Reviews, Questions and (sigh) More Metric

Reviews, Questions and (sigh) More Metric

The Reviews Are In

“Sir: This is the world’s best magazine. Thanks very much.” – S. P. Malviya

“I’ve been saving the free woodworking plans I receive from you by email and would like to get started working on some of them. Thanks so much for the plans.” – Pat Pickren

“I subscribe to both your eZine and your magazine and, as one person said, I look forward to receiving both of them. You do an excellent job on both. For a novice like me, it is really a big help. Thank you.” – Eva Bailey

On Dimensioning Gestalt

“I am not trying to be difficult, but 30 years in construction have taught me one thing. Width is first. Height is second. Dimension of depth is third.” – Larry Sweeney

That makes us wonder how they named 3 x 5 cards. – Editor

Zinsser French Polish

“Thanks for the article. The Allen Museum here in Oberlin sent me to the Netherlands in 1986 to learn about shellac and French polishing and it is a skill I have been using ever since. Antiques and interior finishes alike respond well to French polishing if someone is willing to do all the work. Thank you for demystifying it for your readers.” – Mike Holubar

“Is Zinsser French Polish available in Canada?” – Bill Kaandorp

Not yet, but Zinsser is looking into marketing it there. Bear in mind that selling in Canada means bilingual labeling. These are printed cans, not paper labels, so that change is more difficult and expensive. – Editor

Significant Digits

“In response to the Editor’s note on more metric mania, I’d like to ask: what’s the difference between .110 and .11 of an inch? The trailing zero has no significance.” – Dayanand Birju

Au contraire. The appending zero has enormous significance. In scientific notation, the number of digits to the right of the decimal point indicates the level of accuracy required. In other words, 0.1″ need be measured accurately only to a tenth of an inch, while 0.100″ must be accurate to within one thousandth of an inch. – Editor

The Very Last Word on Metric, I Promise

“The U.S. attitude toward metric measurements reminds me of the proud mother who said, “Look at that, the whole army is out of step except my Johnny.” – Anon.

Kim Kelzer Kudos

“Nice story about Kim. Informative, entertaining and even inspiring. I absolutely agree with her philosophy. Only do it if you really enjoy it.” – Gordon Patnude

“Being of the female persuasion myself, I would just like to say hooray! Ms. Kelzer is truly an original, and I am so very pleased to see her lovely imaginative pieces! Thanks to you for publishing the article, it’s excellent.” – Marlene Dufresne

“Thanks for the ‘Easy Bake Band Saw’ photo. What a grin maker!” – Doug Alvey

“Wow! Thank you for Kim Kelzer’s introduction. It is grand to be introduced to a kindred spirit. Keep up the good work!” – Brock Wommack

About Those Cutlets

Our previous issue’s humorous typo was: “Is it normal for a 3 HP router to come with interchangeable cutlets?” In response, Bill Hook submitted a comment complete with its own head-scratcher:

“Veal cutlets are interchangeable, but that won’t help the lamb anymore.”

And we always thought veal came from calves, not lambs. – Editor

“Tcharming” Typos

If our readers keep sending in these chuckle-worthy slip-ups, I guess I’ll have to keep running them. This, exactly verbatim, is one that came in this week:

“Could someone tell me just what is the difference between a plate joiner and a plate joiner?” – Ron Garber

Hmmm. Sounds like the same thing to us. – Editor

Dear readers, before you take keyboard in hand to clarify things for us; yes, we are quite aware he probably meant to type “biscuit” and “plate.” That’s why it is called a typo. We’re also aware that they are the same tool and that, furthermore, they are variously called both “joiner” and “jointer.” Bear in mind that this segment is presented for your amusement. We are not quite as clueless as you might suspect, though our daughter insists we are. – Editor

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