NO DUH !!!

     At times I think all of the sawdust I've inhaled through the years has affected my thinking, add the normal aging problems to that and you wonder sometimes where your brains are!  In my last post I talked about the long process of hollowing out the recess in the eyeglass cases.  The bulk of the material can be removed with the forstner bit but that still leaves a lot for the router.
     There's always been a debate between woodworkers regarding hand tools vs. power tools.  If you're talking speed it's the power tools hands down.  And, as I've mentioned before, I use my share of power tools and think of them as the apprentices in my shop.  If you've ever used or been around a router as it's cutting away they produce copious amounts of fine dust and screech at a bizillion decibels.  Between ear protection, nose protection, and eye protection you feel like Sammy Safety!  When I came into the house after doing an African Paduak box Diane thought I'd burned myself because every inch of me was covered with a bright orange sawdust.
     So, here's the "no duh" moment I had this afternoon.  The biggest advantage of hand tools over power tools is the quietness and relative cleanliness.  I have these at my disposal as you can see here:

Quiet & Dust free Tools 

     I found that by using a chisel to remove the bulk of the waste left behind by the forstner bit and then my old (antique?) Stanley #71 router plane to level the bottom just shy of where it should be I eliminated at least half of the router time for each case side --- no duh John :-( what were you thinking?