January 1st 2013

 

  I have been writing three blogs a week since the end of January 2011, three hundred ten posts in all.  I certainly can't claim to have created all the entries from scratch,  I own a debt of gratitude to many other great woodworkers and blogger for their shared material and their inspiration.  Over the course of these two years I have only been ignored/rebuffed by one fellow blogger and been encouraged my many.  When I find something out on the net I am careful to give credit were credit is due, it is my feeling that if an idea or trick is posted to the world, the person posting it expects it to be shared around but absolutely deserves credit for their idea, effort  and work.

  In two years I have reviewed and commented on a variety of tools and workshop books.  My policy of promoting things that I found to be good and ignoring things that disappointed me has been maintained, I don't think anyone really wants to listen to a rant about a poor quality tool.

  An ongoing theme has been, use the right tool, properly and your results will improve.  I still think that we have done ourselves and our economy a disservice by obsessively looking for the "best deal", (cheapest version).  I have some tools that I will never wear out because they are good quality tools that cost serious money when purchased, but have paid for themselves many times over.  I think of my Stanley block plane as an example, I reached for it yesterday and it did the job the way it has always done the job. It was one of the first decent tools that I bought 35 years ago, and it is still going strong.

mine old plane is brown, not black and one of the cheeks
is broken off  after being dropped on the shop floor.

   It is customary to either look back or look ahead on this day. I generally don't do much that is customary but in this case, I predict this will be the "workshop year of the fish":

  This wee fish is my version of a Japanese netsuke. I recently finished reading "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" by Edmund De Waal, and was impressed with the book and very taken with the Netsuke as carving projects.  2013 is going to be a year with time spend on carving and small projects, I am also going to try and knock off a "bucket list" project or two, the list keeps getting longer and I am not getting younger so I need to get working.

   Thetoolstore.ca  has been a good sponsor and I look forward to another productive year, my shop continues to evolve and I still have all my fingers, all good things with which to begin a new year.

  Best New Year wishes to you all, and blog to you later.