I spotted this on my latest visit over to FamilyWoodworking…

Introducing the $35,000 rocking chair:

It’s made of Amboyna Burl by Parker Converse II. He says: “These chairs take about three times longer to make and the cost of materials and handling is about 10 times that of one of my lower priced rockers. The extra time, effort and cost are worth it, however, and the final product is simply magnificent.”

He’s got lots of pictures of the process, including one of the fellow who gets the Amboyna from Laos on elephant-back.

Here’s the thread from FamilyWoodworking: $35,000.00 chair

More about Amboyna Burl:
“A rare, exotic hardwood that grows in Southeast Asia and has a fragrant aroma. It can vary in color from yellow to golden brown to red, and is generally considered excellent for both turning and finishing.”

AMBOYNA Pterocarpus Indicus >>

Amboyna for sale:
“All of our Amboyna Burl wood, which is known scientifically as Pterocarpus Indicus, has been painstakingly extracted from the jungles of Southeast Asia — and often transported (at least initially) via elephant.”
About Amboyna Burl

Over a year ago I asked my favorite forums for input on sliding compound miter saws… this gave us Hitachi vs. Bosch vs. Makita: Making the Sliding Compound Mitre Saw Decision. Then, Woodnetters mostly recommended the Hitachi, as did the guys over at FamilyWoodworking.

A thread started recently at Woodnet though and it appears the Hitachi tide has shifted… (If you were going to buy a new sliding compound miter saw - WoodNet) I added in a thread from ContractorTalk for good measure.

One note - Woodnetters reported very low prices from Amazon on SMCS from Makita and Hitachi. The Bosch didn’t drop as low as often. You have to really watch them though as prices only stay low for a few hours at a time.

Here are the results of my tally:

Makita: 13 Votes
Makita LS1214FL 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Compound Sliding Miter Saw

Bosch: 9 Votes
Bosch 5412L 12-Inch Dual Bevel Slide Miter Saw

Hitachi: 8 Votes
Hitachi C12RSH 15 Amp 12-Inch Sliding Compound Miter saw

Festool Kapex: 4 Votes

Not out in the US yet… See more here:
Festool’s Kapex: A Different Miter Saw
Festool Kapex Miter Saw Is Nearly On-Shore Of The North American Continent

DeWalt: 4 Votes
DEWALT DW718 Heavy-Duty 15 Amp 12-Inch Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

Forums included in this blog post:
Hitachi sliding compound miter saw (contractor talk forum)
If you were going to buy a new sliding compound miter saw - WoodNet

Other Sliding Compound Miter Saw Resources:
Sliding Compound Miter Saw Safety (by the WoodWhisperer)

See the video on Marc’s site - where there are tons of great comments: Episode 53 - Miter Saw Safety
Makita Compound sliding miter saw (problem with laser alignment)
Hitachi vs. Bosch vs. Makita: Making the Sliding Compound Mitre Saw Decision
ToolCrib’s Essential Miter Saw Buying Guide
Best Compound Miter Saw for Laminate Flooring?

The belt sander is a go-to tool for taking lots of wood off in a hurry. Getting the right one for your needs - and deciding between a belt sander and other options like the random orbit sander - will depend on your needs.

A thread at WoodNet set me off on a belt sander odyssey - here’s the original thread: Your preferred 3 by 21 Belt Sander. I poked around and found similar threads at other forums and counted up preferences to help you make the decision on a belt sander!

Mr. Stuart Ablett from the FamilyWoodworking forum had some great advice in a thread on picking out your next belt sander: “I have found that they way the fit your hand really matters, when you get to the good quality of the PC, Boschs, or say Makita, the fit in the hand, and the deal you can get comes into play.”

Here are the results of opinions from WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and Sawmill Creek:

Porter-Cable: 21
Porter-Cable 352VS 8 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Dewalt: 8
DEWALT DW433K Heavy Duty 8 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Variable Speed Belt Sander

Bosch: 6
Bosch 1274DVS 6.6 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Ryobi: 6
Ryobi ZRBE321VS 3-inch by 21-inch Belt Sander

B&D Dragster: 2
Black and Decker DS321 Dragster 6 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Makita: 2
Makita 9901 6.7Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Rigid: 2
R2720 3″ X 21″ Belt Sander

Craftsman: 2
Craftsman 3 x 21 in. Belt Sander, 7.5 amp

Resources used in this post:
Your preferred 3 by 21 Belt Sander
PC Belt Sander Disappointment
Belt sander need
P-C Belt Sander Questions
Belt Sanders Get Better
Survey of 3-in. by 21-in. Belt Sanders (Taunton… from 1999 not included above)

The folks over at FamilyWoodworking have an interesting thread going on tool pride… Member Allen Grimes asked: “Over past 2 or 4 years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people take far too much pride in the tools they own. Festool and Mini Max owners especially, seem to jump on anybody who says anything bad about those brands and I also noticed that a lot of people are quick to say something bad about those brands whenever they get the chance.

So my question is: Why? Why do people have such strong feelings for these tools and brands?”

Have you noticed that yourself? I know when I was visiting my uncle and he showed me his Harbor Freight tools I had to fight the urge to preach about quality. But then… they work for him, so what’s the big deal?

Here are some insights from a great thread over at FamilyWoodworking:

Scott Spencer:
“Early on in this hobby, I was far more brand loyal that I am now. I guess you start out liking what you know, and wanting it to the best….regardless of whether it really is or not…ignorance is bliss, right?”

Stuart Ablett:
“SOME owners of Grizzly tools must bleed green when cut, or the owners of the Sawstop tools are just as solid in their support of their own tool choices.

If we take it a step further, ask some guys about pickups, Chevy vs Ford has been going on a lot longer than most of us have been alive. I think it is just human nature to defend one’s choices and purchases, especially if that choice is attacked, or they feel it is attacked.”

Gary Curtis:
“The comparison to truck loyalty is entirely fitting. These topics seem to excite the passions. So perhaps, the advertising is working. After all, I never argue about brands of potato chips!!!!”

Norman Hitt:
“The one thing I do have a problem with is someone that badmouths a piece of equipment but has never even used one, or someone that brags on a certain tool of a given brand and says it is the best, when in actuality, they may own another tool of that brand but not the tool in question.”

Frank Fusco:
“Yeppers, a Griz. And you are right. It would meet my needs perfectly. Might not meet the needs of others. But, they do have some whoppers going up to $16,000.00 that might be more ‘Tod worthy’.”

(In response to Tod Evans, a founding member of Family Woodworking and known “Grizzly Hater…” who actually recommended a Grizzly because it would meet Frank’s needs).

My suspicion is that it’s mostly woodworkers who are fairly new and have gotten their first taste of a really solid, well made tool. Because it’s the best tool for their needs they extrapolate and think it’s going to be the best tool for everyone else… But hey, that’s just my opinion

Other Resources:
Tool Pride
BOSCH Places Second in Battle of Power Tool Brands! Guess Who Got First…

You can’t ever have enough clamps. The longer you work with wood the truer this statement gets. Your budget might not agree with this fact however. If that’s the case then READ ON for some great ideas and tips for alternatives to clamping…

The guys at SawmillCreek have some great ideas for a fellow building a laminated workbench. Here’s the original thread: Alternative to lots of clamps?

john bateman:
If you really don’t want to get some big clamps, you could glue and screw each board to the next one, driving the screws directly through the faces of each board.

(this idea got the most agreement in the thread…)

Lance Norris:
How about threaded rod? You could make clamps with it. Take some 8/4 stock, say 2″ wide by 10″ long and drill a hole at each end, for 2 rods. Make 2 boards and run the rods through them and clamp your glue up between these. Wrenches and nuts will get you incredible force.

[example and pics of doing this from LumberJocks: Screw clamps, the easiest, cheapest and fastest (…for me)]

Jesse Cloud:
Make a bunch of wedges, about 3 inches long from scrap. Clamp one piece of the glue-up to your assembly table. In dry fit mode, add the other pieces to be glued up. After the last piece to be glued up, put pairs of wedges together loosely every few inches. Clamp a solid straight board after the wedges. Use a small hammer to bring the wedges together and act as clamps on your glueup.

Walt Nicholson:
I saw this years ago when a neighbor was making a laminated top for a country kitchen table top and (with no clamps) had to improvise. He glued his pieces together, put strong, straight 2X4s on either edge, placed 3 bottle jacks (one was a screw type from his car) in position on the 2X4s, looped and hooked some chain around them and then used the jacks to create the pressure. It was amazing how much glue was squeezed out and the finished product turned out very nice.

Mike Holden:
How about Friends? Friends with clamps that is.

David DeCristoforo:
Of course, there is also my “famous truck bumper” clamping system which involves laying your boards on saw horses against the side of your shop and backing your truck up against them.

Other suggestions:
Harbor Freight clamps
Ratchet Belts
Kreg Pocket Hole Jig

Other Resources:
Alternative to lots of clamps?
Screw clamps, the easiest, cheapest and fastest (…for me)
Parallel Clamps: Jet vs. Bessey
Tell me why I shouldn’t buy… (the cheap Harbor Freight clamps)

These wood sculptures by artist David C Roy really took my breath away… here’s a video of one he called “Spectrum”

Here’s how he describes his process of making these scupltures:
“I usually make the sculptures in groups of six. I cut most of the pieces on a band saw and then do the final shaping with a table router and sander. All the holes are predrilled using a drill press. I cut and make all the knobs, pulleys, and spools by hand using techniques that I have developed. All the pieces are hand sanded and then stained and finished.”

The size of these pieces is tough to grasp unless you see Mr. Roy standing right next to them… Here’s one where he demonstrates winding “Illusion:”

Here’s Variation-Zen… apparently he only made 6 of these.

The prices on his site range from $1250-3200. Check out Wood that Works.

I spotted these incredible sculptures over at SawmillCreek… Here’s a link to the original thread: Wood that Works Kinetic sculptures.

The SawmillCreekers chimed in recently when one of their own asked about Jet parallel clamps. Clamps and power tools are two things you can never have enough of, so of course I rolled up my sleeves and started counting responses.

The conversation spread far from just parallel clamps, but that’s what I focused on for the purposes of this post. You should read the full post here to get the full flavor and other great suggestions you may not have thought of: Are Jet the best clamps?

Jet: 9 Votes

Bessey K-Bodies: 7 Votes

“Comeerson” Clamps: 1 Vote (*)

As there’s no strong favorite between the two you can be reasonably assured you’ll like either… I read some suggestions in the thread that you buy 4 of a given clamp to see how you like it. If it serves you well then consider that a green light

(*) about the Comeerson brand clamps… I learned about these from Per Swinson in the SMC thread. That’s when you yell “Comeerson!” and get your son to clamp your project for awhile

Original thread:
Are Jet the best clamps?

Other Resources:
The 11 Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better The Bessey clamps made the sub-11 list.

Random Orbit Sanders are woodshop standards around the world. The random orbit means that the grit doesn’t make a noticeable “pattern” in the surface of your woodworking project. If you’re shopping for a new one - or your first one - this article gives you insight into which brands are most popular with woodworkers.

I counted up random orbital sander recommendations from 5 forums: Woodnet, SawmillCreek, LumberJocks, WoodWorkForums (Oz) and Contractor Talk. Without further ado, here are the top 5 most popular random orbit sanders:

1) Bosch: 20 Votes
The Bosch is the go-to standard for ROS. You won’t go wrong with the Bosch, though it’s definitely not the cheapest ROS available… Bosch was popular across ALL the forums.

Bosch 1295DVSK 2.2 Amp 5-Inch Palm Grip Variable Speed Random Orbit Palm Sander

Bosch 1250DEVS 6.5 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Sander with Vacuum Port

Bosch 1295 ROS Owners Opinions (SawmillCreek)

2) Festool: 19 Votes
Festools are expensive. Festool users love Festool so much they should be called cult members. It seemed like there were the most Festool fans in SawmillCreek.

6″ rand. orb. sander ETS 150/3

5″ random orbit sander ETS 125

Festool 150/5 random orbit sander review (SawmillCreek)

3) Porter-Cable: 12 Votes
Straight forward and steady, the Porter-Cable ROS seemed most popular with contractors. There were no raving PC fans… but then again they’re not the “raving” type

Porter-Cable 97355 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbital Sander Kit

4) Makita: 9 Votes
Another solid contender, the Makita is a popular less expensive option.

Makita BO6030 2.7 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Variable Speed Sander

5 - tie) Dewalt: 7 Votes
Everyone with a Dewalt ROS seemed to really like it. A strong choice that will last a long time.

DEWALT D26453K 3 Amp 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander Kit

5 - tie) Metabo: 7 Votes
Metabos seemed most popular “down under.” A solid mid-priced ROS.

Metabo SXE450 00458 3.8 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Sander

Everyone Else:
Ridgid: 4 Votes

Cabinet Scraper: 2 Votes
Using Card Scrapers (FWW article)

Dynabrade: 2 Votes
(pneumatic air powered sanders)

Ryobi: 1 Vote

Forum Threads Cited:
Random Orbit Sander- Is there consensus on top 2 or 3? (WoodNet)
ROS Suggestions (SawmillCreek)
Random Orbital Sander? (LumberJocks)
Whats the best random orbit sander in your opinion (WoodWorkForums)
Which sander? (ContractorTalk)

Other Resources:
Stopping Swirl Marks in Your Finish (PDF file…)
Chris Baylor on Random Orbital Sanders

Quality work shoes can take the ache out of your back, ankles, knees and feet. The question of “best shoes for the woodshop” comes up over and over in woodworking forums. Like most things woodworking the best answer is “it depends on what your needs are.”

We’re a safety-first company so we definitely recommend steel toed boots. From what I found most woodworkers agree - by and large they lean towards standard work boots while they’re working with wood. That said I found a SHOCKING number of people who wear sandals… or even flip flops. And one woodworker claims he works in the shop barefoot. YIKES! To each his own I guess, but remember, what you’re reading here is the collected opinions of woodworkers and does NOT reflect ToolCrib.com’s recommendations.

One thing NOT reflected well in the results you’ll read is the difference that cushioning floor pads will make! Most folks reported that good floor cushioning makes expensive/comfortable shoes unnecessary. Safe shoes are still recommended of course…

To find these results I referenced 2 main posts from SawmillCreek:
Best Boots for the Shop
Whats yer workshop shoe?

Boots: 23 Votes Total
Red Wing: 5 Votes

Red Wing 6611 Mens Oxford
Redwing “comfort zone” boots

Wolverine: 3 Votes

Wolverine Steeltoes for me.
Wolverines Wellingtons
Wolverine safety boots in the shop

Danner: 2 Votes

Danner Arcadias
Danner Hunting Boots

Timberland: 2 Votes
Timberland steel toe steel shank
Timberland Pro

Blundstone: 2 Votes
Blundstone safety boots
Blundstone

Everyone else:
Merrell hikers with Dr. Scholl’s most expensive insoles.
Echo boots
matterhorn safety toe boots
Jump Boots
Doc Martens with bouncing soles
Wescos
hi tech work boots

walking shoes/sneaker-y type shoes: 21 Votes
worn out running shoes: 14 Votes
slip on mocassins from cabelas
Propet walkers
Rocky steel toed sneakers
converse steel toe sneakers
heavy Rockports
Z-coils
Romeos

Sandal-y Foot Coverings: 16 votes Total
Crocs: 9 votes (close-toe recommended)

Sandals: 3 votes
Birkenstocks: 2 votes
flip flops: 2 votes

Use Floor Pads: 11 Votes

Barefoot: 1 Vote
We highly highly un-recommend this idea. Your mileage may vary!

Resources:
Top Ten Most Dangerous Woodworking Power Tools
Using Gloves in the Woodshop
The Seven Golden Rules of Power Tool Safety
Best Boots for the Shop
Whats yer workshop shoe?
Most Comfortable Work Boots
View Poll Results: Your Favorite Work Boot

Over at Family Woodworking Joe Mioux asked the family what table saw they’d get if they had unlimited budget. He’s selling a Mini-Max. See the original thread here: If you could buy a new ts….

I tallied them up and here are the table saws that the Family sees when they’re sawing “z’s.”

SawStop: 6 Votes

Sawstop preferred over Powermatic PM 2000 for Professional Wood Shop (WoodNetters only)
SawStop got mini-kudos in our customer service forum survey.
SawStop placed #11 on our Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better
Tied w/ PM2000 in Top Cabinet Saws for a Small Pro Wood Shop

PowerMatic: 4 Votes
5hp pre 1977 pm66
PM2000 with the router lift
custom Powermatic 2066

Also see:
Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Powermatic 66 Table Saw
Tied w/ SawStop in Top Cabinet Saws for a Small Pro Wood Shop

Mini Max Sliding Table Saw: 3 Votes

Steel City cabinet saw: 2 votes

One Mention Each:
an old Unisaw
left tilt General cabinet-saw
Woodtek - 148-271 Hybrid Tablesaw

If I had the cash I’d like to try out the Steel City granite top table saw

How about you? What’s your dream table saw?