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My own dad, John H. Morris in his shop we built together back in 2005. He lives in the mountains nearby, he is Papa Jack to my wife, Grandpa to our kids, and at 86 years old, he's doing pretty danged good. He loves building birdhouses for the locals where he lives, and he has earned the nickname "Birdman" and he wears it proudly. Actually he didn't even know he had the nickname till just a few weeks ago, he heard it through the grapevine and he was tickled to death to know that he has an official nickname in his community. Love ya Dad! Just thought I'd share to you all my Dad. Clas

Yeah, the CS and a guide is much better than the TS for sheet goods and, for getting a straight edge on rough lumber. Ths SCMS does my cross cuts.

@Larry Buskirk, I had one for several years. I was skeered of it every time I turned it on. My trepidation probably made it more dangerous than it should've been. A contractor offered me $150 for it and I jumped on it.

@Larry Buskirk, on the subject of dad's, your sig line reminded me, when I was a kid and I had a boo boo or aches and pains, dad never showed much compassion for any of it, he'd dismiss it with "Hey John, don't sweat it, it'll feel better when it stops hurting!". I've always said the same to my kids since they were little, it confused the heck out of em at first, now they just moan when I state it to them.

John, you are a blessed man to have your father for so many years. Most of us lost our parents years ago. Cherish the moments!

@Gene Howe I guess it depends what piece of equipment you're most used to running. It probably skeered you more because you could see the blade better on the RAS. I've seen a few episodes of what happens when fingers get in the way of a blade on a TS which is better hidden by what you are cutting. I actually get more nervous with the TS due to that fact. I myself prefer to use a hand held CS for sheet goods, I don't care how big of a work table a TS has. I'm at the height that a kickback gets you just enough below the belt. DAMHIK

That was my Dad, Larry. His shop was very small, RAS and Drill Press that was it. He did all his ripping and dado and cross cut work on that ol RAS. So did I, I was ripping boards on the RAS at the age of 9yrs. I am still considering an RAS for my current shop setup, an old timey one. Something like this bad boy would be nice.

John, I might break the mold, but I don't think I care to see the century mark.

Larry, you are going to break the mold on this one, you're just too busy to die any earlier than 101yrs old! I was named after my grandpa, John Courtland Morris, I am John Courtland Morris II. If I was named after my dad, ya I'd be Jr. My mom hated the whole Jr. thing, so she talked my dad into naming me after his dad.

A very big congratulations John, all around. What little bit I know about this girl's family, I would say the Army did good today also! As for furthering her education, she is soon to get that! And there will be all sorts of college available to her if she chooses to pursue those while in the Army.

@John, Congratulations and we have a niece who went into the Army and is now an FBI agent.

Stopped dados....to set up a router...first I have to remove an older bit... Router is an older DeWalt 610... Wrenches are what I could find that fit. 1/2" shanks, only. Bit is a 1/2" wide straight cutter. Yes, I do have a spare, just in case So...I'll set up the router guide, and run a dado almost all the way across, stopping about an inch or so back from the front edge. Router was a $5 yard sale find, a few years ago....may have to find a new base, someday? Stay tuned..

Glad to see your dad is still enjoying his workshop John. I do agree with Gene that the ras is satan's invention. Got rid of mine years ago after a few close calls,especially when trying to rip boards. I'll be turning 88 in a couple of weeks and have to admit, the years are catching up with me. I definitely need a chair in the shop to take rest periods, even with small projects. Maybe I should try your dad's hands on the hips solution to keep me upright and active. Keeping active is the key to growing older. You can't let your body just decay from sitting around doing nothing. It's great to s

First and foremost,...if I'm someday lucky enough to make it to 86 standing in my shop somewhere on my own legs with the sun on my face doing things I love to do,......well,...if only I am to be so lucky. Those are fantastic pics and a great story. Not sure what he thinks about it but I can't imagine how lucky your dad was to grow up in the catskills during that time period either. The large set of moose antlers are impressive ! That's a lot of bone,...and a basket full of cool extras to boot. Gotta ask,..did he hunt growing up in those mountains,..are any of the racks I see throughout his sh

He is Artie, he's fine, he's had a lot of hardship in his life, relatively recent years he/we tragically lost both his daughters (my two sisters) a couple months apart from each-other back in the mid 90's. He was destroyed for a long time, but as we all do, we cope, we adjust, we rationalize, and he finally adjusted as we all had too, and he has finally found peace I can say. You can tell just by the smile, he's finally there I'd say.

John, your Dad seems like a very happy content person. Not really possible to have a more satisfying life than that.

John, your posts about your visits with your dad are always highlights of my day. I'd bet it's the same for him, too. What's he think about his grand daughter's exciting news? How's the roof repairs holding up? I'm with you on that guard less RAS. Those things scare me WITH a guard!

Thank you Gerald, as we all get older I am starting to see how important it is to do as you stated, when I was younger, death for anyone in our family seemed so far off, but we do all leave this life eventually, and my dad aint getting younger, as a family we are working on seeing more of him, and being more tentative to his needs. He's the only dad/gramps we got. 70 is pretty young Gerald, I bet your dad is living his dream elsewhere.

Good story John. All I can say is enjoy every day and ask questions and write down the answers now. Make copies of what you write and these articles for your children .My Dad died at age 70 and was still working. Often wondered what he would do in retirement but thinking now he would be gardening. He used to have a dream of having a farm with Hereford cattle .

Love it!

While removing the weights for transport...........I dropped one on the brass hook and broke it. Yes, I am that clumsy. I have to buy a complete set of hooks with metric thread to replace one. $25 & shipping. I am trying something. I cut off the remaining hook, filed it off, drilled a small hole and threaded in a brass hook from HD. It had a wood thread and I cleaned it off until it screwed in very tightly. I removed it and put JB weld in the hole and on the thread. I think it will hold. I considered soldering it, but I do not have a heat source for such a tiny piece and I didn't want to

Thanks Cal After researching the language institute she'll be assigned too, it is college! Man do they study and study and study, with immersion into their assigned culture and language, she may even get transferred to the country of origin at some point, and study there for full immersion into the culture, we may not get back our American girl after this is all done, but a hybrid cultured girl. Well she's already hybrid Spanish/North American, now she can add another great culture to her resume. If she decides to not make a career out of the Army, after her enlistment is up, she

I use the spoon for the lathe, the butter knife is my go to for everything else.

First of all Gunny, you gotta stop using a sharpened spoon for your plane blade.

Anytime, the door is always open. if you do come maybe you can see what exactly I do wrong trying to butcher wood with a handplane….

My son approached me last month and asked if we could build a desk for his bedroom for this upcoming school year, he is planning on a ton of homework and being in 10th grade and all, the work is going to get harder and harder. He asked me to help him build the desk just before I went into the hospital back in early June, I was in bad shape for the first few weeks coming out of the hospital and meanwhile he was asking me when we can start the desk, bless his little soul and heart, as crappy as I was feeling, he felt that ol Dad could get up and go and power through it all with a des

John, thank you for the stories and pictures. What a view! It is worth living there. Like others have so well said, enjoy every minute with your dad and learn all you can from his life. Some really good lessons. My dad checked out at age 66, his dad checked out at age 70. Mother's dad left at age 90. Now, I am 71 and feeling all the miles. But, I have things to get done and no time for sitting down. I spend more time here than anywhere. Yes, if you can make notes, it is well worth it. Before mother expired, I asked specific questions and have information that none of her siblings or

Lets go with Special.

I thought it was because we are DIFFERENT

How about "Fungi by a fun-guy"?

As always thank everyone for the feedback and information and sorry for the delayed response. I built what I could until I get some more room when I can finally get my motorcycle sold. I plan on eventually adding a drop down extension that will lock into place with sliding latches when it’s not in use and fold out legs when it is. I also turned my first mallet. They match because they were both made from $2.50 a board non treated box store wood. Going next weekend to get some real wood to play with!!!

4.5" OC. Might be better to make adjustable.

Roh-Kay, Raggy....quitting time while the dryer does it's thing....Top shelf has been trimmed for length, and the edges jointed Non-live edge. Stanley No.8....when I then worked on the live edge side... All the bark was removed...wide chisel then the spokeshave Spokeshave also did a round-over, of sorts... Then the front corners were trimmed a bit... Then the spokeshave carried the round-over on around....set the top shelf aside... Where it will be out of the way....One plank made 3 blanks for the uprights...18-3/4" long... ha

Larry, that's why God gave us table saws and routers. IMHO, the RAS is Satan's invention. John, lots of Shopsmith guys use undersized blades. But then, we can control the speed, can't we?

Thanks for the encouragement Gerald. I have not worked much with JB. My train of thought was that there are gaps in the ( huge difference) threads that the JB will fill and harden. My other thought was how far the household will jump......if that weight falls

My wife has a hard time getting me to go to the Dr., If it doesn't need stiches or it's not broke I'm not going. When we were redoing the roof I fell through a skylight opening removing tarps and busted 3 ribs one in two places. That was on a Saturday. I climbed down through the opening only to have the wife meet me at the bottom of the stairs. She could tell right away that something had happened. I caught my breath and hoisted several more sheets of plywood up the ladder. On Monday the foreman at work noticed me moving rather stiffly and asked why. When I told her she wouldn't allow me

I use a 10" on a 9" saw, but I found a 10" guard from a later model that fits. Can't hardly find 9" blades anymore. Some operations won't allow the use of a guard, such as using a dado set, or moulding head.

"A Father's Legacy"- your life story in your own words. Did not realize there were so many versions of the same idea. LOOK AT THESE TITLES

John, You and your dad are lucky men. I lost both my Grandpa, & Dad at the same age I am now. (61) So seeing your dads name is John also, are you John Jr.?

Thank you Ron, it's amazing how healthy he is, I take encouragement from that fact, that hopefully I'll have a full long life as he has. We will cherish the moments, I promise!

Hey Michael, a few years ago I ditched my spray equipment, basically because I just don't have a need for it. Back in the day I did quite a few side jobs that involved a lot of flat work, such as cabinets and doors etc. But I got away from that hustle and bustle, toned it all down, and I mainly make things for family and the occasional interested party that wants custom work and will pay well for it. I really did not like spraying, it was just messy, and the clean up, and the set up, and on and on. I swore to never let a spray device in my shop again, and I don't regret it one bit. For th

These manuals may have been there already, but I received an email from Shop Smith stating they are starting to put many of their manuals online. Here is the link. Shopsmith -- WWW.SHOPSMITH.COM Shopsmith Owner Manuals Available For Download

I have something similar but added convenience to it. My sides are able to roll up and down via a power window motor, 12 volts. To set up, press switch and roll down each side. When done, press switch it rolls back up and out of the way. Give me a few days to make new pics. Lost that project picture set when last laptop died... OOps.

Been there back in 1999 when I was married to ex and she went through boot camp. Not a bad drive from where I live in Atlanta. You are welcome to fly in to Atlanta and stay at my place when she graduates. Even let you borrow the Tundra to drive up to Fort Jackson. Save you some money anyway.

Very true indeed, Pete.

that's really good. i didn't do well at Category 0 language

Good to know time for a spray booth. How well does pre-cat lacquer stand up to chemicals vs. Poly?

I sure hope loosening the nut does it. Now that I am older, my eyesight, fumble fingers and patience sure ain't what it used to be.