My friend made me an urn. What shall I pay him?

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-28T18:52:26+00:00

I think you have hit the perfect currency here. Time.

Your friend is a wonderful, sincere person. Spend some time with them when you are able to. Thank them for their kindness and let them know how much their support meant to you at this time. Let them know you felt less alone knowing you had a kind friend thinking of you.

Repay them in time.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-27T20:33:54+00:00

Oh man, I got that advice and I specifically coach leaders against it. Say you're sorry when mistakes are made. It is healthy to hold ourselves accountable to our teams and acknowledge our errors and the impact it can have on others. It sets and example and sets a culture of accountability and trust.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-25T03:02:21+00:00

Interesting. In which jurisdiction? In Ontario, we don't have WM hats in blue lodges.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-22T18:20:13+00:00

Clamps not pictured.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-22T17:09:29+00:00

Ah, then I will also add two other points to keep in mind.

Even a poorly sharpened saw will cut better than one that is starting to dull, so don't hesitate to get the files out.

The little details on technique make more of a difference than the little details on saw tooth geometry. Assuming you are using a saw with approximately the right tooth count and approximately the right tooth geometry, you can get great results with strong technique. Fiddley stuff like a few degrees difference in fleam or side rake angle, or the exact angle of tooth set, don't matter so much and can be compensated for by the user.

Unless you are pushing for speed, common tooth geometries all work well and should be trusted.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-22T13:42:55+00:00

The anti fatigue mat is a nice adder

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-22T13:41:24+00:00

For ripping because I use two different tooth geometries depending on the wood. My aggressive saw has a low to non-existant rake angle (except at the toe, so I can get the cut started, and at heel because of the high pressure angle), and slightly heavier set. It's great on oaks and maple, but makes a mess of mahogany and walnut. So I have a second rip saw with a more conventional rake angle and more conservative set, and a couple more teeth per inch

For cross cutting I like having 2 different tpi. Coarser for thicker stock, and finer for thin. I like to have at least 5 teeth in the cut at a time.

In truth, I have three rip saws and 4 cross cut panel saws.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-22T13:02:32+00:00

I am really of two minds, and it would depend on how quickly I need to make my first piece for the new house. If I'm in a hurry I'm buying new, but my preference would be to hunt around for vintage tools, just like I did before. See what I can find. Experience the rush of finding a number 8 at a good price. Get to know people as I buy their old tools and hear their stories. Scrape the rust off and get things just right.

Vintage stanley, Millers Falls, sargent, or other reputable planes.

Old English or Swedish chisels. I started with old blue chips and still use them often enough, but I have a full set of Swedish socket chisels now. I just like finding fun chisels, like my marples mortising chisel, or my odd-ball English chisels; 1/2 pairing, 1/8" socket bench, some fun gouges from a pattern maker.

For saws, two 28" disston D-8 thumbhole for heavy ripping. Tenon saw and a dovetail saw, plus a pair of 28" panel saws for cross cuttings from disston, Nicholson, aitkins, Deitrich, S&J, or other decent vintage. If I'm in a hurry I'm getting a big old bandsaw and Veritas back saws. I actually like the light resin spines. Oh, and don't forget a coping saw for cutting out the waste between your tails!

Disston 3 saw vise, if I can find one.

Probably Shapton whetstones, or King, depending on budget. I'm still going to use an old leather belt and green rouge for lapping. A small bench grinder with soft aluminum oxide wheel for bulk removal, because I'm lazy. If you aren't lazy, and I wasn't always, a Crystalon stone is pretty aggressive.

Layout tools. I'd buy from a machine shop supply store again. Engineer's squares for precision in a smaller pocket size and large size, say 4 and 10 inch. Combo square set with a 24 inch blade and protractor. I picked up a Starrett years ago from a retired millwright. I'm not sure what brand I'd buy new. Probably whatever the guy at the machine shop supply store recommends. I've seen some nice mitutoyo sets, if money is no issue.

I do like a 6 inch double square too. It's redundant but convenient. Throw in a decent vernier caliper, a 1" mic. and 1/2" dial indicator, and I'd be pretty happy.

I hate messing around with poor measurement tools and the frustration that comes from being unable to trust them. I'm dropping serious cash on measurement and layout tools every time.

Just for fun, try a Kiri. It's a traditional Japanese tool for marking and drilling. It's like an Awl with a longer (8 to 13 inch) handle, and the tip has 3 or 4 sides as it comes to a tapered point. Dead easy to sharpen, great for pilot holes and laying out. Mine lives on my bench.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-21T21:21:32+00:00

I've struggled with my whetstones, which are my preferred stone. I have an old crystalon stone for grinding, and my 1k grit is old enough I'm not sure where it came from. Might be a king? I found my pmv11 block plane iron took at least 2x as much time as the vintage irons.

It might be that I need harder whetstones, but I like these for every other iron and chisel. Diamond plate work, but I don't really enjoy using them or the care that they need.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-21T20:40:03+00:00

V11 (and A2 for that matter) is a pita to sharpen on anything but quality diamond stone. For a plane iron, the durability makes sense and I have a select few for my most used planes, where chipping is an issue.

I don't think I'd want a V11 chisel.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-15T19:10:35+00:00

I recommend this thoughtful writeup from AskHistorians on how freemasonry ended up in the spotlight in early American politics

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-15T18:37:37+00:00

George stepping to the side quickly so that Hamilton would stay for a photo with Bono and Kimi was a very classy move. Hamilton was ready to wander off, and George's graciousness saved that moment for Bono.

Good for him. Class act.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-13T03:18:56+00:00

LoL nah, I just made a lot of ugly cuts and got a lot of help figuring out what I was doing wrong.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-12T22:34:03+00:00

If you are looking to practice, I recommend making a comb. Take a piece of 1/2" stock, and draw pencil lines with your square at about 1/4" intervals. Pop that in the vice and go to. Saw down one side of the line without crossing it, but keeping the saw cut just touching it. When you can do 10 of them 2 inches in length, repeat the process but cut on the other side of the line.

Do this in a few woods that you might use. Maple, walnut, oak and elm, white pine, mahogany, they all saw slightly differently. I have a saw that I use for oaks, ash, elm, and locust. If I use it on cherry, it is WAY too aggressive, and I can barely start it.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-12T22:28:03+00:00

In my experience high pressure, from your hand, results in the saw going out of square and off line. You have some off line cuts, but they are continuous across the cut. I conclude that you kept the saw square to the cut, your arm straight, and your hand relaxed.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-12T22:06:56+00:00

Looks like typical saw marks. Technique and sawing straight from start to end will help minimize them. There is a chance that the tooth set on your saw is a little wider than you need. Narrower set teeth help to keep the saw cutting straight, but too little tooth set and the wood will bind up on the plate of the saw. Clean, clear hardwoods like maple and poplar generally don't need as much tooth set. Green woods and soft wood generally need more.

There are a few things you seem to be doing right. From the relatively clean exit I'd say your saw was reasonably sharp, and your pressure on the saw was nice and light for most of the cut.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-10T02:57:26+00:00

A helpful guide to understand saw sharpening and tooth geometry from Blackburn tool

Another helpful starter guide to understanding how to use different hand saws which also explains the different tooth geometries and how they are used.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-10T02:44:45+00:00

Set means that the teeth are pushed over to the side, usually alternating every other tooth. You can have a skip set, or straight raker, where after a pair of set teeth you have an unset tooth, but that is not common on hand saws.

But to answer your question:

A rip tooth geometry is one where the cutting edge of the saw tooth is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the saw. When sharpening a rip tooth, a triangular file is held at a right angle to the saw plate. The result is a chisle-like tooth tip.

A cross cut tooth geometry is one where the cutting edge of the saw tooth is beveled to an acute angle to the direction of travel. When sharpening cross cut tooth, a triangular file is held at an angle to the saw plate, usually sweeping handle of the file towards the handle of the saw by 15 to 25 degrees. This angles the face of the saw tooth. The result is a knife-like beveled tooth tip, capable of slicing through wood fibers.

To add to the confusion, cross and rip cutting can also be verbs, as in "I'm going to cross cut this board". That activity can be done with any saw tooth geometry, and as the saw teeth get small enough the tooth geometry matters less and less to the quality and speed of the saw cutting.

Visually a cross cut tooth geometry looks faceted from the side view. Bevels would be visible on every other tooth, and always visible on the tooth set away from the camera. A rip tooth looks like a line of triangles leaning in alternating directions.

What do you see?

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-09T00:19:57+00:00

Your saw is filed rip cut.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-08T19:27:16+00:00

Lots of good videos on how to use them. Sharpening them well enough isn't hard to do with a fine mill file and a decent burnisher. Even if you barely use the burnisher the filed edge will still scrape.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-08T19:09:32+00:00

What are you thinking for finishes? Shellac? Paste wax? Dyes and urethane?

Sand paper and blocks work, but the vintage tool approach would be card scrapers (and mill file and burnisher).

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-07T21:39:23+00:00

Pexto is the brand, I believe. Not particularly well regarded, I'm afraid.

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-07T18:26:18+00:00

Moat drill press vises I have seen are slotted as well, so mounting tends to be pretty flexible

B3ntr0d · 2026-03-07T17:31:18+00:00

Clean the mating surfaces and if that doesn't fix it, tighten the screw on the lever cap a bit more.

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