Website Changes

This blog is used by the Web Administrator to list updates to the website. This blog is summarized on the front page to make it easy for the members it locate new material without having to go  through the entire site. 

  • January 30, 2023 9:07 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Projects are run by Steve Hoffman for the Stools Project and Jeff Clunie for the Cutting Board Project.

  • January 30, 2023 9:05 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Fair and Square

    Rob Carver

    I really like this article.  I'm interested in etymology although I'm not an etymologist by any stretch of the imagination.  So when I read Rob's latest MTCO article, I enjoyed the research and the sometimes contradictory meanings of "fair" and "square".  Clearly, in woodworking we use these terms often, especially square, which is the objective we strive for.

    These terms outside woodworking can mean other things.  Before the mid-20th century these words used separately had a positive, just, unblemished, righteous meaning.  I remember my cub scout pledge was "to be square".  But since then "fair" and "square" have largely been used as mediocre and old-fashioned, respectively.  Are we woodworkers carrying on an idealized notion of "fair" and "square"?  I don't want to be cynical by saying that this is a tiny but symptomatic example of degrading norms -- but I wonder.  Outside of woodworking, what was once a compliment is evolving to be something to be avoided.

    Read all about it in Fair and Square.

    You can reach Rob for comments and additional information, by clicking Rob Carver.

  • January 30, 2023 9:03 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    ChatGPT

    by Andrew Davis

    There has been a long line of Artificial Intelligent chatbots (natural language programs that can converse with humans) with Eliza being the most (in)famous surfacing in the mid 1960s. It became an academic sensation because the psychotherapy it was devised to produce fooled many knowledgeable members of the MIT student body.  All it did was rephrase questions it was given as answers and was able to carry on a conversation much like a fortune teller would.  The advancement was Eliza's perfect grammar, spelling, and sticking to the therapeutic matter.

    Andrew writes about the newest AI phenomenon you may have heard about.  ChatGPT is a general purpose chatbot answering any questions posed to it in any field of interest.  For ChatGPT to work it was given 570GB of Wiki and other information as a knowledge base.  However, in any user interaction, ChatGPT is not allowed to access the internet for anything new.  So the question of its value is in the notion of machine learning.  That is, how much will ChatGPT learn new information by interacting with users.  Andrew gave it a shot in the field of woodworking.  Read about Andrew's experience in ChatGPT about ChatGPT.

    Andrew welcomes your feedback.

  • January 30, 2023 9:02 AM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Stickley Inspired Table

    by Dan Sichel

    When you are a college professor you are no stranger to publishing articles. You may remember Dan published an academic article, that appeared on the EMGW website, about how the rarely ever changing nail can be used as a barometer for economic study.  Here in the hallowed halls of EMGW, Dan can add a feather to his professorial cap with his newest post Stickley Inspired Table.  

    Dan appears to have the same attention to detail and finished workmanship in his Stickley Inspired Table that he must have with teaching the curriculum.  His writing shows the natural woodworking progression from idea to finished product.  It's a thoughtful, well built, and beautiful table that will stand the test of time and where he can sit and design another furniture piece, hopefully, sooner than his next sabbatical.  

    Further information can be requested by clicking Dan Sichel.

  • January 29, 2023 6:55 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    The BOD gadget was moved to its own page under the "About Us" tab.

  • January 17, 2023 6:31 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Handshouse Studio, Norwell, MA

  • January 01, 2023 2:14 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Kickback!

    Rob Carver

    Just hearing the word sends shivers down my back.  The point, as made by Rob, is to address the table saw with the expectation that kickback could happen.  I can't say I go through the process every time.  When when I am not cognizant of that possibility that's when kickback will occur.

    But Rob's essay is not a cliche about the required preparation and the violence kickback can unleash.  As the essay progresses, Rob reveals another clever twist of wordplay.  Yep, read Kickback! to the end and you just might feel a bit of a jolt.

    You can reach Rob for comments and additional information, by clicking Rob Carver.

  • January 01, 2023 2:07 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Tree Rings

    by Andrew Davis


    This article about tree rings starts with an eye-catching news headline.  Andrew reads the article about a methodology to date shipwrecks with the hope of identifying the wreck.  The notion of tree rings surface, which leads to discovering the international periodical Dendrochonologia of peer reviewed articles of all things woody, especially growth rings.


    Pieces of the shipwreck and the growth rings are analyzed microscopically.  Voila, the age of the pieces put the wreck to be consistent with an 1849 shipwreck off the coast of Argentina. But there were other possible matches and thus could not conclusively make a match.


    Spurred on by the recommended Dendrochonologia process Andrew writes about his experiments to determine the age of some of his furniture.  You literally won't believe where this goes.  Find out the results in Tree Rings.


    Andrew welcomes your feedback.

  • January 01, 2023 2:04 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Quilted Maple Projects Part 2

    by Dave McCormick

    As promised in last month's FPM article, this episode reveals more of Dave McCormick's Quilted Maple Projects.  You may remember that Dave visited Highland Lumber and was impressed by the quilted maple boards he saw.  He purchased a bunch thinking about what he can make with it.  One project led to another, and another, and another, and so on.  Feast your eyes on more pieces of Quilted Projects Part 2.

    Further information can be requested by clicking Dave McCormick.

  • December 12, 2022 4:02 PM | Vincent Valvo (Administrator)

    Segmented Turning

    Paul Schulz provided his

    outline with related links

    from his December

    presentation on

    Segmented Turning.

    Click Segmented Turning

    for a view and download.

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