Kit_Camp

Knowing Larry is gone leaves a small, distinct hole in both my personal and professional lives. I've never been much of a framer, but I have watched Larry's videos many. many times. If there is poetry in the swing of a hammer (and I believe there is), Larry shared it with the world in those movies.

I'm sorry I never got to meet Larry. He is the kind of gentle, intelligent, and reflective man we need more of in this world

Thanks for everything Larry. I'll miss you.

- Kit Camp

Jay A.

Just for the record, I would never leave the ears square on piece like that. It would either get a self return or have the end grain profiled with a router (probably more likely on a simple, painted piece like this). That step isn't shown because this Building Skills video is only about the most basic of scribing techniques.

That's the same reason I don't go into depth about compasses for scribing. I actually seldom use a block, since I always have a pair of scribes in my tool bags. That probably isn't true of a homeowner working on their house, or a carpenter who is more of a generalist, or a trimmer just starting out.

There is something to be said for simplicity. A shim or block can't be knocked out of adjustment.

Thanks for your comments.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for posting up this review. I'm putting the book in my Amazon cart to add to my next order. Woodworking or carpentry memoirs are a favorite of mine. Sometimes in the thick of things it's easy to lose perspective on why we chose to do what we do. These books can help us laugh at ourselves and the situations this work can put us in, too.

Here are a couple of my other favorites:

Toil: Building Yourself, by Jody Proctor

Hammer: Poems by Mark Turpin

Tools of the Trade by Jeff Taylor

and of course, House by Tracy Kidder

- Kit

Local Hero,

I think that is the compressor Gary Katz used to recommend. You can probably contact him through Breaktime or on his website.

- Kit

Justin,

I have had the Makita since moving down here. The thing just oozes quality and it's really quiet. It can easily keep up with two trimmers and should be able to keep up with the kind of framing you would be doing on your remodels as long as it's not shear nailing. Did I mention it's really quiet? Two down sides: it is heavy and it is tippy when riding in the truck. You'll want to bungie it to something.

During a multi-month job where I couldn't leave tools on-site and I was having some back issues, I purchased a Thomas T625HD. I like it a lot also. It's very quiet and very light. I've had some minor repairs to do. A hose started leaking and the handle was broken in shipping, but the people at Thomas are great and got me parts for free very quickly. I believe these nice machines are made right there in the Midwest, too. Down sides? Not much air for blasting stuff off at the end of the day, though it will still keep up with two finish nailers. It's also very tippy in the truck, though they have since come out with a squat model.

Now, the Makita mostly stays in the shop and the Thomas is the daily user.

You couldn't go wrong with either of these quality tools as far as I am concerned.

- Kit

Hey, I want pizza!

Tucker pretty much took (all) the words right out of my mouth, down to the trusty SFN40. Love that gun.

- Kit

I answered yes, but I believe there should be a maybe box...

I think some of their tools are worth the money, without a doubt. My TS55 comes to mind, though there are now some competitors. When I bought the saw, there were none. The precision and dust collection are almost priceless to me. After I finally bought the saw, I wondered why I waited so long.

I feel the same way about my Festool planer and router. The jigsaw, which I reviewed for FHB a number of years back, I'm not so sure about, Is it really worth twice what the Bosch is? I like the performance, and the compact size, but I don't know if I could have paid full price for it. Same goes for my little 5" sander. I love the sander; it is quiet, smooth, has good dust collection and leaves a great surface. But is it twice as good as the PC, or the Bosch, or Makita, or Dw? The pad wears out prematurely, and the proprietary paper is pricey. I've replaced the pad 3 times on my 4 year old sander, never on my 10 year old PC...

I've used the Kapex, and can't see shelling out double what the excellent Milwaukee costs. Same goes for the cordless drills. A domino is on my short list, though.

I consider myself a cautious fan...

- Kit