Prodigal Ponderings — theprodigalcarpenter RSS



The First Five Books

My men’s Bible Study Group just completed the first 5 books of the Bible often referred to as  the Torah, or Pentateuch or simply the “Books of Moses.”  In reading Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy I found it interesting the views that folks have of the Old Testament, especially the books involving God’s commandments or laws. Before I expand I do want to say that varying viewpoints on the scriptures are normal and while none of us are experts many viewpoints are taken from years of teaching and not always from personal (God-given) revelation.  That said, I believe that oftentimes the Old Testament gets painted with the large brush that states it’s simply “The Law” and then “The Law”...

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DeWalt 735x Planer............A Beast!

As far as planers are concerned I'm not sure you can get any better than the DeWalt DW735X.  The motor on this baby is powerful and the blades cut evenly and flush; even the hardest of hardwoods. I purchased my planer almost a year ago and have made about 3 dozen end grain cutting boards along with various other woodworking beauties.   I've used everything from Hard Maple to Walnut to Bubinga -one of the most beautiful yet also one of the hardest woods there is, and oftentimes a blade killer; despite this my Dewalt planer keeps producing quality results time and again.  Nothing will ruin a planer quicker than planing end grain boards, but the DeWalt 735X hasn't missed...

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Wisdom, Knowledge................and Obedience

I recently read 2 Chronicles chapter 1 for my morning scripture reading...... the account of Solomon (as new King of Israel succeeding his father David) asking God for wisdom and knowledge to rule the people, in response to God appearing to him telling him to "ask for what you want me to give you".( v.7)  If you know the story, Solomon was blessed by God with wisdom, knowledge and riches.... yet his heart was gradually led astray by his taking of many wives and concubines who worshiped other gods. It struck me that all the wisdom and knowledge in the world is useless without Obedience...............and how easily we are corrupted by material things, power, comfort and sensual pleasure..............   Read "the...

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Table Saw Jointer DIY

I recently purchased quite a bit of rough sawn hardwood from someone closing their woodworking shop.  Beauties like 8/4 walnut along with cherry, mahogany and maple were a welcome addition to my inventory; however since these boards were rough sawn they did not all  come with a straight edge.  In lieu of dropping $300 on a benchtop jointer or plenty more on a floor model I came up with a DIY solution for around $25.00. I purchased a pair of 3-Inch Hold Down Clamps (Grizzly G9589) and made a sled to run along my table saw fence.  Starting with a squared up piece 3 ½ “ wide oak (choose your length)  I glued a piece of ¼” plywood to the...

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My New Drill Press

After doing some research I purchased a WEN 8” 5 speed benchtop drill press as the latest addition to my workshop. (8" denoting that an 8" wide piece of wood is the maximum width one can center a drill hole)   This particular drill press received great reviews while having a very affordable price point ($77). Delivery came within a week, the setup was easy and within no time I was drilling straight, consistent holes that were not achievable with my handheld drills. About a month earlier I had agreed to make some small, simple wooden cars that would be placed in boxes and shipped around the world as part of our church’s Operation Christmas Child. I used basic 2...

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