Shop made tools forum - thoughts about moving the related threads from here?

[allen long]

At my request, Keith Outten graciously created a shop made tools forum. My thought was it would be nice to have a place put all our shop made tools to make them easier to find for inspiration and instruction for building new tools. I love looking at what everyone posts here and moving the tool making related tool threads would make it easier to find these truly special gems. More than once I've been inspired to get of my keester and make something. I will be looking to your the posts on panel gauges when I am ready to make my own.

I realize, though we have or own community here in the Neander forum and would not want to do anything to hurt the dynamic.

What does everyone think about moving the existing applicable threads to the shop made tools forum? Should we create a poll? Should we get permission from individuals prior to moving their threads? Our just leave everything as-is?

Let's have a lot of folks chime in here. I would like to be able to have links from one forum to the other but I am moot sure that is even an option. I know that duplicating threads is generally not allowed.

Many king regards . . . Allen

[Matthew N. Masail]

I like the idea, it would be nice to have an 'world' of shop made tools, I don't think it would hurt the dynamics of this one, because a designated place for it means it's more likely that people will actually post the stuff they make.
I don't know if threads should be moved, that would be a awful lot of work, maybe just to move a select few like that guy who made a spokeshave out of sheets of mild steel, and let the rest build over time.

[Matthew N. Masail]

I just took a look at it, and it seems the power tool guys are all over it lol it might just be a bridge place where both world meet. however, if it gets full of 1000's of shop made Jigs for that power tool and that operation it would stop being so much fun, for me at least.


I suggest maybe having 2 new forums, in order to keep the forum relevant to it's audience.
'Shop made Hand tools' and 'Shop made power tools and Jigs'
that way the hand tool one will be full of the good stuff!

[Steve Voigt]

I do not like it at all. The more you break up the content into sub-forums, the fewer people are likely to see it. You create a bunch of little ghettos that are impoverished because they don't interact with the other "micro" forums.
If I want to post a plane or saw, where shall I do it now? Here, in "projects," or in "shopmade tools"? If I want to see things others have made, do I have to remember to check all three forums now?

"I realize, though we have or own community here in the Neander forum and would not want to do anything to hurt the dynamic."

In my opinion, you already have hurt the dynamic. I don't understand how a whole new forum gets created at the request of one person, instead of being discussed by the broader community first. And I don't understand how someone who posts here quite infrequently gets to make a decision that has such an impact.

[Steve Voigt]

I suggest maybe having 2 new forums, in order to keep the forum relevant to it's audience.
'Shop made Hand tools' and 'Shop made power tools and Jigs'
that way the hand tool one will be full of the good stuff!

This is clear proof of my comments about about ghettoizing the forums. Now we're going to have TWO new forums?

I vote for ZERO new forums.

[David Weaver]

I don't want any of my shop made tools floated to a shop made forum. The discussion that has ensued with mine is specifically related to hand tools and would be esoteric to say the least for anyone but an ardent hand tooler.

It's not as if we have too much traffic lately and shop made tools are flooding the forum or anything.

[Robert McNaull]

I am not the author of any such threads, but as a constant learner, I wish they could be linked into a list somewhere. I don't think they need to be moved, if there was just a quick way of finding the entries, especially those that are a complete "how to" guide of how to build a jig or tool. For example, David Weaver's how to on making drawer groove planes. Wish there was a better organization for finding those threads later without bookmarking or searching. My 2 cents.

[Jim Koepke]

It is not often that my wondering take me out of the Neanderthal Haven forum.

It didn't occur to me there was a problem with too many people posting their tool creations here.

Most of the old posts can be found with use of the search function. In the past the really creative ones would get posted in the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs for easy finding.

How did you convince Keith that everyone thought this was a good idea without even asking?

Will people get in trouble for posting a tool build thread here? Will they be moved to the "new appropriate" forum?

jtk

[Richard Line]

My preference would be to keep the hand tool build threads here. They very often relate to how to use a tool, and that is a prime reason I hang out on the Neanderthal Haven.

[Jim Koepke]

I don't think they need to be moved, if there was just a quick way of finding the entries

At one time that was one purpose of the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs.

I think only one moderator was keeping track of that and from what I have been told he has been too busy with other obligations to keep current on creating new links.

Awhile ago the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs was moved into a new Neanderthal Haven Announcements sub forum. I guess we were getting too many stickies at the top of the old conference.

jtk

[Moses Yoder]

I average about 20 minutes a day in Neanderthal Haven probably. It is time I really enjoy. I don't see any sense in removing some of the best threads from Neanderthal and moving it to some other forum. Most of the discussions here are about some form of shop made tool, like the toothing plane build that is currently active. Building and using your own tools is the highest form of woodworking in my opinion, and something I have really enjoyed in the Neanderthal forum. I would hate to see that taken away.

[Jim Matthews]

The appeal of handtools (for me) is less reliance on jigs and making tools,
more on using the tools directly to the work piece.

I've seen shops with hundreds of router table profiles, for example.

There's insufficient space in my shop to work that way.

[Shawn Pixley]

My preference would to leave the Neanderthal portion as is. I confess I do occasionally read forums to the north and I unappologetically use power tools as the situation warrants. The types of builds in the Neanderthal forum seem fundamentally different (as does the metal working and musical instrument forums). To me the ability to parse various threads through the search function seem adequate without another sub-aggregation. Putting them all in a single forum seem like the "better would be the enemy of the good."

[Judson Green]

Not sure what the "Tips and Tricks" sticky it supposed to be in the general forum, but perhaps the reason for wanting this new "Shop made tools" forum is because of a lack of a general forum sticky like are own "Neanderthal wisdom sticky".

Guess I like it the way it is, but perhaps "Jigs, Fixtures and Shopmade tools" sticky in the general forum would be a good idea.

[allen long]

You have an excellent point Steve - especially about a single person getting something started without a consensus. I am sorry I did not consult the whole the group BEFORE I made the suggestion to have a tool forum. Had I been sensitive enough to think there would be such a strong reaction from even a single person, I would not have made the suggestion in the first place. It was never my intention to cause discord. (My original intention was actually for a forum about making hand tools.) So you can say I messed up on all fronts!

It is unfortunate there is often a misconception that passion for the forum must be based solely on chiming in on every subject multiple times -- that listening / following the wisdom of so many in the forum on a frequent basis is not considered having passion for the group. There are many in the world following the forum who are too timid to post or who can be intimidated by either the awesome talent of many in the group, or occasionally the tone. Of course I have been called many things, but timid is not one of them. The most hurtful being called an "infrequent poster" In this case, it is the truth hurts and I will never be able to post sufficiently to be one of the cool kids!

Again my most sincere apologies about obviously having overstepped, and especially if I have hurt anyone's feelings or caused damage to the group.

My suggestion, for what little it is worth, is to continue to post hand tools we have created in the Neander forum, and abandon the new forum to the power tool folks.

Many kind regards. . . Allen

I do not like it at all. The more you break up the content into sub-forums, the fewer people are likely to see it. You create a bunch of little ghettos that are impoverished because they don't interact with the other "micro" forums.
If I want to post a plane or saw, where shall I do it now? Here, in "projects," or in "shopmade tools"? If I want to see things others have made, do I have to remember to check all three forums now?

"I realize, though we have or own community here in the Neander forum and would not want to do anything to hurt the dynamic."

In my opinion, you already have hurt the dynamic. I don't understand how a whole new forum gets created at the request of one person, instead of being discussed by the broader community first. And I don't understand how someone who posts here quite infrequently gets to make a decision that has such an impact.