Plenty of schools of thought about this. Some guys use them to feed the firebox to stay warm on a wintry day. Some guys saw them up, and make smaller projects out of them. Probably a number of other possibles too. Each guy thinks he's right. Sounds to me you are the person who puts something he doesn't think he needs in a box. If you don't have a burning desire to get it out of the box in one year, trash it

We're in the process of buying a new home. It was built in the late 70s and still has the original central forced air heater located in a closet in the middle of the structure, and as this is a condo, even if we could reach an outside wall (for one of the new PVC vent/intake arrangements, it likely wouldn't float with the HOA.

So, since with a 40 year old heater, it's not a matter of if, but how soon it will have to be replaced. Does anyone know if a pilotless high efficiency heater could be vented using the existing vent through the roof----also, do you really think these more expensive models actually save money?

We bought a 90% efficiency model for our current home, and while I like the pilotless ignition and the two-stage blower cycle (keeps a more even temp in the house), I never noticed a significant drop in our nat. gas usage.

Suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Seems I can't talk my wife into buying a countertop model---she's insisting on the over the range type. We all know most of them have a bad reputation as an exhaust fan.

Does anyone know of a model/brand with good exhaust ventilation?

Many ways to cut thin strips. Probably the safest is to use the off fall from a wide board. The only problem is to move the fence the exact same amount every time. But there are ways around this. For the Christmas ornament, I would use a board long enough to get all the segments out of one cut.

Twinn

Whoa! A Yankee 1555, a No 4 1/2, AND a cool saw?

Sounds like my kind of find!

I mostly shop at HD and they would take it back. I have done it several times - item is broken when I opened the box- and never had a problem. I imagine Lowes would be about the same.

Broken right out of the box is not a warranty issue. It didn't fail. The store sold you a defective item. Take it back to the store.

Twinn

http://www.craftinamerica.org/series/episodes/

the two items i put in the auction are duplicates of christmas gifts.got a flag display case i gotta cut glass for and get a finish on.have quite a few i havent started kn yet. it doesnt seem to matter when i start im usually still working christmas eve on a gift.

Looks nice.

What is the slope at back top of drawer for?

If you have spray equipment and know how to use toners you could just clean the existing surface, lightly scuff sand it with 325 or 400 grit, and spray it with a shellac toner to get your cherry color. Then topcoat it with your choice of clear coat. Transtint dye in SealCoat shellac works great. If you know how to spray.

If you don't, now is not the time to learn. If that's the case, I think you have at least two choices. You could strip it with chemical stripper and then stain and topcoat in the usual manner. That approach is likely to guarantee success. Or you could try cleaning and scuff sanding the existing finish and applying a gel stain to get the color you want and then your clear coats. I've never actually done the later so I can't say with any direct knowledge how well that approach will work.

If you decide to strip it you will probably want to begin the refinishing by applying a coat of SealCoat shellac cut 50% with DNA to seal the surface and minimize blotching, which maple really likes to do. You should then consider dying it before applying the stain. That will give you a base color and make the staining step easier. For stain, I recommend you consider using SW's BAC Wiping Stain. It's unlike any stain you have probably used; great color and easy to apply and wipe off. You MUST spray the first coat over BAC Wiping Stain. If you don't have spray equipment you can just use rattle can shellac. Then you can apply your finish coats over that any way you like.

Hope that helps you in considering your options. There might be more; those are the ones I could think of.

John