WIA, Random in Progress Pictures, and it's Catalog Season

The Woodworking in America Conference is fast approaching. As a result my shop is in a state of total disarray. I didn't take any pictures but if you saw my shop your first question would be "did anyone get killed when the bomb went off?!" Given all the obstacles, I did manage to complete two small smoothers and made plane sides for a stainless panel plane today. I vow to clean up the shop before anything other work takes place in the shop. Getting ready for a show like WIA makes the shop schedule very hectic but I really look forward to this event.

I get a lot of questions about my plane body assembly method. Once a plane body is assembled it becomes necessary to make the assembly hardware go visually away. In the picture below all the pins on this 812-50S stainless plane body have been milled down to within 1/32 of the plane side.

Then the pins are peined around their perimeter quite thoroughly and then milled flush. The picture below shows the pins after peining.

Then the pins are milled flush and the sides are surface ground. You can still see the slight silhouette of the pins (pic below). Once the plane sides have been lapped they become even less apparent.

As many planes as I've assembled this process it still amazes me.

Summer is officially over and with Halloween just around the corner and Christmas looming in the near future all our mail boxes are filling up with catalogs. While eating lunch one day I was browsing thru some of these catalogs. I found some amazing products that I think you must know about. Please add a large dose of sarcasm to that last sentence.

In the picture below you will see that for $7.95 plus shipping and handling we have the unique opportunity to wear mismatched socks. This happens at my house anytime I try to get dressed before I'm fully awake. Save the $7.95 and put own your socks before you've had coffee.

KISS Christmas tree ornaments. I'm sorry but this is just wrong on so many levels. I think even KISS fans draw the line at Gene Simmons Christmas decorations. If you will have one of these ornaments on your tree this year don't tell me about it. I may just not want to know you.

I saved my favorite for last. It's the "ELVIS LIVE! MR. POTATOE HEAD".

I've been trying to imagine being in the meeting where they decided this toy was a good idea. I can't imagine any circumstances where this idea gets a thumbs up from everyone with a vote, especially considering the target audience is not old enough to have a sign of an idea about who Elvis is or was depending on whether or not you believe Elvis is alive or not.

Okay I double checked the appropriate age for this toy. It says" for ages 2 and up". Next time someone ask my age I'm gonna say "UP" and point to the sky. I won't specify which finger I'll be using to express myself.

If your age is "UP" then you will remember that when Mr. Potatoe Head was first introduced you got all the facial parts, ears and a couple of hats, but you had to furnish your own potatoe. Some assembly was required and it required a trip to the produce department of the grocery store.

By the way.... I was at Walmart yesterday and I swore I saw Elvis....turns out it was the guy driving the wrecker I noticed in the parking lot. As he was getting into the wrecker I ask him to sing a couple of bars of "Love Me Tender" at that point he gave me a finger gesture that expressed that his age was also "UP" and drove away.

Ron