PeteM

Steph, I think you're doing this backwards. First you keep mixing the terms "carpentry", "cabinets", "small crafts". Those are objectives that don't really fit with each other, and while there are some things in common, each of those has really different tooling. I suggest you pick a project, something simple that you want to make, and more especially something that comes with instructions on how to make it. There are lots of videos on YT about projects and how to do them (step by step, including showing tools and how to use them). I'm specially fond of Steve Ramsey's series. Once you have a "something", buy the minimum tools to do it. Buy used stuff, or really cheap stuff (Harbor Freight, Ryobi, Amazon are all good resources). But make the Something. The worse you do, the faster you will get to this point (really critical point): does doing this make me happy? The faster you get to the "flunk test", the more time and money you'll save. If you liked the process, no matter how crappy the Something looks, you're hooked, which can be a good thing. Pick another Something, same process, but make this rule: every project can buy one tool, but only one tool. I think you'll test yourself best by making a series of the same thing for friends and relatives; Something in 5 or 6 copies so you get halfway good at that one thing. It's another test: how do you like the process thus far? (That's a question you ask yourself continuously for the first couple decades.) After several years of really cheap tools you will find a day that you realize a) you like this woodworking thing, and b) this tool in front of you just will never do what you need it to do. At that point, start upgrading your tools. Subscribe to one or two woodworking magazines, get a feel for the industry. The ads are almost as useful as the articles. Don't buy a "presentation jacket". After the first year, write down a plan for the next year, what you want to do, maybe projects you want to tackle, tools you might buy. Figure out how to pay for it. If you have commercial tendencies (you think you can make money in this thing), be aware that most failures come from too much ambition, too much initial expense (where do you think Craig's List gets all those used tools? Eh?!). And don't take advice from enthusiasts. Look for pessimists. Only halfway listen to them.

for the first year or so, you wouldn't see much droop, but over time the 48" span would sag. why take a chance?

Are you allowed to smoke in a wooden car?

The ads are as interesting as anything else. Been a while since I was searching for Rupture Relief. Lessee, March '67....oh, Uncle Sam was in charge of that for me, which explains why there was no relief?

Transport: consider getting or making a specialized trailer, something designed to just hold the raw wood you want. Components: spine, axle, 2 wheels, channel bed, 3--4 uprights (48" to take plywood). If you know a decent welder, see what you could make for them to trade for the labor of assembly? At one time I was going to get rid of the van, keep the Prius, and a trailer was my solution. In some jurisdictions, if you design the trailer a certain way, it's either simpler (no lights) or escapes license requirements/ depends. Most commercial designs are capable of a ton or so load. You're looking at a couple hundred pounds, and that makes a much lighter design, much easier to tow. WWers don't buy trucks because they really need them! They like trucks, and took up WW to justify the purchase! Are there any WW clubs in your area? They've been there before you, probably know all the holes in the baseboard. Attend a meeting, bring donuts, you'll get all the info you need.

At Amazon, consider the 4-pack. ?

I have both versions (baby and poppa) of the 'bot. The red lanyard broke early and the red cap went somewhere (replacements can be bought). Unless you're doing glue ups a lot, the glue does set up in the tip after a week or so, so you have to either clean after each use or periodically soak it in hot water to clear it out. I've come to use a mustard bottle top with the standard glue bottle. Elegant design those mustard tops. Yes, glue does dry on them, but it just pops off. When the glue level in the bottle drops to the point where I have to wait too long, I buy a new bottle. Next year, I'm getting a 50 gallon drum of T-III and a continuous pump with outlet dispensers at each bench. Both of them.

I've finally decided to make a router table, and incorporate a lift (probably Jessem Rout-R or Mast-R). Most of the prefab router tables I see have the router centered on the table. This would seem too waste a lot of the surface area behind the router bit. What bit clearance do you have on your table, and would moving it back a bit improve the use?

Permits anyone? You found the "magic size" that escapes permits. The other thing that triggers permitting is electrical service, as in "don't". I built a gazebo without electrical power connected, although it was prewired for service. Not my fault that the Brownies installed electrical power one night a few months later. ?

Warranty is a signal. When I was selling equipment, I found that mediocre equipment quality can be made to shine with good customer service. In consumer tools, I suspect that less than half of the defective items get returned. Most of us shove it on a shelf, give it to charity, regift it at Christmas, the usual. We just go buy something else. So a sales org (few of them actually manufacture any more) that restricts warranty is telling you that a) they're not very bright and/or b) THEY expect the stuff to be...lousy. Either way, I find shortest path to door. The fancy name of old (C-man) will get them some biz, but poor quality will catch up pretty fast. There are too many ratings systems available for poor quality to hide for very long.

Between training soldiers, young engineers, contractors, and 25 years of Scouts, I'm done a lot of teaching. Old saying that I've found true: when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And the corollary: "and not a moment before". Kids learn by finding things that hold no interest for them, which eventually reveals what does interest them. When a Scout took the Fingerprinting merit badge, I wasn't looking for a future FBI agent, I was (mildly) curious to see if he was allergic to ink! :-) I've made maybe 30 items for the g-kids (ranging from beds to rolling duckies). I think I'm batting about 250 (with a tail wind?). That's ok. You cannot tell in advance what will be A WINNER! Four years later, they're still using the Learning Towers, and that is all the encouragement I need ("Tree is happy"). The puzzle maps are great, you had a good time, and maybe--maybe--a kid learns from it. But if someone else's approval/enjoyment of one of my projects was the only reward, I'd quit the hobby. I work for me, and anyone else is welcome to come for the ride. Of course, as a hobbyist I can afford to be Above It All.

In my experience (g-kid #4 is on the way), Youth uses such puzzles in two ways: the younger ones take the assembled puzzle and dump it on the living room floor, the object being to spread the pieces far and wide. Then, game over; mom cleans up. Older, they're too sophisticated to bother with such things, and it sits on a shelf under piles of other discarded toys. There is a brief in-between age transition, maybe a month, where they actually put it together. However, despair not. They remember the effort you made and you get full credit for it. A little smile comes to their face when they dump it in the Goodwill bin. And the tree was happy.

That's a beautiful map/puzzle. Keep in mind that if you wanted to loosen the fit a little bit, sanding on the straight sides of some the shapes would allow cumulative spacing for all the pieces across the map. Even WVa!

Thanks Pythagoras.

Tower on the wall great idea for cord access/upgrading, which is BIG in gaming (so my sons tell me!!). Leave enough room for air circulation on the wall side?