Welcome To Swamp Road Wood Works, a one person woodworking shop located in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts in the hilltown of Worthington. SRWW is the home of Chiefwoodworker (aka Joe Zeh) and Chiefwoodworker's Blog. I am a cabinetmaker and I build handcrafted custom or reproduction furniture as a hobby. I maintain this site for two reasons.
First to display and document my work. Woodworkers are like artists. We love to display our craft. I also dream one day, several hundred years from now, someone will admire one of my pieces and will wonder about the craftsman who created it. Maybe he or she will stumble on an archived version of my website. Hey! One can dream. Secondly and more importantly, I want to connect with other cabinetmakers, both hobbyists and professionals, who love furniture making and want to share ideas and their craft.
I will continue to expand this site adding new features of interest. I recently added a Blog intended to make SRWW interactive. Check out Chiefwoodworker's Blog page.
First to display and document my work. Woodworkers are like artists. We love to display our craft. I also dream one day, several hundred years from now, someone will admire one of my pieces and will wonder about the craftsman who created it. Maybe he or she will stumble on an archived version of my website. Hey! One can dream. Secondly and more importantly, I want to connect with other cabinetmakers, both hobbyists and professionals, who love furniture making and want to share ideas and their craft.
I will continue to expand this site adding new features of interest. I recently added a Blog intended to make SRWW interactive. Check out Chiefwoodworker's Blog page.
Services
I recently purchased a Grizzly Model G0586 8" jointer to replace my Powermatic 54A 6" jointer.
The 54A was a workhorse.
Its infeed and outfeed beds were dead on coplanar and the its long fence was easily adjustable to a 90 degree stop.
Replacing it was simply a need for a larger jointer, not any dissatisfaction.
So when choosing a new jointer I started by researching the Powermatic line first.
But good reviews on the G0586 and its price - about $200 cheaper than the 54A - forced me to take a look.
The 54A was a workhorse.
Its infeed and outfeed beds were dead on coplanar and the its long fence was easily adjustable to a 90 degree stop.
Replacing it was simply a need for a larger jointer, not any dissatisfaction.
So when choosing a new jointer I started by researching the Powermatic line first.
But good reviews on the G0586 and its price - about $200 cheaper than the 54A - forced me to take a look.
I am an Electrical Engineer by training.
My career spanned 35 years in computer system and microprocessor design and development, and 3D graphics graphics chip design and development.
My comfort with computer hardware, software and graphics has allowed me to integrate my love of woodworking, hand tools and power tools with computers and software tools.
These are not meant to be product reviews but rather a general description of the product with some opinions and experiences thrown in.
TurboCADTM Professional, by IMSI Design, LLC, is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool for 2D and 3D design.
My career spanned 35 years in computer system and microprocessor design and development, and 3D graphics graphics chip design and development.
My comfort with computer hardware, software and graphics has allowed me to integrate my love of woodworking, hand tools and power tools with computers and software tools.
These are not meant to be product reviews but rather a general description of the product with some opinions and experiences thrown in.
TurboCADTM Professional, by IMSI Design, LLC, is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool for 2D and 3D design.
SketchUp is a 3D sketching, modeling, design and photorealistic rendering tool.
For an overview of its capabilities see my American Woodworker post SketchUp Comes To American Woodworker.
If you are interested in learning how to use SketchUp I have provided a Beginner's SketchUp Webinar in eight parts, which can be accessed below.
That webinar can be followed up with my Intermediate SketchUp Webinar, also below.
The following four posts are a four part series, that taken together, are a "Pre-School Prepatory Course" designed to prepare students for the Basic SketchUp 2014 for Woodworkers DVD.
For an overview of its capabilities see my American Woodworker post SketchUp Comes To American Woodworker.
If you are interested in learning how to use SketchUp I have provided a Beginner's SketchUp Webinar in eight parts, which can be accessed below.
That webinar can be followed up with my Intermediate SketchUp Webinar, also below.
The following four posts are a four part series, that taken together, are a "Pre-School Prepatory Course" designed to prepare students for the Basic SketchUp 2014 for Woodworkers DVD.
I have been working with TurboCADTM since the early 1990's and I am still learning some of its features for the first time.
CAD tools by nature are sophisticated and complex and generally have a long learning curve.
TurboCADTM has been around long enough that it now has a good base of tutorials, help files and training CDs available to the new user, which helps to shorten the learning curve.
But expect to do a lot of modeling before you are comfortable with it.
I start each project by modeling the major features and dimensions in a 2D frontal view.
CAD tools by nature are sophisticated and complex and generally have a long learning curve.
TurboCADTM has been around long enough that it now has a good base of tutorials, help files and training CDs available to the new user, which helps to shorten the learning curve.
But expect to do a lot of modeling before you are comfortable with it.
I start each project by modeling the major features and dimensions in a 2D frontal view.
The black and white pictures you see right and left are not photographs but rather 3D rendered drawings.
I design all my furniture using TurboCADTM Professional, a 3D design and drafting tool.
This enables me to see how the final milled parts will go together without actually building a prototype.
In addition to saving time and material it provides me detailed drawings and renderings which I can discuss with my client.
Changes during this stage are also easy and inexpensive.
Once the client signs off on the drawings I begin work in the shop.
I design all my furniture using TurboCADTM Professional, a 3D design and drafting tool.
This enables me to see how the final milled parts will go together without actually building a prototype.
In addition to saving time and material it provides me detailed drawings and renderings which I can discuss with my client.
Changes during this stage are also easy and inexpensive.
Once the client signs off on the drawings I begin work in the shop.
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