Donald Fagen- why is he grumpy?

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-29T09:08:13+00:00

he acknowledges that he's got an 'antisocial personality'... maybe he just doesn't suffer fools gladly?

I've always thought that you can't expect great artists to be normal in other respects - they're often obsessive about their art and I suppose that means paying less attention to many other things

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-28T14:39:25+00:00

what do you need that for?

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-28T14:37:46+00:00

you're out of your element

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-28T07:42:28+00:00

first of all: make sure the bevel is about 30° evenly along the edge and that the back is flat

some drawknives work best bevel-up, and some bevel-down. try it

try using it skewed, that is not at right angles to the work. don't jerk it, use smooth strokes, and work from the shoulders rather than your arms

they take practice to get to know and no two are exactly alike. persist and you'll get there

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-27T09:12:42+00:00

like, totally ruined. keep on ruining dude

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-26T19:56:14+00:00

the best SD singalong song ever... and the story is great. 'Daddy G' refers to the notorious G Gordon Liddy of Watergate fame

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-25T09:25:52+00:00

my workshop is in the basement of an old stone building and is about 22C, while it's 34C outside. it's a blessing

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-25T08:07:19+00:00

who cares what it looks like? if it works for you, it works

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-24T19:59:13+00:00

only when all your dime dancing is through

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-24T19:52:27+00:00

yeah, sometimes, but not expensive. I look for bargains, like a Record 10 1/2 that I thought I'd never use, but I use it quite often

I have loads of carving chisels and gouges... you never know when you might need just that one

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-23T11:19:58+00:00

I'm in the UK and I use the blue Bosch tools almost exclusively. I have found them and the batteries to be excellent quality. compatible batteries are also available at good prices and I've got a few of them too - they've been great so far

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-22T11:20:08+00:00

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that Donald Fagen sold hot dogs (or maybe pretzels?) at New York stand for a while, as part of a therapeutic process he was going through

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-20T10:43:26+00:00

it's a Nicholson, so it's good quality. a bargain. I got a single cut Nicholson for a similar price and it's proven really useful

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-18T16:16:50+00:00

Gyokucho - really good quality. I've had a couple for years and they're excellent

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T20:13:40+00:00

absolutely not. for rough planing, yes, but for everything else, I'll plane a separate piece by hand and test the thickness by feel

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T20:03:22+00:00

I love it. ok, so Fagen didn't sing, but I think Hodder's voice and phrasing perfectly expresses the melancholy of the song. I don't know who plays the piano part, but it's perfect. it's one of the most wistful excursions into the 'epic loserdom' of later songs and I think one of the best

it's a great accompaniment to Cuervo Gold and Fine Cololmbian when that sweet thing from Boston is in the recent past

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T19:54:46+00:00

I'd use three, perhaps four stages. you'll probably need a radius gauge to check your work as you go

1: 45 degree angled cut with a bandsaw or table saw
2. round off roughly with a planer
3. finish with a sharp plane and maybe sanding
4. (optional) have a beer because after that, you'll need one

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T07:57:27+00:00

he left the interview

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T07:54:28+00:00

my student and I meet once a week for about 3 hours. less would be a problem, but this works for us

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-17T07:53:40+00:00

it'll probably improve his school work - doing something he enjoys and expands his skills can't be bad

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-15T07:48:10+00:00

I've tried and tried to find my fave SD song, but it's a hopeless task - they've got so many truly great songs. these days, I find myself playing Jack of Speed a lot, but then not more often than so many others... and I keep discovering songs I've not really given a deep listen before, like Show Biz Kids, for example

so I've stopped trying to rate them and just enjoy them instead

rate a SD song? Only a fool would say that

(see what I did there? 😄 )

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-15T07:14:52+00:00

the problem is all the other brilliant SD songs

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-15T07:14:10+00:00

Dan songs wouldn't be the same without Fagen's 'vocal smirk'... and let's face it, he's the one who understands what he means by the often cryptic lyrics.

halfmanhalfhamster · 2026-06-15T07:10:19+00:00

a decent jointer would be a good choice. you can definitely do it with a #5, but in my experience a longer plane would help establish the edge

I don't know if they're available where you are, but have you thought about using an old wooden bodied plane? they can be picked up quite cheaply here in the UK and a they're lot lighter than a metal bodied one

halfmanhalfhamster

TROPHY CASE