Bear Mountain
“I bought a set of plans from Bear Mountain and built a 15-foot ranger and paddles. It turned out very sweet and is a joy to fly fish from.” – Harold Patenaude
“These people are genuine good folks! My son and I went to their shop last summer and learned to build a canoe. It is about the best experience a Father and son could have together. You work hard and play hard at the same time. Ted is very knowledgeable and shares his knowledge freely, and Joan keeps Ted organized and on track. I would recommend this class to novice and practiced woodworkers alike. Their books were also quite informative and easy to follow. The canoe and kayak our groups produced were gorgeous and all in a week’s time! Their classes are well worth the money.” – Mike Belovsky
“Many thanks for taking my suggestion to do an article on the work Joan Barrett and Ted Moores do at Bear Mountain. Your article is excellent and will, I hope, encourage many readers to visit the Bear Mountain site and perhaps take one of Ted’s courses. I’ve taken their kayak-building course and can only say it was one of the best weeks I’ve ever spent. Ted is an outstanding teacher and a person one will never forget.” – Joe Paterson
And thank you, Joe, for telling us about Bear Mountain. We are always glad when our readers alert us to appropriate companies or individuals who would be worth interviewing for the Tool Maker Insider segment, or for the Today’s Woodworker department. If you know of a person or company you would like to see profiled, please drop us an email and let us know. – Editor
Burst, not Bust
“I wanted to revive an 18-volt NiCad battery, read the Battery Resurrection™ website, but was skeptical about such a process. I ended up disassembling the battery pack (six screws in the case to remove the cover) and discovered that one of the cells had burst. I would recommend that folks check out their batteries a little closer, as they too may find a damaged unit, not just a plain unresponsive one.” – Ken Goodman
Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment
” I have been enjoying your eZine for some time now, but I must say that the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment has without a doubt been the most enjoyable link you placed. I will copy and send this link to all my friends. The relationship to woodworking is simple; with experimentation, wonderful things happen.” – Megan Multon
One wonderful thing that happened was that our son immediately went out and bought soda and Mentos to recreate the experiment right here in our once-clean house. We’re ever so grateful that our position as editor brought this vital information to his attention. – Editor
You Say Potato
“An item in the eZine mentions grain filler, but I have been unable to find products called grain fillers in stores here in Canada. Do they go by some other name?” – Robert A. Butler
They are also called pore fillers. – Editor
I Say Potahto
“I read with amusement a fellow Brit trying to cope with Americanisms like ‘Righty Tighty,’ but there is little wonder we get confused. For the first 13 years of my life imperial measurements ruled, then suddenly the European community said metric is the best! Now when I’m measuring up, I’ll often measure the width and thickness in millimeters and the length in inches. But my real question to you is why do I keep cutting my boards too short?” – Graham Walker
Perhaps you are trying to cut imperial wood with metric tools. – Editor
Typo Corner
This typo, in which the writer talked about wanting to avoid the mess of using paint remover, reveals more truth than error. – Editor
“I’ll try cleaning the piece before I resort to pain remover.”
Come to think of it, maybe it should be called “pain remover,” as it is such a pain to use. – Editor
You Call That Hot?
“I enjoy reading your articles, but this one about you being hot in your shop made me double-check. I’m down in Texas where hot is a way of life. Here we have four seasons: Fixin to get Hot, Almost Hot, Really Hot and Christmas. You do have to adapt your woodworking like anything else, but glues and stains set very fast, finishes are almost baked on and any green wood you may have lying around gets kiln-dried.” – Ed Frady
“I was reading your article about it being hot back there while trying to see through the sweat streaming down my face in my 115-degree garage here in Phoenix, Arizona.” – Bryan E Hill
