tsummerville

I’ll second that. I’ve been using one several years. It’s heavy and quite sturdy. Got mine from Highland Woodworking. https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/new-hofmann-hammer-all-round-workbench.aspx

Thanks for taking the time to put these photos up.

Most of his comments are on the cutting room floor. I, for one, appreciated her efforts to document the event for those not in LA.

"Any issues with tear out, kick back, chatter etc etc so common with power tools? Do I need to know anything about the ball router? Some specific type cutter type etc" I haven't had any issues with tear out, kick back or chatter. I use a carbide 1/8" ball end mill that I got from Tom Croen. I trim the purfling with a gouge flush with to plate before I go over it with the end mil so I'm only removing .5mm of material.

"Anyone using a ball router bit for the channeling as Croen suggests?" I've been using an 1/8 inch ball end bit for channeling. It helps me fix my channel depth and leaves me to concentrate on the outside line of the chanel when I finish with the gouge.

I look at it this way, "machine made" is when you load raw materials in one end and the finished product comes out the other. Regardless of the amount of machine work you do, the maker's hand still has to guide the process.

Might as well make this my first post. Here's mine.