A Gathering in The Tokyo Dungeon

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Well, we had a good day, or at least that was my take on things.

Everyone showed up on time and I was ready for the crowd, we had 11 members, including myself......

group_shot1.JPG group_shot2.JPG group_shot3.JPG group_shot4.JPG



suzuku_san_explaining.JPG
This is Suzuki San talking about the finishing technique he was showing us, he is the current president of our club.

suzuki_san_demo.JPG
Here is Suzuki San again showing this technique, he is using the steel from a power hacksaw blade, sharpened much like a double bevel scraper. I'll be trying this myself soon, and will detail it then.

member_demo.JPG
One of the members giving it a go.

We had a great time, Alex Reid came as well, and we had a good chat, as usual, and I think everyone was pleased. By having the meeting at my workshop, the only costs are individual ones the people need to expend to get to the meeting, which they would have to spend anyways. The other thing is I'm fairly central, being in downtown Tokyo. We usually rent out a workshop in a cultural center, it has not lathe, Suzuki San trucks in a VL300 Demo lathe from his workshop, and the place runs us $600 a day, I think, so this is a WAY cheaper set up. I have been asked to host another meeting in March. :)

It was a bit crowded, and I'm sure glad it was 9 Japanese guys down then, not 9 of my sized guys :D

One quick note, a lot of members had not seen or turned on a DVR in person, and they were impressed, they had a very low opinion of the DVR before this day, (most have the Vicmarc VL300 or other models, and a few have Oneway lathes!).

I think everything went rather well, and I look forward to doing it again!

Cheers!
 
Ya Stu it was a good time well spent. I returned home a richer man (in knowledge that is). Thanks for the invite. BTW your blog looks good. The subdomain though seemed kinda funky - wwwablett... There was no period after the www but the call went through all the same.
 
Last edited:
Well done, Stu. Looks like it was worth the remodeling job in the shop. I could fit that many people in my shop, but it'd be about as crowded as yours.
 
Looks like everyone is having a great time. The one guy appears to be tazering the wood. I wood be interested in learning that technique.

The dungeon looks great!
 
11 people in the dungeon?!:eek:

I have this mental image of one of those fire stickers... "Fire marshal regulations: maximum occupancy ___ persons"

And with a crowd like that, it sure is a good thing the lathe is on wheels so you can move it to the center.

As for hosting... Does no one else have a suitably sized space?
 
Tazering the wood, that's funny! :rofl:

I'm not really convinced that the technique he was showing was of any use, I think I can get as smooth a finish with a double bevel bowl gouge, used correctly, as he was getting with the hacksaw blade. :dunno:

The "Hacksaw Blade" is from a power hacksaw, not a bandsaw, but a hacksaw. The blade is about 1/8" thick, and 1 1/2" wide, the original length was 20". The blades are solid HSS. He has cut the teeth off, and cut the blade to about 6" long, still 1 1/2" wide. He has sharpened it on the one edge to have a double bevel on it, and somewhat curved, but I think he would have better success with with a narrower piece of steel. I bought a blank off of him to give it a try myself :D

Art, it was crowded, but it worked, sure other guys have great spaces, one is Sanno san, I showed his place in the "Yume Kobo" thread, but his place is a fair ways outside of Tokyo... :dunno:

Like I said, I've been asked to host the next meeting in March some time.

Cheers!
 
11 people in the dungeon?!:eek:

I have this mental image of one of those fire stickers... "Fire marshal regulations: maximum occupancy ___ persons"
As for hosting... Does no one else have a suitably sized space?
Art beat me to it. 11 people crammed into a hole in the ground with the only exit being a small hole in the ceiling seems like a catastrophe waiting to happen.:eek:
Other than that......... looks like everyone enjoyed themselves. Did you notice anyone staying real close to the ladder? :rofl:
 
Can't get to You tube via the work computer, but I'm guessing you're showing me the very crowded conditions on the Tokyo subways? I hope you didn't have any gropers in the dungeon!:rofl::rofl::rofl: I hear that's a real problem on the subways!:eek::D

Yep, at Shinjuku station, just down the street from us, the busiest station in the world, estimate 3.31 million people A DAY go through it...........

800px-Rush_hour_at_Shinjuku_02.JPG


Not my idea of a fun day.... :rolleyes:

Always amazes me how few problems you see, the "Chikan" or gropers are a problem, I knew an American gal who got groped and she dragged the groper kicking and screaming to the cops, along the way, she broke the guy's arm :eek: guess who got charged........ yep, she did.....:doh:

They now run cars on trains during the rush hour just for ladies.

It is a problem for us guys as well, as we can be falsely accused, which can cause a lot of trouble. I don't travel on the trains much at all, thank goodness, anymore, but when I did have to use a crowded train, I ALWAYS made sure that both of my hands were up above my head hanging on to the straps or overhead hand rails, hard to be accused of groping if both of my hands are above my head and occupied :rolleyes:

Yes the Dungeon was crowded, but I think the even was a good one!

Cheers!
 
Hey Stu,
Looked like a fun event. Can't even begin to imagine the madness at the station. Must be like New York....... Crazy.:doh: I'll keep my seat in small town KY, with Barney and Andy.:rofl:
 
You know, Stu, all this time, and until I saw the video tour on your blog I didn't even realize you don't have a tablesaw in your dungeon! And having the jointer fit under the assembly table is very cool!

But is that really the only door to the bat cave? ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
It looks like you all had a great time! :thumb: In the third picture, top right, are swiss cheese like things homemade right angle clamp helpers?

Yep, that is what they are Gari.

Should have seen some of the guys, they looked at them and I could see them scratching their heads, wondering what they were, one of them finally asked me, I told him, he still had a :huh: look on his face, so I grabbed two pieces of scrap and couple of clamps and BINGO, I could literally see the lights popping behind all of their eyes, and them each grab one for a closer look :D Neat idea, and basically FREE :thumb:
 
You know, Stu, all this time, and until I saw the video tour on your blog I didn't even realize you don't have a tablesaw in your dungeon! And having the jointer fit under the assembly table is very cool!

But is that really the only door to the bat cave? ;)

Thanks,

Bill

Bill I'll have you know that my little DeWalt BT744 is taking your slight personal like...........

sled1.jpg


One of the first tools down in the Dungeon, and the first really large tool I bought. :wave:
 
Top