I Have Returned

Hope everyone missed me.

Porn and Strife Delivery System Becomes Tool of God

Last night, I received the most amazing Christmas gift I have ever had. My sister got it for me. I have to tell you about it. It’s called PC Study Bible,and it’s made by a company called Biblesoft.

This is a gigantic program. I can’t even describe the amount of information it contains. Name a version of the Bible; it’s probably in there. It has maps. It has Strong’s concordance. Hebrew. Greek. Commentaries. Hyperlinks. You can create your own commentary as you go, verse by verse.

I stayed up late last night, entering my thoughts on Psalms I had memorized. I think I’m up to a dozen now. Let’s see; 1, 2, 3, 4, 15, 23, 34, 37, 41, 63, 101, 141…I believe that’s all. When you type commentary and you mention other Bible passages, the software creates links to them, so you can click and bring them up instantly.

If you’re a Bible student, you need this program. I have never seen anything like it.

I don’t see a lot of Jewish content in there; that’s a shame. Maybe it can be added. A Jewish version of this would probably be fantastic for rabbis. I haven’t checked to see if the program is Catholic-compatible, but it probably is.

The Bible says “Depart from evil and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” That’s exactly what my sister and I did. This program is an unexpected and astounding peace dividend.

TLC

While I wait to toss the rib roast in the oven, I have been fooling with the new old table saw. I wanted to get the blade and top aligned, and I thought I’d to a few other things.

When I took the top off this thing to move it, six shims fell out of the front side. They were between the cabinet and the top. I was not positive, but by the way they fell, it seemed likely that there had been three on each side. A commenter told me I was in danger of warping the top if I got the shims wrong.

I now think that has to be wrong. This top attaches at three points. It’s impossible for three points to define anything except a perfectly flat plane. So it should be impossible for the three mounting points to exert a flexing force on the top. It seems to me that the only important thing the shims can do is to prevent the top from sloping diagonally.

I got some advice on orienting the blade inside the throat plate slot, and I found out how to align the blade with the miter slots, and I took a crack at it. Now the table is tightened down, and everything looks kosher. I’m not one hundred percent certain about the squareness of the blade to the top, but it seems fine when measured with the tools I now have.

A woodworker told be about a couple of great tools for tuning table saws. One is a dial indicator which reads in tiny fractions of an inch when you depress its plunger. The other is a Chinese dial caliper. You’re supposed to mount the indicator on a cross made from scrap, put one part of the cross in the miter slot, and move it back and forth while checking the distance. You pick a tooth on the blade and use it as your reference. I haven’t been able to do that yet, but I was able to measure the distance between the near wall of the slot and one gap on the saw, and it looks fine.

I put stuff on the saw’s cord to polish it up, and I used orange-based gun cleaner on the top, to see if it did anything. It made the saw smell very nice, but no matter how much of the ancient varnish I remove, there is always more underneath. My only real concern is that it will stain wood that rests on it. And it might cause friction.

I wish my new plug were here so I could fire the saw up and make sure everything was right. Kelly Mehler has a blade-aligning trick that only requires a dowel and a miter gauge. I could do that if the saw were running.

The more I think about the extra-long rails, the more I think I might be able to make use of them. If I moved a cabinet in the garage, I would have room for the rails, and the cord would still reach my socket. I could put a big ol’ extension on the table and hang a router from it. I could put wheels on the whole operation. I could make a cabinet under the extension, with an enclosed dust-catching area for the router, plus a shelf or some drawers. If I did all that, I would have endless horizontal space to work with. I will never need it for stuff I’m cutting on the table saw, but it would be convenient to put tools and workpieces on it while I’m doing things.

The extension should be easy to make. A flat board with two legs and some bracing. A hole for a router. Casters. Done. Not sure how to compensate for the uneven garage floor, however.

It would be hilarious to use my old desk as the extension. It’s probably too narrow, though.

I’m wondering what other junk I need to do basic woodwork. Planer and jointer, I suppose. Surely that will be enough. Maybe it’s possible to survive without a jointer, if I get my wood squared up when I buy it. I think a planer would be harder to do without, because you wouldn’t want to have to drive five miles each way when you change your mind about the thickness you want.

This stuff is a tremendous amount of fun, regardless of whether I accomplish anything in the end.

Take by Ear, Twice Daily

I listened to Brooke Fraser today. I have to say I enjoyed the experience.

As much as I love music, I have neglected it in connection with my faith. Music is not a luxury or a distraction for Christians. It’s a must, like prayer or Bible reading. The Bible makes it very clear that we are obligated to support our faith with music.

Perry Stone says that when he stays in a strange place, he likes to play Christian music, even when he’s not in the room. For example, he might leave a recording on in his hotel room while he’s off teaching. The belief is that it exerts a purifying influence, which is probably a good idea, considering what people do in hotels. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google “ultraviolet light” and “hotel bedspreads.”

Don’t do that. You really don’t want to know. I’ll tell you what you need to know. You should always take your own pillow and blanket when you sleep in a hotel.

When good, effective Christian music plays, even in the background, it changes the atmosphere of a room. And it doesn’t seem to matter all that much what the music sounds like. Even fairly noisy music which resembles rock to some degree seems to work, when the people behind it have the right spirit. So I don’t think it’s a matter of emotion, leading people to think God is among them. I think it’s a supernatural thing. If it were just emotion, you would expect it to happen only when certain types of music were played.

I wanted to get some music to listen to in the mornings, when I study and pray. Music has power. It helps connect us with God. I want that edge.

Sadly, this is nearly the only thing I have. I have come to the reluctant conclusion that Mahalia Jackson is not for me. I have the Stanley Brothers, but they seem to miss the mark a little bit. That leaves Brooke Fraser, until I can find more for my collection. I better get on Itunes, before I hear this music 92 times and it drives me insane.

It’s Everywhere

I’m about to get ready for our late Christmas Eve lunch. I just started preparing the rib roast for tomorrow.

I’m completely in love with prime rib. I wish I were more than one person, so I could justify cooking it every week.

My sister felt that Publix and Winn-Dixie would not cut the mustard, so I ended up getting a roast at a local grocery called Milam’s. I don’t usually shop there. They had rib roasts on sale for $8.00 per pound. Unfortunately, they were all huge. They were Angus beef. I don’t know how big a deal that is. The folks who market it claim it’s amazing, but I have owned cattle, and I happen to know that an Angus is just a kind of cow. My grandfather–from whom I inherited my interest in a bunch of beef cattle–had a few Black Angus, and he may have had a few Red Angus. His stock was mostly Charolais; these are big mean white cows from France. The Black Angus cattle seemed very good-natured in comparison. Can’t tell you whether they tasted any better.

I got a nice surprise when I unwrapped the roast. It definitely smelled. So it’s not a brand-new roast. It has some age on it. That’s a break. I made a pile of pressed garlic, and I salted the roast and rubbed the garlic all over it. I wrapped it in foil, and it will be ready to cook tomorrow. I have heard people say you shouldn’t salt meat before you cook it, because it sucks the water out. Thing is, that doesn’t really happen.

I am wondering if wet-aging is better for rib roasts, since juiciness is so important.

The food will be very good; I’m not worried. Can’t be sure it will be outstanding, but very good is fine with me.

I am Done

I got all of my pre-Christmas-Eve errands done. At one point, I found myself at PetCo, evaluating toys for my sister’s dog. She felt it was imperative that our pets exchange gifts.

Either my heart has grown three sizes this year, or my brain has done the reverse.

I now possess a decent-looking rib roast. That should be enjoyable. I’m making potatoes au gratin with it. When I was a kid, my Uncle Jim used to cook Christmas Eve dinner for the family, and he always had some nice beef and a giant bowl of potatoes au gratin with mushrooms and lots of pepper. The mushrooms I can take or leave, but other than that, I miss those potatoes. And Jim. And being together with the family.

I have my own recipe, which is very much like my recipe for macaroni and cheese. Tell you what. I’ll paste it below. Maybe you can find a better way to brown the potatoes. I suggest increasing the cheese.

Potatoes au Gratin

Here’s the recipe for potatoes au gratin. You might want to pimp it out with bacon or mushrooms or something, but it’s great as is.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups half and half
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup minced onions
2 cloves garlic
4 tsp. pepper
3 egg yolks
12 oz. shredded Cheddar + extra for topping
dash hot sauce
3-4 big russet potatoes

Peel the potatoes and cut in slices less than a quarter of an inch thick. Arrange the slices on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Salt and pepper them and brush them with butter (both sides). Brown them under a broiler (I gave them 5 minutes per side at a distance of 6 inches, but your broiler may be different). When you remove them, lower the heat to 350.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Saute the onions in the butter. Add the flour and stir it in. Cook for a few minutes, until the flour is no longer raw.

Divide the half and half in two equal portions. Beat the egg yolks into one portion and set it aside. Pour the other portion into the flour, butter, and onion mixture. Cook while stirring, until the mixture bubbles. Now you have cheese sauce.

Use a whisk to mix the rest of the half and half into the contents of the saucepan. Get it bubbling. Add the cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and hot sauce and mix it all in.

Butter the bottom of a casserole dish. I suppose a 2-quart Pyrex job would be ideal. Add a layer of potatoes. Cover them with cheese sauce. Repeat until the dish is full, and make sure the top layer of potatoes has sauce on it. Bury the dish in shredded Cheddar and pepper it generously. Cook at 350 until nicely browned. At least 30 minutes.

Soon I’ll be headed off to lunch with my sister and my father. Right now I’m listening to a Brooke Fraser CD that arrived today. I think it’s important to have some good Christian music on hand.

Wewease…Wodewick!

Longtime readers may be wondering why I’m not readying for a Noche Buena pig roast at Val Prieto’s house. Val has explained it all here. Val and his family have had a tough year, and the economy isn’t helping things any. When I found out the feast was cancelled, I offered to host it myself, but unfortunately it was too late to work it out.

I hope you will keep Val and his bunch in your prayers. Especially his brother-in-law, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

I keep telling how God seems to guide my life these days. Here is another example. This will be the first Christmas Eve without a pig roast in several years. “Coincidentally,” my sister and I are getting along now, and today is my father’s birthday, and we will be taking him to one of his favorite restaurants. Tomorrow I’m fixing prime rib for Christmas dinner, and soon we’ll all be headed up to Frostproof to visit my great aunt Gladys and her family. I wish we were doing Noche Buena this year, and I am deeply sorry Val and Maggie are having a tough time, but it looks like I won’t be idle.

If any of you are alone this week, let me remind you of one of God’s promises. The Bible says he sets the solitary in families. From Psalm 68:

Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.

A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Maybe that will be of help to someone.

I have to run errands and do things now, but before I go, I want to take time to thank everyone who comes here regularly and enriches my life with comments and emails. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Here are some scenes from better times. First, last year’s pig:

Second, the 2004 pig (bottom left, for you wise guys):

Third, my dad in 2004, doing quality control.

Talk to you later.

Gorgeous

I am feeling pretty smug. The new old saw is out of the car. It’s assembled. The car has been vacuumed. The tools have been put away. I am DONE. Look:

I had to order a new plug for it. It has a dryer plug, but my other stuff has 6-50P plugs, so I’m converting this one. I Googled around. Guess what a Leviton 6-50P goes for? About sixty bucks! For two ounces of plastic and a tiny amount of brass! Fortunately Ebay had one for five bucks. Which one do you think I bought?

The miter gauges on this thing are not looking good. I may upgrade.

I’m going to have to figure out the shims and get the top trued up and so forth. It seems like the dead blow hammer was made for this work. You can move the table in tiny increments, and it won’t mar the iron.

I checked the top with a straightedge. You can sort of see daylight under it, but just barely. It would take a pretty tiny feeler gauge to get in there.

I thought the 5 HP motor was a mistake, but apparently there are advantages. You can use any blade you want, and it will cut thick stuff without slowing down and causing burns. I think a lot of people use smaller motors, though. I am pretty sure Kelly Mehler uses a 110-volt job in his table saw video. I believe the saw is a contractor model, because the motor hangs out the side, supported by the belt.

There is a lot for me to learn. In addition to aligning everything, I have to find out how to tension the belts (plural).

I’m so grateful for this thing. What an adventure it has been already. And if I eventually manage to do useful work with it, it will be even better. This whole experience has been a blast. I wish I had a band saw so I could make new throat plates for it.

Now, how do I make myself sell my precious portable?

Metamorphosis Nearly Complete

The Powermatic 66 is standing in the garage with the top on, the motor in, and the magnetic starter nearly hooked up. All I have to do is screw in two more wires.

The plug on this thing is not compatible with the socket I want to plug it into. So I have to order a new plug. I think. I have to go out there and stare at it some more.

I got the saw cabinet out of the Explorer by putting a piece of plywood covered with an old towel under it. I scooted the plywood out of the back of the vehicle, and the wood and saw slid out more or less simultaneously. No problems at all.

The most fun I’ve had so far was installing the motor. Don’t let anyone kid you with 50 or 75 pounds. This thing has to weigh over a hundred, with the mounting thing attached. You have to slide it onto the upper bolt and hold it on with your left hand while you screw the bolt in with your right.

I vacuumed the cabinet out but I am not sure dust will ever stop pouring out of it. It’s as if it manufactures dust from nothingness.

It may be a couple of weeks before I can do anything with the saw. But I’ll get it as close to ready as possible.

Quarter-Century Hiatus not Good

I have good news about a fellow blogger. Fausta is now writing regularly for Realclearpolitics! They have a site called Realclearworld, and she’s blogging Latin America. Here is her first post!

Always nice to see good people do well.

Today I am thinking about the way my life has changed.

I used to write about the way I felt when I took off for Israel to work on a kibbutz; I had a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to get there, and when I made it to Israel, there were still uncertainty and problems, but it seemed like God held me by the hand the entire time, and I got to where I didn’t worry much. Things always worked out. And I have to say, I wasn’t the greatest possible Christian at that time. I enjoyed getting drunk. I thought sex outside of marriage wasn’t that big a deal. I was very disrespectful to people to whom I should have shown deference. I had a filthy mouth. And I didn’t do much for other people. Nonetheless, it seemed that God guided me through the trip, as though there were a reason for it.

When I returned home, things didn’t work so well; maybe God had a purpose for the trip, and he put up with me because of that purpose and because of my faith, and once I was home, he felt it was time to let me reap some of the rewards of my bad attitude and behavior. I don’t know. The confusing thing is that he would lead me and watch over me in Israel. I completely understand why he would withdraw once I got home; the good that he did me is harder to explain. I think sometimes God does good things for you before you turn to him, in anticipation of things you’ll do later. In any case, I always missed the sensation of having my steps ordered from above.

That sensation has returned to my life. Things are falling into place. My family is being restored. The persistent sins and failings of which I could not rid myself are disappearing. Things I don’t understand are happening, and I have the sense that they are happening for reasons that will become clear later. I am less worried than I used to be. I am less discouraged. I feel as if the ground of my life has been weeded and cultivated and fertilized, and that now my life can be fruitful.

I feel like my life ended when I returned from Israel and started up again just recently.

I still can’t figure out this tool business. How did I end up with a giant table saw? I really didn’t want to buy it, but there is such a thing as having a hook put in your jaw. The saw was too perfect. The price was too low. It made too much sense, the way it would fit into my garage. Then I bought the thing, and immediately, I got an email inviting me and my father to Frostproof, to see my great aunt Gladys. The lady with the giant workshop and house full of beautiful homemade furniture. The only person I know who would have any appreciation whatsoever for this saw. There has to be some purpose in this. It’s just too weird.

I think about the story of Jonah. Actually, I have thought about it for years, because I knew I was not serving my purpose in life. Jonah was appointed to do a job, and he refused. He was thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish. Some preachers believe he died. For three days, he prayed for relief. From hell, according to his own words. In the end, the fish spat him out on the beach, closer to Nineveh than he was when he was thrown in the ocean. All that time, the plan seemed to be derailed, but he was on his way to Nineveh and didn’t realize it.

Now that I think about it, the Bible is full of this kind of stuff. Rebecca was waiting at the well, to be chosen for Isaac. A donkey was waiting to be used in Jesus’s ride into Jerusalem. Moses happened to float by Pharaoh’s daughter. Joseph was sold to Egyptians, and he was imprisoned wrongly, and as a result he became a powerful official who was ready to help his brothers when famine came. Mary the sister of Martha happened to have costly perfume on hand to put on Jesus’s feet, and it turned out to be preparation for his burial.

I’m also grateful that I seem to sense my positive emotions better than I used to. Every so often, I have a moment when I understand the significance of something that has happened, and it brings me close to tears. Often the thing that moves me will be something that would have blown right by me, back when I was constantly working to suppress feelings which I believed would cause me problems.

As for the saw, I have to figure out a way to put a router table in it. You can buy premade inserts, but I’m sure they’re expensive, and the whole point of all this effort is to learn to use tools, so I’d rather make one. I’m thinking I should get a piece of 3/4″ MDF and cut it to a suitable width. Then I can rout a hole in it for my router lift, run hardwood braces across the bottom of the MDF, and screw it to the saw rails. It should work.

I’m having a hard time deciding how long the rails should be. People are trying to discourage me from cutting them down, but a 98″ long object is not something you want in a crowded garage. I am thinking I’ll set the saw up and decide how big a router insert I need and then cut the rails based on that measurement. I hate to do it, but let’s be serious. How often do you need rails that go 50″ beyond a table saw’s edge? I have a video where Kelly Mehler cuts a four-by-eight sheet of plywood without any of that junk. If I’m wrong, I’m sure I can remedy the mistake for $300 somewhere down the road.

Prayer Request

I just got an email from reader Alan. He says his mother has lung cancer and is not expected to live more than two weeks. He would appreciate some prayer to help her with her suffering. He says she is a good Christian, and that she is prepared to go. I hope you’ll take a minute to help out.

Also, I have a friend who is despondent over job problems. I mean, while you’re already praying, why not?

Already

I joined the forum at Sawmill Creek to get info on moving my saw. They said I was required to upload photos, so I have done that. Some guy already wants to buy my oversized rails!

The sad thing is, I don’t see how I can sell them. I can’t find used rails in the shorter length, and new ones cost a lot. I can take my dry cut saw and cut these down in fifteen minutes, and they’ll be perfect, and it will cost NOTHING. But people will spaz out if they find out I’ve done it.

I already got a recommendation for a guard. One of the disadvantages of this saw is that it has no riving knife, so I would like to get some kind of guard that will be convenient and highly resistant to kickback. But it’s a hard decision, so I want to take my time.

I suppose I need a zero-clearance insert. I should be able to make one. Maybe I can find a splitter for it.

After all this, STILL, I am not making anything with my tools.

The Doug Stowe box-making video is tremendous. It seems like it’s three times as long as most woodworking videos. I should clean the dust out of my hair and turn on the DVD player.

I, Too, Know how to Abuse an SUV

Here is good information to have. It is entirely possible to put a Powermatic 66 power saw into a Ford Explorer without help.

I shot up to Jupiter today and took a look at the saw. The seller was less helpful than expected. He turned out to have a back problem, so he could do nothing whatsoever to help with the lifting and pushing. He got a little snippy when I asked if I could take a wing off the saw to get an idea how hard the disassembly would be, although he apologized later.

He clearly didn’t know a whole lot about mechanical things. Although he did carpentry for a living, he didn’t know how to take the saw apart, and he didn’t think I could do it and get it into the truck. But when I gave him the money, he was only too happy to clear out and give me time to work, and he told me where I could find Mexicans if I needed one to help me lift.

He was amazed by my Panasonic impact driver. I don’t blame him. It amazes me, too.

I was terrified, but it seemed certain it had to be doable. I didn’t want to leave half the saw up there and go back to Miami for a bigger vehicle. I got out the tools and got to work.

Here is the saw at first (seller’s photo):

Here it is a few minutes after I got to work, with the extension, fence, and rails off.

Here it is with the top and motor removed.

Here it is going up the clever little ramp I made.

Getting it apart took some time, but there was nothing hard about it. I put the parts in the Explorer as they came off. Once I had it in pieces, I was ready to drive to the labor pool and choose a brawny immigrant to help me. But I kept looking at the saw and tilting it by hand and thinking how light it felt. And there was a huge stack of two-by-fours in the corner of the storage unit. And the storage unit was two inches higher than the surrounding pavement, so I knew I could brace the wood against the concrete…

I backed the Explorer up to the unit, got the wood in place, draped a quilt over it, and lowered the saw cabinet onto it. And I gave it a yank. It moved! I couldn’t believe it. I decided to go for broke. I yanked and pushed, going from one side of the cabinet to the other, until it was in the Explorer. All I had to do was tidy up, put the rails in the car, and hit the road! There wasn’t a scratch on the saw. Not a new one, anyway.

Sadly, when I took the top off, six shims came with it, and I have no idea where they were. The information I gathered said there should be no alignment issues, so I was not expecting shims. I may have to call Powermatic.

I also got about a dozen blades. I thought I might leave them behind; they were for Corian, and I didn’t know if they were right for wood, and I thought the seller might want to put them on Craigslist by themselves. But he said they were great for wood. Something about “triple chipped” carbide points. He said they would last forever on wood. So they came with me.

I took a shot of the saw in the car, but I guess I forgot to save it.

I don’t think the Biesemeyer fence is 64″ long. It looks like 48″ to me, which is considerably more reasonable. The rails are very long, though. I think I’ll have to put them on the dry cut saw and reduce them to a length that makes sense. I don’t know what else to do.

This thing should be fantastic. I can put wheels on it and park it by a wall. With the router on it, it will be a great convenience. I thought I might spruce it up and paint it, but after lugging it around, I am not all that enthusiastic.

I don’t think this guy was a big fan of dust collection. It seemed like five pounds of wood and corian dust came out of this saw. It needs a good cleaning.

I have to get a guard for it. That will be a project in and of itself.

All in all, I can’t believe my luck. I paid roughly a third of what it’s worth, and the blades are a big asset.

I have the funniest feeling about all these tools. I feel as if there is some purpose in them. I really didn’t want this thing when I saw it, but things kept coming together, and I just went with the flow. I said a lot of prayers during this process, including one over the saw itself.

Coincidentally–ANOTHER coincidence, among those associated with this saw–my aunt Gladys wants me and my father to visit. If you don’t recall, she’s the 92-year-old great aunt in Frostproof, who has a complete woodworking shop and a house full of homemade furniture. She’ll love these photos.

Now I have to go lie down.

Prayer Solicited

Leah Friedman had a blood clot recently, and she has had pneumonia, and she has sustained some damage to her heart. Now Mish Weiss says Leah has received some “bad news.”

I don’t know what could be considered “bad” after all that, but I know prayers would be welcomed.

Giant Saw Soon to be Mine, & Vice-Versa

I think the table saw move is under control. I got expert advice from various sources. It looks like it works this way: you remove as much heavy stuff as you can, and then you are left with a basic box which is not too bad. The main box can be rolled back into an Explorer so it lands on its top.

The wings are three bolts each. Og says the motor is four. You adjust the saw height so the motor is inside the box, you lower the saw onto a blanket, you put another blanket under the motor, and you pop the motor out and let it drop.

I don’t really care how hard it is to take it out of the car, because I can do that at home.

I don’t know what to do with that giant rail. Maybe it’s possible to cut it to a reasonable length.

I realize I’m crazy.

Delivery Problems

Troubles have developed in table saw paradise.

The guy who owns the saw thought he could deliver it. But he can’t. So a fifty-dollar gas contribution now turns into a nightmare rental scenario. Looks like a $150 addition to the cost, even if I take a train to rent the truck, drive the saw to Miami, and turn the truck in here.

I’m wondering if I could just take the saw apart. Motor out, top off. The motor has to weigh 75 pounds. I’m sure the top is another hundred. That would leave me with a box weighing around 250 pounds, which I should be able to wrestle onto a pickup bed with help.

The extension is homemade. It would have to come off. I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t want it. It’s too big to go in the garage. Maybe I could just dump it. I have no place to put it, and I am never going to cut giant panels. If I do, I can build a piece of junk like that, myself. I’m sure it’s useful, but it’s not worth losing the saw over.

Do any of you know how to take apart a table saw, and whether this idea is realistic? If the saw will come apart into pieces that can be handled fairly easily, I can borrow my dad’s Explorer and cram it in the back. Total cost: $30.