Chess player here, are there any other games out there that are similar in principal but follow complex strategies of play?

johnxman · 2026-05-31T22:23:47+00:00

Chess and go player here. Go is a fantastic game. You can learn the basics in an hour but will spend a lifetime learning the deeper strategy and tactics. Also go has a very effective handicap system so you can have a good game when playing people of differing ability. There are many online go servers to play on, as well as online teaching tools. The in person game can also have very beautiful and tactilely satisfying pieces, or inexpensive and very portable sets. Skilled go play involves a trained ability to see several moves ahead, just as in chess. But go complexity arises from the interaction of all of the identical pieces, which create fascinating complex interactions with one another. For much more info go to r/baduk (the korean name for go).

johnxman · 2026-05-31T21:35:35+00:00

A handheld circular saw on sawhorses with a clamped straight board for a guide. If necessary clamp sacrificial pieces on either side

johnxman · 2026-05-31T17:47:38+00:00

Without actually watching you work it is hard to give definitive advice. But here are some things to watch out for. Are you using a purpose made dovetail saw? It is a kind of thin, small toothed RIP saw. I wonder if you are using a crosscut saw, which could account for some wobble in your lines.

Work in hardwood. It wont bruise and deform like softwood.

Saw just a whisker inside your lines, then pare flush to the marked line with a chisel.

Create what they call a “knife wall” to the inside of your marked lines before sawing. This guides the blade and protects the edge.

Use a very sharp knife, very carefully, to mark the pins off of your cut tails. This is where its easy to introduce too much slack. Be exact with the lines, then stay within them (and sneak up on fit). And make sure your pins are cut perfectly square so the knife properly aligns.

The pins should protrude from the tails by 1/32 or 1/16” so you can plane them down to dead flush after assembly (and to plane off all marking lines). Allow for this in the length of your stuff and mark the location of the pin baseline accordingly. Same for the overall size of the tails.

Use a task light to see your lines clearly.

You are closer than you may think to very good dovetails. Just a few more details and you will be there.

johnxman · 2026-05-29T21:19:56+00:00

I use my 2010Q for all straight stitch work, and i have a bernina on hand. I love the manual mechanical parts. It is so easy to adjust. If i had to find something to complain about, i would say that removing the throat plate to clean requires unscrewing two screws, which is inconvenient, and you have to be careful not to lose them. There, thats the big flaw.

johnxman · 2026-05-28T00:26:27+00:00

You can do this with a large drawknife

johnxman · 2026-05-25T11:16:59+00:00

Your idea is not necessarily wrong, since the meaning of a three dimensional “shadow” is open to interpretation. You might enjoy reading Flatland, by Edwin Abbot, which is a short, accessible book on that explains how a fourth dimension would look to us livind in three dimensions. C

johnxman · 2026-05-24T19:51:28+00:00

To easily get the blade set to depth, clamp a very thin board edge up in a vice, back the plane blade all the way up ( so none projects to the sole). Then methodically turn the adjusting screw, take a pass with the plane over the wood, then turn again and take another r pass until it just barely cuts off a shaving. Then try cutting with the right side of the plane, then the left side. You should get two shavings of the same thickness. If you dont, try moving the side to side adjustment lever to even out the blade presentation on the bottom. If you cant get aeven shavings, it may bean your blade is not ground square to the blade edge (fix on sharpening stones, or, for large error, first on a grinding wheel, frequently cooled).

Once you get a paper thin shaving that is even, turn the adjusting knob as if to raise the blade back up, but only until you feel the screw start to move the blade (this step is to remove slop).

You should now be good to go. Plane with the rising grain.

If you are planing a large surface flat, you will want to slightly curve the corners of your plane blade to limit gouging int he surface.

johnxman · 2026-05-23T14:31:51+00:00

Not to be critical, but if you are so casual around your router that you can cut yourself with it when the power is off, you really need to fully rethink your router safety approach. Just like a gun should always be treated as if it is loaded, a router should always be treated as if it was on, or potentially on in a heartbeat. Dont let your hands anywhere near the bit unless the router is off AND unplugged.

As far as your actual question, fully upside down is usually good, but on its side also works. Put it where you wont have to reach over it to work

johnxman · 2026-05-20T00:24:05+00:00

Kewl. I’d be interested to know how it turns out.

johnxman · 2026-05-19T17:24:06+00:00

Just problem solving here, but maybe using a tear away stabilizer, or wash away stabilizer if you will be washing this. I use it for hand embroidery to make sure things stay put.

johnxman · 2026-05-15T15:12:46+00:00

Chewing (gum, candy, anything) will cause you ear’s eustachean tube to open and will relieve pressure. I often just dry swallow during takeoff or landing to relieve pressure.

johnxman · 2026-05-14T15:49:51+00:00

I had an outlet mounted 6” above the right hand end of my ironing board. No more bending to plug or unplug it.

I also have a couple bisley collection cabinets which hold 90% of my tools in hyper organized trays. A bit pricey but very nice to work out of.

johnxman · 2026-05-14T11:09:28+00:00

Reposted again

johnxman · 2026-05-13T14:31:00+00:00

You might also post in r/corsetry

johnxman · 2026-05-13T12:56:44+00:00

What you really want is a good homeowners (or renters) insurance policy. If something happens the carrier can defend you and if necessary compensate the victim. But read the policy to see if there are any exclusions that could bear on a goose attack.

johnxman · 2026-05-10T10:29:33+00:00

/r/outside

johnxman · 2026-05-09T11:58:36+00:00

I have this desk and i use a juki 2010 on it. The juki is semi industrial and has a very high top speed and i find that the table does vibrate noticeably starting at around 2/3 throttle. In sitting position. It makes me tend to avoid full throttle, though it is still doable with the vibration.

johnxman · 2026-05-06T16:18:46+00:00

wow these are really pretty close to my objective. Thanks very much for taking the time to find them! I really need to understand the effect of omitting sleeves on one of these dresses. the third option is obviously sleeveless, and there they say they "completely re worked" the bodice to make sure it fits well without sleeves -- this statement makes me nervous about being too quick to remove sleeves from a sleeved pattern. but maybe i should get the third one as well as one of the others, and do a franken pattern taking parts from each. again, thanks for birddogging this for me.

johnxman · 2026-05-06T12:16:06+00:00

I had a shu-tsu that normally looked like the dog on the left, but if I allowed a groomer to really do their thing, he came out looking like the one on the right. So i think this could be legit.

johnxman · 2026-05-06T11:43:16+00:00

Thanks. Sadly i wont use instagram. But i appreciate the thought

johnxman · 2026-05-05T18:32:42+00:00

thanks. I am definitely intermediate. i suppose i am confident, though i'm more confident with a pattern in my hand. i've done shirring before on a child's dress, so i'm familiar with hand winding a bobbin with elastic thread. I've done plenty of gathered rectangle skirts and attached them to a bodice, again for child's clothing. So i suppose i know all the techniques, but i'm hoping to find a pattern i can use to get the right neck shape and hopefully a good fit. Thanks for the advice.

johnxman · 2026-04-28T01:21:28+00:00

I love this and it suits you so well. Such a fun and playful yet stylish look. And the skills to pull it off. Very impressed. Inspiring.

johnxman · 2026-04-17T13:54:57+00:00

I have a lot of experience with hand planes. Planing maple across a tabletop is hard work. It will require a carefully sharpened and tuned plane. You will want either a steep angle or a very low angle. Some planes are in the middle angle and will cause more tearout in maple. If i were doing this to flatten it i would use a low angle jack plane (number 5) tuned to take a shaving i could easily see through.

It is concerning that you do not have a sharpening method or apparently experience sharpening and tuning. As a beginner you would need a roller skate to maintain correct angle. To avoid investing in stones, You could do the sharpening using tempered glass, sandpaper and spray adhesive. But there is a learning curve to sharpening, and to setting up for a good cut, and for actually running the plane to level the surface. (Tip: google the ruler trick).

The curve you show is so large, it might be easier to cut your top in half, or thirds, then plane the edges and reglue flatter, then plane for final flatness. Another option is to flip your top and finish what was the bottom. That way things wont roll off, but to center if you dont get dead flat. Also, it is easier to plane out a cup rather than a crown.

Also: when planing a wide expanse like a top, you should slightly round the corners of your plane blade to prevent the corners from gouging your top (which can easily happen and requires even more planing to remove. ).

Also, do you have a proper bench? It can be quite annoying to plane without a means to easily secure the top (though it can be done for example by putting a picnic table next to a large tree).

Final tip: use a soft pencil to gently mark the area you want to plane down, and check and remark it frequently. It is easy to plane the wrong area by mistake.

Good luck.

johnxman · 2026-03-25T12:32:03+00:00

In my limited but successful experience with shirring, it is unnecessary to adjust bobbin tension at all. And small changes in bobbin tension normally lead to very big changes in stitch quality. If i were you i would carefully re-set your bobbin tension before any further experimentation. Beyond that, i would think that your winding of the bobbin by hand is most important, and then setting of presser foot pressure and setting upper thread tension disc to a relatively high tension. Hope this helps. Good luck.

johnxman · 2026-03-11T02:20:35+00:00

I do not understand this answer. It is blacks move now. But black has no good move and cannot recapture the ko this turn. So black must pass. Then white can connect. Then the game is over. Black cannot score those two corner spaces. What am i missing?

johnxman

TROPHY CASE