calling all hands....

I had a bit of time yesterday as I prepared stock for my upcoming week of classes, to work on my kerfed hinge machine. This is a second iteration and uses a 3000 rpm TEFC motor. The point of this machine is to ease the installation of hinges that fit in thin kerfs at the back of the box.

The distinctive feature of this hinge is that it installs with much greater ease. These hinges are also cheap, and so I've used thousands over my years making boxes. I used to know roughly how many boxes I'd made by the number of hinges I ordered by the thousands. But I've lost track.

The knobs on the back of the box are for raising the motor and cutter assembly up and down to position the hinge slot a reasonable inset from the back edge of the box. The maple runners allow the top surface that supports the box to slide into and out of the cutter while held in place by a fence and stop block.

Part of the great fun of woodworking is to figure out ways to speed up and simplify the process. Part of that is training the hands to perform. Part of that is training the mind to understand. Part of that is cultivating the mind to imagine.

There were those who believed that woodworking had no place in schooling. They maintained that we would become a nation of servants to each other, without getting mussed. Clean hands, college minds. And yet the hands have their own callings. The mind alone, unsupported by inquiring hands is insufficient.

Make, fix and create...