The philosophy of workmanship, purpose of life, and durable projects is served up for brunch.
A Project Gutenberg page, The Project Gutenberg eBook on The Way to Wealth, by Benjamin Franklin. (free) deserves a bookmark. For in it, Franklin speaks of Practical Matters:
“Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee:” and again, “If you would have your business done, go; if not, send.” And again,
“He that by the plow would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.”
‘And again, “The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands:”
and again, “Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge;” and again, “Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open.”
I sent that part to son G2 still providing medical care for 500-odd tradesman on a server farm build up in Yankee Land, somewhere south of Entiat, WA.
While it doth seem Franklin was into word-padding a might (and again) possibly not, again and again. Still, he sneaks tagentially to the topic of “happy wife, happy life” advising:
“”Many estates are spent in the getting,
Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting,
And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.”
Then there was Mark Twain’s takes on “work” which we savor as well:
Mark Twain said, “If nobody offers pay to write within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for”. (I’m buying chainsaws now…)
Twain also said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.
I have always gotten along more amicably with a keyboard than a person, with a mouse more than a hammer. But maybe you saw that coming. Age heals all wounds with the salve of time.
Happy Life Hints
Next time you buy a television, buy at least three remotes for it.
Something (rather accidentally) improved life a good bit for us over Valentines Day that I didn’t have time to reflect on. Three (or more) television remotes will improve your life a great deal.
“Honey, toss me the remote, would you?” coos the blonde in the overstuffed chair across from my recliner. “You go to sleep and I have to root around for the remote…”
,That was the use case discovered purely by accident. When, after a hard days work, I put the remote into its normal resting place, a (gauche) cupholder. (Theory is cup holders are lower-class, but experience argues they prevent spilling drinks…see how those damned fashion experts work?) There, into the cupholder went the remote, immersing it almost completely in a full glass of red wine.
A couple of baths in distilled water, a visit with a hair dryer, and a few shakes (and more drying) later, it was still sketchy. But with the arrival of two more remotes, Elaine doesn’t have to go searching for a remote to ensure my in-recliner beauty sleep remains uninterrupted.
She also has a remote on the kitchen bar counter (facing the mediaplex). She can be (whatevering) in the kitchen and flip channels from afar.
Of course, then she forgets where she put one of her remotes. So I collect them all, and dole them out, one per day, and the process starts twice weekly, more or less.
A couple of anti-aging docs I know would be appalled by this. I can almost hear them saying “You need to work on her memory, your memory, and both of you remaining fully in the present!”
But that would involve finding the glasses, too. And now my beauty sleep is gone and done for sure.
One of these days, Elaine’s expecting some IoT genius to put IR and BT remotes into every piece of furniture they make. Imagine the convenience, right? Nope.
Just a clever excuse to refurnish the house, sounds like.
Radial Saw Project
You remember this project, which has been sitting on a bench in the shop for two winters now?
To recount the story of this project: I spied it on Craigslist a couple of years back up in Brownsboro, Texas and the feller only wanted $50 bucks for it. He helped me load it into the back of the pick-em-up truck. When I got down here, my neighbor was passing by and helped me get it up onto the shop bench.
Since then I have watched every video ever made about restoring a Craftsman radial saw. Picked up spare table clamp screws the Reader Ray advised were price along with gold. Planning ahead, I immediately stocked up on every pair that came up on eBay. Causing prices to collapse into what’s a slowly rusting pile next to the saw…
Well, then I figured there was no table or stand for the saw. It just wouldn’t be right to tear up bench space (because horizontal surfaces are to collect random shit from all over with no related purposes, understand). So I found a table let set (Original Dunlap I think). And they’ve been in a box waiting for assembly, too.
Whenever I got a half-minute to think about it, it was always either too hot, too cold, or two rainy and lazy to be out working in the shop of this beast. I did the next best thing: Bought accessories for it on eBay. It’s the most well-equipped unassembled radial saw in Texas, now. Even got the special radial arm saw lighting kit some dude was selling on eBay for $40 bucks. The price came down to $30 the week after.
Why, I even went so far as to rip down some cabinet plywood and put a glossy finish on the table which (in my fairytale about saw restoration) would go great with the freshly machine-painted saw. $15 bucks a quart went with green and yellow…
About here, I look in the mirror one morning and the guy I shave every couple of days piped up with “Aren’t you, oh, you know, over-thinking this shit, a bit?”
Well, right then I took a vow to get it working this very year. But, over the birthday retreat from actualizing Life, it occurred to me the neighbor probably didn’t have time to mess around helping me lift the saw.
Then I found it! Vevor, one of those brands I follow (tool slut disease symptom) had a sale on a jack. it’s this one. VEVOR Hydraulic Motorcycle Lift Jack Table, 350 LBS Foot-Operated Motorcycle Scissor Jack Lift with Wide Deck, J-Hooks, ATV Dirt Bike Scissor Stand with 4 Wheels.
Now, I won’t need any help to slide the heavy saw onto a piece of ply, lower it, slide it onto the saw stand. Which all goes to show how a cheap tool ($50) can be added to $135 of accessories, a nice job on a solid table with a resin top 1-1/2″ thick ($80 for Baltic birch 3/4″), and a $140 (on sale with coupon) lifting jack. Which comes to $405.
But the real punchline to all this? My degrees are in business administration.
Still, there may be hope for me, yet. I came up with an idea on how to build a metal thingy to put on the 12″ HF miter saw so I can cut dados there instead of on a radial or (God-forbid) on a table saw. That business guy keeps whispering I could just buy a Laguna F2 and be done with it. But where’s the adventure in that, for crying out loud?
OK, into schematics and a ham radio project today. The radial saw is like one of those car restoration projects that buddy of yours never gets to.
Ham Radio Learnings: Word is border crossings have dropped from 11,000 a day down to 225 a day attempted… Movie “Kid Cannabis” will give you some insights into Canadian border issues.
The other early 3806 discussion this morning on 75 meter sideband, seems to have determined that Granny D’s at Canyon Lake has some of the largest pancakes in Texas. Big? In Texas? We have that 85-ounce steak palace off I-40 just east of Armadillo…(sic).
BIG in Texas id going a stretch. Meanwhile, that kind of talk is a real “motivator.” Ure’s off to see if the blonde “kitchen aide” wants to help with cottage cheese pancakes topped with that apple pie filling organic jam on ’em from Amazon. I anticipate a 3-hour carb crash immediately thereafter…
A man needs to gather his strength for warm weather and the return of ‘old yeller’ in the sky this week. The urge to build another deck is stirring,..
Write when you blah, blah, blah…
George@ure.net ac7x
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