for older members:

[Ken S]

Mike, for those of us who are still using pencil and graph paper, your sketch up work is definitely "brainer".

Good organization, too, even if some of the variables were fixed.

Ken

[mike40]

It's been a couple of years since I used Sketchup to any degree Ken, so I'm pretty rusty with it now. It is a  great program for planning furniture pieces unless you already have plans. The main drawback is that it is fairly time consuming, but it can save you a lot of aggravation during the build, as design problems and mistakes turn up before you start actually building.

[Rob]

did you know there is a plugin for sketchup called Cutlist.  It allows you to take a design you've made and lay it out on an 8x4 sheet good to get the most efficient usage of the material.

[mike40]

Yes Rob, Thanks. I am aware of that, although I haven't used it. I know a lot of plugins have been added. I'm not building any furniture these days, so I'm not using Sketchup much. I'm finding it a lot easier to  do mainly small projects and of course the marquetry which I just started with last Fall.

I forgot to mention In earlier my posts above that when you get older, it can be nice to mainly do small projects where you can do at quite a bit of the work sitting, like for scroll sawing and carving for example. Although it's not good to sit too much. That's where hand tool work like hand planing can provide a fair amount of exercise. I also like segmented turning and I have a few new ideas I would like to try in that area. I have to admit though that segmented turning is 90% cutting, sanding and gluing, some of that work can be done sitting. The actual turning part goes very quickly and easy, so you don't have to be on your feet there too much either, and there's not as much shavings to clean up either.

[MakerUnknown]

Not just for older humans but I think manufacturers do a poor job with signage on their tools.  On/off switches have small icons that don't mean anything. Or the writing is so small and of the same color that you can't see it.  Look at the second pic....on and off has been molded into the black surround.  So if something is poorly marked or labeled I will take a Sharpie and make it easily read and understood.

[Ken S]

Good post, Paul.  It would be funny if it wasn't true.  Sometimes I wonder if manufacturers actually expect customers to use their products.  This reminds me of the gymnastics center where I take my two grandchildren.  The program is from nine until noon.  There is a dry marker board next to the door where the parents (mostly young mothers) may write a reach number and leave until pickup time.  By 905 the place is usually cleared out and the parents have some precious free quiet time.  I have noticed the handwriting is usually very neat.  No one wants to lose the free time.  I wonder how neat the same handwriting is for day to day "stuff".

We shouldn't have to mark switches!!!!

Mike and Ron, I have enjoyed primitive mechanical drawing since my grandmother gave me a kid's drafting set when I was quite young.  Sketch-up is on my list of skills to learn.  Maybe when I'm really retired.......

Ken

[Herman Trivilino]

If up is on, and down is off, I'm ok.  But I agree that if there's any doubt a big fat label is in order.

[MakerUnknown]

True but I also do it just in case of an emergency and you never know if that large visual reminder will be the difference between safe and sorry.
I also mark all kinds of things on the tools.
Sort of like that movie "Memento"...the story of a man with memory loss that self tattoo important messages on his body so he won't forget.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/?ref_=sr_1

[Herman Trivilino]

Sort of like that movie "Memento"...

That movie taught me a valuable lesson that I still use to this day.  In one scene the character purposely destroyed some evidence, if I recall correctly, so that his future (forgetful) self would have no clue an event occurred.

I now leave my future self plenty of clues and evidence because I know he's forgetful and getting worse all the time.   

[Rob]

I'm exactly the same.  My memory is shocking given I'm only 50.  I have a whiteboard in my workshop for sketching designs and dimensions as I tend to make up my furniture as I go along.  I rarely take the time to draw it all in advance (though I know I should).  I also keep a loose leaf clipboard which I load with printer paper also for jotting design ideas and dimensions.  The loose leaves then often get pinned or taped to machines as I work so I don't forget the dimensions I'm cutting to.

I spent a lot of time calibrating my table saw rip fence so I can trust the measuring scale on it.  This means I don't need to mark the wood for my rip cuts and it saves a lot of time.  It does however, require me to remember the widths...hence all the paper :-)

[Rob]

I do the same with complex procedures for tool setups or joint cutting (like how to set up the dovetail jig).  Because given I don't do this for a living, I forget the details.

[Rhino]

Speaking of switches.  My family has two cars.  One has the wipers on the right of the steering column.  The other car has a column shift on the right.

So, I turn on the spray and wipe and gun the engine while looking back when I try to back out of a parking space.  The car does not go.  I spray and wash and gun the engine more until I figure out what's going on by looking forward.  Or I shift into neutral when it rains.  Luckily, the computer is smart enough to prevent me from shifting into reverse when I'm going 50 mph. 

Or when I set up the GPS, it shows me two routes and my wife tells me to go on a third unmarked route that is faster. I drive the third route (guided by my wife) and promptly gets lost with the GPS constantly saying "U turn" "U turn". I tell her, why did we get the built in GPS advanced technology package for thousands of dollars if we never follow it.

People thought I was smarter when I only had one car and no GPS.

That's why I prefer knives, BBQ and woodwork.   I am the only one doing it and its all set up the way I want.

[Rob]

Excellent post Rhino :-)

[Rhino]

Thanks Rob.

By the way, I would put myself into the older member category.

[Herman Trivilino]

I spent a lot of time calibrating my table saw rip fence so I can trust the measuring scale on it.

Me, too.  That's a highly recommended strategy.  The time spent is not only well worth it, but saved in the long run.

I still have the cheap rip fence that came with the saw.  I owned it for a few years before I spent the time adjusting it correctly.  As long as I lubricate the moving parts once every few years it stays in perfect working order.