Greatest concentration- what tool?

Band saw. It's the one that bit my thumb!:eek: Next to that is probably the lathe, since I'm still learning how to keep a gouge/skew from grabbing.
 
Would be router for me. Keeping the piece up against the fence, good steady speed, try to eliminate blow-out at the end. I don't have feather boards (yet), so I watch my fingers too....
 
Definitely the table saw. It's the one place where I can see my body parts flying across the room independent of my body.

(crossing fingers) (no pun)
-dan
 
I am 100% focused at all the tools when I'm using them. But the most time spent at that 100% level is by far the lathe - but that's mostly because turning projects are longer-duration operations since it's a continuous creation. In flat work, each piece is created thorugh a series of cuts on various tools and there are little breaks in between. With the lathe, you could easily stand in the same position just a whackin' away at the same hunk o' log for half an hour before you know it.

Most focus? all tools
Longest amount of focus? Lathe :)
 
I am 100% focused at all the tools when I'm using them. But the most time spent at that 100% level is by far the lathe - but that's mostly because turning projects are longer-duration operations since it's a continuous creation. In flat work, each piece is created thorugh a series of cuts on various tools and there are little breaks in between. With the lathe, you could easily stand in the same position just a whackin' away at the same hunk o' log for half an hour before you know it.

Most focus? all tools
Longest amount of focus? Lathe :)
This.

Jason summed it up pretty well for me.
 
I'll go with a tie between a bench chisel and the wrench being used to change jointer blades. You do NOT want to lose your grip on the wrench around jointer blades. Makes my tummy hurt just remembering it! :eek:
 
for me it depends on the size of the board in hand, the closer my hands are to the blade on any machine, the more i concentrate.

i find myself concentrating most on the bandsaw when i am trying to get a nice curve cut for something. darn blade just won't stay on the line :doh:
 
I am not scared of any of my tools. But I do have a healthy respect for a couple.

  • Chisels!! Mine are razor sharp and would slice your hand open in a heart beat.
  • The Great Pumpkin. A square head jointer.
    hbjointerfinger2bv1.jpg
    Need I saw more?
    Photo was taken by the guy I bought it from before the restoration.
 
Like Jason, I'd have to say all of them. I've had enough close calls on all of them, and learned quickly that I have to stay focused. I still have all my fingers and really want to keep it that way. I'll add that I'm now more "apprehensive" about my power tools than I am my Harley, and it scares the crap out of me. That about sums it up.;)
 
All things designed to cut, shape or bang things tougher than my flesh get a fair amount of concentration from me ;-) For an answer to the question:

Tailed tool - hand held router.
Neander tool - hand held chisel.
 
Power tool - table saw. Too much opportunity for instant carnage
Hand tool - planes & scrapers. I don't like sanding, so i rely on planing and scraping for final surface prep as much as possible. Working with highly figured grain is always an engrosing experience.
Paul Hubbman
 
I thought about your question a lot and I can't think of any particular tool that I concentrate more when using. It's more the thing I'm doing with the tool at the time.

For example, when doing a simple roundover with a guide bearing on the router table, I move fairly fast. But when I'm cutting with a big bit, or cutting a small piece, or a curved piece, I'm much more focused.

I find the same with most of my other tools. Even the miter saw - when I have to make a cut off a small piece, I'm very focused and will go through all kinds of clamp efforts. When just cutting a large piece to length, I just cut without that much thought.

So the answer is - "it depends".

Mike
 
if i translate your question to, 'which action am i most fearful of...therefore concentrate more closely'...it would be cutting the curve on the rail of a raised panel door. i've done a number of these on my 3 hp shaper with a homemade jig and part of that cut HAS to be against the grain and part a climb cut. my experience is with hickory so that exercise was one of special concentration including spreading my feet so i was well balanced, licking my finger tips (for no reason as i was gripping the posts on the jig), etc.

my new hobby of woodturning also requires concentration but not the fear factor that shaper evokes.
 
I'll have to make a differentiation between "concentration" and "attention". Other than when I'm flattening a large panel by hand or some repetitive process like cutting a rabbet or groove by hand, both situations where my mind tends to wander, every thing I do in the shop gets my total attention.

Concentration I think of as beyond attention, really focusing on some thing, and I likely concentrate most with some processes using the router table. For example, cutting a stopped groove, and more particularly one stopped at both ends. Since these involve plunging the wood onto the bit, feather boards to maintain pressure against the fence can not be used, so I must pay attention to that during the entire process as well as the stop lines on the piece and the feed rate and . . .
 
I'd have to say I concentrate most before anything is actually cut. So I would have to say drawings tapes, rules, squares, marking gauges, any layout tools or jig prep really. Once I'm confident of what I want to do, and it is planned out the rest is second nature, and applying tool to wood is the easy part. That said, the focus once I'm cutting is quite intense, but I don't think I could call it concentration, but I suppose I am getting into a semantic arguement with myself here. I guess what I'm trying to say is I concentrate most on my pre-shot routine, if that makes sense.
 
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