Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 08:22:42 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808251522.IAA23676@ns.intelenet.net>
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
From: redcanoe@pangea.ca (Douglas Ingram)
Subject: Re: [baidarka] power tools
>Haha, Someone else is using a grinder. Part of the fun is using what you
>have. I have found my angle grinder (4.5 inch) handy for quickly removing
>lots of wood. Then I use my sureform to smooth it up a bit before final
>sanding.
>
>I am a little paranoid (or careful) and have only drawn blood once while
>working with wood. I was carving and my pocket knife got me -grin-
You bet! My grinder is like an extension of my hand. I have, through
practice, developed a very good touch with this tool, and can carve very
intricate and precise shapes with it. I can think of no faster way to do
many of the tasks that come up in my work, then to use the grinder. Mind
you, after about 6 hours of one handed use of the grinder while shaping
paddles, my hand does get a "little" tired. But then, I have my sander to
look forward to!
The grinder excels where shaping of wood with irregular grain structure is
involved. I have taught several canoe building courses,
(woodstrip/fiberglass) and the grinder has become know as "Doug's magic
tool". My students often remark, and joke, at how often I reach for this
tool. From shaping stems, to cleaning out the inside planking, to shaping
thwarts, to undercutting decks, to trimming gunnels, the grinder has so many
uses. And, as has been pointed out before, you can have the job done by the
time you set up to use more traditional tools.
I have thought about the chainsaw disc for the grinder, called the Lancelot
I think, but have been more than a little leary about such a thing. I use
the grinder with the guard removed, it gets in the way of doing real work,
and my fingers would be dangerously close to those lethal teeth.
Douglas Ingram
Red River Canoe & Paddle
P.O. Box 78, GRP 4, RR 2
Lorette, Manitoba
Canada
ROA OYO
(204)878-2524
URL: www.wilds.mb.ca/redriver
e-mail: redcanoe@pangea.ca