1. Attended the Reading, PA woodshow with Kent last Sunday. It was more about the ride than the woodworking, but I hoped to meet a few woodnet guys there. I wound up spending most of my time there with Chuck Bender. Chuck, it turns out, knows his stuff. He builds, he designs, he teaches, and is about as approachable a woodworking guru as I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.
2. Chuck was doing a hand-cut dovetail demo and offering to let some spectators in on the action. Despite my "scribing like a girl" (Chuck's exact words), excavating a cave between my tails, and being the world's worst hand-sawyer (which Chuck fixed in two or three sentences), I was able to produce... let's call them "passable"... thruDT's in pine.
Note the saw marks on the inside surfaces of the pins and tails - they fit together right off the saw - no trimming/fitting:
3. I was stoked to see a series of articles about design on Chuck's blog, and also that he teaches carving - a class I'd love to take. His shop is in or near Pottstown - certainly do-able.4. Armed with new desire to own an actual, for real, DT saw, I slathered over the Veritas DT in 20 tooth rip, and made a few ridiculously perfect, effortless cuts with it at the Veritas booth. If you're reading this, and you have $65, you should buy this saw and send it to me.
5. Give the job to a busy person: today is my second day off since about November 2009. By "off," I mean I left work at 11AM. Since then I scrubbed the kitchen, entry way, and powder room floors; folded a bunch of laundry and did a load; had lunch and did a load of dishes; installed the 18T front sprocket on the Vee; and still had time to single-handedly get this monster down the basement stairs and largely assembled (it runs):
It looks considerably more ridiculous in the context of a tiny shop which already has a table saw stuffed in it:
It's smoooooth. I can hardly wait, altho there's much to do, and no time to do it in, before it will make any dust.