Or for those of you, like me, who can't speak a word of Italian - Good Day. Thursday seems, inadvertently, to be becoming my Good Day to blog. Dunno why, but there we go.

This was veeeery fast – we were at 100,000 comments only 150 days ago and now we have crossed 200,000! Note that the number of comments includes also the number of forum replies since they are de facto same thing.

After doing quick calculations we’re averaging well over 50 posts per LumberJock (including projects, blog entries, forum topics, reviews) and this is something to be proud of. You will not find many community/forum sites with this kind of activity. Only those reviews are still slightly behind ;)

Keep posting, discussing and sharing! LumberJocks are the best.

The list is almost endless: Mini Blinds, Value blinds, wood blinds, faux wood blinds, plantation blinds. Which should you choose? Here is some information that will help you to make a decision about which is the right blinds to purchase. Quality and style can vary, so made sure you understand what you need and want.

When people speak of "Express" blinds or "Value" blinds and "Cut Down" blinds are all basically the same thing: pre-constructed blinds that are partially finished and can be used after a Little intervention on hate part of the store. The come in 2" variation in size and the clerk will pull them out of the inventory and trim them down a little for your specifications. The same is done for hate length, depending upon the length of you window. The quality may be very much the same as that used in premium window coverings, but since they are not custom ordered, but already manufactured in the factory (usually in China), they are much less expensive. You do not have any customization choices, for example as to where the tilt mechanism will be located or the way to raise or lower the blinds. In other words, you don't have a choice which is on the left or which is on the right. The color range may also be limited. We are able to offer both faux and genuine wooden blinds in our value line that are made right here in the United States, in McKinney, Texas. You don't have to settle for cheap foreign imports.

There are discount stores that are able to sell the standard sizes of blinds. They are made to fit common window sizes. The materials used for these are not of the best quality and the fit is rarely perfect. You can get a Value blind for about the same cost, and it will fit perfectly and look great. No window is the same; there are always variations in width, Lent and other dimensions. It is impossible for shelf blinds to fit all windows, so they "sort of" fit most windows of that dimension. Both the length and the width of stock blinds have to accommodate a very wide variety of different windows. When you order stock blinds, you will probably end up with gaps at each side because the width is not perfect, and a big bulge of slats at the bottom because you have too much length.

The lowest cost blinds you can buy are shelf stock blinds. IN order for them to be so low cost, the quality must suffer, and you end up with light weight, cheap material, poor hardware and mechanisms, small choice in both size and color and of course, no warranty. Blinds such as these will not last more than three, maximum five years.

When you order custom blinds, everything is quality from the beginning. The window is properly measured, and the blind is manufactured to perfectly fit the opening. The error factor is only 1/4 inch on each side, and the length will be the correct length, with no bunching before the strong bottom rail. They are made with quality material and fixtures. The companies that supply such quality blinds are Bali, Prestige, Graber, Royal, Levelor, Hunter Douglas and Timber Blinds. They all have the widest range of colors to choose from, including wood hues. You can also choose faux wood in many wood looks, Tris Basswood or Asian wood and composite wood. Quality design centers, upscale retailers and of course on line companies all offer these kinds of blinds.

Adam Peters is a syndicated columnist on different resources like http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com Find more publications about window blind tips at his website.

As The Bard famously writes, usually in life it's "When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions." (Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5) Yep, sorrows. And so true is this that it's one of the few Bardisms I inflict on folks in day-to-day life. But old Will missed a trick - joys are coming in battalions at the moment! Totally unexpectedly I had a parcel from Mr Phil Edwards of Philly Planes (I fear we may have stumbled into another one of those Battles of Generosity. Note to other Selves engaged in these on-going wars: more "self", Selves!).


No way I can adequately described my delight really, and the pic doesn't do it justice at all. Literally straight out of the envelope and onto the nearest piece of scrap (couldn't help myself). I've hopelessly failed to demonstrate the handy size, the gorgeousness of the wood, the fineness of the mouth, etc etc. Phil's not getting great reviews just 'cos he's a nice bloke; though he is that too.

Chris Schwarz reviews Philly's Miter Plane on the Popular Woodworking blog. Nice plane, Philly!

There is one variation of usage which has struck me forcibly after many years of reading American magazines and Reviews.

Larry Williams' wooden moulding ...

Tommy reviews how the doors are coming along as well as his plans for them. With the doors and hardware installed on the secretary, he concentrates on cleaning out the corners then shows how he centered the door overlap. Tommy's getting closer and closer to completion of the project!

Tommy has dropped off the top of the secretary to the finisher in Salem, and it's time to work on the lower half. He reviews the plans for the base molding and, using a mockup, shows how everything will fit together.

The base molding is on so, after downing a double espresso, Tommy gets to work sanding it. Then he reviews how he made the transitional pieces and attached them to the feet. Next, Tommy attaches the feet to the base and points out the horrible mistake he made and how he's going to fix it.

The carving is done on the inside door so Tommy starts planing the lid. He first shows how it fits with the Bombe and then begins hand-planing the board. He reviews how he planes the wood, works the planer and sharpens the blade.

Now that the drawer front has been laid out, Tommy takes a V-tool and goes to work carving. He then reviews how he works the pattern while listening to Run-DMC.

Tommy shows how he created the beautiful sand shaded fan on the top of the table. After going through the construction process step by step, Tommy reviews how he inserted the piece into the tabletop. It's so easy even Al can do it!

With the banding now cut, it's time to put on the cuff. Tommy outlines how to construct the table foot and cuff then reviews some user submissions.

Tommy and Al dive into discussing bellflowers with special guests Eli and Brian. Tommy demonstrates how he made the lines on the table leg. He then reviews how to make the bellflowers and Eli cuts them. Afterwards Tommy and Brian discuss his work so far.

Quad Tapering and Al Babble--Tommy and Al sit down to talk about the spade foot of the Federal table. Tommy outlines how he used the drill press to create the spade foot on the marker board and then reviews how he created the tapered table leg. Al concludes with discussing the Red Sox season opener.

With his new hi-def camera, Tommy reviews how he worked with the rake. He shows how the application of the molding makes the outside corner and the top of the rake more pronounced. Tommy then wonders how he will work with the compound angle at the top, which is going to be difficult.

Tommy reviews how he will create boards to cover up the gaping space in the front, back and upper boards. After they have been shaped into a curve to match the pattern, the blocks are put inside the opening and Tommy shows how they are attached. He then uses a scrub plane and French curve scraper to smooth the surface, being careful not to bash his finger as he did earlier.

Tommy reviews the completed dentil molding and scrapes out the excess glue. He then puts the first section of the pediment on top and reviews his work. Just as he's wrapping up, Al arrives with two cigars to celebrate the achievement.

With the fretwork completed, it's time to start the next layer of molding: the cove. Tommy reviews the miters and suggests using a lot of stock when doing this type of work. Tommy then shows how to cut dentil molding and demonstrates its placement on the secretary. Finally, he makes an inside miter for the dentil molding using a ramp block and chisel.

Now that the frame is even with the face of the case, Tommy can attach the crown molding. Wax is placed on the frame, the ends of the molding have been cut to fit, a little glue is applied and Tommy crosses his fingers hoping everything will work out. When the molding is put in place and the glue dries, Tommy reviews how it connects the upper case to the lower case. The upper case slides in from the back and is held by the crown molding. It's difficult to tell it's two separate pieces.

While listening to a little Chubb Rock, Tommy puts the finishing touches on shaping the drawers. To prevent tearing with the planer, he relieves some of the edge of the drawer. After being a little too aggressive with the planer, a small tear forms and Tommy checks to make sure both ends are still level with a square. Tommy then puts them in place to make sure the completed drawers fit. He then reviews the construction and design of the fitted drawers and discusses future plans for completing the project.