what happened to Alf

[johnnyb]

like my dw746 price is forgotten quality carries on and on. the real strength of separates is obviously having 2 (or more)machines working in tandem.

 

[Droogs]

Alf is active on WH2, was on after Iet her know you are looking for her @johnnyb

 

[johnnyb]

as is the nature of these forums I don't really know her. I must have read hundreds of posts maybe commented on a few. but she seemed to....involved just to give up making stuff but I'm glad she's still around. hope she got rid of the maxi 26( maybe that's why she threw in!) wh2 seems a bit of a club for previous members here who have upped sticks. I've no idea why mostly.
I did like her blog cornish workshop something as well.
she was also a fan of the stanley 45. another combination tool best left alone.

 

[johnnyb]

she was inspirational to read though. being funny, warm and knowledgeable.

 

[scooby]

I recall she gave me a lot of good advice when I first joined here. During my hiatus, she left in 2012 due to 'childish squabbling'. Her and Paul Chapman are the main two posters from when I first joined that I 'miss'.
I also recall selling her a Washita oilstone that I wasn't impressed with. Think she liked it but here sharpening skills were/are much better than mine.

 

[D_W]

she was also a fan of the stanley 45. another combination tool best left alone.

It's not so bad if it's used for plowing, but a poor substitute for moulding planes pretty much everywhere else. I can't remember who said it, but I also got a cherry 55 at the same time I bought a 45 and got both with boxes. Someone advised spending the money and getting both in full sets with original box (full set of irons and all) because it'll make selling them easier when you find out they're a pain to use.

That turned out to be the case and I lost no money!

 

[Jacob]

I recall she gave me a lot of good advice when I first joined here. During my hiatus, she left in 2012 due to 'childish squabbling'. Her and Paul Chapman are the main two posters from when I first joined that I 'miss'.
I also recall selling her a Washita oilstone that I wasn't impressed with. Think she liked it but here sharpening skills were/are much better than mine.

I thought she left for personal reasons - according to her blog at least, she was off woodwork.
Childish squabbling has been a feature throughout!

 

[scooby]

Oh, I must have got the wrong end of the stick. I didn't post here for a long time and , upon returning, I checked who was still active. I recall one of Alf's last posts being in a thread that had turned into a **** show and she said something like she'd had enough.

 

[Jacob]

Oh, I must have got the wrong end of the stick. I didn't post here for a long time and , upon returning, I checked who was still active. I recall one of Alf's last posts being in a thread that had turned into a dung show and she said something like she'd had enough.

http://cornishworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/PS About the time of Alf's last post there was some sort of childish squabble going on it seems!
Jacob
I can't remember the details but I was under a lot of flak apparently, though the relevant posts seem to have been deleted. Oh well.

 

[ChrisMa]

On the topic of the Record Maxi 26, I still have mine which I bought in the mid 1980's. It was my first woodworking machine. I was working in a single garage so space was a problem, hence a Combi machine. I've kept it mainly for it's planner/thicknesser abilit and occasional saw/sliding table use. Never used the slot mortiser and much prefer my router set-up to the spindle moulder on the Maxi.

I found the saw function adequate, but with a couple of issues. Raising the thing using a lever instead of a winding wheel is a pain for accuracy. But worst than this, I've never been able to align the blade parallel to the fence for both 90 degree and 45 degree cuts. If it's set accurate to the fence for a 90 degree cut, switch to 45 degree cut and it's no longer parallel. I've tried re-adjusting the mounts numerous times !

The AEG model on Ebay looks an older than mine. They came in different versions - cast iron top OR pressed steel top, 1 motor with belts OR 3 dedicated motors. Mine is pressed steel, 1 motor but with the sliding saw table option.

The instruction manual is truly awful.

All that said, I wouldn't sell mine as I still find uses for it despite now owning a number of dedicated machines.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

It must be at least 8 or 9 years ago. Alf and I were both doing a fair amount of road testing of tools for Lee Valley/Veritas. We wrote reviews - because it was fun (we were never asked to do so) - and posted them on the forum here. There were always a bunch of fckwits around who liked nothing better than to accuse Alf and myself of fronting for Lee Valley. This happened very often. What started as a fun activity, aimed at sharing information with fellow enthusiasts, turned nasty and vicious. I could see Alf becoming disillusioned and depressed, eventually with an increasing cynicism for all. In the end she decided enough was enough, and quit. Her blog moved from woodworking to fountain pens.

I thought I read a post or two of hers on this forum a few months ago. I do hope so. I really loved her writing - so much better than mine - full of humour and good insights.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[paulrbarnard]

It must be at least 8 or 9 years ago. Alf and I were both doing a fair amount of road testing of tools for Lee Valley/Veritas. We wrote reviews - because it was fun (we were never asked to do so) - and posted them on the forum here. There were always a bunch of fckwits around who liked nothing better than to accuse Alf and myself of fronting for Lee Valley. This happened very often. What started as a fun activity, aimed at sharing information with fellow enthusiasts, turned nasty and vicious. I could see Alf becoming disillusioned and depressed, eventually with an increasing cynicism for all. In the end she decided enough was enough, and quit. Her blog moved from woodworking to fountain pens.

I thought I read a post or two of hers on this forum a few months ago. I do hope so. I really loved her writing - so much better than mine - full of humour and good insights.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I recall seeing some posts not too long ago. I remember Alf from Badger Pond. Always good to interact with.

 

[xraymtb]

I've dropped in and out over the past 10-15 years - always surprised at the old names that are still here, and those that are missing. I also keep seeing reference to 'the other place' and wondering what I missed in my time away!!

 

[TRITON]

I thought of it as the sten gun of woodworking machines. all welded steel and rough fitting.

This is what you(we,everyone) wants
A touch more expensive than the RP maxi though.

 

[Jacob]

I thought of it as the sten gun of woodworking machines. all welded steel and rough fitting.

Yes welded steel, ali castings, plastic bits.
more the IKEA of woodwork machines; very well designed, very cheaply made, But parts of it were excellent!
I used the spindle a lot which revealed one major design fault - the sealed bearings top and bottom only had seals on the outer sides, which could seem OK as they were facing in to an enclosed tube where no dust could go. But the grease in the top bearing could drop out and work its way to the bottom, and eventually failed. But it was just an off the shelf sealed bearing and the replacement had seals both sides and is probably still going strong.
My current model is a much older and much smaller version of the above; SCM Minimax Lab 300 "de luxe" - which meant long sliding table. Same build quality I imagine.

 

[paulrbarnard]

This is what you(we,everyone) wants
A touch more expensive than the RP maxi though.

nice but bigger than my workshop

 

[johnnyb]

"with a slider you just keep making left turns"
that is if the thing is perfectly set up. if its out its four times out at the end.
very useful esp the slider though. saw spindle combos are nice as a main saw and second smaller spindle. have to say my scm spindle is lovely very smooth and almost silent with no cutterblock. the fence isn't the best though.

 

[D_W]

I vaguely remember alf (heyday time when I first started with hand tools). Everyone was getting into hand tools at the time, and everyone wanted to see the demo of the next tool. Sooner or later, you get a lot of exposure and you draw trolls and when it's no longer fun for you (which may have happened just because peoples' interest changes - and the whole "what is the next new tool or the next old tool we haven't heard of ?!!!" has gone away some).

I see her last blog post mentioned above - she posted about a bench. Nobody responded anything after she spent the time to organize it, post it, and it's sort of like "hey guys, everyone hear this new band I found?" and instead of listening, people get up and walk away. I'm sure it wasn't one post, but if she was on the fence several times and posted that and no reaction, i'm sure it confirmed that things just weren't as live as they used to be.

The troll group was pretty rough sometimes, though, but more a reflection on them. Most claimed to be pros and I never saw proof that many of them were. And one of them was an amateur that never did anything at all of note that I'm aware of, but he could wear people out with the stupid constant claim that "real woodworkers" never really had that much interest in the tools they were using and got by with as little as possible.

 

[Droogs]

Alf was on WH2 yesterday if anyone needs to contact her.

 

[Rick in Oakville Canada]

Alf was on WH2 yesterday if anyone needs to contact her.

I am just an ignorant colonial , but what does WH2 stand for?