It truly, truly pains us to admit
this, but sometimes woodworkers think about other things besides
woodworking. This woodworker, however, has a brilliant idea that will
cut down on some of that unnecessary other stuff by combining it –
with woodworking! Pure genius. Plus, he's obviously already a skilled
multitasker. - Editor
"So, I had to spend some quality time
in the Family Reading Room recently, and I was flipping through one
of my wife's magazines she had lying around next to the bathtub. And
I thought – hey! I'm always hearing I should get more exercise; how
come I can't combine that with woodworking. I mean, Tillie's
magazines have articles like 'lose weight while you sleep' – how
come I can't lose weight while I saw? Anybody with me on this?" -
Milton Bucks
"Holy cow, Milton, you're a genius!
Back in my day, I could bench press 50 pounds, easy. (That was when
my high school won the state wrestling championship – but missed
out on being televised because they had to show the Andrew Johnson
impeachment hearings. Not that I'm bitter.) But now that I think
about it, I've put in a lot of training over the years – now I can
drill press up to 10" in diameter! I feel better about myself
already." - Dill R. Doller
"I find that band saw tires are great
for the kind of resistance training you see done with rubber bands.
Plus, retensioning and recoiling band saw blades gives the biceps a
great workout, if you do it properly, making sure you've got your
foot planted exactly where it will offer some resistance in these
applications, too. Just don't forget the safety glasses – and the
sweatband!" - Mito Senswurth
"A few years ago, I would have just
passed by this comment thread. But that was before my revelation. One
day I was minding my own business, sawing away on my table saw, when
BAM! KAPOW! Kickback! The board went flying across the shop and out
onto the hopscotch markings on the driveway. First, I congratulated
myself on my super-speedy 'Duck!' reflexes. And then I thought,
looking at the end of the board embedded right between the 'four'
square and the 'five' square: 'shotput!' Actually, for my own
purposes, I transformed it into a javelin throw: for me, the moment
of celebration comes when I take the bar clamps off a glue-up and see
how far I can throw the bar. Bonus: I never, ever have to dig holes
for bulb plantings anymore." - Ulysses Tinnuklok
Editor's Note: Kickback is a bad,
bad thing and Ulysses must have ducked faster than a speeding bullet
to not get injured in that initial incident. We would never, ever,
ever, ever, advocate kickback. Never. Ever. But that javelin-throwing
bar clamp thing? Now that's pretty cool.
"Man, I feel like a failure. I'm not
like you others – I've thought about rigging my lathe up to give me
the benefits of one of those spinning classes you hear about, but
I've never done it. Right now, I'm just into doing reps of curls with
my hand planes. Sometimes I'll have 'Sweatin' to the Oldies' playing
in the background so I get the grunting right." - Burton Hand
"Aw, gee, Burt, don't feel bad. We
all do what we can do. Just think: if you make your shop your
exercise room, you're saving money on a gym membership and exercise
equipment. This is a pretty welcoming forum, and we'd never want you
to feel like you don't belong." - Ernesto Rayacamisa