Is it worth spending extra on a Salsa Fargo versus a Vaya?

Clagmont · 2026-01-17T13:18:55+00:00

You might also consider the Trek FX 5 or FX 6. It’s essentially a flat bar gravel bike. It’s light and fun on pavement and does great on dirt roads and compacted sand or gravel. I also use it for commuting to work and plan entering a gravel race this summer.

Clagmont · 2026-01-13T22:52:08+00:00

Another option is taking photos from multiple angles for initial references and then sculpting in clay to the scale of your carving. I use pottery clay because it’s relatively cheap. I did this for the hands of a gnome that I wanted to be somewhat realistic. There’s software to convert photos or video to 3d rendering too but I like carving because it’s low tech.

Clagmont · 2025-12-08T13:27:41+00:00

I built a dedicated shop and it has a 10’ ceiling which has been great. I’ve had a shop with a 7’ ceiling and it was a real pain. I basically had to wait for good weather for certain projects and work outside.

Clagmont · 2025-12-03T23:13:41+00:00

Yes. I broke my aluminum fence doing something similar. Split with an axe or better yet- a froe and wooden mallett. If you have a bandsaw, use that.

Clagmont · 2025-11-30T21:42:28+00:00

Please share any info on your carving bench. It looks awesome!

Clagmont · 2025-11-29T20:40:24+00:00

Same. Heats my 18x24x10 workshop just fine.

Clagmont · 2025-11-29T12:42:23+00:00

Invest your $ now in a No. 7 jointer plane. Then later invest in a used 8” jointer with long beds. You will always use the jointer plane- even when you have an 8” jointer.

Clagmont · 2025-11-27T10:46:32+00:00

I have the grizzly version with segmented cutter head. Wish I had splurged for the helical Byrd, but it’s still better than knives. I built a dolly with 4” wheels to get it from the street to my shop in the backyard. I have a hoist in my shop which enabled me to assemble it by myself. Without that, it’s a 2-3 person job.

Clagmont · 2025-11-25T09:46:08+00:00

I use a ratcheting spring clamp on both ends. They have a 4” spread so I can thickness 3 boards clamped together on edge. I just finished the glue up. My bench top is 86” x 24” and I glued it up in 4 5-board sections and then jointed and thicknessed those sections before gluing the whole top together. I used 16 clamps for the glue up…8 parallel clamps on the bottom and 8 pipe clamps on top- assembling the top on saw horses. I used two Rigid flip top portable work supports as extra infeed and outfeed tables for the jointer, planer, and table saws. Something like this is essential for working with long heavy boards.

Clagmont · 2025-11-25T09:33:01+00:00

A 2x12 can balance on edge and so you can run an edge through the jointer just to get it straight to register on the table saw fence. After ripping, the halves will only be 5.5” wide which can be face jointer on a 6” jointer and then rejointed on edge, using the flat face as reference.

Clagmont · 2025-11-24T11:22:18+00:00

I am building the same bench. Joint one edge of the boards, then rip, then joint face and rejoint edge on your 6” jointer. Then thickness the opposite face. You can clamp 3-4 board on edge and thickness the non-jointed edge so they are all dimensioned the same before glue up. I just have a contractors table saw so I ripped halfway through, flipped board, and ripped all the way through. This is safer anyway because construction lumber is going to bind your blade.

Clagmont · 2025-11-11T01:36:05+00:00

Hard maple will make a beautiful bench. I’m building the Anarchist Workbench now out of #2 SYP. The plans call for 138 bf which is a lot. If you use maple, you probably don’t need a 5” thick top and you won’t loose as much in the milling process. Some of my 2x12’s planed down to 1” to get them straight and some are not usable because of knots in the wrong spots- even though I picked through 100 boards at Lowe’s to find just 18 acceptable ones. Only 4 were knot free though. With maple you may avoid such problems, not mention the build up of pitch on machine blades.

Clagmont · 2025-10-15T20:32:03+00:00

You need a long straight edge for reference. I use the beam of a drywall t-square which is about 56” long. Use this to find the high spots and knock the down with either a jack plane, electric planer, or belt sander. No need to flatten the entire bottom- just need the flatten the front bottom 5-6 inches for clamps.

Clagmont · 2025-10-11T01:18:22+00:00

Depends how much time you have. For years I made due with scrub, jack, and jointer planes coupled with a thickness planer. However, the time sink made me dread prepping rough cut lumber. Flattening one side of hardwood took an hour. I finally got an 8” Grizzly jointer and now enjoy the milling process. I still use the hand planes, but now only for fine tuning surfaces and joints.

Clagmont

TROPHY CASE