This was one clusterfuck of a day, and it's only half over. I'd be willing to bet every woodworker out there has had one or two. I know Mikey P (in Ohio) has had them. And Kris in Arkansas. And both Richards, too. And let's see, who else can I add in there? Jay? Rob G? Lupe? John? Julie up in the frozen tundra? Melody? Just about everyone I know!
Yup, we've all had bad days in the shop. And somehow, I'm reminded of that old saying about a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work.
Well, what if your recreation is your work?
Can I just complain (OK, whine?) a little bit?
It all started when I headed to the shop early in the day, to get a jump on this piece that I need to finish in T minus 13 days and counting.
But first, the saw was a little out of adjustment, and I needed to cut some compound miters. I couldn't get the blade to tilt far enough, so I called my buddy Darrin, who works for SawStop. His thorough understanding of this saw makes swoon.
I wouldn't have guessed that adjusting the tilt stop was going to turn into an all day affair.
Do you have any idea how tired your arm can get when jammed inside a tablesaw, trying to loosen an upside-down bolt?
The only good thing I can say is that I'm glad I don't have bald spot on my dome like so many of my buddies - these photos would make me cringe.
More adjustments. I had to tilt the blade back and forth from 45˚ to 90˚, over and over.
During that time, I only dropped my socket into the cabinet a couple of dozen times.
Right in the middle of this - and I'm not kidding you about this - a hooker showed up, asking for a donation, and later, two Mormans, wanting to talk scripture. I couldn't make this up if I tried.
I should have been drinking something a helluva lot stronger than coffee.
Just when I finally thought I'd gotten everything where I wanted it - the battery died in my angle gauge.
That's OK, I can do old skool, so I pulled out my trusty combo square.
Just when I thought I was in the clear, I noticed the insert was totally jacked.
WTF?
Is there a poltergeist in my shop?
Pull out the allen wrenches and more tweaking.
Right about then, I noticed my phone. I'd been using the calculator on it, but now it had switched to a scientific calculator.
Uh... if anyone knows how to switch it back, can you e-mail me?
So... OK, I can't get either of these to work.
Of course, I didn't have a spare battery.
By now, the shop was a mess, I was feeling pissy,
and there is a class in just a few hours. Only one thing to do....
SWEEP
As I was sweeping, trying to put all of this wasted time into perspective, something dawned on me. I had a spare.
Tough times call for tough measures - so I headed to Capriotti's for lunch.
Like Clint Eastwood said - you've got to know your own limitations, and I was just about at the tail end of mine for the afternoon.
I'll be fine tomorrow, thanks for letting me bitch. Have a clusterfuck shop story to share? Add it to my comments section!
I need a good laugh!
4 comments:
Man do I know that feeling and that day. Glad they don't happen all that often
Jamie, the scientific calculator automatically gets displayed when you turn the phone horizontal. It should go back to a normal calculator when you turn it back vertical. To my knowledge there isn't a way to disable this "feature".
That was quite a day, and yes, my hand is up. I had fun just the other day when trying to paint a project with white spray paint. The nozzle wouldn't stop spraying, and it was all over the place, more like squirting. What do you do when it won't stop spraying out paint in all directions? I threw mine in a large plastic empty dog food bag, which fortunately was nearby.
a bad day? NEVER!
ok, i couldn't even joke about it past one line... though of late, i'd just like to get more days in the shop. time and the full time job are cutting in the way of shop time, but thnkfully i get to sketch ideas before passing out at night... so sooner or later i'll get to building! :D
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