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Department of Troll Control | Another Ignorant Troll

[dhls]

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans and ban certain undesirables from using our airlines. They demand the right to criticize and blaspheeme the name of our supreme commander and cheef George W Bush while forcing multiculturalism down our throats and praising Bill Clinton. We all know however that it's totally Clintons fult for everything bad in america. Now we are at war and we must make a decision. support the safty of America and defeat terrorists, or support civil liberties and give victory to the enemy. Its all because of Bill Clinton and civil liberties that we are in this war so it is only fair that we give it up. no one said life was supposed to be fair you liberal crybabys. Dont give me that rubbish about equality and diversity. WE ARE AT WAR! If your not for Bush and against civil liberties your a terrorist! Your probably even a Communist and should be detained. Therefore fellow Americans we must throw all of our trust and resources behind George W Bush and behind this war with no ifs ands or buts. Be sure to report any and all detractors and freedom supporters to your local military and never question. Bush knows what hes doing and we will win this war once and for all. Thank you and May God bless America.

[NicknamedBob]

Actually, I recommend being knowledgeable enough about the way things used to be done so that you can duplicate the look, and in an emergency, function without the power tools.

Consider New Orleans, for example.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

I could actually do that.

Anyway, not everything can be done with power tools.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

Yes, but it's slow - not realistic, unless there is a gap in the market for hand crafts.

There still some wheelwrights in Ireland that are in business, but they only make them for special purposes (shows, garden ornaments etc.)

[Monkey Face]

We have a lot of people in this country who deliberately "keep history alive" by restoring the handcrafts as they were when the country was first settled.

Sometimes, entire towns are "historical sites."

[NicknamedBob]

Wood is one of the materials we deal with commonly where the tools were designed to fit the quirks of the material.

Power tools tend to just use more power to deal with problems, instead of working with the strengths and weaknesses of the wood.

We have two popular, and premier examples of woodworkers here, Roy Underhill and Norm Abram. Their techniques are diametrically opposed. Roy shows us the way things used to be done, and Norm has a power tool for every purpose.

Yet I have seen a number of times that the old-fashioned technique actually saved quite a bit of time, and made for a more sturdy product.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

I know one old school trademan who refuses to buy power tools, but he is retired!!

[Monkey Face]

I was actually more impressed with Roy Underhill...

[NicknamedBob]

"... actually more impressed with Roy Underhill..."

You'll note that he is not only skinnier than Norm, but he's usually quite out of breath at the end of the show!

[Monkey Face]

And that has what to do with his talent?

[Irish_Thatcherite]

I often saw old style stairs that weren't well made.

[NicknamedBob]

That's part of what I mean about understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the wood.

People who have learned how to build things with hand tools seem to have a more basic understanding of the process, and hopefully would avoid that kind of error.

I've seen some nightmares, too. You have to ask yourself, "What were they thinking?"

[NicknamedBob]

"... that has what to do with his talent?"

Nothing at all, but it is illustrative of the fact that hand tools require physical labor, sometimes quite a bit of it!

[Monkey Face]

Well, so does using a broom and mop instead of a Swiffer and vacuum cleaner, using a typewriter instead of a word processor, a dial phone instead of touch-tone, the list is endless.

But the tools are there to be used when they are needed. As long as they get the job done, who cares?

[Irish_Thatcherite]

Trust me, we get to know the strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of timber;

red oak = spelches, swells readily.

white oak = twice as dense, more sturdy and stable.

pine (red deel) = weak spot at knots, loose sappy grain makes sanding difficult, shrinks readily.

American ash = suseptible to mould.

Teak = most reliable of all timbers, slightly tricky for sanding (particulary burred grain), can warp.

[NicknamedBob]

Those who start out with hand tools learn early the advantage of keeping the tools sharp!

They also learn how to innovate, sometimes having to invent the tool that is needed for the task.

[Monkey Face]

I knew a mechanic who used to invent and make a lot of his tools. Years later, of course, someone else invented power versions and got patents on them.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

The belt sander is good for keeping tools sharp.

[TheBrotherhood]

>But the tools are there to be used when they are needed. As long as they get the job done, who cares?

Eggsactly!

Use them tools or lose them!

Do ya hear, boy? I say, do ya hear?

[TheBrotherhood]

How ya feelin'?

Are the headaches gone?

[NicknamedBob]

Teak is also one of those woods with a high concentration of silicate, which takes the edge off your tools.

Each species of wood seems to have its own utility. In carriages made of wood, dozens of species were used for different purposes.

We've transferred some of this thinking to using metals; iron in one place, copper in another, but wood was the primary ingredient in the structure of our lives for many centuries.