’m trying to stay with, but is better suited to small, quickly done projects that I generally don’t have much interest in.
I probably could have finished the vise in less time, but whenever you add cameras to the equation the time it takes stretches out. It’s hard to pin down the exact amount of time it took to edit the videos, since I did a good portion of that while I was doing the actual build. During times when the glue was drying on various parts, I was in the house reviewing and trimming what I had shot to see if any of it would have to be redone.
So, five days invested and in the end I have a total of four things to show for my effort: the vise itself, the two videos covering the build and the website article. It used to be, for me, anyway, that the most important thing was the project itself. Now, I consider the video and the website article as much of an accomplishment as the item I made.

Now, to the topic of this entry.
After the videos were posted on YouTube, I started to get the typical comments asking why I would bother making something like this, when I could just go buy one. It was helpfully pointed out to me that not only would it be easier to do that, it would also be made from a more durable material – metal.
Before going any farther, I’ll say that this is not the first project I made that has gotten this type of comment, but I don’t believe I’ve really addressed it before.
It seems that a lot of people are genuinely puzzled by this: why I would put so much effort into making something that is readily available. The stumbling block for many appears to be the idea that I built the vise because I need it. Logically, if you need something, you should take the path of least resistance – in this case, just go buy one.
So simple.

A sample comment:
“Nice work but like most here wondering why spend your hours building a pine vice. You’ll notice that after years of r&d the better known vice producers have stuck to using steel over soft wood, glue and staples. Good work again but literally pissing into wind with this sort of project”

It used to bother me to read comments like this, and I always thought that they really shouldn’t have bothered with the ‘Nice work’ part, and just skip to the insulting part. Of course, when I’ve pointed out that the comment is offensive to me, they don’t understand that either. Now, after getting hundreds of these, I don’t bother to respond most of the time. Experience has shown that if I try to explain my reasons, it’s like I’ve suddenly started speaking another language – one they cannot (ever) understand.
Along with the above are the recommendations for ‘improving’ the design, like how it would be so much better if it were made from a stout hardwood. Funny how people who have shown absolutely nothing to demonstrate their knowledge and ability feel it’s perfectly reasonable to offer advice to someone who has.

So, what is the point? I figure if you are here reading this, you already have a good idea.
It’s not about making it because I can make it cheaper; it’s not about making it because I can make it better.
For me, it’s not about needing the things I make, it’s about me needing to make them.
So simple.