Paul Sellers did it...again!

[Handplanesandmore]

This time, it is not a plywood bench but a plywood jig. Someone got pissed off by his second plywood project he blogged and left some disapproving comments on it.

Perhaps another sign that Paul is kinda running out of things to blog about? Plastics could be his next choice of material to build a project from? I wonder what finish he would use....... :-)

Simon

[Strokes77]

One of my favorite woodworking personalities and teachers.  Have learned a lot from him.

[bandit571]

As has been said many times in that Blog of his.....IF you have other kinds of wood scraps...by all means, use them....same jig, or workbench can be made out of Rosewood, or Black Walnut....IF you have enough on hand....

I tend to use what wood I have on hand, trying to get the most out of the least....

The "speed square" I use for not only my tablesaw fence, but to guide my router ( either freehanded or router table) and guide my circular saws....and, can even be used on the bandsaw.....once drift is set...was made from 3 pieces of scrap....and a few screws...a plywood triangle, with a square corner...a 1 x 2 strip glued and screwed to the long leg of the "Right Triangle" base, and a hardwood cleat set square to the long edge, and sized to fit on the guide rails of a jobsite tablesaw...All parts were from the scrap bin.  

[attachment=17716]
And a view of the cleat...haven't a clue as to what hardwood it is...
 
[attachment=17717]
Long edge?  
[attachment=17718]
just scraps..

[Handplanesandmore]

Do you have a way of keeping your scraps that you can quickly locate and use the one that you need? I have too many offcuts and odd-sized scraps, between (1" to 2" by 4" to 10") that once very few months, most of them end up in the compost bin (1/2 to 3/4 full a time!) for collection.
Simon

[Derek Cohen]

Simon, it is evident that Steven keeps all his scraps around and on his bench all the time for immediate use!


All this fuss on the Sellers blog over the material a jig is made of ... why are they not fussing over the fact that a jig is offered for every hand tool joint (instead of going freehand)? What is the difference between hand tool work with- and without a jig??

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Admiral]

All this fuss on the Sellers blog over the material a jig is made of ... why are they not fussing over the fact that a jig is offered for every hand tool joint (instead of going freehand)? What is the difference between hand tool work with- and without a jig??

I can honestly say I've never felt, indeed perceived to have felt, the need for a "mortise jig."  Sometimes Sellers has a brain fart; this and the plywood bench are two cases in point.

[Handplanesandmore]

Derek, One reader did pose a comment on that in the guise of a question as he probably knew if he sounded negative, he would either get drowned by other die-hard Sellers followers ( just like what you see at the Lost Art Press blog) or by Sellers himself, or get his comment removed by his team. Comments are heavily controlled there unlike here. You can speak freely there....if what you say is music to their ears.

Sellers (partly because of the team he has) has gone just like any other popular youtubers, with driving traffic being a measure of success in recent years. Like Chris Schwarz, fame and success have affected him, but to a lesser extent.

As for the mortise jig, I think he was the first guy promoting it on the internet. He could be using more novelty ideas to excite his followers (as someone has said), and he could easily argue that if dovetail jigs are used, why can't mortise jigs be found in the shop (for the learners as his defense). It is quite an irony that as a traditional woodworking teacher who started preaching developing hand skills by practice, he now promotes using a jig which actually keeps you from acquiring the mortising skill.

One thing is clear: once the cult of personality or celebrity is there, you can do whatever you want, and followers will act like fans of teen idols. It happens in every corner of the social media world, and age (of the followers) isn't a factor.

Simon

[Ricky]

I enjoy Sellers videos. High quality free instruction.  Not a fan of the plywood bench though.

[Timberwolf]

Derek, One reader did pose a comment on that in the guise of a question as he probably knew if he sounded negative, he would either get drowned  by other die-hard Sellers followers ( just like what you see at the Lost Art Press blog) or by Sellers himself, or get his comment removed by his team. Comments are heavily controlled there unlike here. You can speak freely there....if what you say is music to their ears.

Sellers (partly because of the team he has) has gone just like any other popular youtubers, with driving traffic being a measure of success in recent years. Like Chris Schwarz, fame and success have affected him, but to a lesser extent.

As for the mortise jig, I think he was the first guy promoting it on the internet. He could be using more novelty ideas to excite his followers (as someone has said), and he could easily argue that if dovetail jigs are used, why can't mortise jigs be found in the shop (for the learners as his defense). It is quite an irony that as a traditional woodworking teacher who started preaching developing hand skills by practice, he now promotes using a jig which actually keeps you from acquiring the mortising skill.

One thing is clear: once the cult of personality or celebrity is there, you can do whatever you want, and followers will act like fans of teen idols. It happens in every corner of the social media world, and age (of the followers) isn't a factor.

Simon

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"One thing is clear: once the cult of personality or celebrity is there, you can do whatever you want, and followers will act like fans of teen idols. It happens in every corner of the social media world, and age (of the followers) isn't a factor."

Truer words were never spoken, IMO......I don't dislike Sellers but I am underwhelmed by many of his presentations..He seems to have a talent for making the UNcomplicated things...complicated!!!
...But that's coming from an old dinosaur......

[Handplanesandmore]

Among all his youtube videos, his Christmas tree left the most impression on me: simple, original and fun. You still need a good grasp of sawing and chisel skills to make them.

Simon