I don't know about you, but I had a great Christmas. My in-laws gave as a gift some money in order for me to buy something for myself. I went to Dictum yesterday before flying home to Spain and bought a giant Dick saw, and a marking gauge. Thanks Josef and Luise!
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| My new giant Dick saw. |
As you can see in the photo below, this one is a lot bigger than my regular Dick saw. The old one's blade is 240 mm long, and the new one is 300 mm. Plus, the teeth are a lot bigger and the blade a lot heavier. This saw is intended more for rough work, I think. I bought it because I have some resawing that needs doing, and this saw fit easily in my suitcase.
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| Regular Dick saw vs. Giant Dick saw. |
I haven't had a chance to use it yet, so keep an eye out for an upcoming post on whether or not this saw does what I intend. So far I have one major gripe: the blade now has the Dick logo rather than the word. What's this world coming to?
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| The old saw had this engraved on the blade. |
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| Now it is only the Dick logo. |
As I said, I also got a new marking gauge. It wasn't expensive, and I have some gauges similar to this new one from Veritas.
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| New gauge from Veritas. |
This will be my first gauge with a micro-adjuster on it. So far, I haven't seen the need for such a thing. Those of you who have used them before, what are your thoughts regarding a micro-adjuster on a marking gauge? My guess is it will be a bit fiddly and much slower. But, since I haven't used it yet, a proper workout and write up will be forthcoming.
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| The mechanism seems robust at first glance. Time will tell. |
I have another gauge shaped nearly the same, and i really like it. The head is much bigger than the original gauge, and it is off center, keeping it from rolling too far when I set it down.
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| The beam is mounted off-center. |
I have no idea how long this gauge has been on the market, this was the first time I've seen it anywhere.
What tools did you get for Christmas? Send me a photo and I'll post it here.
Just when it seemed all of the Dick saw jokes were used up, you top them all again. I have the older Veritas microadjust and have been very happy with it. Except that I'd buy the new one now just because it won't roll around. The adjustment is very easy, and if you don't need a fine adjustment, it doesn't slow you down at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff!
DeleteI appreciate the input on the micro-adjuster. I'm not sure this one works the same way as yours does, but I'm hoping my results with it will be similar.
As far as the Dick saw jokes, I will continue with the theory that they never get old. :o)
*snicker* *snicker*
ReplyDeleteSorry, no new tools... yet. I spent a little money on myself for some rock climbing stuff - something I think I need just as much as I need to be doing woodworking in the shop.
Most of my Christmas money was spent on the Benchcrafted Youth's Bench that was featured in the December (?) issue of PopWood. Jameel posted something about it on IG about a week before Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving day, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and started making my way to Cedar Rapids, IA. I got to Jameel's shop by 8:00. We chatted a bit. I headed back down by 8:30 a.m. and was able to meet up with my parents for Thanksgiving dinner at 1:30 pm.
I was happy to give up buying some tool for myself that I probably didn't NEED so I could put the money towards a bench for Finley.
Now if it would just warm up a little... the basement shop is hovering below 50 degrees right now. It's insanely cold down there. I don't recall it being that cold in the condo basement when I owned it 15 years ago. Maybe I just never had the shop in the basement then and didn't go down there in the winter? That might be it...
Perhaps you need a new name. "The Long-John Woodworker?"
DeleteI love that you bought that bench for your Tiny Human. I hope he enjoys it as much as I imagine he will.
Cheers, and Happy New Year!