So I went to Highland Woodworking yesterday....

[John A. Callaway]

Hello all. I am fairly new to posting around here, but I have been reading and in " sponge mode " currently soaking up all I can. Me and the bride made a trip up to Atlanta yesterday and went a few places. The most significant to me was of course visiting Highland woodworking. Not only did I get to buy a few things, but I actually had a question answered by Thomas Lie-Nielsen... Who was there autographing ( engraving ) handplanes and I think teaching a class .... dude was just downstairs in the middle of the very crowded store chatting with customers and woodworkers. I decided to pick up the veritas dovetail saw, and with all the reading I have been doing , I got a little confused about what tooth count I wanted. So I asked an employee upstairs which one would be best for starting out learning to cut dovetails. He didn't know so he looked downstairs and yelled " Thomas!! " and the employee gave the floor ( and the attention of a good many customers ) to me to ask him my question.... and after chatting from the second floor to the first, we decided the 14 TPI would be the best starter for me.

Oh, how I wanted to changed my purchase decision right then and go grab one of his block planes, and have him engrave it.... but I didn't. After me and the wife left and were a good ways back to savannah, my wife and I were talking. She woulda bought me a LN block plane had I asked. She was already paying for my little shopping experience as a late christmas present, and I didn't wanna get greedy.

So any how I did get the said DT saw, and a veritas marking gauge and dovetail markers. Highland woodworking was having a sale that I didnt even know about until we were looking at the reciept in the car during the same conversation about the block plane. so i got the saw for 48 bucks. All in all, my little Veritas DT starter kit cost us $130.00 dollars. Not bad. I did totally forget to get one of their brass carving mallets while I was there, The place was literally packed with people. Very busy, but one heck of a nice store.



The other stuff you see here is some stuff I picked up at Mann Tool in Columbia , SC a while back. I know they are pretty basic. but they will be fine for now. I wish now I hadn't of bought that mallet though. I don't really like it and it will most likely rarely get used.

And my reading library that I have collected ....



I have several power tools , a dewalt 10 inch miter box , a makita circ saw, and hitachi palm sander , Bostich finish nailer and a porter cable brad nailer , a few cordless drills and a assortment of regular hand tools and a Snap-on tool box full of tools that will serve little use in woodworking.

I worked as a trim carpenter for several years almost ten years ago, so I have a really great understanding of wood working, but I really want to get into cabinetry ( not kitchen cabinets of course ) and hand cut joinery. I am just starting my tool set so bit by bit, I will get everything I need. I got my eye on a few handplanes for the next bit of spare cash. a block plane from either Veritas or LN ( I really like the new Veritas block plane ) and a 4 1/2 or a 5 from LN. Those things and of course I will have to get a set of Norton waterstones.

I own a townhouse so a fullsize bench is out, as well as large projects for now. So I am looking into the Bench Horse by Blum Tool Co. for a small but functional workbench. Has anybody out there used one? Own one? got one they want to sell ? share any knowledge you have about this please. It looks really interesting to me.

Thanks for reading my babbling meandering thoughts.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Hey John! Welcome to the slippery slope all of us dopes have gone down!

I used to live in the Atlanta area, and let me tell you, I was very much attached to Highland Woodworking - so much so that the cashiers knew me by name . Sure miss being able to pop in there whenever, especially for their sales events. Very cool you got to meet Mr. Lie-Neilsen.

As for the Bench Horse, it's a cool little idea, but certainly one that you can whip up yourself (saving money for that block plane, etc.

I'm over in Beaufort SC - come on over some time.

[Michael Peet]

John, your dovetail set looks a lot like mine. I am envious of your brush with greatness.

Happy sawing!

Mike

[John A. Callaway]

Maurice, I would agree that living in Atlanta would be dangerous for me financially as well. I would probably beg those guys for a part time job just to hang around there more without getting thrown out. I work for the railroad so part time jobbing is out. I spend a lot of time in jacksonville and me and the old man have gotten to know the folks at the woodcraft there somewhat from buying pen kits and constant browsing when we are both in jacksonville at the same time. ( He and I share the same occupation... what a coincidence huh ? ) But I love every trip I make to atlanta , it is a great place and it is the fine businesses like Highland woodworking and my wife's addiction to shopping that keep us going back.

As for my attempting to build a small portable workbench as nice as a bench horse, well I suppose I could. I have been keeping my eye out for a rigid portable table saw ( TS2410LS ) simply for space saving and ease of storage. either income tax money or yearly bonus, unless one pops up used on craigslist soon. If I got my hands on that I would consider building a torsion box workbench. I am not gonna attempt to make all of those cuts with a circ saw though. Probably too many chances for error or inconsistent cuts. And yeah 370 bucks seems a little high for what you get with the bench horse, so I hope it really is worth the coin. It seems well thought out, and very well made, and at 18" x 48" it isn't really that small. I would like to find a review or something from a owner online or hear from somebody that has one as to what they think of it.

after all I can't enjoy my new saw until I have some way to hold my work effectively.

[Maurice Ungaro]

.....after all I can't enjoy my new saw until I have some way to hold my work effectively.

You know, I used a Workmate for about 6 months before I built my bench. It was not a bad way to go, as it was very portable, easy to set up outside, and took up little space. Check out Harbour Freight or Big Lots in Savannah to see if they have a version of that type that could work for you in the meantime.

[matt braun]

I ran into the owner of Highland at a class at Roy Unerhill's school. He's a super cool and interesting guy. He's hiked the Appalachian trail several times (literally, not figuratively) and also from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific rim trail.

After the class, Roy and some students went to the bar next door for some drinks and Chris, Highlands owner, picked up the tab. I've never been to the store, but I'm sure it's great.

[Hank Knight]

I have been keeping my eye out for a rigid portable table saw ( TS2410LS ) simply for space saving and ease of storage. either income tax money or yearly bonus, unless one pops up used on craigslist soon.

John,

There is a Bosch portable table saw on Columbia SC Craigslist, posted Monday, January 25. It's not a Rigid, but Bosch makes very good tools. Remembered your post and thought I'd drop you a heads-up.

Hank

[John A. Callaway]

I will take a look. Thanks. The rigid ( this model only ) is essentially a bosch saw that is orange.