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I think Mr. Schwarz's point is well made, and agrees with the views of the regulars in this shop who maintain that there are no 'best practices' - just alternative methods or tool sets to get things done.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-blog/voice-can-trust-100

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We have become a civilization that elevates idiots, prostitutes, and clowns. Am I still to defend it? Yes, for its principles. Yes, for what it was. Yes, for what it still may be.

-Mark Helprin, The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)

Whatever gets the pig clean...

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Providing no blood is drawn, all is well. Although there I have been times where I have been tempted to leave a drop or two on a piece, Just so they know what went into it.

Then again, there is that whole Red Violin can of worms.

"there are no 'best practices' - just alternative methods "

"Alternative methods" kind of sounds like "alternative facts". Although I will agree there are no "best practices", there are certainly ways to do things that are better than others. What works best for the individual often does depend on their skill set and the tools they have on hand. I'm always interested in seeing alternative methods even if they aren't the best way for me to do it.

I always think of best practices in terms of safety. Someone posted on Facebook the other day something like, "Is there anything I should watch out for in a new band saw?"

The reply was, "the blade."

So best practices are things such as work flow, dust collection, bench height, and so on. The art of wood working is all your own. Jackson Pollock thought himself to be a hack but look how far his own methods got him.

At least that's always been my view on it.

LOL! I'll go with that

1. No drinking and cutting
2. No working tired
3. Ties, no ties in the shop (or loose clothing, DAMHIK)
4. Count all fingers before and after any cutting

This is sort of ironic to me.

I was at a liquidation where Mr. Schwartz happened to attend also. There was literally tons of Mahogany along with other nice cabinet woods.

I stumbled upon a 12/4 plank of perfectly quartersawn "Mahogany". It was at the bottom of a stack but I was able to plane a little with my block plane. I started to think it was Sapele so I asked Schwartz who happened to be nearby if he thought it was Sapele which I pronounced "Sa-pell-lee". He and his little minions chuckled at my pronunciation and replied, "yes, that's Sa-Pee-Lay". I write douche, others write doosh...

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I teach software development workshops. When asked about "Best Practices", what usually follows are what I personally have determined to be effective. Since I'm the subject matter expert in the room, all my practices are elevated to best.

Klooker, I got butchered for saying Bo-co-tay, I've heard bo-ka-tee, bo-coat, etc...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Yeah, best practices tend to be the things that avoid causing harm. Do these things and you minimize the chances something bad will happen. Above that threshold, there are lots of effective ways of achieving the desired result.

The attempt by some self proclaimed experts to dictate the only right way to do things says a lot about those experts and their own psychological baggage. There were arguably some virtues to the old guild system that allowed strict controls over who could engage in a craft and how they went about it, but a major downside was that the system squelched innovation. We don't have a guild system here, and I'm glad. The experts probably pout over it.

This may seem like a nonsequitur, but it's not: go watch the movie Strictly Ballroom, if you can still find it. The experts in that movie proclaimed that there were to be no new steps allowed in a ballroom dancing competition. You can guess how that turned out for them.

"He and his little minions chuckled at my pronunciation and replied, "yes, that's Sa-Pee-Lay"."

Around here it's called Sa-Pay-Lay. I'll bet in Africa they use different pronunciations too - "alternative pronunciations"
Now the important part - did you get the board?

At the recent PATINA show, there were a number of (I'll assume) skilled and knowledgeable woodworkers that took a pass on the nicely ink-lined $180 piece of 4/4 x 6' x 9" Brazilian rosewood for sale by one of the vendors. I assume they saw a stick that was too small to do much of anything with priced at $40 per BF. Mr. Verhoeven took all of 10 seconds to assess and offered $160...sold. Asked later, he saw two back and side sets,some nice head plates, and a couple bridges and fretboards that would sell for close to $4K. Same stick...lots of skilled artisans present with similar core skill sets...totally different take on worth or best use.

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We have become a civilization that elevates idiots, prostitutes, and clowns. Am I still to defend it? Yes, for its principles. Yes, for what it was. Yes, for what it still may be.

-Mark Helprin, The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)

No hijack intended.

This was at the Midwest Woodworking liquidation in Cincinnati. I was in awe at both the equipment and wood being offered. I didn't buy that Sapele board but did buy about 50 b.f. of quartersawn 5/4 Honduran along with some old dark Brazilian rosewood - not as nice as what Herr Verhoeven found in Maryland, but I'm ok with with I got.

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.