Toolemera Blog

Unplugging with Luke Townsley

Unpluggedshop.com. Is really one heck of a place to hang your hat. Created by Luke Townsley as a shelter from the cruel world of bits and bytes, Unpluggedshop.com has evolved into a one-stop-shop for the hand tool woodworker. Yea, even for the Electron driven woodworkers who dream of ditching their power cords and saving their ears (and fingers) from the depredations of blurringly spinning metallic teeth.

My guess is that Luke must have been a librarian in a former life. It's really a tough job to pull together material spread across the internet, organize it in a fashion that is both sensible, navigable and readable. All too often, aggregator sites start out with a good heart but get lost in the ever expanding array of choices... blogs, forums, auctions sites, online merchants, video offerings, &c., &c. Luke has succeeded in creating an enjoyable read along with opening a window to what is out there for us true believers.

Much as I would prefer that you spend the bulk of your online time at either my blog or website, hop over to the Unpluggedshop and learn something new. Just don't forget to come back here!

Till next
Gary

The Missing H

After a break to campaign for a local Library Board of Trustees seat (which I did not win... lost by 180 votes to the Town Custodian... oh! the pain of it!) I'm back.

For some reason, the derivation of peculiar word-working terms has stuck in my head. While (or whilst, if you are British) reading a book on the history of the English Language, I came across Cannel, a version of Channel. My friendly Online Etymology Dictionary says of Channel:

c.1300, "bed of running water," from O.Fr. chanel, from L. canalis "groove, channel, waterpipe"

Of course I jumped to the conclusion that the notorious In-Cannel and Out-Cannel gouges (sometimes even spelled with one N) should really be called In-Channel or even In-Chanel gouges. At least this would be true if the French had their way. What happened to the H? Were did the extra N come from?

Clearly, this momentous discovery requires a special page devoted to the Weird Words of Word-Working.

Do you have any Weird Words of Wood-Working that come to mind? Send them in and the first 100 entries will receive a free pass to the Toolemera Blog, good on Weekends only.

Till next
Gary