And the answer is...

Where is this molding from, answered.

In order to narrow down the countless places you would find molding you had to know one of two things.
1. I am currently employed at RSI
2. RSI sells a lot of things to Home Depot and Lowe's
That would have narrowed down the search to on of three web sites.  One molding is found at Lowe's and the other is at Home Depot. Here are the links to the products
Lowes
Home Depot

Now, Because no one got the win it now question here is the other question:
How many CIRCULAR blocks are in this bucket of blocks?
Hints: There is less than 100 and there are at least two.

These are two circular blocks even though there are three circles in the picture

This is a block with a hole in it. does not count

This is a block with a circle cut into it.  Does not count

Happy guessing.  The rules still remain the same.  The contest goes for two weeks.  Every one gets two guesses.  Don't use them both at the same time.  This is open to all even if you all ready have a set of blocks.  All I ask if you do have a set of blocks from me and win this set please give this set away to some one else.

Random thoughts

It has been an interesting week.  I am in the middle of projects and so don't have a much to show.  There has been a couple things happen this week that made me think. 
I walked into a public restroom and the entire stall was tagged including the toilet seat.  I am no a tagger but I believe the purpose is to declare to every one their territory/property.  How low do you have to be to mark the place that people sit on to relieve themselves?  What it is saying when I am using the bathroom that some one has tagged?
I was at a home improvement store today buying some lumber. I also picked up some ruled squares.  I did not realize it had a security device on it.  This is not the my thought though.  As I was going to check out I noticed that there was only self check out registers open.  Shelf check out is very interesting business practice.  In short it took four cashiers and reduced them to one.  I understand the reasoning and cost saving that happens with self check out.  However I was purchasing two 1X12X8 boards and there was no lumber cart in the store.  Here I am in the self check out with these boards and my two squares.  I ring up my two squares and don't deactivate the safety device and then have to ring up the boards, not the easiest task but I was able to do it.  As I am walking out the alarm goes off.  I keep walking because I always do and they usually wave me through anyway.  The lady at the door stops me and asks to see my bag and receipt.  She literally takes three minutes to examine my receipt with four items on it!  Meanwhile I am still holding my two pieces of lumber. When she hands me back my bag she asks "Do you need any twine or a red flag?"  Nope but when purchasing large items a normal check stand would be nice. 
One of my favorite random events this week.   have a decent commute that is mostly in traffic.  I have a manual transmission so I don't like to shift a  lot.  I tend to go about 30mph when the freeway is averaging 25-35mph.  There are times where there is a decent gap between me and the next car 150-200 feet (decent when going 30mph).  There are people that think that is too much and they flip their brights on me.  It doesn't happen very often but when it does I have to laugh.  This past week had to be my favorite.  A PT Cruiser was following me and I was going 30 and traffic was ebbing and flowing like it normally does.  The Cruiser was getting really impatient and starting to tailgate.  She flipped on her brights.  The only reason I know she did this is because my side view mirror lit up.  I could not see here headlights in my rear view mirror.  So I being the nice person I am tapped on my breaks.  She was not happy with that move.  She flew into the next lane passed and cut back in front of me.  There she stayed for the next twenty miles.  Really?! Getting all bent out of shape over one car length?  If you don't like the traffic go some where else.  It is part of the lifestyle of southern California.  Patience people.

Now I have another bucket of blocks to give away.  I am going to do the guessing game in the next post but I have a "win it now" feature I want to try.  This is not going to be easy.  But first a few guidelines.  This contest is open to all in the continental USA.  I will ship the blocks.  Last week I was cleaning up my parents garage after doing some wood working and my wife asked me why chopping blocks was part of the clean up.  It was then that she realized that these block I give away are my scrap.  Thus there is not a lot of scrap firewood.  This is not a block set these piece are random shape and size.  They are belt sanded and the edges broken.  They are finished with mineral oil (food grade safe).  There are hardwoods in this scrap block set.  If your child like to throw things they can potentially hurt.  Said another way, if there is an intruder in my house I am heading for my set of blocks.  Should you throw them at your child that is your issue.  Now for the contest.
 You have until Sunday morning to e-mail me a picture/link where one of these two profiles are used in the real world.  Here is a couple of hints:  You will not get any hints from reading any post in my blog.  Second if you don't have an idea where to look do not waste a lot of time.  You only have one guess.If no one guesses correctly there will be a guess the number of blocks later.

The blocks are not done yet but they will be by the time the contest is over.

The end of my soap box speech

In conclusion I have say that if I get hurt it is most likely my fault and I need to take full responsibility. There was a recent lawsuit against Ryobi where a man permanently injured three of his fingers making them unusable. Yes this is a tragic accident and could have been avoided. The short of the story is that he was free handing a cut on a piece of oak flooring with the blade all the way to the top. The board grabbed and his fingers got stuck. He won $1.5 million for being and idiot. If you want to see the article or related posts Google “man sues Ryobi for table saw accident”. He sued because the equipment did not have the flesh detection technology. This technology is out there but it comes with a cost. What this means to wood workers, Equipment will be more expensive and more safety standards on equipment.


Safety is all about what you are going to risk. There are many ways to minimize risk and make tasks safer. The man who sued Ryobi tried to take short cuts and he got away with it several times but in the end he lost the use of several fingers. He was willing to risk the setup to save time but he wasn’t willing to accept the consequences of his actions and we let him get away with it. I take risks when wood working and I am willing to accept the consequences. In life, what risks are we willing to take and what safety nets will we put in place?

Safety Equipment

Safety Glasses: They are a must when I am working. I only have two eyes and they are not repairable or replaceable. I use them whenever I am using fast rotating equipment. I have had one significant eye injury. I was making some rabbets in some birch for some train cars. A piece of splintered wood flew under my safety glasses and into my eye. In my attempts to flush it out, it embedded in my eyelid. Went to urgent care and they tried to flush it out and failed. The next morning my eye was swollen shut. The body is a miracle in itself and it expelled the splinter on its own. I still followed up with a specialist to make sure there was nothing in the eye. Are safety glasses important, Yes! Do I wear them every time a piece of equipment tells me too, No. If you look at flash lights sold in the cordless combo packs, they tell you to use safety glasses when using them. When using my drill, I don’t always put on safety glasses. When I am out working with my tools they are on. I have a couple of pairs just in case I lose or break one. My advice, find a pair that you like and buy a couple. It is very easy to find excuses to not wear uncomfortable or glasses that skew vision. Basic glasses will do for most operations. I do know that people use full face shields for doing turnings. If you are worried about your eyes at least get a basic pair of safety glasses. They are cheaper than losing an eye.


Ear Protection: I did not get ear protection until after I was married. I guess my wife always wants me to hear her. Well with the hearing protection it is hard for me to hear her. Prolonged exposure to loud noises will cause hearing loss. I have one of the higher rated ear protection and they are reasonably priced. I purchased my ear protection at www.envirosafetyproducts.com. Ear protection is based on the amount of they can reduce decibels. If my table saw has a 110 dB reading and I am wearing ear muffs with a noise reduction reading (NRR) of 30 dB I will only hear the saw at 80dB. There was an interesting article in Wood Magazine a little while back about ear protection. They talked about putting in the ear buds of an iPod is better than nothing just don’t turn the volume up when you turn on machinery.

Respirator: Another purchase after I was married. I cannot say I use it as much as I should. It is kept in my garage because that is where I do my sanding and finishing. Large amounts of sanding create a lot of fine dust. This dust is not good for the lungs. I also have an air brush and fine particles of finish are not good for the lungs. I have also used oil based finished that evaporate off chemicals not good for the lungs. I use the respirator for my major sanding projects and finishing. I have also used it when cutting into my few pieces of exotic woods as precaution only.

The Brain: This is probably the most important piece of equipment any one has. This organ in your body will tell you if what you are doing is safe. It also gives ideas and thoughts on how a project can be completed without endangering yourself or others. If there is one thing I have learned with wood working, there is always more than one way to do things. One may be more comfortable doing it one way over another. For example, I have the ability to cross cut on my table saw. However I chose to use the miter saw. The miter saw was also my go to saw for making all my scrap blocks. Now that I have a band saw I use it more for cutting smaller parts.

Safety: Over Rated?

I feel the need to post something on safety. There will be some that disagree and some that think that I am too strict. The company I work for in the recent past just hired a risk management manager. I am not sure what he does entirely except print out safety manuals, have safety award parties and implement safety rules. He is big on “Safety First” and just adopted the slogan from a company contest of “Make safety your first priority.” I say that is completely untrue and false security. If safety really was our first priority we would never leave the house. I would propose safety is all about risk management: What are you willing to risk and can you live with the consequences? For example, I work 30 miles away and have to go through one of the worst freeway interchanges in Southern California. I have been in two accidents in the area of the interchange in the four years that I have worked for this company. Neither were serious or my fault. If safety was first in my life I would not have taken that job because of the commute alone. I also would not work in a job that required excessive typing in fear of arthritis in my hands. However I feel the risk is adequate for my compensation. Let’s face it would any mothers have given birth if safety was first? Would men ask women out on dates in fear of being turned down(not a very good example in this day and age any more)? Would there be any progression if safety was first? So this post is going to be more on risk taking rather than on safety first.


In life we take risks every day, some have physical consequences and others are financial and some maybe psychological. We all put up safety nets to protect us from the potential dangers of life. It may be the car we drive, a savings account, our friends, or maybe it is sun block. The same applies with wood working. I am well aware of the dangers and risks involved in woodworking and I am willing to take them. I do have several pieces of equipment that are extremely dangerous and potentially deadly. I have some safety nets that I have when using the equipment. I will share a couple with you in the next few posts.

My High School Cross Country Coach

I know this is not about wood working, but I found the blog of the King Cross Country team.  This may mean nothing to people that read this blog, but the coach is Brad Peters.  He was my coach when I ran at Ayala a few years ago.  I never had him as a school teacher and I think I really missed out.  He could motivate and inspire.  He never thought of him self first.  He will always be a better writer than I am.  I have attached the website to my friends list.  If you read only a couple of posts you will see what a remarkable man he really is.  It was my privilege to run with him as my coach.