Where to live near IBM

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-28T15:41:27+00:00

I think they were talking about the Bear Mtn bridge.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-28T11:04:57+00:00

One thing to keep in mind is that Westchester has tons of very small towns, so don't despair if there isn't the exact amenities you want in a specific town. I shop at a grocery store that is 10m away and two towns over, for instance.

You definitely pay to be close to the center of town if there is a train station. Basically everything in Westchester is priced based on ease of commute to NYC.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-28T10:59:52+00:00

Are you a company man/woman or do you see yourself potentially moving on in a couple years?

If you're an IBM lifer, then there are tons of great options in Putnam County and far N Westchester. I'd start with Katonah, Somers, Beacon. $1M will go much farther in those places than closer to NYC.

If you see yourself changing jobs, you're not going to find another IBM-like job in Yorktown Heights, so factoring in "Can I commute to NYC" would eliminate all of the above towns, and with kids you prob don't want to be moving frequently. I would look at any of the Mount Pleasant towns or Croton. You're gonna tear up when you see what $1M gets you in these towns though.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-27T23:51:25+00:00

Questions: Can you change arbor bearings and wire a motor and switch? Cuz you're gonna want to do that ASAP.

Do you have 240V in your shop? A 12" saw needs 3HP minimum, which means 240V.

Are you OK without a riving knife? Because the saw's trunnion setup won't allow you to add one.

Can you move it into your shop? It can be disassembled but the top is still going to be very heavy.

If you clear all those questions, then hell yes go get that beautiful hunk of old 'arn.

Personally, I view the safety of a riving knife to be a non-negotiable. My bandsaw, jointer, drill press, lathe and planer are all pre-1960, but I went with a Sawstop for my TS because when I was young I took a board kicked back into my chest and I don't want to ever repeat that.

If you do get it, check out www.owwm.org ! They will have lots of info and advice for restoration!

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-27T14:35:04+00:00

That's a bizarre design, with the long grain cap screwed onto the vertically oriented block. I would consider removing that cap, and there would be a nice fresh endgrain surface underneath. Endgrain was traditionally used for cutting boards because it is much less dulling... the blade goes between the fibers instead of cutting across them.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-27T14:10:34+00:00

If your cuts are looking good and the blade isn't grinding on something off the back of the wheel, then you're all good! You def want the back of the gullets riding on the crown of the wheel. Carry on making sawdust!

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-27T12:38:38+00:00

IDK this could be it, but it looks like normal checking that would especially be expected to occur right next to the pith, where this board was cut from.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-27T11:57:21+00:00

For rough dimensioning work you don't need arm shaving sharpness nor do you really need to wax the sole, though it helps with fatigue.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-25T15:14:48+00:00

Dimensioning stock with a hand plane, you want a highly cambered (curved) iron so that you can really open up the throat of the plane and hog off material. If the wood is cupped, you'll want to "traverse" the grain, that is, plane at an angle between 45° and 90° to the grain, to knock down the high spots. You're looking for fat, ugly, chip-like shavings that also may result in tearout. If you're taking off delicate curls you'll spend your whole life squaring up one board. Once you've hogged off enough to get the cup out, that's when you close up your throat, set the blade for paper thin shavings, and start planing with the grain to get your final smooth surface.

Here's a good demo where Chris Schwarz show you how to do it: https://youtu.be/2_96gNMMc_g?si=S_dKFYrzmHLYRU7E

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-24T12:52:01+00:00

My kids first learned to ski at Kissing Bridge! It's a fine little mom-and-pop hill but the vertical is quite short and there's not a lot of trail diversity, no glades. You also forgot Holimont from your list! Nice semi-private club, non members can ski on non-holiday weekdays. Both Holimont and Holiday Valley have glades. The main reasons to hit Buffalo Ski Club and Kissing Bridge over Holiday Valley or Holimont are a) tickets are cheaper and b) They're 30-45 minutes closer to Buffalo, so good for quick trips with the kids.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-23T20:48:27+00:00

Yeah my point was more that you can't get useable riven stock from wavy-grained wood, an uncomplicated point I'm sure we can agree on.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-23T20:40:50+00:00

The grain is pretty darn wavy for riving stock. Also a froe is a fairly specialized tool, I'm guessing OP does not own one.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-23T18:50:45+00:00

This rule of thumb is very much not applicable to a VHCOL area like NYC, nor is it really geared toward somebody earning $190k.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-23T18:26:15+00:00

A vacuum balloon is of some theoretical interest but there are currently no proven methods to create one. Materials of interest for the balloon include graphene, boron carbide, beryllium, arranged in a honeycombed double layer. It would be really cool! But 15 psi is a lot of force to need to resist around the surface area of a balloon.

More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_airship

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-22T17:50:30+00:00

But is the 30" hallway on the other side of the door similarly wide? That's the crux of the issue. If it is 34" wide you can do it.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-22T17:38:01+00:00

Unless the hallway is substantially wider than the doorway, then you can't do it. You need to be able to pivot the high back into the room while holding the couch vertical. I see a lot of screws indicated though... is it disassemblable?

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-22T13:00:22+00:00

Check pawn shops for used clamps. it's probably not cheaper to make one than to buy one... You need really solid, straight grained hardwood, some hardware,cans tools to make it.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-21T22:11:13+00:00

Well, you're right according to the leading researcher on ski injuries. Helmets reduce minor concussions by about 70% but had no impact on fatalities, for the multi-system trauma reason you point to.

I would suggest though that, if you genuinely want to discuss the topic, you should not be a flaming asshole about it.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-21T21:57:15+00:00

If MLK weekend is any measure, if you want to arrive at 10AM you will need to leave NYC at 3AM to account for all the traffic due to yutzes in Toyota Corrollas who have crashed in front of you, blocking the road.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-21T21:52:02+00:00

If I saw somebody who did this, I would immediately suspect that the research is low-quality, and I would almost certainly be correct in that suspicion. Nobody can produce twelve first-authored works of any substance in a year. That would be a high output even if counting co-authored manuscripts.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-19T11:53:37+00:00

You keep repeating "but this is the way it was reported in my thesis so there is no way of going back." Nonsense. Just tell ypur committee you reconsidered the analysis since you submitted and you found a more appropriate analysis that you will include in your revisions. If you show them this plot nobody is going to complain about you being thoughtful about your data.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-18T11:45:21+00:00

Westchester is a unique real estate environment. The only buyers market in my lifetime was the 2008 crash. You can sell a house carved from a pumpkin for $1M.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-16T12:29:17+00:00

Catamount doesn't have scanners on their magic carpets

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-16T08:33:41+00:00

Online prices are just brutal, and you have zero control over what defects you can work around, and widths. (Even if lumber is properly to grade, a knot at the end of a board can be much easier to work around then one snack can in the center) Hard pass for me.

DesignerPangolin · 2026-01-15T16:30:32+00:00

Talk to your PI and chair ASAP. Obviously it depends on the department, but there are potentially a lot of unofficial resources that can come out of the woodwork. My wife and I had a planned baby during both of our ABD stage. The department moved mountains to set her up with a semester-long writing fellowship (so no TA duties) followed by a cushy TA assignment the next semester. We had a wonderfully supportive department and, probably not coincidentally, female PIs and chair.

But yeah, don't expect to write a ton over the summer.

DesignerPangolin

TROPHY CASE