And another thing, you have to consider the source. a carpenter isn't a cabinet maker. I wouldn't want a cabinet maker to frame my house and I wouldnt ask a carpenter to build me a Louie IIIX chest.Two different skill sets. Norm is a carpenter.
Member
And another thing, you have to consider the source. a carpenter isn't a cabinet maker. I wouldn't want a cabinet maker to frame my house and I wouldnt ask a carpenter to build me a Louie IIIX chest.Two different skill sets. Norm is a carpenter.
Member
John - That is a very erroneous statement! Over my 50 years of being in the trades, I've framed houses, I've built public schools in California , which is a whole different animal that I won't get into here. I've also built banks and churches. I started my trade in a cabinet shop in Dobbs Ferry New York when a Yankee screwdriver was our cordless drill.I worked my way up, over the years, in various ways of supervision. All the while that I was working as a carpenter or as a foreman and job superintendent, I maintained a garage shop very much like like what a lot of members of the forum have. From time to time I built a set of kitchen cabinets for people. Today I have a 3600 square foot shop with as modern equipment as a two-man shop has to have, ie a slider table saw and so forth. We build a lot of kitchens, baths, entertainments centers, etc. I will give you the fact that I would not attemp to build the Louis XIV chest, but more because of the time commitment and because I think they are ugly. My biggest complaint with Norm (I have met him and had several conversations with him) is my wife thinks I should be able to complete a project in 30 minutes. You have a nice day.
Thanks John
Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway!
I am a believer in biscuits and I have never seen anything of this problem arise in my projects. As one poster mentioned about keeping the biscuits centered in your stock...that is what I do and maybe that is why I have never had the problem.
There's one in every crowd......and it's usually me!
Member
John, no offence intended. I was trying to defend both skills. And as always, there are exceptions.
Member
Your snobbery is showing.Originally Posted by john lampros
Norm builds cabinets and furniture for fun and profit. He is an excellent cabinetmaker with many good skills. Maybe not up to your lofty standards, but good enough to not disallow saying he isn't a both a carpenter and a cabinetmaker.
Member
does anyone know if norm ever got his mitts on a domino?
Contributor
Not that I ever saw. I don't recall that anything Festool made it to NYW though it may have. I have seen Tommy Silva using Festool stuff on 'Ask This Old House, I haven't seen a domino yet.
Member
You probably haven't seen a domino because they aren't one of Norm's sponsors. I have both the biscuit joiner and the domino and I find they both have their places. I have not experienced the probleems that you guys have, that I know of. When I glue up panels, whether it be a door panel or a table top, I do not use dominoes,dowels, or biscuits. I glue and clamp with titebibd 2 and also to my knowledge I have never had a failure. But I don't think it is a bad idea to use them as long as you make sure that they are not positioned where you are going to cut into the panel or run a detail. PS John, apology accepted.
Thanks John
Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway!
Contributor
Dang. I'm both. So what you are saying is people can not be talented in more than one area? I'll figure out which one to give up.....
Larry
Member
No Larry, John is saying both have their own talents. But unless you are making Louie the 14th furniture you are not a true cabinetmaker. He is saying Norm is not a true cabinetmaker so therefore his opinion on biscuits is not worthwhile.
Member
I too do both and I wouldn't have any problems going head to head with any framer or cabinet maker to prove my skillset. I don't build Louie IIIX chests, but that doesn't mean I cannot build a quality cabinet. Maybe I could build a Louie IIIX chest, but I don't know because I have never done it yet.
Part of what you say has some truth. I know many framers that only frame. They couldn't build a cabinet to save their life. 16d nails cause too many blowouts on A1 cabinet plywood.
Member
Just what the heck IS a Louie IIIX ??? That Roman numeral doesn't exist ... IF IIIX existed, it would be 10-3=7 ... BUT ... the Roman Numeral for 7 is VII or 5+2 ...
Oh .. just to stay on-topic ... Norm is MUCH more than a carpenter. Maybe he started out as one, but not any more.
Contributor
I have never had any problems with dents left bu a buscuit jointer. I love my buscuit jointer and think it has it's place like every other tool in my shop. I could care less if Norm whoever used or is currrently using one or not. I don't watch him.
[OP]
Member
My intent for this thread was not to debate Norm's street cred. I have never heard him poo-poo another's methods or claim to be the authority, which would be incredibly difficult when one has such a following.
Norm apparently discovered a problem with biscuit dents determined not to use them for this application and shared his experience on the show. He did not ever revisit it to see if location, or timing may have been the real culprit. I tend to think that the wide belt Timesaver sander he had at his disposal may have gotten him too close to the biscuit.
That being said the immense amount of experience in this forum is a resource that I would be foolish not to ask.
We all have developed our skills in different ways. I grew up on a farm where basic carpentry was what was needed (along with welding, a basic knowledge of the internal combustion engine, animal husbandry, the list goes on). Most of my "education" with woodworking came from books, public television, and epic failures that never left the shop. Now the digital age has allowed us a medium to trade tips with each other. On this site I have learned more about finishing and have been warned away from potential epic fails.
CW Miller
Whispering Wood Creations
I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill
Member
epic fails are always amusing though... as long as they're not your own!
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